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.

Christmas Season has Begun!

Clearly, I owe you an update. My latest news is that I found out my permanent placement. I will be teaching at an all-girls school in Santa Marta. Santa Marta is about an hour and a half northeast of Barranquilla. There will be five other volunteers working and living in and around Santa Marta as well. We got to visit our sites this past week. My school is absolutely gorgeous. Even though it is a public school, it is run by nuns. They live in a wing of the school. There are five English teachers. At this point, I think I will be working with the “Normal” teachers first, and then with the others as time permits. Because it is a school for teachers and it is religious, there is less time for English classes in comparison to some other schools – only two hours per week.

In my free time this week, we got to visit the beach and swim in the ocean. I don’t believe that will ever become something I will become accustomed to – I live a short bus ride away from a warm, sandy beach! I also live a short ride away from mountains, but it isn’t recommended that we hike in them.

The staff at the Peace Corps office hosted a Thanksgiving dinner. It was great (and I’m not just saying that because we hadn’t had American food for six weeks)! It was complete with an abundance of food and football afterwards. Of course, I was able to wear a tank top, which generally isn’t possible in November in Wisconsin. Current volunteers were also invited, so it was nice to be able to talk with them about their sites, challenges, and tips for living in Colombia.



For my breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, my host mom made me a Thanksgiving fruit salad. With mango, pineapple, papaya, peaches, nuts, jello, and raisins, it was not anything that would be found in WI, but the presentation was great (served in a carved-out pineapple!) and the sentiments were very appreciated.



My host dad is originally from Chile. For the holidays, my host mom and I made “Pan de Navidad”, or Christmas bread, for him. Apparently, it is a tradition more typical of Chile and Argentina, not Colombia. It was an adventure. The recipe was in grams, but the only measuring cup we had was in ounces. Also, it only measured 6 and 12 ounces. As we started making it, my host mom said that the bread would be too small. Extra ingredients were then added. I was surprised at how well it turned out, even if it was more of a cake than bread. Taste tests by my friends agreed that it was certainly edible, even delicious! My host mom said it was too sweet, but my host dad said it was perfect.

Every so often, I am reminded that this is very Catholic country. A couple weeks ago, I went with my host mom to eat at my host dad’s restaurant. We were getting ready to leave after an astounding meal, when my mom told me to wait. As I am waiting to the side, my host parents approach this man who had finished his meal with others. As they were all standing there, a waiter came up with a pitcher of water, and more water in a 3 liter bottle. The priest then blessed the water in the pitcher and the Coke bottle. The waiter then took it away with instructions to sprinkle the holy water around the restaurant. My host mom and I then left, me a little bemused and my host mom quite happy.

Overall things are going well, even if I do have random cravings of food and think that the rainy season is entirely too rainy. I’m getting more accustomed to the Colombian idea of “on time”, which is entirely different from the Japanese and German versions. Ooh, I’m up to intermediate level for Spanish, which is progress! Since we're in December, we're certainly in the Christmas season. Tonight, my host mom and I are going to walk around and look at decorations on houses...should be interesting!

Birthdays...

I wanted to write a quick note to wish a Happy Birthday to my dad and sister! I hope you both had lovely days!

I've only been here for two weeks?

I’ve been in Colombia for about two weeks now, but it seems like much longer than that. I’m learning a lot every day – not only Spanish, but about how to live here as well.

Things I’ve recently learned:

1. How to make fresh fruit juice (albeit with a lot of sugar)

2. That a cold shower isn’t always a bad thing

3. How to cram 65 people on a bus meant for 50

4. How to cook without a toaster or microwave

5. How to do laundry without a washing machine or dryer

6. How to flag down a bus

7. Coconut milk is ok, but not my favorite drink

8. Fresh papaya and mango is delicious

Training is going well. Typically, I meet 2 or 3 other Peace Corps Trainees at about 7:00 to take the bus to the training center. We catch a bus and ride for about 35-45 minutes. Once we arrive, we have our Spanish classes. They go from 8-12, with a break in the middle. At noon, we get our lunch. From about 1-5, we have either technical training classes (how to teach in Colombia) or core classes (safety, medical, etc…). The language classes are in groups of 3-4 and the afternoon classes are all 23 of us. The training center has many trees around it, so we get to see a variety of animals – mostly reptiles. There is a very large iguana that wanders around the center and a few smaller ones as well. It’s odd to watch them climb trees.

