Thursday, December 6, 2007

Peacock Soup for Lunch

Yep, you read that right! I had peacock soup for lunch today. It was explained that this is a Mayan dish and the birds are raised in Coban, a town north of here. But let me start at the beginning. Last night we all (Angela, her daughter Rebeca, Judy the New Zealander, and me) went to dinner at Cafe Flor, a Thia food restaurant near the center of town (great food!). Angela seemed quite excited to go and dressed for the occasion. In fact we all took showers and put on clean clothes. I explained (via interpreter) that it was my gift to her to buy dinner in appreciation of all her hospitality and generosity. After reading the menu she ordered only an appetizer salad. With the help of a very sweet Guatemalan waitress who spoke excellent English, we encouraged Angela to order more and she did....and then agreed to desert! After fractured conversation it came to light that Angela hosts many students every year, too many to count. I inferred from the conversation and the bits and pieces I understood, that most students do not do things like take her to dinner. My suspicion is they are mostly younger students with little money. She said many times that it was a special night and gave me many hugs and sweet smiles. We drank sangria and made American, New Zealand, and Guatemalan toasts, glasses raised high and big laughs all around. And so it was that I came home for lunch today and Angela announced that we would have a very special lunch. Then came the peacock soup. Her husband, who is rarely around (and always greets me with two kisses and a big hug), handed me what I thought was a glass of coke. I sipped it and something was off....Cuba Libre! My coke came with a lime and a shot of rum in it! For sure Angela had explained that the loca gringa really liked the sangria....so rum and cokes for lunch! Good lord. So I ate peacock soup and drank a Cuba Libre for lunch (I also toasted to Cuba´s freedom and that got a laugh and raised glasses). At Cafe Flor we met a young Canadian woman, Mel, and a Guatemalan man, Pelan, who were very friendly. They both work as guides for tourist trips all over Central America. I stayed after dinner and partied with these new amigos, drinking sangria and singing songs while the restaurant owner, Jose, played the piano and encouraged us enthusiastically. Pelan could not sing to save his life, but Mel and I held our own. We were alone in the bar and we both noted that it was best that way. They were very very nice, gave me a ride home and invited me to a club tonight.

1 comment:

Jratrain said...

the mer-ma-na-dor is spreading it all up and down the land. nice.. don't worry about the spelling at all, but would like to see some more pics. it is awesome to read about your adventures. keep the fingers typing... lava las manos...