It is a lovely Tuesday morning, the sun is shining, and I've just rolled out of bed. By "just' I mean about 45 minutes ago. Time is a funny thing. I roll out of bed, make some Colombian coffee, put the dishes away. read my bible and before I know it it's already 8:00. Whatever happened to waking up early and being super productive in lesson planning before exploring the city with friends in search of a piano? That was my plan as I slipped into bed at 9:00 last night. It looks like this girl is going to have to put the pedal to the metal in order to sort out all the school stuff before having some fun later.
Sitting down to write a blog entry doesn't exactly follow my pedal to the medal philosophy of getting lesson plans cranked out, but my little kitten (who's not so little anymore) and her sister (whom I am kitty sitting) and pleading with me to be the main characters in a blog. What better way to write about them when one is curled at my feet and the other stretched out along my side. I'd say that's some pretty good inspiration and an excellent sensory writing experience as I stop every few words to pet the length of the long lean cutie pie next to me.
Being back in my apartment had been quite lonely the first 2 days. It was silent. After going 20 days at home with very little alone time, this was torturous. I began contemplating if I could really do this for 2 years. Then the girls were dropped off. They cautiously explored my apartment like police officers in an abandoned criminals home. Carefully stepping over things, sniffing everything, and snapping photos? Okay, no snapping photos but I think you get the picture: They were not to gung-ho about being in a new place. It didn't take them long to adjust though and soon they were prancing around and within 20 minutes both of them were curled up sleeping. Come on kittens. I just brought back a ton of toys from the United States for you to play with and all you want to do is sleep? Well, at least I knew they were comfortable.
Watching my Amiguita sleep flooded me with memories of when she was young (ha! you'd think she was my kid or something.)
When she was a wee little one, Amguita loved to drink water out of the bathroom sink. I don't know what her obsession was, but every time I walked into the bathroom she would hop on the toilet seat, jump to the sink, wait for me to turn on the water, and then stick her head down like she hadn't had water in years. She was a strange little thing. Well one night, I woke up to go the bathroom and forgot to put the seat down. This is a rarity because I have been well trained to put the seat down after using the toilet. This one time I forgot and groggily returned to bed. My alarm sounded bright and early and I crawled out of bed heading for my routine bathroom stop. Amiguita happened to rouse as I got up and decided she was thirsty. She did her usual spring to the sink and "jumped on the toilet..." Oh wait, there is no lid. Bam. She went for a morning swim instead. Poor little thing was so confused. I'm just thankful it was "clean" water.
The next time something like this happened, we weren't so lucky. This time, I went to the bathroom and as I stood up to flush the toilet Amiguita thought it was an opportune time for a drink. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. SPLASH. Before I even knew what was going on she was flailing in a toilet of urine. Sick. A snatched her up out of the toilet and threw her under the water faucet. She was a very unhappy camper. Claws out and squirming to remover herself from water. Ami. Come on chica, can you be a little more careful for the sake of us both? Ha. Now I can look back and laugh. Then it was an inopportune alertness test at 5:20 AM.
Thinking back on these kinds of things just makes me giggle. Maybe frustrating at times, but it adds some spice to my life! My little gatica (okay, so "cat" in Spanish is "gato" but Ami is a girl so she'd be "gata"...then we have the Colombian influence of adding -ica/-ico at the end of a word to make it "little" ) sure is a joy! I'm glad to have her back safe and sound in my little apartment. She makes everything a lot less lonely.
Cat lady? Perhaps....Smiling? Without a doubt!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
To the USA and Back
Whew. It has been an eventful month or so of travel. I left Colombia on December 16th for the USA and safely arrived back here yesterday. Time seemed to fly by in an accelerated fashion. It was only a few days ago I was sitting in an airport writing all the things I planned to do while home. "Only a few days ago" turned into 3 weeks.
3 weeks without writing in my blog. 3 weeks of snow in Michigan. 3 weeks of speaking the same language as everyone around me. 3 weeks with texting powers. 3 weeks of quality time with family and friends. 3 weeks of magic.
