Once again the Costa Maya gratefully slipped by with only minimal damage after Storms Karl, Paola and Richard touched the area. Paola and Richard only brought a few waves and some windwhile we watched thunderous black clouds in the distance. Karl did some damage,however. The worst affect to many of us was the fact that the internet towerblew over and as of the writing of this newsletter many homes north and south ofMahahual still don't have service.

Now the reasons we don't have it arecomplex - but Jesus--not the one we worship on Sundays-- but the internet Jesus,kept telling us we would have it in the "afternoon," or "MANANA" until finallywe got the sense we would have to search for a different alternative. Whichbrings me to AHORITA and MANANA. If you are here in Mexico, it is pointless torest your hopes on something happening MANANA - because in reality - MANANAmeans "just not today." It is best to find out which MANANA they are referringto. Once you learn that - you can be relieved of a little stress. But even morecomplex is the meaning of the word AHORITA.

If you look up AHORA in aSpanish - English dictionary you will find the meaning to be "now." Look alittle further and you will see the word AHORITA. The translation says "rightnow." But "NOW" in Mexican culture seems to have a surreal meaning and attentionneeds to be given to which "NOW" you are referring to. When someone says AHORITAto you, they don't really mean "right now" they mean "in a little minute" or"when I get finished with what I am doing," or even worse - "when I get aroundto it." I had a guest from Mexico city - a young entrepreneur who had traveledextensively and who described to me that AHORITA is one of the problems stoppingMexico from being a 1st world country. It frustrates everyone the amount of timeit takes to get anything done here. So what do you say if you want somethingdone "right now, this very minute" and you don't want to wait?

AHORAMISMO - literally, the same now. Say it with a smile and it might happen. Ifnot, maybe MANANA.

A friend of mine from Bolivia  sent me the following:

". . .I struggle with their real meaning since I came to Mexico several years ago. What I learned is that here if you want something done you need to stay on top. You need to request it several times to send the message you are not just saying. Asking once means you are not serious and you do not need it anyway.

More sayings that basically means the same. . .: "

Sayings	Literal translation	Meaning
Ahora	Now	In the future
Ahorita	Right now	In the near future
Ahora mismo	Right now	Faster than ahorita
Luego	After, next	After I finish what I'm doing ………
Luego, luego	After, next	Next of no time……….
Ya, ya	Right away	I will start right away but finish sometime in the future
En chinga	f** fast	I will start right away but finish sometime in the future
De volada	Flying	In a little while
Manana	Tomorrow	Not today
Pronto	Pronto, soon	Soon in the future
En ocho dias	In 8 days	Ask me again in a week

 I'd love to hear from anyone that has some insights into this phenomena of time disparity in Mexico.