Being in a foreign country reminds me of how little I really know my own native language. There are so many things we say that we take for granted, knowing nothing about the origins of what we speak. "Mind your Ps and Qs" (pints and quarts - Old English) or "Adios!" (go with God) spring to mind. There are countless other expressions we use daily without a moment's thought to what they truly mean.
And so it seems the native Spanish speakers here in Mexico have another thing to teach me - and one I'll remember well. Most beer here is sold in American-sized 12 ounce (355 ml) botellas, or bottles. But as I learned in a previous trip to Mexico (Huatulco, to be exact) they have a special name for the big boys.
Here, it seems the 32-ounce, or litro bottles of beer are known as ballenas.And if the picture doesn't say a thousand words, that translates to WHALE in English. And how appropriate, I might add.
Nothing caps off your day (pun strongly intended) quite like an icy cold ballena, and my personal favourite when visiting this part of the world is Pacifico. I must say I'll never forget this one in any word-association game, regardless of language...
So as you go about your daily travails, give this a thought: Somewhere, at this very moment, someone in the tropics is hoisting an icy-cold draught of pure heaven. Don't you wish you were here?
Vaya con Dios!
Don Marcos
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