REALLY ?
An incident in Costa Rica makes me chuckle
even years after it happened. On my first trip to the country we were traveling
the countryside on a weekday, which also was some sort of a holiday.
It seemed every little town was
celebrating with a parade. Our guide asked, “Would you like to stop and watch a
parade?”
In chorus, the eleven of us said, “Absolutely.”
From the back of the van came,”That sounds like fun.”
The driver stopped and parked the minivan
in the shade of a tree. He pointed us in the direction of the plaza and we were off. I was
impressed with the quality of the children’s bands and their ability to play their
instruments so well. Their concentration was unbelievable.
After the parade and having stood in the
hot sun for a good while one thirsty couple was looking for something to drink.
They wandered into a small grocery store on the way back to the van. When
paying for her Fanta the fellow behind the counter asked, “Would you like this
in a bag?”
The young girl gave a shrug of
indifference, so the fellow proceeded to uncap the bottle and pour the contents
into a small plastic bag. After gathering the bag at the top and inserting a
straw he handed it over the counter to her. Somewhat surprised she accepted the
bag and finished her walk down the street sucking the chilled Fanta through a
straw.We all enjoyed a good chuckle over this unusual event.
One will be lucky to find a really cold
drink outside the U.S. Over the years I learned
that in Central and South America soft drinks usually come in bottles
instead of cans. More than once I’ve had to consume my drink on the premises as
the bottles stay with the establishment. However, I have never had to drink it
out of a plastic bag.