This past week was Bilingualism week in Barranquilla, so we went to four different schools to promote English education. We got a tour of the school and then went into the meeting hall. While my group had something prepared, it was more fun to watch the students’ performances. There was singing and dancing, and we received coconuts with straws in them.

Next week, we will be visiting schools where there are currently volunteers working. Some will be going to Santa Marta or Cartagena, but the majority of us will be staying in Barranquilla. I will be staying in Barranquilla as well, and will be visiting the school across the street from me. No bus ride for me!

There were elections today, so we were advised to not travel much around the city. Also, there is something called the “Dry Law” which prohibits the sale of alcohol before and on election day. People who were planning on Halloween bashes were a little disappointed.

Today, Katie and Emily (fellow trainees) are going to come over and cook lunch with my host mom and me. We will also attempt to make marmalade. This will be once the arroyo has gone done and they are able to cross the street.

Arrival

Very early on Wednesday, I flew from Milwaukee to Miami. Once I got to Miami, I met the new Peace Corps volunteers for Colombia at the hotel. There are 23 of us from across the United States.

Very early on Thursday, we flew from Miami to Panama City. At Panama City, we had to go through customs and immigration to get new boarding passes. From Panama City, we flew to Barranquilla. The Barranquilla airport was on the smaller side. We were met there by our country director. Once we all made it through customs and immigration, and picked up our luggage, we finally stepped out into the Colombian heat.

We took a bus from the airport to the hotel where we stayed for the first few days. It gets dark at about 6, with a very short sunset. We drove for about 45 minutes until we arrived at the hotel, where we had a welcome and introduction.

On Friday, Saturday, and a half-day on Sunday, we had the beginnings of training. It covers language, culture, safety and security, medical, and technical training (how to teach). We have been placed into language groups based on our tests, and we will be having Spanish classes every morning.

This afternoon, we will be moving out of the hotel and in with the families we will be living with for the next three months. I will be living with a couple in their late-30s/early 40s in an apartment. There was a high level of excitement as we all found out our families for our training period.

I have to finish re-packing my items and carry them the three flights of stairs. Thankfully, everyone is pretty much in the same position, so I don't feel out of place for having so much stuff with me. I hope the bags will all fit in the taxi!

Things of interest:
1. No throwing toilet paper in the toilet. The sewage system can't handle it. Instead, there is a garbage can next to the toilet.
2. There are flash floods called arroyos that shut down the city. Since there is not a drainage system, when it rains, certain streets flood. All traffic stops and people take refuge inside.

Packing is my downfall

Every time I travel, whether for a weekend or for a year, my sticking point is packing. Regardless of how excited I am, I procrastinate. I usually over-pack with completely unnecessary things, while forgetting a major item or three. Currently, I have two piles of items - one in the basement and one in my bedroom - that will have to be winnowed down to 80 pounds in 2 pieces of checked luggage and one carry-on. At least this time I won't have to pack winter clothing!

The days are flying by...

In about three weeks, I will be carrying 80 pounds of luggage and flying to meet 25 other people who will be sharing the adventure of teaching English in Colombia through the Peace Corps.

Peace Corps had previously worked in Colombia from 1961 (the beginning of Peace Corps) until 1980. It was then discontinued because of fears for volunteers' safety. With improved social and political stability, Colombia was recently reopened as a country for volunteers. For the past two years, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (people who have already served in a different country) have been working there for limited year-long stints. My group is the first group signed up for the full two-and-a-quarter-year commitment in 30 years.

With the reopening of Colombia to Peace Corps, there are several security precautions that we have to take. One of the major ones is that I will be living with a host family - two, actually! There will be one family I will be living with during training for the first three months (as is done throughout the world for Peace Corps). After that, I will be living with a second host family for the remainder of my two-year commitment.

There are about 4,000 new volunteers every year and since 1961, there have been about 200,000 volunteers who have served in 139 countries. As can be expected, I am both nervous and excited to join those volunteers. The language mistakes will be many, the food will be interesting, and the experience will be unforgettable.