Time Flies!

Hi friends! I'm writing with some brief updates before I leave for Cartagena this Sunday! Next week is Holy Week known here as Semana Santa and we have the whole week off from school. Many of us volunteers are going to travel to the coast for some much needed sun. But much more on that later... 

This week I have been in full teacher mode as the first quarter comes to a close. I have of course had some trouble figuring out the grading system and triple checking that I have actually been grading my kids correctly this whole time. It's stressful stuff,so I will certainly appreciate this welcome break.

I have had the pleasure of visiting a public school in the south of the city with my Spanish teacher and will write more about that next month. It's great to be exposed to more schools and to compare various forms of the Colombian education system. I am going to visit another school after Semana Santa with a teacher that works both at Minuto and a public school. So stay tuned!

But here at Minuto, classes are in full swing and I feel like I have found my groove. I confidently know at least 80% of my students' names and have even successfully chatted with their parents in Spanish. My Spanish is improving a lot, and I feel pretty confident that I am capable of becoming proficient while I am here. I understand at least most of every conversation and am working on my confidence in speaking. I learn new vocabulary words every day, and I suppose its even a little fun speaking a new language now. 

Today I taught my 10th grade boys how to play Jeopardy. They had never heard of it before! So of course I taught them the "do do doo doo" theme song for timing. They were so quick to catch on to the strategy of going for the hardest questions first for the most points. We reviewed verb tenses from this quarter and used the 25 most common English verbs. They were pretty into it, one of the team names was "Friends of Chewbacca". It's a great feeling to teach a lesson that the students find fun and engaging. It was also great to see how well they did and how much they have learned in just a few months. My students have such wonderful potential and I'm so glad to have a small role in tapping it. 

I am welcoming other native English speakers to my classes from near and far, so expect if you visit me that I will bring you to my classroom. You will be asked a million questions from your age to your hair color and your weird accent. You will be told "Aye profe! En Espanish por fa!"  But then they will start speaking English, and maybe listen to you too. And all the hard work starts to pay off. 


 

When in Colombia… Go Camping in Suesca!

This weekend was our first of many Festivos. These are long weekends that come for a variety of reasons and are about once or twice a month in Colombia. This Festivo was for San Jose (Saint Joseph) and many of us volunteers decided to travel outside the big city to different Pueblos (little towns) for some R&R. My fellow teachers invited me out to Suesca, about two hours from Bogota and known for its rock climbing, adventure sports, and camping. 

We went the camping route. There were nine of us total—three English teachers, two technology guys, and four administrative workers from the Minuto office. It was great to get to know these other members of my Minuto family and especially practice my Spanish! So off we went with camping gear in tow to a giant field for the night. 

Setting up camp.

Like many things in Colombia, it was a little more of a free-for-all than camping in the States, but I actually saw this more of an asset than not. We camped in a large field with maybe 50 other tents. There was a “Base Camp” with regular bathrooms, showers, and even a little snack bar, but there weren’t designated camp sites like those I’ve been to in the White Mountains. I enjoyed having our circle of four tents close enough to our neighbors that we could ask them for help with our fire or to share some extra food. 

Speaking of food, let me tell you what Colombian camp food is all about. As soon as we got the fire blazing we made Canelazo. This drink is a concoction of panella- a brown sugar/molasses solid used in everything here, cinnamon, and aguardiente (the Colombian alcohol of choice). I normally don’t care for any of these three things separately but they worked together nicely. At night, we roasted marshmallows! We went sans chocolate and grahams, and the mallows were more like sugary peeps than Jet-Puffed, but they were still delicious and a wonderful comfort of normalcy. In the morning we made Hot Chocolate in the traditional “Batir” stirring way with cheese sandwiches. Cheese and bread are always paired with hot chocolate here.  It’s something I could certainly get used to. 

Canelazo (The beginning stage)

Luisa making chocolate caliente de batir

If you sense a theme of hot beverages it’s because Suesca is cold and wet. I meant really wet. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there. This led to some flooded tents which led to sleeping seven in a tent made for four. But the cold is another story—or I should say lack thereof. It was maybe a few degrees colder than Bogota, but compared to the VT lakehouse in a rainstorm… or really Vermont any month but August… I could handle it just fine. I even rocked flip flops in the morning rather than attempting to squish my feet in soggy Merrils and the Bogotanos were shocked I wasn’t freezing. And this is coming from someone typically with popsicle toes. Moral of the story is we were wet but the cold I could handle. 