I quite frankly don't feel like recapping my entire time at home, so instead I'll shoot for highlighting some events en route to the USA and back to Colombia.
(Highlight 1: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): In the past when I have flown, I have also printed off my itinerary from whatever site I booked my ticket with. Its like my security blanket in case anything ever goes awry. Well, I'm not certain I've ever used it once. This time, I made the calculated decision to save some trees and chose not to print off my itinerary. My cab driver dropped me off at the airport and as I walked in, I realized that I had no clue what airline I was flying out on. Hm. Da. Da. Da. Wish I had my itinerary. Avianca. Yeah, I decided to try that airline because it is what I flew out on last time. I walked over to the line and a woman approached me. She asked me something really long in super speed Spanish. I let her know that I didn't speak Spanish well, but she didn't seem to care. Again, a;sldkjfas;ldfkjadskfjdskfjads;lfkjdsfkj. Super fast. I was confused. Once more a;ldskfja;ldfkjadlfkads;fljads;fljads;fjads;lfkj. Sigh. Obviously she has no speed control on her voice. Dang. Wish I had that itinerary with me know. I did manage pick out one word from her line of mumbo jumbo:"passport". I did what any logical person would do and just gave mine to her. She took off like a bullet (walking almost as fast as she talked) and soon hustled back to tell me in 2.2 seconds that I was in the right line and needed to wait for security to check my bags. Yes, that whole sentence took her under 3 seconds. I smiled and went to find security.
(Highlight 2: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): I shuffled over to the area of security and waited. I was told that a gentleman would have to look through all my bags before I checked them in. No big deal, I wasn't smuggling any drugs or anything and I had nothing to hide. What bothered me was the wait. I waited and waited and waited some more. I patted myself on the back for giving myself 3 hours at the airport. As I stood in security I also noticed the check-in line getting longer and longer. I was thankful I wouldn't have to wait in that line. Eventually a young security man came and asked me to put my bags on the table. 21 kg of dead weight is a lot harder to lift than one might imagine. My bag was jam packed with gifts to bring back to the USA. At first it was no big deal. He was just taking things out and sorting things around. Soon he found some presents that I had wrapped to bring home. He looked at me, back at the gift and then back at me. "I'm going to have to open these." Bummer. All that work for nothing. So away he went, opening up gifts and looking at each thing carefully. I bet he felt like it was Christmas - except none of the gifts were his! Then he got to the Colombian soda. I had 2 bottles of unique flavors to bring back to my sister and brother-in-law. He got really serious and told me that he would have to open one of them. Ugh, they were going to be flat before even leaving the country. So he opened one, sniffed it, put the lid back on and placed it back in my suitcase. Really? You think you're going to detect something by smelling it? The second item he had a problem with was coffee. I had requests from several people to bring back Colombian coffee. This means I had a few bags...okay 15 bags...packed tightly in my bag. He looked at them quizzically and told me that he'd have to open one. He proceeded with a bamboo skewer to poke a hole in one of the bags. Again, he did a sniff check. Yup, smells like coffee bro. The security man then took a piece of packing tape and taped off the hole. Great, now when I get to customs in the United States and they see this they are going to think I'm trying to smuggle something. Sweet. He wasn't finished with my bag or with sniffing my perishable items either. I had several jars of arequipe (like caramel) in my bag and he told me again that he was going to have to open one. Do I even have power to protest? So he opened up a jar, smelled the sweet aroma, taped around the entire thing, and put it back. Well, can't give that one as a gift anymore. As he proceeded to the bottom of my bag, he didn't open anything else. He carefully placed everything in the bag and told me I was clear to go check my bag in. Score. It was about time to get on the plane!
