Wednesday, April 24, 2013

UBICARSE

U is for ubicarse which loosely translates to get your bearings or literally "to be located."



That can be a huge challenge in a country where most streets have no names and most homes have no numbers.  Instead, addresses are given by landmarks (which may or may not still exist), cardinal directions (remember, in Granada the volcano is always south), and shape or color of homes.  Here's an example of an address:  La Villa, la parada de los Coquitos, 3 andenes al norte, 1/2 cuadra al este, casa color cafe de 2 pisos.  

No really, that's a real address.  It means that once you're in Granada you go to the neighborhood called La Villa.  Find the bus stop called los Coquitos (which isn't marked, by the way, you just have to magically know where the bus stops on its route), and count 3 alleys north, 1/2 block east, and find the brown 2-story house.

Needless to say, our mail never makes it :(

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