Signs in Spanish

So the Germans bid me adieu today, most of the morning spent looking for a location to change money and then bargaining for the cheapest bus fare. If you cruise the bus company strip and are fortunate to run into a gentleman neatly dressed in pressed company shirt, chances are, he´s the boss. And he´s the one to whom you can quote your price. He´ll then make the ticket seller honor your price. Nice. Now I know. I had almuerzo in the bus terminal and a girl approached the table with a card. It read that she was hearing impaired and showed sign language letters for those reading the card to practice. Much to my surprise, they use the same letters and many of the same signs as used in the US. I guess I would have thought that they´d have a Spanish sign language, given that in the US it´s called ¨American Sign Language.¨ Then again, I am in the Americas! I spoke to her in Spanish using the same signs I learned in grade school. It was a bit difficult speaking and spelling in Spanish words and signs I thought previously only pertained in English. When she left, the waitress asked me to say something in sign language. I asked her, ¨In what language should I speak?¨ Hee, hee! How cool.

So I left Cali for Armenia today. Armenia was destroyed in the late 90s by an earthquake and is under construction even still. We passed through Armenia on to Montenegro. Hotels are supposed to be less expensive there...always a gamble, but we´ll see. Found a hotel. Las Palmeras. Once settled in, a rat ran from underneath the bedside table, under the door and into the hallway. Good sign. After dinner, I came back to the horel to find cockroaches in the bed. Even better sign. Not sure I´m going to stay the night or pay for it if I do stay.