Ex-pats

Ex-pats are an interesting group. There's a whole subculture of them here and I'm sure around the world.

I heard rumors about the "best cinnamon rolls in Xela" at this cafe near my house - Cafe Areopagus. Well I needed a place to do some homework and have a cup of coffee so I decided to check it out. I walked in and saw 2 older men with darker skin and assumed that at the very least, they were non-american. So I said "Hola" and the bearded one just said "Hey there, what can I get ya"? It was nice to be greeted by a familiar phrase, but still a bit odd.

I ended up talking with Dave - the bearded owner, and Frank - his retired friend - for a while. Dave moved down from Missouri with his wife to work at a mission and opened the bakery / cafe to increase funding for the mission. He said he drives his truck 3-4 times a year from Xela to Kansas city for supplies (beer) and to see his daughter. 2,500 miles almost exactly. He had some cool stories about going through Mexico.

Frank is a retired development specialist who coordinated fund raising events across the US. He visited Guatemala after retiring to learn spanish. He ended up marrying his spanish teacher and moving to Xela permanently. Frank thinks the best way to learn a language is to marry someone who only speaks what you want to learn. They apparently have spanglish dates where they mix the languages they're both learning out in public to confuse others.

Dave and Frank want to start a dress business because "thats the one thing in this culture people will spend real money on, and there's closets full of unused Quincinera dresses in the states that could be sold here".

I have yet to try "the best cinnamon rolls in xela" but I'll have to go back just for another glimpse into the weird lives of US citizens living abroad.