Dia de la Acción de Gracias

It’s obviously been awhile since I last wrote, but I was inspired by Thanksgiving so I thought I’d throw some ideas down.  Sometimes I feel like when I am outside of the U.S. I care more about the holidays than if I were actually there.  Fortunately, I live with 7 other Americans so it is easy to get into the spirit of American holidays.  We presented on Saint Patrick’s Day at our school, made valentines with our students on February 24^th, and I even taught my students “Trick or treat, give me something good to eat . . . “ (to which there is a Spanish equivalent that they say in Colombia but instead of pulling down underwear your nose grows).  We usually have our own celebrations outside of school as well and Thanksgiving was no exception.

            I was a vegetarian for 6 or 7 years before coming to Colombia.  My friends and I often joke that it is “Vegetarian gone wild” because several of us who sparingly or never ate meat in the States, eat it in gross quantities here.  As a previous vegetarian I missed out on the turkey on Turkey Day.  I was always okay with that but now that I eat meat I was especially gung-ho about eating turkey on the last Thursday of November.  With the help of some Colombian friends we were able to track down a farm with turkeys.  The farm is right here in Santa Ana and belongs to my student’s family.  Though I’m confident that everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving, I don’t know if anyone can compete with the freshness of our turkey.  I helped pick out a medium sized Tom and witnessed (and photographed) the slaughter, feather plucking, and cleaning of the bird (pictures soon to come).

            All 8 of us volunteers agreed to make a few dishes and so our Thanksgiving menu was rather extensive.  It included: dips and chips, mashed potatoes, corn bread, salad, two types of stuffing, two types of casserole, macaroni and cheese, chicken, cookies, 7 layer chocolate pie, and of course the much anticipated turkey.  Although we were missing some of the basics that are all but impossible to find here, cranberries, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes, we made the best of it. Thanksgiving is all about sharing everything from food to customs and cultures.  Colombia is very much a culture of sharing; my students even share their lollipops- case and point.  What better way to show our appreciation to our Colombian friends who have shared so much with us this year then to invite them to dinner?  The kitchen smelled like home and the villa was filled with children’s playful laughter.  So in the end no one really missed the cranberries.

I think it is only fitting that Thanksgiving be the last holiday that I celebrate while in Colombia.  I have about 2 weeks left before returning home.  Thanksgiving naturally forces one to reflect.  My last weeks have been slightly surreal.  I remember before coming to Colombia thinking that a year was a long period of time.  Since I had been abroad before, I thought that the year commitment might have been one of the most challenging aspects for me.  This could not be further form the truth, the year has honestly flown by.  Not to say that there haven’t been challenges because there have been and many of them.  Before coming to Colombia I applied to what felt like a thousand programs.  I knew I wanted to live abroad but I didn’t exactly know where and with whom.  The process of elimination began as I started to get responses from each program.  It was easy to eliminate the programs in which I did not get into, the tricky part was deciding between my actual options.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrible at making decisions (and directions but that’s another blog post).  For various reasons I eventually chose WolrdTeach Colombia, at the time it seemed to be just by chance.  Now I feel as though I was suppose to be here.  Moreover, I feel like I was suppose to be in Santa Ana teaching 6-8 graders.  I am extraordinarily fortunate to have such great coworkers and friends.  I know that this experience has shaped me and will continue to impact my life long after my departure December 14^th.  And so this year I find that I am grateful for so much in my life.  I want to thank my students, coworkers, and friends in Colombia.  And I want to thank my family and friends in the States who I am very much looking forward to seeing shortly.

Video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=yM3lpH4i2QE

Sorry if you were expecting a real post.  I know have been bad about that lately but you know what they say a picture says a thousand words.  Therefore a video must say like a kagillion- if I did my math right.  Check out the video that another Baruvian volunteer, Bryanna Plog, put together from all of our pictures and videos throughout the year.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=yM3lpH4i2QE

O yeah, I’ll work on that writing thing soon.

Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness is a useful skill for anyone, but I have grown to believe that it is essential in Santa Ana.  When resources are skim you have to be creative and work with what you’ve got.  The eight volunteers here are very different though I feel one trait we all have in common is resourcefulness.  During our Easter vacation we saw a bunch of WorldTeach volunteers from other sites.  Many asked us what exactly we do in Santa Ana.  To be honest, I couldn’t really answer them.  I love my time here and I am always busy but I could not articulate what I do on a daily basis besides plan and teach.  When I really started to reflect on how I have fun in Santa Ana I realized how absurd my life might seem to others.  Sure I do some activities that would be considered “normal” I watch movies, surf the Internet, cook with my friends, and just hangout and talk for hours with the other teachers and volunteers.  But then we also get a little creative too. 

Let me tell you living on a school campus presents a lot of opportunities to be creative.   We use the school soccer field to play our own women’s soccer games (we play with Gringos and Colombians on the same team because the one time it was Gringos vs. Colombians they creamed us).  My friend and I turned the exercise field into a driving range/golf course.  He brought some golf clubs back from the States and we designed a game where trash cans and bushes were holes, we even taught some Colombians how to golf (attempted to teach them anyway).  This is the same friend who introduced me to “rubber chicken bocce.”  Rubber chicken bocce is similar to bocce ball, the Italian game where two teams try to throw their balls closest to a small target ball.  Except as you can probably guess it involves rubber chickens that we also use for class. 

In addition, to sport-like activities we find ourselves pretty amused with the animals on campus.  There are some dogs that have in some ways been adopted by Barbacoas.  Usually the Gringos name them and the names tend to stick.  For example, there is one floppy eared, quirky, black dog that my roommate named Jafar (after her likeness to Jafar from Aladdin).  However, once we realized that she is a girl we changed the name to Jafarra.  We spend a lot of time (too much time I’m sure) gossiping, not about people but about dogs.  Jafarra recently had puppies and so we are constantly searching for who the father might be and discerning whether or not Jafarra is a good mother.  This may sound sad but honestly the hours in Santa Ana fly by (except when there is no water and/or electricity- then time goes by much, much slower- but that is a topic for another blog). 

Maybe I’m learning too much from my students on how to keep myself entertained.  The students here have the best imagination.  In one of my classes the students were presenting conversations in English, practicing personal questions.  I had my video camera with me that day so I started vide taping their skits.  The students who were not performing stepped into action right away.  One of them grabbed the classroom broom and held it over his shoulder as though it were a microphone.  Another student grabbed the garbage and acted as though it projected light.  Two other students grabbed the boxes for recyclables and pretended they were two more cameras.  They skillfully moved around the classroom capturing every moment of the skit.  My coteacher and I then started each skit by saying “Light, Camera, Action!”

I know little kids can be entertained by almost anything but the kids here tend to take it to a new level.  Santa Ana is a town where kids literally run down the dirt path pushing a tire with a stick.  Just by walking through campus it is easy to see that kids here can entertain themselves with practically nothing.  There are always little kids hanging off tress.  The latest fad is marbles; I swear they are the tamagotchis or the pogs of my time.  Kids of all ages are seen playing with marbles. 

I always pass by the pre-schoolers on the way from my classes to my dorm.  For a while now they have screamed “Good morning teacher” as I pass by.  Recently, however, they have made a game of running up and touching me before running back to their class.  Sometimes they hug me and other times they just come up and tag me, but if they see that one of their friends has touched me after them they will come back and touch me again so they are the last one to do so.  It is very strange, like a game of tag that nobody told me I was playing.  I’ve been asking around (Colombians and Americans) and nobody else seems to have this happen to him or her so I’m not exactly sure why I was selected.  Regardless, it makes my day that much more interesting. 

When you have less you try to do more with what you have.   I find myself saving scarps paper to reuse in class.  After I finished tube of deodorant I literally peeled the labels off to use as tape to hang pictures up in my room.  I know that may sound absolutely ridiculous, but hey it works.  It’s just one more lesson I’ve learned from Colombia.  Who knows, maybe when I get to the States I can bring back good old-fashioned tires and sticks.  

