Þorramatur (don´t bother trying to pronounce anything in Icelandic, even in your own head. It is simply a waist of time) are the traditional foods of Iceland and they are eaten during Nordic month, which is the main holiday. They eat rotten shark, ram testicles, a whipped cream like blood pudding and dried fish. Needless to say, the food at Olga´s is well received. But seriously, these foods are eaten in celebration of the survival of their ancestors. The settlers of Iceland faced great famine and developed many methods of preserving (rotten shark) and conserving (ram nuts) food.
World War II was a pretty sweet deal for Iceland. First the English occupied the country and then the Americans took over and built/paid for most of Iceland's infrastructure. It is expensive to travel to and live in Iceland. My 3 new Icelandic friends (Ziggy, Vala and Happy) explain to me that you can buy 6 mojito´s in Antigua for the cost of one in Reykjavík. When you are working out exchange rates with 3 types of currency, it is best to choose a beverage reference point.
Crime in Iceland is virtually nonexistent. Since the USA paid for much if Iceland´s infrastructure, the citizens are all pretty wealthy. The only real crime happens in relation to drug trafficking and abuse. The penalties for drug the most severe of all crime. In fact, the maximum sentence for murder in Iceland is 15 years and you need to kill about 1/3 of the population to get that sentence. Most sentences for murder are 3-5 years, so, if you really need to kill someone, take them on vacation to Reykjavík. Maybe for some ram nuts?
So, other than learning about Vista and Iceland I have been studying Spanish 6 hours a day. My brain turns to mush at about hour 5. My Maestra (Teacher) is named Silvia. She is truly fantastic. She is fun to talk to and laughs at my jokes and makes some pretty funny ones herself. She is also an energetic instructor who doesn´t let me get away with anything. I have homework some days and she grades it with her red pen. I have not had people mark up my writing with a red pen for many many many years. It is a strangely fun process. But seriously, 6 hours of Spanish drill a day is hard work. My mouth gets tired saying all the pronunciations and sometimes I just freeze and can´t think of the simplest words. It is very rewarding and I am having a great time learning. Silvia is kind enough to let me drink a couple of beers in the afternoon sessions to keep the tongue moving. Which works great, accept it doesn´t help me learn grammar.Yesterday, after school, I took a taxi back to Guatemala City in order to take a training session needed to register as an International Observer for the elections that are being held on Sunday. I am going to San Pedro Sacatepéquez with a group of Sue´s friends to observe the elections in an official capacity on Sunday. It should be quite an adventure. This morning, Sue drove me back to Antigua and here I sit at the Funky Monkey.
The food and accommodations at Olga´s continue to impress. My room is comfortable and clean and we get three square meals a day. Lunch is usually the best, with meat and a soup to start. Breakfast has also been good with omelets and black beans. There is one small problem though. There is a leather tanning facility next door and the smell is unbelievably bad. It is so bad, that you question yourself when it first hits you nose as to whether it could really be that bad, and then you realize that it indeed is that bad. Fortunately, you can only smell it on the street as you pass by, and by some miraculous phenomena, you can´t smell it in Olga´s house.
After my time in Antigua is over, I am off to Livingston for a sailing trip. I am learning new skills in not planning so much, but aparantly, the best way to go is to get to a B&B in Livingston and then ask the purveors to use the ship to shore radios to get you onto a boat. If I need to spend a couple of extra days in the carribian paradise waiting for a good sail to Belize, that will have to do. I hear that in Belize, there are fisherman that drive up to the boats with fresh lobsters and fish for you to cook for dinner. That should be tasty. I have this image of myself sitting in a hammock, drinking beer, watching the sunset and eating lobster. It should be ver nice.
here is the link to all of my photos.
Until next post.....
