mascota

foreword: mascotas = pet in spanish, not so much a school
      mascot (like a person from the u.s. might image)... so in
      spanish class today when I was asked about my mascota when I
      was younger, I insisted to the teacher that my mascot was a
      lion... she was quite alarmed, and I didn't understand until
      she asked if I also had I had a pet cat or dog in addition to
      my pet lion, at which point I caught on that maybe mascot did
      not mean what I thought it meant... oh the joys of learning a
      foreign language.
   

      so to be honest, I don't have a whole lot more to say about
      today. we are in our routine and learning a lot!! 4 hours of
      spanish in the morning without a word of english; regain our
      strength in the early afternoon (nothing too exciting today);
      then two hours of spanish with the occasional english to
      clarify such confusing things as the meaning of the word
      mascot. we walk home and enjoy whatever amazing dinner is
      waiting: always sopa (soup, not to be confused with soap) of
      some sort followed by rice and a veggie/meat dish - tuna with
      tomatoes and a delish dressing today. no dessert in this
      household so we have our post-dinner tea, manzanilla with
      honey, incredible!! (we're going to try to find some to bring
      home)...
   

      one thing before I end this notably dull blog (my apologies,
      at least it is short)... I have to mention something I'm
      fondly (or maybe not so much) going to refer to as the ecua
      stroll. you see, as is the case in many of the other
      countries I've visited, the people here meander slowly down
      the street or sidewalk. a stark contrast to the ever-hurried
      american trot; always rushing somewhere!! here it is as
      though people put a great deal of effort into slowing their
      pace to that speed just abutting reverse, and believe me when
      we get caught behind these people on the sidewalk it takes
      everything in me not to plow them over. and when I manage to
      slow my pace to match theirs, while I wait for an opening to
      pass, I feel as though I am moving in slow motion and I
      cannot comprehend how it doesn't exhaust them to maintain
      such an excruciatingly sluggish pace. I think it is worse for
      me and lo, used to chasing surgeons around the hospital - if
      you're unfamiliar with the group, they're a speedy bunch,
      which is great for me! and all the more reason why I find the
      ecua stroll physically painful. who needs to stop and smell
      the roses when the air is filled with their aroma?! the
      faster you walk, the more hits your olfactory bulbs, am I
      right? from their point of view I always imagine them judging
      us right back when we whisk past them, our pace unnecessarily
      frantic from their perspective - silly americans rushing for
      what? often nothing at all... it is a cultural difference
      that I find amusing more than anything, unless I am in that
      moment when I am forced to ecua stroll, and then lo and I
      give each othe the eye roll and wait impatiently for a place
      to pass. I've got places to be!! :)