Merida Miscellanea

Almost every language has "borrowed" words. Words that are actually not of that language but adopted to become part of it. In English, we have such things as hors 'd oevres and armada. In Spanish, they have adopted baby, sandwich and hot dog. Any hombre on the street will immediately know what you are talking about if you use any of these words. Imagine my mirth then when I saw this sign: For the Spanish challenged amongst us, the second phrase down, perros calientes, literally translates to dogs hot. I don't know why, but I found it hilarious. Just easily amused, I guess. There is a small tienda on the street where my friend lives that is owned by Oriental immigrants. I'm not quite sure if they were making fun of themselves or quite serious when they painted their logo on the wall. Just like in English, they have trouble pronouncing the R sound. Thus precios (prices) comes out as they say it. Same with balatos (cheap) which should be baratos. Again, either a good ad gimmick or literal spelling. Either way, I found it funny. After the second parade, we made our way home and then on to a popular little lunch stand on a busy corner. This place is very popular with the locals. One taste of their regional specialities and you will understand why. Simple delicious and simply simple food. I love places like this. While waiting for our food, there was a constant procession of parade goers and float paraphanalia going by. Sometimes they are too high for the resident power lines. There is usually somebody sitting up high with a stick to make sure that the passage under the wires goes without mishap. Even in Merida, scooters are everywhere and they better yield to traffic. At least they wear their helmuts. Ok, enough of Merida for awhile. Next we return to the island!