I put the “Spanish Word a Day” gadget on my Google home page. But that’s not how I learned my nickname in Spanish.

When I was in Merida, I saw this restaurant with an exceedingly cute logo. Its name is La Cochinita Tuerta. I didn’t know what Tuerta meant, so I just looked it up.

It means one-eyed. Ha. I thought the cute little pig in the tutu was just winking at me.

Also funny: when I googled “cochinita tuerta”, all I got was a guy complaining about what an awful name for a restaurant this is, and what, are they just making fun of people with one bad eye?

I don’t take it personally. As long as the food’s good… And even better, maybe I’ll get a discount if I march in and say, “Yo soy una cochinita tuerta!”