Friday, September 23, 2011

Potpourri #3

My newest favorite thing to do down here is karaoke.  We went to a little dive last night that was doing it, and everybody in there got up to do at least one song.  I heard a lot of good old rock songs, then mixed in with stuff like Depeche Mode and crazy latin songs.  I also received rave reviews because, you know, I actually knew how to pronounce all of the lyrics for my music.

A very popular thing to do down here is to cut up a tomato, and just serve it raw with a sprinkling of salt and fresh lemon juice.  It's actually very good - I'm eating it right now as I type.

For fans of the Erik G Incidental Weight Fluctuation Watch 2011, I had topped out a week ago or so at 72.6 kg, but as of this morning I was back around 70.5.  Again, the only real explanation I can provide is lack of dairy, and portion size.  And yes, I feel healthy.

In my business class yesterday, one of the students mentioned that he read that there were fewer car accidents this year than last year.  Immediately after saying that, the other 11 students completely dismissed it, saying that there was no way it was true.  I asked them why they thought that.  "The government...manipulates the data," was one of the student's replies.  I guess there is very little faith in the honesty of the government down here.

Also in business class, there is a coffee break every night for a couple minutes, where the students can also get sandwiches, or some small pastries.  One student announced that he couldn't get a sandwich, as his "rollo" was already growing a little too big.  This lead to a discussion about each of the student's rollos, and eventually came to me.  "Erik, what is the English phrase for 'rollo'?" they asked.
"In the US, we call them 'love handles'," was my reply.  The one female student in the class looked at me in shock, and then started laughing hysterically.
"People say that in public???" She asked me.
"Yes," I said, "it comes from when people are married, they tend to gain weight around their hips.  So often it's people who are in love that get them, hence the phrase 'love handles'."
"Oh," she replied, then turning bright red.  "I was thinking it came from something else."  Then everybody else started laughing.

(If you don't get it - congratulations, you're a good person.)

Finally, this one is for Kellyn:

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