So in this wonderful paradise we have found a problem; BUGS! I once read a quote from a very wise man that said “I friggin’ hate all of these damn mosquitoes!” While I might not be as wise as he, I certainly can agree with his logic. Why not use bug spray? you ask. Well, while DEET 2010 proof tends to work on most of the mosquitoes (except for of course the ones that go for your eyes) here we are dealing with more complex problems. Here we have an entire array of biting bastards. The worst of which is completely immune to DEET, you can hardly see, and they hurt worse and itch more than nearly all the rest. While they are pretty much invisible, you can kind of hear a high pitch laughter as they fly in you shirt, up your pants, and through the mesh of your mosquito net like it is the Holland Tunnel.The moral of this story: if you come to the tropics, forget the bug spray and the mosquito nets and use the room that you save for the gallon of calamine lotion. Remember you can at least take comfort that the pink color is not a sunburn (since you’re not getting any sun as you’re trying to cover up every square inch of your body despite the heat). Oh, you might also want to bring along mittens to wear. It worked well when we were kids to keep us from scratching our chicken pox, and apparently you don’t gain this type of self restraint with age.
And when you pass back through customs and they think you’re a poor heroin addict because it looks like you’ve been shooting up for years but keep missing veins, just tell that customs official to spend some time in the coffee farms of Guatemala and see what his arms and legs look like!
It’s actually a good thing no one here understands English, because sometimes it’s just too much to take, and the profanities I shout would make them think I was crazy for sure. Although I’m guessing it doesn’t matter as a Gringo yelling at himself, scratching from head to toe, and swatting at the air might just cause the same affect.
But other than that, life is great! Actually it really couldn’t get much better than how it is going now. We’re sorry about the five week hiatus, but we will be putting up some more blogs about our amazing time in La Florida and our projects very soon.
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Eeek! Not a big fan of ANY kind of bugs--especially those who enjoy sucking your blood while "laughing" about it. I can't even imagine although keep telling yourselves what great things you are doing. I once read that mosquitoes bother some people more than others b/c of the type of blood the person has (was it type O? I can't remember). Anyhow, you must have some great blood or else mosquitoes are smarter than we think and can "smell" a newbie in their area. Can't wait to hear about the new places you are heading to and please give me your new number when you get the chance. Love to both of you! Carrie
ReplyDeletehello out there!
ReplyDeletefirst, please send hello's and hugs to all the lovely people of La Florida from Maria and Ryan (Brian). tell them we are still working on the film, that we think of them daily, and that we are going to have a BABY in Novemember! and second, please write us any and all news there is from there. (mashawagner@yahoo.com).
i was laughing like crazy reading your post.....the bugs and Juana the goose! all very familiar and funny now that i am 2000 miles away (and safe). Jauna tried to knock me to the ground once. no kidding. she grabbed my pant leg and was pulling and twisting and i was shrieking and Rosaura was laughing!
we should communicate about the website. my cousin(a web designer) has agreed to make the change to a new host. he may be willing to host it himself. are you changing the text and whatnot? i was just going to put up the old websamba site with a new host. we don't have time to make changes because we are working on the film. have you visited our website??
http://www.pocoapocofilm.com
also, my sister has just finished updating the flyer as the community asked me to do 6 months ago. i am waiting to send them the file until we have a new website address to add on.
we look forward to hearing from you. La Florida is such a special place. Please tell Dona Albertina and Dona Maria special hello's from us and that they are always in our hearts.
take care, and godspeed
mary and ryan
Mary here again!
ReplyDeletejust looked at your LF photos!!!!! i am stunned and in awe and so full of happiness and love! we left LF in Jan and i can't believe how many changes and how much progress i can see from your photos. PLEASE email me. we must talk. and ryan and i must include these things in the film!! i hope you will agree to let us use some of your images.
peace to you!