So, I asked a Bolivian friend of mine for a book on Lake Titicaca. The smart-ass sent me one in Spanish, never mind that it's been over 34 years since I last spent any time in a place where it was the everyday language and it wasn't my mother tongue to start with. It's taken me over a year to wade through it in bits and pieces.

So, for her (and apologies to all native speakers for mangling their language): "Gracias para el libro. Disfruté de ello mucho. Pero, próximo tiempo, yo querría un libro en inglés. Eres una idiota." which roughly translates as "Thanks a lot, idiot. Next time in English."

The book wasn't bad—a nice bit of knowledge about some of the pre-Columbian ruins other than just the famous Machu Picchu. ( )