Sunday, February 7, 2010

What a super day!


Ah, the Super Bowl. Pizza, chips, junk food galore. What could be more American?

I'm still recovering from novel finger, so I'm not going to write a lengthy blog today. I plan to get back to big-time revisions tomorrow, since it's feeling better.

But I wanted to tell you about last year's Super Bowl. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience -- one I will never forget. We were in Leona Vicario, a tiny village in the coastal jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, after having arrived the day before. We live in a fairly nice base camp on the outskirts of the dirt-poor village, and drive an hour or two each day to a much smaller Mayan village to work.

William Cen, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Erly, are our hosts for the week. William speaks very little English, so Erly translates since she is fluent in Spanish, English and Mayan. So here we were, a group of about 15 Americans from Illinois, in this tiny village on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon. Super Bowl Sunday. But, of course, there is no cable television in the village. There's not even a television at the base camp. So we were sure we would miss the game.

But unbeknownst to us, William had snuck off, drove a hour to Cancun, and rented a flat-screen television and a satellite dish. He came back, set it up and had the game on in the big dining room when we came down for dinner. He had even purchased snacks for us!

The game was in Spanish, of course, and my Spanish isn't very good, but it was awesome nonetheless! And the commercials were hilarious in Spanish!

It was a good day.

This year, I'll watch the game in the comfort of the downstairs study with my sons. But I will remember those in Leona Vicario tonight, those who have so little in life, yet have such generosity, such spirit.

Hola my friends. I will see you in less than two weeks. And go Saints!


2 comments:

  1. Go Saints! Yes, I am writing this during the game.

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  2. That was very cool of him!

    Glad you're novel finger seems to be healing!

    ReplyDelete