Inquiring Minds

(A sample of questions I've received from Sarafina)

Mom, are we still in Colorado?
You poor dear, I’m not always sure where we are either. Wasn’t life exciting enough in Colorado juggling schedules and kiting credit cards? What made me think that I could hide in another hemisphere? Visa has tracked me down, and the fashion police are hot on my trail. Maybe I’ll go hide in these vineyards.

Mom, is eye shadow real?
Ummm, yes. I mean no. I mean… real what?

I know the flowers are real because I can smell them. The sun is real because it feels so good on my skin. The cheese is definitely plastic. But these grapes are real, and the wine they make is simply delicious. I can see why the locals are so proud of it.

Mom, what does “borandacho” mean?
I don’t know sweetie, I think you made that up. But it sounds nice. Let’s pretend it means to invite friends over for a lovely cocktail hour of pisco sours and vino tinto. We’ve been having fun entertaining our Chilean and non-Chilean friends alike. Even in our little apartment, friends are always welcome. They sure do drink a lot, though. I’d better open a fresh bottle.

Mom, why is it spring and is it still Christmas?
(Heavy sigh) Tough question. Let me begin by finding a corkscrew. I got this bottle of wine at the store for only 2,500 pesos. That’s about $4.50 and could be considered mid-priced. Ounce-for-ounce, it’s not much more than bottled water. And dang… its good! Where is my glass?

Mom, do birds take medicine?
Beats me, but Mom has a touch of a cold and I don’t need no stinkin’ medicine. What we need around here is some chips! And guac! Who took my glass? Oh, there it is. OK, so I’m getting rather pickled. Oooooo, pickles. I wonder if we have any…

Mom, do buffalos talk, or do they just hug?
What? Are you still up? Its "borandacho" time, baby, and you shouldn’t see mom this way. Dad will be home soon and we should pretend that we’ve accomplished something today. Get your PJ’s on and hide this empty for mommy, will ya?

Mom, can we invite God over to our house sometime?
Sure, baby, that sounds nice. He can make some water into wine. I’m running a bit low.

Sisma