The Real Cost of Free Pizza...

Last Friday was the last day of escuelita for December. We'll have a final 3-week session in January. Earlier in the week, I had told the class that I would buy pizza for lunch on Friday, and if they wanted, someone could bring a movie for us to watch. Since Domino's Pizza has just opened here in Comayagua, everyone wanted to order that. So, I asked one of the students to get me the phone number, and also to call them in advance and find out how much 3 pizzas would cost.

Friday arrived and the students really did try to stay focused on their work, although, pizza was always in the back of their minds. At 11:30 I wrote out exactly what we needed and had Christopher call to order the pizza. (I do okay in person, but talking on the phone is still pretty difficult for me.) He ordered the pizzas, gave his name, gave the phone number, and then asked for the total cost. 510Lps. I wrote it down on the paper. Then I got out the money, included a tip, and gave it to Christopher and the other boys. They were going to wait for the pizza to arrive. They were ready with their watches, as well. All the boys were determined to make sure the pizza was delivered in 30 minutes, or else it was gratis.

Well, in exactly 30 minutes a Domino's delivery moto (motorcycle) pulled up and the guy pulled out one box of pizza. One box. I ordered three pizzas. We checked the receipt: it had Christopher's name on it, but only one pizza. Christopher told the man that we ordered three, told him what we ordered and how much it would be. The delivery guy told us to call the store. So, while I went to get the phone, the guy left ~~ with the pizza!! A few minutes later, he came back, still with just one pizza. We started all over again. Christopher told him what we ordered and even pulled out the paper I had written, including how much it should cost. It ended up that the guy left us the one pizza, free, and said that he'd be back with the other two. He asked for the pizza list Christopher had and told us that when he returned, I'd have to sign a receipt for the free pizzas. No problem.

We went inside and inhaled the single pizza. Then we waited outside for our remaining two FREE pizzas. All the kids were pretty pumped that we were getting free pizza. Soon, we saw the familiar moto pulling up. It was a different driver and he only had one pizza also. And, it was the wrong pizza, for the wrong person. Christopher told him what we were waiting for and the driver called Domino's (on my phone). He told us that the original guy would be right there with our pizza. As he drove off, I told Christopher I didn't believe it. Ten minutes later, our pizza still hadn't arrived. I rounded up the students and we all walked across the highway to order two pizzas from the Esso. Twenty minutes later we were walking back to Enlaces with two hot steaming pepperoni pizzas.

Back in the classroom, we tried to watch The Passion. But none of the DVD players would play it. I think that's because it was a bootleg copy. We ended up watching Prince of Egypt, an animated film about Moses. It was in English, but we put on Spanish subtitles. I was really impressed with the kids; during the movie, they would point out the things that don't line up with the biblical account. Good job, kids!

All in all, it took us two hours, several phone calls, and lots of standing around to get our pizzas. One was free, but it sure felt like we really paid for it. Free pizza? No thanks!