User:LizBruno252
I was enjoying our meal in a popular open-air restaurant around the main tourist drag in Panajachel, Guatemala, when some tourists about our age walked slowly by. Billy says "Hey, the food's great here, why not give it a go?"
The man looked interested, the woman looked horrified.
I chimed in with "Order the Amuerzo Economico and you will pay half the marked menu prices."
The man took two seconds to select this good deal, and made a move to spend time at a table next to ours.
Spousal opposition
"We're going to eat here?" The wife questioned.
Clearly she held resistance to entering this clean, brightly decorated eating establishment.
I'm telling you it was no dump. There is a flat screen TV on your wall and lively Salsa music on the stereo system. Clean handwoven Guatemalan tablecloths covered every table that also supported fresh flowers. Original indigenous artwork adorned the walls.
The woman, who had been noticeably beautiful and well-kept, had her hesitation distinctly written all over her scrunched up face.
"I hope they speak English here," she said with an audible sigh as she flopped down.
"I want a Coke. Have you got Coke? Exactly what do you have to drink here?" She demanded in rapid-fire English. The bilingual waiter maintained together with her rush of questions pretty much.
"You have chicken or pork? I'll take the pork. Honey, they have chicken or pork."
Meanwhile, the husband and Billy were chatting away about retirement, finance and travel, using a grand ol' time.
The drama darkens
Bottles of Coke and empty glasses promptly reached the table and again, this poor woman looked stricken. Simply appalled.
I could not imagine exactly what the problem was, and so i tried to catch her reactions from the side of my attention.
Mrs. Visitor had personal drama going on and I found it mesmerizing. Apparently some of the syrup had released towards the top of the Coke bottle, causing a tiny dark sticky blob to appear.
She checked out her husband, then at me, then in the bottle, then at her husband, then at me, on the other hand in the bottle. She disgustingly ran her finger towards the top of the bottle and now she'd that tiny sweet dollop on her finger. She again looked at her husband (who had been ignoring her right now), then at me, then at her finger, then at her husband, then at me, then again at her finger!
Right now I am thinking "She doesn't have Kleenex in her own purse? If she has been blown off target by this small , common occurrence, what's she doing driving america?"
If this innocent ooze of syrup upset her so much how her meal would go?
No disrespect intended
Since no one was rushing to her rescue to give her a warm, clean, wet, soapy cloth or whisk her away to a 5 star restaurant filled with apologies, eventually Mrs. Visitor looked to her left, then to her right, and rather guiltily, wiped the syrup off on the tablecloth. I do not imagine it ever occurred to her to ask the waiter for a napkin.
Part of me felt badly because of not visiting her deliverance. She was afraid and out of her element, and that i could see her frustration towards her husband for taking her here to Guatemala. Lost in desperation without any help from her spouse, this well-groomed woman was face-to-face with the fringe of her comfort zone... also it was not pretty.
I was both stunned and completely transfixed. I'd forgotten that my twenty-two many years of world travel had trained me to put a tissue within my purse for unexpected events exactly like it.
Here are a few quick survival tips for travel which i we do hope you find useful:
Bring baby wipes. Women have babies all over the world. If you are someplace that has some semblance of civilization, you'll find baby wipes within the supermarkets. Go to the baby section, discover the wipes. Insert them in your purse. When you travel on buses, wish to sit inside a chair that has strawberry syrup on it or find that you need mouthwash within the bathroom, you've got a clean wipe to come to your aid.
Put napkin or wipes down soda bottle necks. If you are eating outside in warm weather and therefore are having a soda, flies or bees often gather for that sugary syrup. Place napkins or said wipes on the bottle neck and you may avoid a nasty creature falling into your pop. When you are traveling overseas, it's commonplace to wipe off the mouth of beer and soda bottles even just in upscale locations.
Use sliced limes to clean your fingers. Platters of fish or shrimp are often served whole at the beach and eating seafood can leave your fingers messy. Utilizing a thin napkin at your table could be unsatisfying. Use the sliced limes first then utilize your napkin. In this way you will not have tiny items of paper stuck to your fingers to annoy you further.
Say "Provecho!" When entering or leaving a restaurant in Latin America, say "Provecho!" to other diners. This basically means "Enjoy your meal" and it is a really socially polite aspect to say. It shows that you are an experienced traveler and that you are an all-around-nice person.
Don't let your comfort zone limit you. Life is for living. Grab a bite and relish it. Situations and circumstances aren't always the same as they're "back home" and that is not necessarily a bad thing. So what if you make a mistake? So what if a person lunch wasn't your favorite? A smile goes quite a distance for those who are around you and while you're at it give one for yourself.
