There are of things that I have been thinking about but haven´t had the chance to write about yet.
First, Pollo Campero...
Although I don´t have a picture of this fast food chain that could easily give KFC a run for their money (in fact KFC tried to bring some stores down here and Pollo Campero continued to take all their business). According to my maestro this business is native to Guatemala and actually the owners were origanially from the Xela area. For those of you in the states think of a KFC but tastier chicken and less grease as well. Great food and a lot of pride from nearly any Guatemalan when you ask about it and excitement too. However with all chains it has it´s downfalls, as the owners have not only a monopoly on the restaurantes that have dominated all over the central american countries (as well as within some areas in states), they also control all of the chicken supplied to the grocery stores and the feed for chickens too if any families buy that for chickens that they may be raising (like ours for example). Nonetheless it doesn´t feel as bad as going to McDonalds so I have justified it to myself thus far. In our two experiences of it we were amazed how fast we got our food, in fact my slogan for the place has been ¨Pollo Campero, where the food comes fast and the bill comes slow¨. It´s almost as though they don´t want us to pay... (I wish...)
The cemetary here has been BEAUTIFUL and peaceful as well. For me I have been able to use a place like this to reconnect, both to myself and to the world around me. There have been several of those places and things that often help when I´m feeling down or little homesick. Another was re-finding some ¨Jalopenos chips¨ that I origanally fell in love with when I visited Tim and Shirley (my brother and his wife) here over 11 years ago. I´ll spare you the stories of how I would buy 4 or more at a time (they are small one ounce bags) when I was only a lad of 14-15, but I will tell you that not much has changed. I still think when eating them all one´s problems seem to dift away... at least for me. Many times it´s been the small things that have allowed me to recenter and realize how blessed I have am to be able to experience this world around me. If I may add a personal note I would like say that it´s been great to have Melissa here as I couldn´t imagine the experiencing the difficulties without someone I care so much about. After all someone needs to eat the wiggly meat... (so if I have any Melissa´s plate may get larger when she´s not looking.... hey!)
-posted by Tom
