October Update

During October, there have been a multitude of activities. We started off the month with my host sister Judy's birthday. She turned 15, so it was a big deal. Here's a picture of the family.

What you can't see are her 4 inch red heels. They were pretty amazing. After the cake, we went on a chiva, or a party bus. We got hats, noisemakers, and leis. Here's my host grandma, ChiChi, with my host dad in the background. It's a prime example of my great photography skills.

Later in October was my birthday. I actually had to work that day, so the family got me a cake the night before. The family again!

Carnival is finally over!

Well, I’ve certainly procrastinated enough in updating this blog. And, now that Carnival is over, I have no more excuses.

In the middle of January, I moved to the site where I will be for the next two years: the city of Santa Marta. Like in Barranquilla, I live with a host family. Unlike in Barranquilla, I now have host siblings! I have an 11-year-old brother named Diego and a 14-year-old sister named Judy. My new mom, Sandra, is a teacher at the school I work at and my new dad, Armando, works security at the port here. They have been very welcoming and understanding of my Spanish mix-ups.



This past Friday, my school celebrated Carnival with a parade and a demonstration of the different dances from this area. There was an immense amount of work that went into it, as all of the different grades had matching outfits. I participated in the teachers’ dance. It involved hiring a choreographer, mixing a CD, getting dresses tailored, and a lot of practice! I felt a little ridiculous in the dress, as it was way gaudier than anything I would wear in the United States (bridesmaid dresses excluded), but couldn’t feel too out of place seeing as nine other teachers were wearing matching dresses.



We received a holiday on Monday and Tuesday this week to celebrate Carnival as well. I went with my host family to a waterfall about 40 minutes from Santa Marta. The water levels were low because of the delayed rainy season, but it was al to the good, as we had to cross a river times to get to the falls. Also, because the water levels were low, we got to go rock climbing. My host dad called me a professional rock climber, but little did he know that years of Bartlett Boot Camp Vacations had prepared me for just this type of activity – granted, though, in Wisconsin I’m usually not barefoot.



Now that Don Bosco’s (patron saint of school children) feast day (another holiday celebrated by my school) and Carnival are over, we’ll return to normal classes. For me, that means I catch the school bus at about 6:30 and get to school about 7:00. Classes start at 7 and go until 1:00, with a half-hour break in the middle of the day. This period/trimester, I am co-teaching 6th and 7th grades. There are 40 students in each class, which I’m still adjusting to. I’m also teaching an extra English class on Monday nights for the students who are going on to become teachers. I’m still learning many things about how the school operates, and the politics between the different teachers.

Now that I have a bit more time, I can start to explore other potential opportunities for volunteering, and of course, make time to explore more of the beautiful scenery around the area.