Shopping for President Gorbachev

I went with Alo, Saraswati and Savyasachi to the Hotel Atitlan, which is nearby. The garden there is simply beautiful, but the hotel shop was so expensive. All the prices were double what you would pay elsewhere and there was no bargaining. You just have to surrender, surrender.

I bought two T-shirts: one for President Gorbachev and one for me. These shirts show how many people there are in Guatemala. For President Gorbachev I bought extra large and, for me, large.

Recently, President Gorbachev endorsed pizza in one television advertisement. Some people criticised him mercilessly for it but, being his devoted friend, I strongly supported him. I have come to learn that his youngest granddaughter enjoys pizza. If ever she comes to New York, I would like to take her to a pizza parlour.

My favourite pizza is Sicilian. In Italy I have eaten pizza quite a few times, but American pizza is far better. The source of pizza is Italy. Why then does America far surpass Italy in pizza? Shikha, Sutikhna and Minati bring me pizza when I go to Italy and I cannot appreciate it.

— 17 December 1997, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala