"I thought I'd write about some of the things that I've noticed and the
things I think about while I'm riding the bus, which adds up to about an
hour a day.

The milk. They keep the milk here in cupboards until they are ready to
drink it, at which point it stays good for 2 months. Is this really milk?
What could they possibly do to this stuff to keep it from spoiling?

Making catcalls here is a national pastime. Some men even have special
horns installed in their cars for honking at women; however, I don't think
they use them for Mexican women, only us gringos. So, walking down the
street here is always fun. My personal favorite is the hissing.

The term `gringo` is especially for us Americans. They call us that because
we call ourselves 'Americans'. Some people get really offended when I say I
am an American (I don't use that term here anymore) cause they say we are
all Americans. They're right. We need a new word.

My host sister complained that she wished she had money. I asked her what
she would do with it if she had it, and she said she would buy books. I
asked why she didn't just go the library. She said that the few libraries
only have research material. It hadn't occurred to me that lots of people
don't have access to free reading. We are so lucky.

Personal space is pretty different here. Sometimes I'll get picked up by a
´cambi´ instead of a bus. Cambis are VW vans with 2 benches facing each
other in the back. They pack them with people so there may be 4 people on
each bench. It is interesting because when room becomes available, people
don't move. For example, the other day the van was packed and when 3 people got off, I was on one bench and 4 on the other. We rode like this for 5 or 10 minutes and no one moved, they just sat there packed in. Or, there will be an empty bus and someone will sit right next you. I am still a fan of my personal space, however.

Shopping is interesting here. For example, I bought a 12-cent piece of rope
the other day. I took the rope to one counter and they wrote a slip for the
cost. Then I took it to another counter and they put it in a bag (no one
understands "I don't need a bag"), and then I took it to a third counter and
paid for it.

Next time I go to a bunch of Mayan ruins I think I will bring another shirt
besides my Cleveland Indians shirt. That probably wasn't in such good
taste."