(perhaps) lost in translation

i've decided to skip cooking today and come back here and have a little relax and then study tonight when i feel less beat. all the activities combined are wearing me out and when zach said he was taking a day off from the cooking, i took that as an a-ok that i did so as well. i need to really put in time learning the verbs the teacher has given us so far - and they are many - and all the different forms that verb takes...and there are many of those as well. it's a complicated language and i know if i was learning english for the first time i would be saying the same thing.

today luiz and i were walking up to the office depot to buy me some more cards to make flash cards with and we saw the vendor you see in the picture above and i laughed and said i had to take a picture. luiz didn't understand at first why i thought it was funny, but i explained that sometimes non-english speaking countries get ahold of western wear or t-shirts and they have sayings on them that they're sure the true meaning. now this guy may know but he may not know how offensive it is. and he's selling fruit all day to all sorts of folks - older women, men, children, etc...and he's got that shirt on. i love it.



i went for lunch with zach and julie today, and zach's inter cambrio pal, hermano (?) came with us. very nice guy, very serious. a lawyer. hopefully i don't need his help while i'm down here - but it's good to have met him so...zach and julie leave sunday so tomorrow is their last day at the school. i have joked with the both of them that i may not be able to carry on once they're gone, i've said to zach, 'what am i going to do without you here?'...and really, honestly...and maybe they'll read this after they're gone so i don't have to, perhaps, look them in the eyes after i've written this but...i have, in the last few, or more than few, years, retreated a little socially and feel awkward in the company of some, most certainly in crowds and at what i consider to be heavy social situations - but i do try (and i usually make it through unscathed and feel better afterwords..) because i want to be a good manfriend to garvie because i love her - but i find it hard..but...julie and zach have made my life here really rewarding. without them, and bill from wisconsin and alex - and now richard and pattie upstairs...i'd be holed up in my place every night reviewing flashcards and little else. so i want to thank julie and zach for making my first two weeks here so wicked and for allowing me to tell them all the stories i have bored my friends with for years.
thanks. i'll miss you.
ok. i need a little relax...i need to stockpile some energy for flashcards later with richard and pattie.

i love you, you know?

garncarlos.

g. xo