(Highlight 3, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois): I had 5 hour to pass in O'Hare. I was by myself, not sleepy nor hungry, and sick of walking. That is when it struck me to search for a prime people-watching place. What better way could I pass some time? As I strolled toward my gate I passed some leather seats facing the busy walkway right after a security point. Perfect. Here are some things that made me smile: (1) I recognized several people walk back and forth a few times. I wondered if they were busy wasting time like I was or lost. I smiled as I pondered this. (2)I saw a girl walk by wearing sequin boots. She had to be in her 20s. Sequin boots should be illegal for anyone older than 10. 6 minutes later, another girl in her late teens talked by wearing the same boots. Come on now people. 19 minutes later a little girl around the age of 7 walked by wearing sequin boots. That's more like it! (3) A man marched by with a little boy (maybe around 5 years old) slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. My initial thought was that the boy was in trouble and the dad was on a mission. As the 2 passed by I noticed a big grin on the boys chattering face. If he was in trouble, he certainly didn't make it known. He looked happy as a lark and talkative as a parrot.
The next hour was passed just watching people, making up stories for them, and laughing at ridiculousness. Success.
(Highlight 4, in route between Chicago and Green Bay): This flight was a mere 45 minutes and I think I grinned and sporadically giggled the entire time. I knew that when the plane landed I'd get to see my sister and mom. It just made me giddy and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I'm curious if anyone thought I was crazy. Ha!
(Highlight 5 Austin Straubel International Airport, Green Bay, Wisconsin): Going through security with my carry-ons I was asked to step aside because it appeared I had some illegal liquids in my bag. The bag that they decided to check was filled to the brim. I had strategically placed everything to make the most room possible for more things. Well, the lady basically dumped out my bag. I thought to myself, "There is no way she's ever going to get everything back in. Great." After searching through everything she picked up a container of powdered coffee creamer, "That's probably what he saw." Haha. Definitely not something they see every day. She took all the contents of my bag and told me she had to run them through the scanner again. No big deal. She ran them through, carried them over to me, and asked, "Could you please put everything back in your bag?" I kind of wanted to say no, just to see if she could successfully re-pack my bag (not a chance by the way) but graciously accepted and walked off to a table where I could put the puzzle back together. The whole time smiling and shaking my head.
(Highligh 6 El Dorado International Aiport, Bogota, Colombia): This was the last leg of my flight before touching back in Pereira yesterday. I had been traveling 23 hours by this point and was looking forward to just closing my eyes for this last 45 minute stretch. I was the last to climb up the plane and as I made my way to my seat I realized I was seated next to a little girl. She was 7. I placed my carry-on in the overhead bin and sat down. Little girl, "Are you sitting here?" With a little less sleep I may have said something sassy, but I simply replied, "Yes, yes I am." Turns out she is the most spunky, talkative, and patient 7 year old I've met in a long time. She was traveling by herself to meet her mom back at home in Pereira. From the moment I sat down we were talking. I initially explained to her that I don't know Spanish very well because I am from the United States. She told me she would help me with Spanish. Perfect. Nothing humbles you quite like a 7 year old teaching you sweet skills. I loved it. We talked and talked and talked. At one point I looked out the window at and told her I wanted to go for a run on the clouds but that it wasn't possible. Her eyes lit up and she exlaimed, "We could go on them if we had magic skates! Yes, we need magic skates." She was being quite serious to. I smiled all over. Soon the stewardess came by and offered drinks. Gimela wanted coffee and a mango juice. Really girl? You're like 7 and want coffee. This is a bad idea. The flight attendant filled a cup 3/4 way and handed it over. After 2 creamers and 3 sugars she was ready to taste it, "Yuck. I don't like it...it needs more sugar." I thought to myself, "Girl, you don't need any more sugar in you!" Ha. Well, she really didn't end up needing more sugar because after 4 minutes or so of playing with her coffee she eventually spilled it. All over. Thankfully nothing burned her but there was an awfully large mess. Great! I clicked the button for the stewardess and she was quickly came, looked at the disaster, and dashed off to get some more paper towels. By the time we had it cleaned up we were already starting the decent to the airport. My little friend peaked out the window and squealed, "Periera!!!! My home!! The best city in the world!" ...and that is how I returned to my Colombian home.
3 weeks without writing in my blog. 3 weeks of snow in Michigan. 3 weeks of speaking the same language as everyone around me. 3 weeks with texting powers. 3 weeks of quality time with family and friends. 3 weeks of magic.