Semanta Santa Travels

We had a week vacation before Easter Sunday.  My roommate Kassi and I traveled to the coffee growing region in the center of Colombia.  We flew into Manizales, another WorldTeach site, where eleven volunteers are stationed.  We got a chance to catch up with our friends.  When it wasn’t raining (which unfortunately was not very often) we spent time outside.  Coming from Santa Ana, the weather in Manizales was freezing.  What it lacks in sun, Manizales makes up for in beauty.  Surrounded by mountains, anywhere in the city is a spectacular view.  Colombia is known as a country of regions.  For a relatively small country Colombia is extremely diverse.  Not just in terrain and weather but also in culture and even language.  The coastal accent we have grown accustomed to (no s’ and a lot of slang) was completely different in the central region.  Colombia has a reputation of having the most clear and proper Spanish.  Before I came to Colombia several people told me that Colombia is a great place to learn/perfect Spanish for this reason.  However, these people must only be familiar with the Spanish in the central region because on the coast, clear is the last word I would use to describe Spanish.  Even the clothes and colors are drastically different in Manizales and Cartagena.  In Manizales most people were wearing dark colors, while in Cartagena people rock bright outfits.  Everything about the coast seems to be louder, whether that it is the colors, music, and even the people, giving the coast that Caribbean feel.

Kassi and I embraced the differences as a welcome change, though we are happy that we get to live on the coast.  We acted like tourists for the week (well we were tourists) and enjoyed the vacation.  We went on a coffee tour and went to the hot springs.  A few days into our trip we took two buses to Salento, which is absolutely gorgeous.  We stayed at a hostel that is about a twenty-minute walk out of the center of town.  The hostel overlooks lush green mountains.  While in Salento we went horseback riding for three hours.  Our guide was incredible and he took three Australians and us through all sorts of trails.  We crossed rivers, meaning our horses literally crossed through the water.  We even went up to a waterfall.  Our hostel rents heavy-duty rain boots and it’s a good thing because at the end of the three hours we were covered in mud from head to toe.

Our hostel was having a Top Iron Chef competition our last night in Salento.  I saw the sign and pretty much considered it fate.  My friends and I have been planning on having an Iron Chef contest for weeks, maybe even months now in Santa Ana.  I have been getting more into cooking while in Colombia.  On the peninsula there are not many other options other than cooking.  In Santa Ana there is one restaurant and a few corner stores so if you want something other than rice for every meal you have to get creative.  My friends and I usually take turns cooking throughout the week.  It has been a great way for me to try all sorts of Colombian food and for my Colombian friends to try American food (whatever that may be).  It started with my roommate and I making gourmet macaroni and cheese and green bean salad.  It progressed into all sorts of concoctions, some more ambitious (and successful) than others.  We have made baked ziti, pizza with all sorts of toppings, eggplant parmesan, deluxe nachos with guacamole (made the chips with flour they turned out more like arepa nachos), falafel, hummus, and homemade pitas.  My friends say they like the desserts most.  Desserts like puppy chow, chocolate pie, and s’mores (which my Colombian friends now make regularly with their family too).

For the Top Iron Chef contest we were allowed $25 and we went out the day before the contest grocery shopping.  We walked all around the town several times before finding yeast but in the end we were able to get everything we needed and manage to stay within budget.  One advantage we have of living in Santa Ana is we are not used to having anything.  We have to make practically everything from scratch or plan our meals ahead of time and but our groceries 1.5 hours away in Cartagena.  For the contest we were cooking for about 25 people and we needed three dishes, though the servings could be small.  We decided to make tuna kebobs, like tuna patties a Bengali dish (that was Kassi’s job) with homemade pitas (my job), two types of pizza (Hawaiian and fried eggplant), and for dessert poached pears and apples.

The prize was four free nights stay at the hostel.  I’m sorry to say (but not at all surprised) that we did not win but we were up against two actual culinary trained chefs.  We did come in second though.  To be honest we were just happy to survive.  There were some challenges along the way.  For example there was no oven in the hostel meant that I had to be driven up the road to a house to bake the pizzas.  Also there were not any pans to cook the pizzas in that fit in the oven so we baked it on aluminum foil, which stuck to the crust.  So I had the fun job of peeling all the aluminum foil off of the crust.  All told it was a great experience and we got to meet a bunch of awesome people at our hostel.  It also prepared us for Top Chef Santa Ana style and I am confident we will kick butt.  Even if we don’t win it will be a week of eating awesome food.

