October 1, 2010
I was sick again today. Barf. Well, I didn't actually barf (praise everything holy!), but that was my reaction to feeling like crap-o-la upon waking up. If there's one thing I hate being, it's sick on vacation. I didn't go to class again today, so instead, my teacher came to me. I was surprised to see her, and felt really special that she came over to check on me. We conversed for about an hour, and we even attempted to talk about 9/11 conspiracy theory in Spanish. Wow, was that ever difficult. I'm still not sure she knew exactly was I was saying, but she nodded a lot, so I suppose that was good.
Before she departed, she told me that I should pick up some medication at the pharmacy. She even recommended penicillin. I questioned her and protested that I hadn't been to a doctor, and since I have no health insurance, I couldn't afford to go. She looked at me like I was the silly one, and quickly informed me that one doesn't need a prescription to get medicine in Guatemala. She instructed me to go to the pharmacy, tell them my symptoms and then purchase whatever they say to buy.
As she began to leave, it dawned on me that today was my last Spanish lesson. So I thanked her repeatedly and gave her a hug goodbye. She really did feel more like a friend than a teacher, and she taught me more in three weeks than I ever thought possible.
After Yaneth left, I slept a bit more and waited for Miranda to come home. When she did, she walked me to her favorite pharmacy in town. I walked in and told the pharmacist that my head, throat and entire body were in pain. He brought out two tiny boxes of bills. I asked which ones were more expensive. He pointed to the box on the left. I then asked which ones were more effective. He pointed to the other box. I ended up going with the more expensive, more effective option. When he rang me up, I think the pills were the equivalent of less than US $2.
Wow. You mean, I can just walk to a pharmacy, tell them what my symptoms are or what kind of drugs I want, and they just give them to me? For really cheap? That's, like, magic. Or heaven.
I have no idea what he gave me, but I popped one in my mouth and started to feel better quickly thereafter. Because it was my last weekend in town, I wanted to go out. I had originally planned to travel somewhere over the weekend (outside of Antigua), but due to my illness, I decided that sticking around and sleeping in a familiar bed was probably my best option.
So instead, we went out to the Rainbow Cafe and then headed to Cafe No Se with Linda. There, we met John, an older, American ex-pat who had been living in Guatemala for quite some time. He was a gregarious fellow, and he looked like he spent a good deal of his time telling stories about his time in Vietnam. Whether he actually served in Vietnam, I don't know, but for some reason, I could see him telling tales with the likes of Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump. I do recall that he had been in the military at some point.
We chatted him up for a while before I noticed that he had a handgun tucked into his belt. It wasn't even in a holder. It was just in his pants, for all the world to see, like he was some mobster. Upon viewing the gun, I think my eyes must have popped out of my head as he caught my stare and he shifted his position so he could move his jacket over the gun. I tried not to say anything. After all, I generally try not to piss off people who are well-armed.
After several bowls of popcorn (it's free at Cafe No Se), I headed home for some more rest. Fingers crossed that I feel better tomorrow!
To view some pictures of my trip, go check out my album on facebook.
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