I quite frankly don't feel like recapping my entire time at home, so instead I'll shoot for highlighting some events en route to the USA and back to Colombia.
(Highlight 1: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): In the past when I have flown, I have also printed off my itinerary from whatever site I booked my ticket with. Its like my security blanket in case anything ever goes awry. Well, I'm not certain I've ever used it once. This time, I made the calculated decision to save some trees and chose not to print off my itinerary. My cab driver dropped me off at the airport and as I walked in, I realized that I had no clue what airline I was flying out on. Hm. Da. Da. Da. Wish I had my itinerary. Avianca. Yeah, I decided to try that airline because it is what I flew out on last time. I walked over to the line and a woman approached me. She asked me something really long in super speed Spanish. I let her know that I didn't speak Spanish well, but she didn't seem to care. Again, a;sldkjfas;ldfkjadskfjdskfjads;lfkjdsfkj. Super fast. I was confused. Once more a;ldskfja;ldfkjadlfkads;fljads;fljads;fjads;lfkj. Sigh. Obviously she has no speed control on her voice. Dang. Wish I had that itinerary with me know. I did manage pick out one word from her line of mumbo jumbo:"passport". I did what any logical person would do and just gave mine to her. She took off like a bullet (walking almost as fast as she talked) and soon hustled back to tell me in 2.2 seconds that I was in the right line and needed to wait for security to check my bags. Yes, that whole sentence took her under 3 seconds. I smiled and went to find security.
(Highlight 2: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): I shuffled over to the area of security and waited. I was told that a gentleman would have to look through all my bags before I checked them in. No big deal, I wasn't smuggling any drugs or anything and I had nothing to hide. What bothered me was the wait. I waited and waited and waited some more. I patted myself on the back for giving myself 3 hours at the airport. As I stood in security I also noticed the check-in line getting longer and longer. I was thankful I wouldn't have to wait in that line. Eventually a young security man came and asked me to put my bags on the table. 21 kg of dead weight is a lot harder to lift than one might imagine. My bag was jam packed with gifts to bring back to the USA. At first it was no big deal. He was just taking things out and sorting things around. Soon he found some presents that I had wrapped to bring home. He looked at me, back at the gift and then back at me. "I'm going to have to open these." Bummer. All that work for nothing. So away he went, opening up gifts and looking at each thing carefully. I bet he felt like it was Christmas - except none of the gifts were his! Then he got to the Colombian soda. I had 2 bottles of unique flavors to bring back to my sister and brother-in-law. He got really serious and told me that he would have to open one of them. Ugh, they were going to be flat before even leaving the country. So he opened one, sniffed it, put the lid back on and placed it back in my suitcase. Really? You think you're going to detect something by smelling it? The second item he had a problem with was coffee. I had requests from several people to bring back Colombian coffee. This means I had a few bags...okay 15 bags...packed tightly in my bag. He looked at them quizzically and told me that he'd have to open one. He proceeded with a bamboo skewer to poke a hole in one of the bags. Again, he did a sniff check. Yup, smells like coffee bro. The security man then took a piece of packing tape and taped off the hole. Great, now when I get to customs in the United States and they see this they are going to think I'm trying to smuggle something. Sweet. He wasn't finished with my bag or with sniffing my perishable items either. I had several jars of arequipe (like caramel) in my bag and he told me again that he was going to have to open one. Do I even have power to protest? So he opened up a jar, smelled the sweet aroma, taped around the entire thing, and put it back. Well, can't give that one as a gift anymore. As he proceeded to the bottom of my bag, he didn't open anything else. He carefully placed everything in the bag and told me I was clear to go check my bag in. Score. It was about time to get on the plane!
