Nothing good ever follows the Spanish expression of “fijese que…”
It goes something like this: Fijese que the owner of the tienda had a heart attack…Fijese que you can’t live here anymore and have only 1 day to move out…etc., etc., etc.,
However, more often than not, the “Fijese que” expression is used to denote some sort of flakiness or commitment issue… Fijese que…I can’t come to your meeting, the meeting has been cancelled, it’s not you, it’s me…. I never want to see you again…you suck…etc., etc., etc.,
Anyway, suffice it to say that no good news ever comes from “Fijese que…”
Take for example, today. I had been in the office no more than 10 minutes, when I was bombarded by a whole slew of “fijese ques”…
“Fijese que el alcalde, los concejales, e los estudiantes no pueden venir a la presentación hoy…fijese que tal vez sea mejor dejar la reunión por la próxima semana…y tambien... fijese que yo tengo malas noticias…no puedo viajar contigo a Cuerpo de Paz…”
Translation, “Silly gringa, did you really think things would work out on the first try??” OK, perhaps this is not the exact translation, but basically, my meeting to get this bottle project up and running has been delayed twice now, and I was supposed to bring my counterpart with me to a workshop at Peace Corps (today) and she tells me (TODAY) that she can no longer come…
And people think I have commitment issues…(by the way, I am totally going to use the “fijese que” line one day…and I will blame it on Guatemala and the Peace Corps. It will be great…)
On the bright side, at least this counterpart actually TALKS to me and tells me when things get cancelled/when she can’t come with me rather than just not showing up and having me wait in the rain for her for like 3 hours…then not answering her phone for a week making me think she was attacked by bolos or chuchos and dead in a ditch somewhere … (I am not bitter still...)
Now that is what I call progress…!
If there is one thing I have learned to love and appreciate in the Peace Corps, it’s the small things in life…the really, realllllllly, reeeeaaaaallllllyyyyy small, microscopic things that you can barely see and that I took for granted these past 26 years of my life…
Fijese que…I have to end this blog now…
"I can’t come to your meeting, the meeting has been cancelled, it’s not you, it’s me…. I never want to see you again…you suck…etc., etc., etc."
ReplyDeletehaha i love the progression here.
Glad to see you are making some progress on your goals, however small or slow that progress may be. keep up the great work!
Sorry i missed your calls and haven't responded to your emails...just got back into town last night! hopefully we can chat this weekend!
This post made me laugh! Thank you! Keep writing I love it! and despite you misadventures it makes me want to come visit!
ReplyDelete<3
also, I'd love to see pictures of Chiche, or Quiche, or wherever you are. Meow
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