Friday, December 25, 2009

'Twas the night before Christmas and I was eating crackers...again...

I have never had this many stomach viruses in my life. Thanks, Guatemala.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

And now for the ever-so classic SPANGLISH 'twas the night before Christmas:


'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa,
Not a creature was stirring - ¡Caramba! ¿Qué pasa?

Los niños were tucked away in their camas,
Some in long underwear, some in pijamas,
While hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado,
In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado,
To bring all children, both buenos and malos,
A nice batch of dulces and other regalos.

Outside in the yard there arose un gran grito,
and I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
And who in the world do you think that it era?

Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero,
Came dashing along like a loco bombero.
And pulling his sleigh instead of venados,
Were eight little burros approaching volando.

I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre,
Was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre:
"Ay Pancho, ay Pepe, ay Cuco, ay Beto,
ay Chato, ay Chopo, Maruco, y Nieto!"

Then standing erect with his hands on his pecho,
He flew to the top of our very own techo,
With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea,
He struggled to squeeze down our old chiminea.

Then huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
With soot smeared all over his red suit de gala,
He filled all the stockings with lively regalos,
None for the ninos that had been very malos.

Then chuckling aloud, seeming very contento,
He turned like a flash and was gone como el viento,
And I heard him exclaim, y ¡esto es verdad!

Merry Christmas to all, ¡y Feliz Navidad!

(from http://www.spainview.com/xmas.html)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Despierta!!!!!

The age old questions: Which is better - Coca-cola or Pepsi-cola?

Everyone has their answer and their own personal opinions about taste to back it up. For me the answer is Coke. It's classic and to me, Pepsi tastes too much like sugar syrup.

Unfortunately, Guatemala is Pepsi country. The vast majority of restaurants here serve Pepsi, most of the ads I've seen are for Pepsi, etc. Sad times for Miss Kelly.

The newest Pepsi product to hit Guatemala is Pepsi Kick. From what I understand Pepsi Kick is an energy drink version of the soda (as if soda didn't already have a good amount of caffeine in it). There have been Pepsi Kick promotions all over the place. Weird commercials on TV and even weirder street team promoters.

I few weeks ago I was waiting for my taxi outside of my work on a Friday evening. It was about 8pm, so the drinking was already getting into full swing - and since my work is across the street from a few bars, I was witnessing the beginnings of Friday night mayhem. As I'm observing, a Pepsi Kick truck pulls up in front of a crowd of party-goers waiting to get into the bars. The sides of the truck were clear plastic and inside were two scantily clad females ready to hand out free samples of the new energy drink AND..... drum roll please.... a mariachi band.

Now the slogan of Pepsi Kick in Latin America is "Despierta!!" (meaning "wake up!")... and trust me, nothing wakes you up quite like a mariachi band. Needless to say, I had a good laugh and some decent entertainment while I was waiting for my ride.

And now to leave you with some very strange Pepsi Kick advertisements...



These were two of my favorites...but there are plenty more to watch. Gotta love Latino insanity.


Oh, and no - I haven't tried Pepsi Kick... I'm sticking to coffee, thanks.



*This and the next few posts will be based on my experiences within the past month or so. I'm behind on the times, but I don't want you all to miss out on the Guate fun. *