Celebrations!- Farewells and New Beginnings

It seems that there is always a reason to celebrate in Colombia.  Whether it is a birthday, an equivalent to a Colombian Hallmark holiday, or a newly elected class president, I guarantee someone somewhere in the tiny town of Santa Ana is throwing a party.  The people of Santa Ana may not have a lot as far as possessions but they will someone how always manage to secure a seat for you.  As you approach they open their home with “adelante” and play musical chairs with one another until you have a place to sit.  Something about it is very comforting.  I have been to a wide variety of parties in Santa Ana and Cartagena and I have found some common ground among all parties no matter the cause for celebration or place.  At all Colombian parties somebody will always find a place for you to sit.  The parties never start on time and there is always a ton of food.

In my first weeks here I went to a student’s house to celebrate her birthday.  My co-teacher bought her a cake, soda, and some other snacks.  It was interesting to see the different teacher student relationship here in Santa Ana.  I tried to imagine my 7^th grade teacher coming over to my house for my birthday bearing food and singing songs and for some reason I couldn’t picture Mr. Nelson in my house. 

The principal of Barbacoas retired earlier this school year ago.  The administration and professors threw her a going away party.  We grilled out, songs were sung, and parting words said.  That was the first Barbacoas party that I attended.  Since then I have also been to the Dia de la Mujer (Women’s Day) fiesta.  That party followed a similar itinerary but this time the men did all the work preparing food and decorating while the women just enjoyed their day off.  The men even prepared a slideshow with awful individual pictures of each teacher set to music and accompanied with quotes. 

Men’s Day was a few weeks later, a holiday that is not widely celebrated in Colombia but was going to be celebrated at Barbacoas to return the favor.  The women collected money and planned a similar party.  Unfortunately, on Men’s Day one of the teacher’s father died.  The professor lives in Santa Ana (unlike most who live in Cartagena) so the death really affected the entire community in Barbacoas and in the town.  The Men’s Day party was canceled and the money was used to buy better meat for lunch one day in the following week.  On Men’s Day almost all (if not all) of us who worked at Barabacoas went to the teacher’s house.  I did not attend the funeral, which was the next day but I did go to the teacher’s house that night.  The mood was obviously very somber.  The house was filled with people.  Whenever Barbacoas people arrived they were ushered to the backyard (people seemed to be grouped by how they knew the family).  All of us were given chairs of course and we sat down outside sometimes making conversation with each other and other times just sitting in silence.  We said some words to the teacher before heading back home.    

On a Thursday a few months ago class was canceled because of student body president elections.  After the election a bunch of professors went to “the Cove,” a beach within walking distance to celebrate.  A few of the professors cooked up a stew for everyone at one of the nearby houses.  And we celebrated with the students the newly elected class president.

A few weeks ago I accomplished a longtime dream.  I went to a wedding in another country.  I did not crash it (though that is another dream) I was actually invited.  I happened to be in the right place at the right time when I was in Cartagena.  I was hanging out with some of my friends (teachers from Barbacoas) and I went with them to meet their friend and his fiancé.  We went out to eat.  The couple was super sweet.  The guy was from Oregon and the girl from Cartagena.  He spoke limited Spanish and she did not speak much English yet they were getting married in a week.  As we were saying goodbye the soon to be wife invited me to the wedding which was the following weekend.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  The ceremony and reception were outside on a part of the old wall in Cartagena overlooking the ocean.  The whole affair was very elegant.  And yes it started late, very late, every party does and even wedding receptions I guess.  After the ceremony the bride and groom took pictures with every table before food was served and so we ended up eating around 10:30 or so in the evening.  

            Colombians love to take pictures, especially at parties, and with every single person at the party.  My birthday was earlier this month and I had the fortune of having a super Colombian party; it was great.  I went to my friend’s house in Cartagena and they decorated the place, bought a cake, and invited a bunch of their family and friends (most of whom I had met before).  My friends are very musical so they sang while playing guitar and bongo drums.  Then everyone said some sweet words to me and I took pictures with everyone before we dug into the cake.  I actually got to celebrate my birthday multiple times this year.  Since my birthday landed on a Friday my students in all my classes that day sang to me and my 6^th grade class threw me a party.  They decorated the room and bought a bunch of snacks and soda it was so cute.  Then I went to Cartagena for the weekend.  I had the Colombian party.  In the morning I went to the mud volcano with my American friends.  Later we went to dinner, had the best chocolate cake in all of Colombia, and went out dancing.

