In the Spotlight

One thing that has been hard for me to get used to, especially for me who never has liked attention drawn to myself, is the attention we draw especially with the kids.

Right after we moved here, we were staying in a guest house. We were adjusting to new grocery stores and food, trying to be very economical and also trying to stay out of everyone else's way in the shared kitchen. All this resulted in us eating quite a bit less than we were used to. One day at lunch time we were walking past a broasted chicken place and we saw their special, a whole chicken, potatoes, platano (like fried banana) and arepas for $8. We popped in and ordered 1 1/2 chickens. A small crowd gathered to watch the gringos eat. We all ripped into this chicken like we'd never eaten before. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the whole kitchen staff huddled closely behind the counter, mouths slightly agape. I honestly don't know if they've ever seen any humans eat like this, so fast, so intently, napkins fluttering, drinks slurping, kids totally focused and quiet! After a while, the crowd dispersed, disgusted (I truely believe they were) because we were gnawing every last bit of meat off the bones, there were piles and heaps of bones and not a lick left over when we were done, except maybe a platano piece or 2. We look back and laugh at that memory!

Another time I was going stir crazy and took the kids by myself to McDonalds to get ice cream. We were in the playland area, enjoying our ice creams when I noticed a couple standing outside the window talking and pointing at us and smiling. So I smiled and waved, had Georgie wave, and tried to eat like an adult. After a couple of minutes, I was starting to sweat. They were still there, talking and waving. I was starting to feel really self conscious and embarrassed. Finally they left. I dug into my ice cream, only to look up and find they were back with one of their mothers, I presume. More smiling and waving, more careful swiping of the kids' mouths with wet wipes and napkins, trying to keep the heap of dirty napkins discrete, trying to smile when Georgie stuck his hand in my ice cream. It seemed like an eternity until they left, but it was probably only ten minutes. And I learned that the ice cream can find its way down even when I'm in the spotlight!