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.