            I have been fortunate enough to go to a ton of parties in my few short months here which is why this blog is super long.  I could continue with more birthday celebrations and such but I think everyone gets the idea of parties in Colombia.  Like I said there is always a place for you to sit, there is food for you to eat, and it always starts and goes later than you anticipated.  Colombians love to celebrate whatever they can and I am so grateful that I have been invited to celebrate with them.

The last day of school for the Principal- students throw her a going away party during a morning assembly

At the Cove (the local beach) celebrating the new class president

My 6th graders celebrating my birthday

My 7th graders celebrating my birthday

Cooking up a storm at the local beach- celebrating the new class presiden

At the Cove (the local beach) celebrating the new class president

Students performing during voting day

Celebrating my birthday at me friends' house in Cartagena

An apple a day keeps the doctor away (maybe). . .

A lot of people have been asking me about the stomach of steel contest so I wanted to give a quick update about that.  I am still in it (wohoo!).  Though there have been several close calls there are only two people who are knocked out which means 6 contenders are still going for the gold.  My head-to-head competition (my roommate) is still in it as well.  It doesn’t affect our friendship (too much anyway).  In all seriousness we never actually want one of us off the bracket but it has changed the way we communicate to one another about our health.  For example someone might be like “How’s Bryanna doing” and the response is “Oh well she’s off the bracket.”  Or someone will ask “How are you feeling” without actually answering they will respond “I’m still in it!”

Underneath the bracket is a chart with various illnesses.  This does not count towards the stomach of steel contest but is just to keep track of how our health may take a dive in Santa Ana.  I have been all over the chart lately (Luckily we live with some medics who work at the clinic here so they help us out too).  First off I seem to be a permanent member of the Mickey Mouse Club (swollen hands and/or swollen feet).  Earlier this year I had a weird skin rash on my hand.  I’m just getting over an infected toe.  And last week I took a moto to the clinic in Santa Ana because I was having chest pains and blurry vision.  To top it all off, almost immediately after getting back from the clinic a wasp bit me on my chest and finger and my finger puffed up to twice its size.  I am happy to say I am now healthy as ever.  I am still not exactly sure how to categorize all those health issues and put them into tally form.  Fortunately the one category on the chart that I have stayed away from so far is the “Brink of insanity” column.  I feel very grateful to be here.  I live and work with truly incredible people.  If there is one thing people can say about Santa Ana is it has heart; the people are puro corazon, all heart.  Though there are some classes where that is more apparent than others, at the end of the day I just have to sit back, count my blessings, and appreciate that I am still in the Stomach of Steel contest (and parasite free!).

Hometown Pride

I recently discovered that “Voy a Chicago” or “I’m going to Chicago” basically means “I’m going to take a dump.”  My friends and I have been having a lot of fun with this.  The conversation usually goes something like this:
“I’m going to Chicago”

“Ok, tell my family I say hi”

“I will.  I love Chicago it is my favorite city in the U.S. I always feel better after I go there”

“Yeah, the worst part is when there is traffic in Chicago.”

            It seems Chicago is known for Michael Jordan (or the Bulls in general), wind, and now poop.  I’m not going to lie; I am a little hesitant to tell people where I am from.

The Entertainment At Barbacoas

In Santa Ana there are two schools, a public school and a charter school, Barbacoas.  The charter school is supported by a foundation so students only pay a nominal annual fee (the equivalent of 4 USD).  I work at the charter school.  It is beautiful.   Each classroom has two walls equipped with chalkboards and two open spaces where walls should be.  The classrooms are not joined together but they are maybe fifteen to twenty feet from one another.  This is great but also presents some unique challenges.  I tend to tape up posters and signs on the chalkboard for various lessons and on the occasion that there is wind they just get knocked back down.  Each classroom has at least one broom because they floors accumulate dirt, twigs, and such.  I think at any hour of the school day there is a student sweeping in a classroom.  I will be in the middle of a lesson and one or two students in my class will be sweeping away.  I don’t even want to think about what life will be like in the rainy season with open classrooms and dirt roads.  The rainy season doesn’t start until September or October so I have some time to buy rain boots and mentally prepare myself.  Also the placements of the classroom understandably lead to quite a few distractions.  If another classroom is singing a song all the surrounding classes hear it as well.  Moreover, students are always yelling at one another at different classrooms.

