I started writing this blog post a few days ago, got distracted by who-knows-what and forgot to return. It's a pleasure knowing that I'm being distracted though, it kind of makes me feel like I'm living a normal life again. I've struggled through the culture shock of living in a foreign country and now I'm just living an every-day life again. Well, I mean, I'm still a gringa in Latin American and there will always be things that make me cock my head and curiously wonder what the heck I just saw, but at least my emotions are planning out. Planning? Kind of like a plain. Flat lined. Should it be plained? I don't know. But anyway I don't often feel the urge to break out in tears from the home sickness, I don't find myself criticizing the way Colombians do or don't do things, and I don't have the super highs and super lows that I experienced the first few months here. So yeah, I think this is home for a while.
Finding myself in a "home" also means that I get to go on "vacation". Since I live in Colombia and not in Michigan anymore, this also means that I get super sweet vacations on steroids for about 1/2 the price as I could in the United States. Perk of the life style I'm living I guess. I just came back from a vacation such as this. The other foreign teachers and I went to a small town on the Pacific coast. I wasn't sure what to expect, but these are some of the things I experienced:
...wait, before I continue I just want to clarify something for my mother back home...everything we did was surrounded by thought and precaution against dangers. Some of these stories may lead to to think otherwise, but really we never found ourselves in danger-some circumstances.
So here we go:
(1) The trip to El Valle (the town) took quite a toll on my brain. We left Pereira at 9:30 PM after a full day of teaching, cleaning, packing etc. The bus ride took 5 hours and we arrived in another city around 3:00 AM. Our plane didn't leave that city until 8:00 AM that morning so we crashed in the bus terminal. Of course we all didn't sleep at once and I took guard of our luggage first while my companions crashed. It was quite entertaining watching them struggle for sleep. Steve eventually passed out and a cockroach was crawling around him. Sick. Eventually it was my turn to sleep but that turned into a grimacing 30 minutes of struggling with the chill in the air and the lack of comfort at a cafe table. Time passed surprisingly quickly though and soon we crossed the street to the airport. Quite convenient if you ask me. We checked in, went through security, and waited for our 8:00 departure. 8 turned to 9 without explanation. 9 turned to 10. 10 turned to 11. I didn't really pay much attention. I was suffering from sleep deprivation and every time I closed my eyes I felt a release into a world void of problems. My traveling buddies were getting anxious though. The only thing we were told was, "No, don't worry, you'll leave in a little bit." Colombians view time in an interesting matter. "A little bit" could probably mean "day" if they wanted it to. Luckily for us it only meant waiting a few hours. So, we finally got to board our plane. Ha! It was this dinky little puddle jumper in which I could lean into the aisle and see into the cock-pit. It was fascinating watching the pilot and her first hand man flipping switches and getting us ready to go. At take off it was even cooler watching the runway ahead of us. Maybe it was pretty awesome, but it was also kind of nerve wrecking. Who knows if this plane was up to regulation. Thankful for my exhaustion I didn't dwell too much on that fact and passed out. I was opening my eyes as we landed on a dirt runway in the middle of the jungle. I felt like I was a world away. It could have been Africa. After arriving we gathered our luggage, jumped in a mototaxi and were taken to El Valle. Boom. We made it!
(2) The stay in El Valle wasn't really in the town. We booked nights at a hostel but didn't realize how far away it was. Soon the mototaxi turned off the main drag and onto the beach. Really? We were cruising down the beach for a while when we came to a river that was uncrossable. Here we go, we had to walk the rest of the way. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem, but I had packed a rolling suitcase. Rolling suitcases on sand do not mix. Again, really? I didn't think that one through much. We finally made it to the hostel though and were in for a surprise.
(3) Humback Turtle: We stayed in a dorm room at a hostel that was basically a jungle hut. Although we had running water and electricity, all the walkways were dirt and the bathrooms were outhouses. It was all worth it though because it was situated right on the ocean. The drone of the waves, the smell of salt water, the view of the sunset over the ocean from the balcony of the hostel. We were in Paradise.
(4) The town itself was made of dirt roads, a few little diners, houses here and here, fishermen galore and a world of people sitting outside passing the day. What a simple life. It was beautiful.
(5) Snorkeling: I've never gone snorkeling before, but let me tell you it is one of the coolest things I've ever done. Getting to that point took a little convincing though. We waded into the water from shore and popped our heads in the water. Jellyfish. Jellyfish. More jellyfish. They were startlingly beautiful but also terrifyling dangerous. I've been stung by a jellyfish before and it is not pleasant. There was no way I'd swim through their barricade to go look at fish. No way. Not happening. Our guide, who was about 100 yards away up at a hut on the shore kept motioning us to get in. He just didn't understand, did he? Every once in a while one of us would scream as a jelly approached and he would motion again to get in. Gah. No way. Eventually he came over to us and told us they weren't dangerous. Bro. I've been stung before. Not cool. He kept at it. Was he really trying to convince us? Then he did the unthinkable, he swooped his hands in the water and scooped up a jelly. Bare hands. What?! My mind was blown. Apparently these ones weren't the stinging variety. We just hadn't understood, had we?
(6) One of the highlights of the trip for me was not wearing makeup, not caring what I wore, and living in a bathing suit. The bliss of all that cannot be explained. If you're a women, maybe you understand.
(7) While on the trip I also felt like I slipped through the cracks of civilization into a more simple life. My cell phone didn't work, I couldn't access the internet, and I had no plans or commitments. Ah! Even returning there in my mind brings me close to that point of peace that is nearly impossible to reach in real life.
...So, I have a slight problem. I have the desire to keep writing and writing but I'm back to real life and the preoccupations of work are pulling me from the screen. Maybe this will be a 2 or 3 day post. Spreading it out, re-living the adventure-sounds like a plan to me. Besides, it has been more than 2 weeks since I've written anything ...can I blame it on my wicked vaca?
....vaca is short for vacation and should not be confused with the Spanish word for cow.
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