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Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I have twice, in the space of four weeks, come within inches of being hit by a window falling from several floors up. I thought only pianos fell on people in such a way.

Spanish Lesson #1. When someone screams 'AGUAS!', it has nothing to do with water. The proper response is to duck or run.

Perpetual Traveller · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 651 Location: In the Kak, Japan

Very good advice Guy, getting hit by a window could be quite paneful!

PT

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Groan!

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

wildchild · Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 519 Location: Puebla 2009 - 2010

Well, if you did get hit, you could possibly sue and win dough Shocked

Perpetual Traveller · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 651 Location: In the Kak, Japan

I bet he wishes he could tell us to shutter up, but we wouldn't take a blind bit of notice.

PT

Cdaniels · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:22 am Post subject: Re: The Strangest Things AGUAS?

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Yes, or rather, it means WATCH OUT! It comes from the times before indoor plumbing, when people would toss what swishes about in the bed pan out over the 2nd floor balcony. In the Phillipines (or some place round about there) they use AWAS to mean danger. Same things.

Heads up is close in English, except for the fact that if you yell it, people invariably put theri heads down, covered by arms.

Don't try yelling out PATO! The best that'll get you is a face full of vice-presidential buckshot.

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

i confess that i knocked a window pane out of the seventh floor of my old apartment the day i moved in. it's not that hard to do here. fortunately the homeless dudes were sleeping about 5 meters away when it smashed all over the sidewalk.

if there is one thing i wish mexico would make more use of, it's decent windows. even nice buildings here tend to have the most ghetto, pathetic excuses for windows. my building had single pane and they were hot-glue gunned onto the panes, which were of course homemade, soldered-together slats of metal. classic.

cwc · Joined: 16 Nov 2005 Posts: 372

What�s the matter with hot-gluing the window panes in? I lived for years without windows or even a door. The people here are doing the best they can and you call their efforts pathetic. Embrace the culture or you are doomed. I have seen a lot like you come and go.

Perpetual Traveller · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 651 Location: In the Kak, Japan

And when I was a lad I lived in a rolled up newspaper in middle of road...

Sheesh. Rolling Eyes

PT

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

i'll explain the problem with hot-glue gunning sheets of glass to cheap frames for anyone too slow to make the logical conclusion: the glass falls out and lands on the sidewalk 20 meters below, which is where people are walking. many believe that this might lead to death or at least painful injury.

by the way, those windows were not "the best they can do." certainly not in a 7 story building with inflated rents.

(special thanks to cwc for vocab correction)

cwc · Joined: 16 Nov 2005 Posts: 372

cwc · Joined: 16 Nov 2005 Posts: 372

Cdaniels · Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:28 am Post subject: Blame a blonde!