5/8/21: “A Good Decision!“

Woke at 7, lessons from 8-10. Cheryl gave me a book called Teach Like a Pirate; I’m about 60 pages in. You’ll be both disappointed and relieved to learn that PIRATE is an acronym. Read another 10 pages from the linguistics textbook I bought (practically stole) for $3 from the UW Store. 20 pages more from Gravity’s Rainbow, started today. Walked down to the river, saw either a toucan or a regular bird with sometime big and beak-shaped in it’s mouth, not really sure which. No further appearances from the Big Spider, though there was a nice-sized gecko in my bathroom.

I took a nap this afternoon and dreamt I was back at the apartment where I lived a year ago, talking to the friend I had been living with about our mutual friends and what they were doing now. Then she left and I sat on the floor, alone, looking around and wondering what to do.

For dinner I had a crepe and a tamale from two different places. $7 in total, including the horchata. I don’t have a huge vocabulary for foods, so I’ve gotten in the habit of ordering more or less at random. Then your meal comes with a free, new word. Today I got the crepe with nutella and nuez, and I learned that nuez are nuts (maybe pecans specifically? Not really sure). I also got a tamale with some vegetable I’ve never heard of. I’ve never been a huge fan of tamales, but the one I got tonight was really good (and $2). I was also given some peppers to put on it which smelled sweet but were really spicy, and the kids at the stand were all looking at me and I had to pretend I wasn’t crying from how spicy the peppers were. The horchata ended up having a bit of ice in it, which I realized a bit too late. I’m not supposed to drink anything with ice, because you don’t know where the water is from and it’s a good way to give yourself diarrhea. It’s been about three hours since, inshallah I’m in the clear. I also found some instant coffee at the store (I’ve been several days without and in desperate need). I was about to get the regular nestle stuff, but then I saw a local brand with the (translated) slogan “A good decision!”. I’m all about good decisions, so I got that one instead.

After dinner I caught up with one of my friends on the phone. It was good to hear from him and I’m going to try to call people more often. I don’t start teaching until the 23rd, so I have a somewhat uncomfortable amount of free time right now.

Final note: I learned that the fireworks I keep hearing are celebrating Saint Sebastian, who is, among other things, the anti-plague saint. There was also a parade tonight. Vaccines are available by appointment to anyone over 18 here now, but fireworks can’t hurt.