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.