One of the interesting parts about staying in a hotel for an extended period of time is that you get to see a lot of patrons come and go. And the people-watching has been fun. I've come to recognize all different types of tourists!
Today, the loud Americans arrived.
Don Udo's is a fantastic hotel and restaurant run by a Dutch ex-pat, and is relatively expensive compared to other hotels in the town. Many of the people coming through, thus, look pretty well-off, or at least accustomed to living in luxury (e.g. having hot water for showers, AC in your bedroom, etc.). I figure that's what drew them here in the first place. Well, it was obvious the loud American tourists had expected luxury, and luxury they were going to get! In English, of course.
I was awoken from my nap (trying to fight off a nasty cold) only about an hour ago by their arrival. The loudest of them proclaimed, "THIS IS DON UDO'S! WHERE IS UDO? HAH! HAH!" This was repeated several times until, I assume, Udo came out to greet them. There was relative silence until poor Isabel showed them to their room. The slightly-less-loud man took one look (as I envisioned it in my head) and yelled, "THERE'S NO SPACE! I NEED SPACE! I DON'T WANT THIS ROOM, SHOW ME ANOTHER!" Mind you, Isabel does not speak English. The slightly-less-loud American thought this could be remedied by saying the same thing louder and slower. When she showed him another room, he was still unsatisfied. "WHERE IS THE LIGHT? I NEED LIGHT! I WANT SUN!" It saddens me that neither one of them thought to bring a Spanish dictionary to a Spanish-speaking country. Poor Isabel finally understood what they were trying to say when one of them went into the courtyard and pointed up. "SUN!" She showed them around for a good 15 minutes before they settled on a room. "EXALANTE!" "GRASSY-ASS!" Oh, embarrassing.
They seemed to be genuinely grateful for her patience, however, and Isabel even taught them a couple phrases in Spanish. Hopefully, they'll take note. I think the next few days with them around will be pretty comical, so I'm looking forward to that, at least.
I'm actually surprised it took this long before some loud American tourists showed up. I've seen the families with young children who run around like they own the place. I've seen the college boys who stay up late smoking cigars in the lounge because they can. I've seen the young backpacking couples who aren't indie enough to stay in a hostel. Finally, the loud Americans! Still waiting for the Japanese family adorned with fanny packs and visors, though I'll let you know if they make an appearance.
Hope everyone is doing well! As I mentioned, I have a bit of a cold, so I am doing my best to rest up and get over that. Figures that the first time I've been sick in years would be in Copan!
Let me know how things are going!
Alyce
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2 comments:
Hmm, I always seem to comment right as you post your entries, making me seem like I have nothing better to do than wait around for you to update (I assure you I have at least one!) :)
Your loud American tourist story is funny--I look forward to hearing more about their antics (though I hope they don't disturb your sleep...I imagine they will be drinking it up).
Also, I just need to say that Poland has Japanese tourists--and yesterday I saw a woman with a VISOR-SHIELD! I'm not kidding. If it weren't pink and lacking facial features, I would have confused her for Darth Vader.
What type of loud American? The fat rednecks from the Mississippi Valley? Minnesota folky folks? Do they have fanny packs?
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