(Highlight 3, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois): I had 5 hour to pass in O'Hare. I was by myself, not sleepy nor hungry, and sick of walking. That is when it struck me to search for a prime people-watching place. What better way could I pass some time? As I strolled toward my gate I passed some leather seats facing the busy walkway right after a security point. Perfect. Here are some things that made me smile: (1) I recognized several people walk back and forth a few times. I wondered if they were busy wasting time like I was or lost. I smiled as I pondered this. (2)I saw a girl walk by wearing sequin boots. She had to be in her 20s. Sequin boots should be illegal for anyone older than 10. 6 minutes later, another girl in her late teens talked by wearing the same boots. Come on now people. 19 minutes later a little girl around the age of 7 walked by wearing sequin boots. That's more like it! (3) A man marched by with a little boy (maybe around 5 years old) slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. My initial thought was that the boy was in trouble and the dad was on a mission. As the 2 passed by I noticed a big grin on the boys chattering face. If he was in trouble, he certainly didn't make it known. He looked happy as a lark and talkative as a parrot.
The next hour was passed just watching people, making up stories for them, and laughing at ridiculousness. Success.
(Highlight 4, in route between Chicago and Green Bay): This flight was a mere 45 minutes and I think I grinned and sporadically giggled the entire time. I knew that when the plane landed I'd get to see my sister and mom. It just made me giddy and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I'm curious if anyone thought I was crazy. Ha!
(Highlight 5 Austin Straubel International Airport, Green Bay, Wisconsin): Going through security with my carry-ons I was asked to step aside because it appeared I had some illegal liquids in my bag. The bag that they decided to check was filled to the brim. I had strategically placed everything to make the most room possible for more things. Well, the lady basically dumped out my bag. I thought to myself, "There is no way she's ever going to get everything back in. Great." After searching through everything she picked up a container of powdered coffee creamer, "That's probably what he saw." Haha. Definitely not something they see every day. She took all the contents of my bag and told me she had to run them through the scanner again. No big deal. She ran them through, carried them over to me, and asked, "Could you please put everything back in your bag?" I kind of wanted to say no, just to see if she could successfully re-pack my bag (not a chance by the way) but graciously accepted and walked off to a table where I could put the puzzle back together. The whole time smiling and shaking my head.
(Highligh 6 El Dorado International Aiport, Bogota, Colombia): This was the last leg of my flight before touching back in Pereira yesterday. I had been traveling 23 hours by this point and was looking forward to just closing my eyes for this last 45 minute stretch. I was the last to climb up the plane and as I made my way to my seat I realized I was seated next to a little girl. She was 7. I placed my carry-on in the overhead bin and sat down. Little girl, "Are you sitting here?" With a little less sleep I may have said something sassy, but I simply replied, "Yes, yes I am." Turns out she is the most spunky, talkative, and patient 7 year old I've met in a long time. She was traveling by herself to meet her mom back at home in Pereira. From the moment I sat down we were talking. I initially explained to her that I don't know Spanish very well because I am from the United States. She told me she would help me with Spanish. Perfect. Nothing humbles you quite like a 7 year old teaching you sweet skills. I loved it. We talked and talked and talked. At one point I looked out the window at and told her I wanted to go for a run on the clouds but that it wasn't possible. Her eyes lit up and she exlaimed, "We could go on them if we had magic skates! Yes, we need magic skates." She was being quite serious to. I smiled all over. Soon the stewardess came by and offered drinks. Gimela wanted coffee and a mango juice. Really girl? You're like 7 and want coffee. This is a bad idea. The flight attendant filled a cup 3/4 way and handed it over. After 2 creamers and 3 sugars she was ready to taste it, "Yuck. I don't like it...it needs more sugar." I thought to myself, "Girl, you don't need any more sugar in you!" Ha. Well, she really didn't end up needing more sugar because after 4 minutes or so of playing with her coffee she eventually spilled it. All over. Thankfully nothing burned her but there was an awfully large mess. Great! I clicked the button for the stewardess and she was quickly came, looked at the disaster, and dashed off to get some more paper towels. By the time we had it cleaned up we were already starting the decent to the airport. My little friend peaked out the window and squealed, "Periera!!!! My home!! The best city in the world!" ...and that is how I returned to my Colombian home.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Hasta Luego Colombia
I'm done. I've had it. I'm leaving Colombia! ...so I can spend Christmas with my family and the return to the land of warm weather, speaking Spanish, and awkward moments (read that: epic fails...I was trying to be nice to myself) in January.