One of my favorite parts of my school is the natural environment surrounding it, but at the same time it is the biggest distraction for students and teachers alike.  In the past two weeks I have seen about as many animals in my school as I have seen in a national park.  There are always dogs, chickens, and roosters within the school grounds.  We have named most the dogs and consider them our unofficial pets.  Recently there was a cow about seven feet from my class chomping down on some plants.  All the students yelled “Teacher, una vaca.  Como se dice vaca en English?”  I respond with cow and they all start yelling, “Cow!”  In another class I looked outside for a second and I saw an iguana carrying a frog by the corner of its mouth.  It proceeded to drag the frog into a bush and then the bush just started shaking back and forth.  As I entered my sixth grade class a giant crab was chilling outside.  One of the students shooed it into the classroom with a broom.  Another student was trying to catch it and kept stepping on it.  I was in the background trying to tell them to leave it alone and put it back outside which they finally did.  Later during that class I glanced outside and there was another class gathered around a tree looking a snake. 

My friend, Shannon, teaches Kindergarten through second grade here and a frog entered her classroom.  We always give her a hard time about frogs because there are always frogs in her bedroom; they seem to follow her.  So this frog was in her class and a little boy picked it up to throw it outside but he waited to long and threw it up instead and the poor frog hit the ceiling.  It sure does make the school day interesting; that is for sure.

Colombian Face Muscles

When I was in Argentina I realized that Argentines talk a lot with their hands.  Many of their gestures are reminiscent of Italians.  Colombians talk with their hands but above all else they talk with their face.  I have found myself doing it as well and my friends have caught me doing it with even realizing. My friends and I have described this as “Colombian face muscles,” one develops them quickly here.  The most common is when Colombians scrunch their nose.  This means that they do not understand. Often instead of pointing with their hands, Colombians point with their mouth.  In actuality, it is very comical to ask where the bathroom is and to see someone purse their lips and push them to one side, almost like a controlled twitch.  I finally got used to the hand motion for “come here,” which is palm face down, instead of palm face up like in the U.S.  This was easier for me to remember because it is the same in Argentina.  However, in Colombia they also convey, “come here” with their head.  They do a quick thrust of their head downward towards their neck.  Between all the head bobs and nose scrunching sometimes it feels like we just walked into an I Dream of Jeannie set.

You Know You Are In Santa Ana When. . .

Our favorite fried breakfast: Deditos!

My friends and I have been complying this list.  It continues to grow but here it is so far. I hope it conveys the uniqueness of Santa Ana.  

WHEN... You're upset when your shower is slightly warm (from the heated pipes).

WHEN... You're pumped about wearing power ranger helmets to the beach.

WHEN... You're excited to spot a frog in the bathroom.

WHEN... You are getting eaten alive by bugs while attempting to use the internet.

WHEN... fighting the ants in the kitchen is a typical after dinner routine.

WHEN... everything you eat is fried or with a side of starch and more starch.

WHEN... you name the random animal that decides to follow you (Scruff, Stick, Jafarra, etc.)

WHEN... deodorant, bug spray, and sunscreen replace perfume and make-up.

WHEN...you are ALWAYS rocking a headband/hat.

WHEN... getting out means getting pan con arequipe (dulce de leche).

WHEN... you know what NOPIKEX is.

WHEN... bamboo is the background to every Skype session.

WHEN... you don't pass anyone without saying Buenas or Adiiiiioooos.

WHEN... it's normal to see three children under the age of 14 on one moto.

WHEN... juice in a bag is a delicacy.

WHEN... you fear running into a cow, donkey, or pig while riding on a moto taxi.

WHEN...a thin flat sheet is too much for covers on your bed.

WHEN... you can power a car with your fat Flintstone feet.... (they swell because of the humidity).  Also known as the Mickey Mouse Club around here.

WHEN...you are ready to knock people out for a seat by a fan in a staff meeting/the lib/the cafeteria.

