Mañana...

Mañana.  Tomorrow.  That's the answer you most often hear when wanting to know when something will happen, or when a store will get that special item you've been asking for for quite a while.  Mañana. It's when the Coca Cola man will show up.  It's even when the students will have their homework done.

You can probably guess how that turns out.  Mañana rarely arrives.  At least, not on time. The Coca Cola man?  We've been waiting for him for three weeks.  It means that we only have Pepsi products for sale in the pulpería in the Center.  More than that, it means I don't have any Coca Light in glass bottles!  ¡Qué bárbaro!  How barbaric!  While I wait for my lovely nectar of the gods, I have been buying Coca Light in 1 1/2 liter plastic bottles at the grocery store.  I'd much rather have 12 ounce glass bottles in my fridge.  Oh, well.

Recently, I had another mañana experience. Although instead of hearing the answer mañana, I was being told, "la próxima semana".  Next week.  For FIVE weeks!!

I wanted to buy a baúl, a trunk, for my motorcycle. I have had a little blue basket on the back of it for almost the whole time I've owned it, but the basket just isn't very strong and I've felt leery about putting too much in it.  So, I went to one of the motorcycle shops I've used before.  I saw that they had some small trunks on the back of several of their scooters, but thought that they were a bit small.  I asked about the price of them, and even tried putting my helmet inside.  The helmet wouldn't fit.  OK, that baúl is definitely out.  I asked if they had any other ones and was told they have a larger size in the warehouse in Tegucigalpa.  They told me it only comes in black, with a reflector.  I was okay with that.  They told me the price and I said that I really wanted to see it first, before committing to buying it.  That was fine.  I asked when they would have the baúl in their store.  Next week, on Monday, I was told.

Well, this being Honduras, I knew that 'next Monday' really meant on Wednesday, maybe, so I showed up on Thursday. No baúl, but it will be here next week I was assured.  So, I went back the next week and they told me, well, with Christmas being in two days, it won't be here until after New Year's.  It will be here on that Tuesday, they insisted.  So, I asked, 'do you mean on Tuesday, January 3rd?'  Yes, it will be here.

I didn't make it to the store until that Friday, January 6th.  As you have probably already guessed, no baúl.  I was told that things were a little slow coming from the warehouse because they were in the middle of inventory.  Certainly it will be here next week, they told me.  I went back the next week, but apparently one day too early because I heard, "it will be here later this afternoon."  Hmmm, well at least we're making progress.  I left my phone number with the girl who had been helping me this whole time and said, "please call me when it gets here."

No call.  For over a week and a half.  OK, I decided to give them one more shot.  Last Thursday, Jan. 19th, I went back to the store.  Instead of the usual girl, a guy was at the counter.  I told him what I was looking for, what I had been waiting for, and that I had left my phone number.  I told him I was getting tired of waiting and should probably just go to another shop to find the product.  That was all it took.  The guy got out his phone right then, called the warehouse in Tegucigalpa, asked a few questions and then told me that there would be two baúles there tomorrow for me to choose from. I asked him, "what time?"  This same time tomorrow, I was told.

Yesterday afternoon I jumped on my motorcycle, hopeful that the store would finally have a trunk for me to buy.  I pulled up to the store, hopped off the bike and as I walked inside, there on the counter, were two trunks, as promised.  I decided on the larger one and asked if they would install it for me, which they were very happy to do.  A few minutes later, the man who was installing the trunk told me that it wouldn't fit on the back of my motorcycle because of the back rest.  ¡Puchica!  I hadn't counted on that.

When I asked the guy what he thought, he said there were two options: remove the back rest or build an extension onto the little cargo platform that was already there.  I opted for the former and he quickly removed the back rest and installed the trunk.  I'm a happy camper now.

Mañana.  La próxima semana.  It doesn't really matter.  Stuff will show up when it shows up.

Oh yeah, I'm still waiting for my Coca Light...