Lost In Translation

Everything is going well. I don’t have much time to write, but I thought I’d share a quick story before we leave for Paraguay tomorrow. (18 hour bus ride! Woohoo!)

A couple nights ago we went to the house of a man named Gustavo for dinner. Gustavo was one of the guys who picked us up from the airport and has driven us around a couple times to get our visas for Paraguay. He is a jolly older man who always has a smile.

At one point in the dinner, Herman, our current host, told us he once ate a pizza that was large enough to feed 19 people by himself. It was the kind of deal where if you eat the whole thing you get it free. Riley told me in English that there was a place in Pueblo that had a similar deal with a 5-pound burrito. I attempted to translate this to Herman:
“En Colorado, tiene un burrito cinco libras. Si tu comes, es gratis.”
The Argentinians looked at each other, puzzled. Herman asked, “Un burrito?” (A burrito?)
I replied, “Si. Con una tortilla, y papas, y carne” (Yes. With a tortilla, and potatoes, and meat.)
“Ahh,” Herman said. “En Argentina, burrito es,” as he made a smoking symbol with his hands.
“Marijuana?” I asked.
“Si, si..”

I had told them something to the effect of, “In Colorado, they have a 5 pound joint, and if you eat it, it’s free!” The laughter continued for a few minutes and the story has been retold multiple times since then. Silly Americans..

Edit/Addition: I found out after I posted this that we were not actually leaving on Friday. The new plan is to leave for Paraguay on Monday.