WHEN... you half expect your roommate to be carried away by ants in the night.

WHEN... you take 3 showers a day and you're still not clean.

WHEN...you ride in the back of a truck and get dressed in the gas station parking lot to meet the attractive lady mayor of Cartagena.

WHEN...you've had fried breakfast three days in a row and are still hungry for "second breakfast" in the cafeteria.

WHEN... you can play a pretty sick game of connect-the-dots on your calves thanks to the bug bites.

Note: We also plan to create a Baru-opoly.  It will go something like this "Your moto ran into a donkey go back 3 spaces" or "You stole a pig and made jamon go directly to jail do not pass Go do not collect 400,000 Colombian pesos."

Getting Acclimated With Our Surroundings

Colombia seems to be the land of contrasts.  The reputation, the geography, and the distribution of wealth all speak to this notion.  For starters Colombians have two very contradictory reputations.   When a lot of people abroad hear Colombia they immediately think of “the good old days” when drug lords and violence ruled the country.   The last president ruled with an iron fist and cleaned the country up significantly.  While some still fear robberies and kidnappings, Colombia is now considered safe to travel.  Colombians are also known for being some for the nicest people in the world.  The ones I have met so far are incredibly kind.  For example, I sat down on a bus next to a teenage girl who was playing with a beaded bracelet.  I asked her if she made it and she nodded and then put it on my wrist.  When it was my stop I went to give it back to her but she wanted me to keep it.  The bracelet is made up of three strands: yellow, red, and blue, the Colombian flag colors all twisted together.  

The people of Santa Ana are extremely welcoming as well.  It is so interesting walking around the town.  My friend Alyssa put it well when she said, “I feel like I’m in a parade because I wave to everyone.”  We really do greet everyone whether or not we know them.  Everyone on the coast says “Buenas” or even “Adios” to greet someone (they use Adios if they do not want to stay and chat).  Often people know who we are even though we do not know them.  Word spread fast in this town and they have known for a while that a new crew of teachers was coming.

A few days ago we went to Playa Blanca for the first time.  It is the biggest tourist destination in the area and one of the best beaches in all of Colombia (maybe even South America).  It is only takes 20 minutes by moto down dirt, unpaved roads, to arrive at the clear ocean and stunning views.  It is such a different world from where we live.  There are tourists roaming around and all-inclusive resorts are a stone throw away.  The good news is the beach is public so anyone can come, but the only people we see there who are from Santa Ana are the workers.  They all try selling things on the beach, offer massages, or work in a restaurant.  We actually took a workers bus home when we went on Wednesday.  A bunch of us were trying to figure out what to do for dinner.  At the dorms we are provided with basic groceries for breakfast and dinner (lunch is provided at the school) but last week a lot of our food did not come in so everyday was a chore to figure out what to eat.  As we were discussing our dismal options a man came on the bus with a cooler full of shrimp.  He was heading back to Santa Ana and had to get rid of the rest of them so we bought the shrimp off of him and made shrimp pasta for dinner. 

Creepy Crawlies

I made it to Baru safely.  We flew from Bogota to Cartagena and then took two trucks to Santa Ana.  We stopped in Cartagena to pick up our sweet helmets to use while we are on motos.  Motos are the only form of transportation on Baru with the exception of an occasional bus that goes to Playa Blanca (a beautiful beach and huge tourist destination) or Cartagena.

Arriving in Baru was a very surreal experience.  Many of us felt like it was the backdrop to a movie set or as I described it, it is what all-inclusive resorts try to mirror.  There are straw huts and Caribbean music blasting constantly.  In fact the town has three huge speakers, which are named Fredy, Imperio, and Pibe.  By huge I mean they are two stories high.    