By mid-morning the rain lightened up and we explored “Rocas de Suesca” a little more. I hiked up this cliff (to reach the Virgin Mary on top of course) and some of the others rock climbed. It was great to be out of the big city and to enjoy a typical Colombian vacation. 

Ana Melina and I hiking up the cliff.

Throughout the weekend, and throughout my life here, I have little moments when I think to myself “hm, that’s kind of weird” or I think “hm, that’s really not that weird at all. Some things are different—from hand and body gestures to making hot chocolate, and some things are really quite normal—like pitching tents with friends and sharing stories by the fire.  Life is different, but “normal” is actually quite flexible. You can find normal wherever you go, and you may be surprised by how normal things become in such a short amount of time.

To Do: Learn to Dance (Part one of many more!)

Well since this blog is called Ella Baila it’s about time I write about dancing! And this weekend’s dancing was certainly noteworthy enough.  After enjoying the Vallenato music of Dia de la Mujer so much, my fellow English teachers decided to take me out to a local Vallenato club, Villanueva, to work on my skills. So here is my five minute rundown on everything you need to know about going to a Parranda Vallenata (Vallenato dance party):

From Left to Right: Sory, Me, Julie, Pilar, and Yudy. All MD English teachers!

1. Vallenato is the Colombian version of country music, but don’t hold that against it! The name roughly translates to “born in the valley” and is a little folksy (but with a Latin flare of course).  It has a stigma of being enjoyed by a lower class and is not as classy as Salsa music. I actually like Vallenato a little better at this point. Mainly because Salsa is hard and there is this constant competition to see who is the BEST Salsa dancer. (Spoiler alert: They all live in Cali, another city in Colombia, so not even the Bogotanos can compete.) Let’s just say this is Colombian music even white people can dance to. 

2. The instruments central to making Vallento’s bumpin beats are the accordion and the guacharaca. The guacharaca is a large metal cheese grater looking thing that is artistically scraped with a wooden spoon-like thing. It sounds much better than its description. And don't think Polka when you hear accordion. I promise its much cooler than that. There is also a cool metal drum that has its origins in African music. Vallenato is a beautiful blend of music from around the world.

3. New vocabulary lesson for looking like a local at the clubs: “Vueltica!” means little spin to the beats. A popular dance move. “Ay hombe!” is shouted by anyone that’s feeling good. Don’t confuse this with “azucar!” (sugar) that is yelled during salsa. A rookie mistake I made once or twice.  “Epa” is said when you’re feeling good during any type of dance. I’ll stick to the epas for now. 

4. When you are the only gringa (a popular nickname for Americans or anyone that doesn’t look Latino) at the Parranda Vallenato  you may be thrown on stage to take pictures with the band while they are in the middle of playing… multiple times. 

Mid-song, big stage, very embarrassing. But you can see the guacharaca in the back left!

5. The song of the evening was “Santo Cachon.” To say someone is having an affair or living a double life is to say they have horns, or “tiene cachos.” The song is catchy and I always enjoy songs with hand gestures (Stephen Kellogg, anyone?) 

 

 

 

Here we all are doing the "cachos"

 

6. For further listening, check out Carlos Vives, the most famous (Grammy award winning) Vallenato singer. Here is his song "Carito". Think "Hot for Teacher" Colombian style about his English Teacher. One of the lines of the song is "ella era una miss de Boston." Clearly, he is talking about me. Trust me, it's worth the 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

Dia de la Mujer!

Feliz Dia! ALL Americans please note: today is International Women’s Day and even though we haven’t shown much love for the ladies on this day, Colombia embraces this like Mother’s Day on steroids. I have known this day was coming and was pretty excited about a prospective day not just for moms but for all women. Which to be honest is a much better idea. We love the mommas, but Women’s Day appreciates women for all their qualities and accomplishments—those related and unrelated to giving birth.  

Last night Emilie and I attempted to make brownies in our Horno Magico (Magic Oven) because the regular oven does not work. It was only a minor disaster and we figured heck, we’ll give them to our fellow profes at school for Dia de la Mujer tomorrow. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Here are a few details about Dia de la Mujer that make it special:

1. On my walk to school this morning there were roses everywhere. Now, we know Colombia is one of the world’s biggest flower exporters, but usually my neighborhood isn’t graced with traditional flower shops or stands like many other parts of Bogota. Well, today they came out of nowhere and looked beautiful. The perks of being a flower exporter is that here in Colombia they are very cheap! And they also last weeks longer because I’m sure they’ve been genetically engineered to withstand worldly travel. 

