Fanta

I have been told that in many places around the world the drink selection is fairly limited.  Here in SL, there are really two drinks, Fanta and Coke.  Now some places have Pepsi, but Coke and Pepsi, for all practical third world purposes, are the same.  Fanta is like orange pop.  Like Orange Crush, except not very cold.  It is very special here on the island.  If the nurses think that you have been working too hard, and need a break, they will bring you a Fanta.  Sometimes the Fanta is perhaps a little old, and has lost its fizz.  Then it is like warm Tang.  Remember Tang?  The stuff the astronauts used to drink?  When the nurses bring you a Fanta, it is a sign of deep respect.  They want desperately to do something nice, and this is what they can do.  So you must accept.  You drink the Fanta while they watch you and smile at you.  I have to smile back, give them a big satisfied sigh, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in my best Tamil.  I don't really know how much Fanta I have had, but I will keep accepting their gift.