We are staying in a building with dormitory rooms.  The eight WorldTeach volunteers take over the second floor of the building and some medics from Cartagena and Barranquilla who are doing their rotations are reside on the first floor.  We share a kitchen, a small collection of English book (yay!), and a rusted stationary bike that doesn’t look like it has worked since the eighties.  Thus far we have seen quite a few interesting bugs, geckos, and a frog chilling on a toilet.  There was also an infestation of ants in my room.  Luckily my roommate Kassi and I had bought Raid earlier that day.   As over one hundred black ants swarmed out of our doorframe, we sprayed Raid like there was no tomorrow and played Whack-a-mole stopping on the little critters.  In the end we swept them up and gave them a quick funeral as we flushed them down the toilet.  In the end we said a few words that went something like that “It was nice knowing you- we don’t ever want to ever see you or your friends again” and some swear words might have been thrown in there as well.  Other than that it is a pretty great home.  There is only one knob on the shower and that is for cold water.  We wouldn’t want it any other way.  It is very hot here and though we have an AC unit in our room it doesn’t work so we rely on two fans. 

We took a tour of the town today.  We checked out the local bakery and some tiendas, which I’m not sure how to label because they sell the most random collections of items.  We also met a lot of the people in the town many of whom are connected to the public or charter school where we are working.  The people here are so welcoming.  Magalis is the Assistant Principal at the charter school, Barbacoas.  She invited us to lunch which and in Colombia when someone invites they pay for everything.  Her cousin owns Baru Grande so we went there and she cooked for us.  We had a pretty traditional lunch of salad, rice, fries, and chicken.  Yes I ate the chicken, for the first time on over 6 years and the first words out of my mouth were “I forgot how good chicken is.”  I decided to not eat meat whenever I have a choice but I also don’t want to refuse food from anyone.  Also a main reason I am (or was) a vegetarian is because of the way animals are raised in the U.S.  The meat here is local and animals are roam around freely.  So I may eat more meat in the future but I think the chicken from Baru Grande setup some unreal expectations- it was grilled to perfection.  Most everyone agreed that it was the best meal they have had since being in Colombia.  The only meal that beat the chicken was during orientation when some of us went to a Lebanese restaurant.   Fourteen of us from orientation decided to go and we took over this tiny restaurant.  We were there for over 3 hours because the cooks made everything by hand from scratch.  Plus they could only grill two pita breads at a time.  It was well worth the wait as the falafel was absolutely incredible especially when accompanied by a glass of mulled wine.  

End of Orientation and on to the Stomach of Steel Contest

Our three-week orientation is coming to a close and I am still clearly in the honeymoon stage of the culture shock curve.  I have had the privilege of hanging out with 35 other volunteers, and though our days are long, they are fun.  We are staying outside of Bogotá in a religious center called Santa Cruz.  Though we refer to it as the convent, I think it is great.  Lush hills and mountains surround us.  There are cows, goats, and one loud donkey in the neighbor’s yard.  There are chickens that run outside pecking at food set out for the dogs, Lucas and Toby.  There are also some roosters who can’t seem to differentiate between 7am and 3am.

I have some apprehension about actually starting this teaching gig.  I think the WorldTeach staff has done a really good job preparing us especially given the time restraints.  This week we are teaching one mini lesson at a private school near Bogotá to get some experience in front of a class and to receive feedback on our lessons.  After orientation I am heading to Santa Ana a tiny town on Isla Baru.  Isla Baru is not actually an island but a peninsula that is cut by a small canal that the Spaniards created for trade. When the majority of Colombians hear Isla Baru they picture beautiful beaches and resorts.  Santa Ana, from what I hear will be quite different from the picturesque vacation site most people associate with Baru. Though, everyone who has been there uses the word “special” to describe it. There are no paved roads, just mud.  It is the poorest area in Colombia.  However, the town is super safe everyone in the town knows everyone else and they cherish their reputation so they would not do anything to tarnish that.

There will be eight new volunteers in Baru.  There is also Eric who did WorldTeach last year on Baru, working at the public school, and is coming back this year to work at the charter school; I’m sure he will be a great resource.  Us new volunteers have heard from multiple sources that a good sense of humor is essential to surviving Baru.  I think with the group we have this will not be a problem.  For example, we are planning to have a “Stomach of Steel” contest on Baru since we will inevitably have some health issues in the next 11 months i.e.: diarrhea, dysentery, worms, you get the picture.  The way I understand it will be setup like a March Madness bracket.  The last Baruvians standing will get a free meal at Baru Grande (the one restaurant on Baru) and we may try to fashion a trophy or belt for the winner as well.  My friend from back home commented that this is quite a different contest from my last job in which the winners won a trip to an all-inclusive resort.  Well, this is my new life.