This gorgeous moth was just outside our front door earlier this week; as a matter of fact, it was also here a few weeks ago as well.

I was walking up the stairs (we’re on the second floor) with the lady from the first floor who was on the way to the rooftop to hang some clothes to dry.  I noticed the moth and pointed it out to her…

What a reaction!  She backed away and made a hand motion indicating “bad”, “not good”, “stay away”, etc, which is a common gesture here in Guatemala.  Later that day as Leslie’s tutor came for her 3 hour conversational session with Leslie, we showed her the moth – same reaction!

She explained that the significance of this moth in the Guatemaltecan culture is…death to come, an omen.  Hmmmm…

Which led to an interesting conversation about culture, superstitions, etc.  For example, in US culture we have Friday the 13th, no “13th floor” in many high rise office buildings and the number 4 (sounds close to the word for death) in Chinese culture.  Leslie and I have worked with individuals from Chinese backgrounds who wouldn’t ever consider buying a home with a 4 in the address.

But now I’m just trying to figure out who in our building is going to die…