“Nineteen, nineteen Jackson.”
“Maintenance man is late.”
“No he’s not, it’s Ecuadorian time.”
“That was funny last night at Julio’s, all that bantering about ‘gringo’ – ‘Canadian’s aren’t gringos‘!”
“By definition Jackson, a gringo/a is someone considered a foreigner, the word originally used in Spain to refer to any foreign, non-native Spanish speaker.”
“I heard it all started with settlers in Texas and some silly song, ‘Green Grow the Lilacs Oh’ or another version ‘Rushes O’ and reference to troops, either Irish fighting with Simon Bolivar or American hunting down Pancho Villa.”
“Wasn’t there something about green uniforms too?”
“Something like ‘green go home’.”
“So now you’re going to tell me the real origin, right?”
“Of course. It refers to a Latin proverb that basically meant that something made no sense or was unintelligible, ‘Graecum es; non potest legi’ – ‘It’s Greek and unreadable'”
“Hey, so that’s where the expression ‘It’s Greek to me comes from?”
“Yes.”
“But what does that have to do with gringo?”
“If one loosely translates the Latin proverb into Spanish, ‘Hablar Griego’, in context meaning, ‘I don’t understand you’ or ‘what you’re saying makes no sense’, one can see the similarity of ‘Griego’ to gringo.”
“So it probably was used in Spain to refer to non-native Spanish speakers who spoke Spanish with an accent if they spoke Spanish at all.”
“Yes, Nilla. The word gringo was found in John Woodhouse Audubon’s diary in an entry from 1849 which coincides with the time of the Mexican War.”
“So getting back to the Canadian issue – gringo or no gringo, that is the question.”
“And the answer is…… SI, GRINGO!”
“And the comment that gringo also means gibberish?”
“It’s Greek to me!”
“And so it is, Jackson.”
“Now, what. The Ts met with the maintenance guy who is coming back to make repairs, probably a simple fix to the roof with some sealant as well as other minor stuff on Tuesday. They showed him the birds nest in the air conditioning unit downstairs too. I don’t think it’s still occupied. No Montecristi today – we have to make a plan! And, what are we going to blog about today?”
“Silly Jackson, I think we already have explored our topic for today.”
“Ahhh, the gringo thing'”
Si, ratoncito gringo.”
“Cuidado osito.”
“Have I told you you’re a great friend Jackson?’
“You are too Nilla.”
“So no plan for today. The Malecon has flooded again, not as badly as in December though. They’re out shoveling sand.”
“Yup, and back home they’ll be shoveling and plowing snow Nilla. The lifeguard explained that there are too aspects of the high seas and the malecon, the tide and the height of the waves.”
“There’s another sign about a building damaged in the 2016 earthquake, this one says that it is safe for some restricted use.”
“Can’t imagine how bad that was for these folks. But Jackson, look over there, they’ll painting a mural on that wall – the scene is the parapentes.”
“And look, they’re going to paint a large turtle too! Maybe we’ll be able to check on the progress tomorrow.”
“You know I enjoy walking around Crucita, there is always something new to see.”
“It’s really hot, let’s stop at Ramblas and get something to drink.”
“They have WiFi there and we can contact Aventurero and see if he’ll join us – it’s after 3:00 at this point.”
“It’s after high tide and people are starting to come onto the Malecon. The kitty cat is ‘purrsistent’ and wants attention again”
“She is very cute.”
“Here’s Aventurero. The plan is beverage here then go to Mi Tierra.”
“Hey there’s Diego and Brian.”
“We need to give Brian a better name Nilla.”
“I know, we’ll call him El Guardagatos and his home the Catalodge.”
“Great names. The latest cat count is ten.”
The Trio moves on to Mi Tierra for dinner and to wish David safe travels before ending the evening. Thinking of friends and family back home and the pending snow storm.
“Stay warm and safe all of you!!!”
Adventures of Nilla and Jackson 