2. And with those flowers…. Came eleventh graders dressed in skinny black pants and black sweaters tied around their shoulders as they pranced around handing out notes of appreciation, candy, and roses to EVERY FEMALE STUDENT AND TEACHER at Minuto de Dios. The secondary school is over 1,500 students—that’s a TON of roses! It was really beautiful to see these boys hand out the gifts to everyone and in general Colombian boys are more affectionate here. I appreciate the hugs and candy and flowers from my students today. Colombians definitely have what we are missing in the affection and caring department. 

3. So these boys in black were part of a larger ceremony that replaced the first hour and a half of class today. (I was supposed to give a diagnostic test in that class, those lucky boys!) There was a Vallenato band playing music for everyone. The mood was pretty perky for 6:45 am. 

4. As I am writing this on my break, the school administration delivers me a sewing kit? Yes please!

5. “Feliz Dia!” This is what everyone says as they give you chocolates or want to wish you a good day. Of course the literal English translation is “Happy Day!” Which is not exactly what we would say in the states. I have to refrain from busting out the old Happy Days TV show theme song (because yes, I am a 60 year old woman trapped in a 20-somethings body). 

This day has really made me think about gender roles in Colombia, especially in light of the recent attacks on women’s rights and healthcare back home. I really wish we celebrated Women’s Day (like everyone else) and Rush Limbaugh and his comrades would be forced to see women as more than just our reproductive parts. 

Colombia is obviously not perfect. Women get married and have children very young here. (I am always asked if I have babies. I tell my students they are my babies for now.) Men also have a pretty loose interpretation of fidelity and commitment in their relationships. I am shocked by how many divorces and affairs I hear about even from such a Catholic culture. Women have a long way to go to break out of stereotypes here especially related to having perfect bodies and beauty. But there are also some very powerful, strong women in this culture—from the Minister of Education we met to our own principal here at Minuto that runs the place to perfection. And today, all of us are celebrated!

Encounters with La Gripa! … and other Colombian Ailments

With the ever-changing cold and clouds of Bogota it is typical fall/spring  weather which means colds and flus are frequent, and of course the strong pollution doesn’t help the immune system either.  Since I have been a vegetarian I have noticed I haven’t gotten colds or sinus problems nearly as frequently as I used to. Especially here in Bogota, many volunteers and locals alike have had severe headaches and cold symptoms frequently. Here in Colombia a typical cold is called “la gripa” or “el gripe”! This is a much more intimidating, fitting name for something that wipes the energy right out of you. I may try to replace “cold” with this name in English too. Please feel free to spread it. 
 

Well, la gripa has found its way to Minuto de Dios and even into my house as one of the other renters and now Luz Maria suffers from la gripa all day and night. Emilie has started to feel a little sick and I feel now it is only a matter of time before la gripa gets me too! One of my students handed me a note the day after she was absent and it said essentially “Diana was absent because ‘tiene una FUERTA GRIPA!” She has the gripa strong! The problem with gripa is that it is used for everything and even my fellow volunteer Brighid, when she had to go to the hospital and could barely walk, was told she had the gripa. It’s frustrating to have a catch all that can mean different levels of severity. 

So far I have escaped the crushing hands of la gripa but I haven’t been so lucky with my stomach and digestion. Last week I had my own visit to the doctors here (which was really quite pleasant and my doctors even studied in the US).  I have had a few random bouts of stomach bugs that can’t really seem to be food related. (One night I had pizza with all 13 volunteers and was the only one to get sick.) The doctor couldn’t really find a solution for me so one of my favorite teachers at school invited me to visit her alternative, holistic doctor. I figured if I’m going to try something like this here is the place to do it. They are very conscious of health and beauty in Colombia, and its certainly cheaper here than in the states. So this morning I went and got some medicine for my stomach and got a full life medical exam. He took a picture of my eye and could read things inside like that I am a sensitive person (I didn’t even give him any signs, I swear) and that I had respiratory problems as a child. It was pretty interesting. He also said that vegetarianism is the most beneficial for people with A+ blood type like me and that my anemia is also a side effect of being so sensitive. I’m going to try the medicine he gave me for three weeks and see how it goes. I consider this to be a “new thing” I’m trying that may not be a typical Colombian experience but is surely an interesting one to explore. 

Maybe these medicines will help me fight off la gripa. And hopefully my new alternative doctor will make me feel brand new.  One of my suggested food prescriptions is to eat more arepas, which I plan to embrace whole-heartedly… for my health : )