I was mulling over the things I'm most excited for and I've decided to share my thoughts with you all
(1) Hugs. Super excited to hug some people I really love.
(2) Family and Friends. Do I really even need to state this one? Of course I'm excited to see my family and friends!
(3) Foods. Okay, so this is a big one that is kind of hard to understand. I pretty certain I can find all of these foods in Pereira somplace, BUT the convenience and normalcy of these items will be wonderful. Here is my list: natural peanut butter, cool whip (spray kind and tub kind), tomato soup and grilled cheese, my mom's soup in general, scones, non-french-press coffee, milk (the milk here tastes funny), cottage cheese, plain yogurt, sweet potatoes, seedless grapes (if only they were in season), anything pumpkin flavored, candy canes, sugar free pudding, pretzel M&Ms, subway, over easy eggs and toast, pancakes, and anything my mom cooks. Yummmm!!! If anyone thinks of something else I should add to the list, leave me a comment so I don't miss out before coming back to Colombia.
(4) Activities. Oh boy I can hardly. Sipping coffee in a hoodie and sweat pants. Hiking sugar loaf. Walking around Marquette. Baking with my sister. Baking with my mother. Baking. Yeah, baking. Ice skating. Watching Elf.
(5) Clothes. I am so looking forward to wearing ANYTHING I want to Walmart and knowing that someone will be dressed worse than me. In Colombia I'm typically the under-dressed one. Two more words in this category: sweat pants. Woot woot! Can you tell I'm excited?
(6) Church. Not that I don't go to church here, it is just that English speaking church will be a wonderful change.
(7) Talking to strangers. I typically like to talk to people but now that I've been deprived of this privilege for so long, I might just go over board.
(8) Driving. I haven't driven a car in months.
(9) Texting. Yes, I do miss texting and I can't wait to be back.
(10) Shopping. I've never really liked shopping in my life - but to be honest it's going to be great.
(11) Teaching. I get to teach a lesson on Colombia while I'm home. I'm excited to share my experiences.
(12) Bundling up in warm clothes.
(13) My dogs and cat. Can't wait to cuddle with them.
(14) Snow. I just want to have snow and be cold.
(15) My home. Just being home is something I'm looking forward too.
(16) Chopping down a Christmas tree and decorating it with home-made ornaments. Ha - I may even drag my sister along with me.
(17) Speaking English to everyone. Wow. It's going to be great.
(18) Sending people packages/cards
(19) Telling people about Colombia and my experiences
...well for now this is my list - my plane will be boarding soon, so I should get ready to go!
Hasta luego Colombia! See you next year =)
I was mulling over the things I'm most excited for and I've decided to share my thoughts with you all
(1) Hugs. Super excited to hug some people I really love.
(2) Family and Friends. Do I really even need to state this one? Of course I'm excited to see my family and friends!
(3) Foods. Okay, so this is a big one that is kind of hard to understand. I pretty certain I can find all of these foods in Pereira somplace, BUT the convenience and normalcy of these items will be wonderful. Here is my list: natural peanut butter, cool whip (spray kind and tub kind), tomato soup and grilled cheese, my mom's soup in general, scones, non-french-press coffee, milk (the milk here tastes funny), cottage cheese, plain yogurt, sweet potatoes, seedless grapes (if only they were in season), anything pumpkin flavored, candy canes, sugar free pudding, pretzel M&Ms, subway, over easy eggs and toast, pancakes, and anything my mom cooks. Yummmm!!! If anyone thinks of something else I should add to the list, leave me a comment so I don't miss out before coming back to Colombia.
(4) Activities. Oh boy I can hardly. Sipping coffee in a hoodie and sweat pants. Hiking sugar loaf. Walking around Marquette. Baking with my sister. Baking with my mother. Baking. Yeah, baking. Ice skating. Watching Elf.
(5) Clothes. I am so looking forward to wearing ANYTHING I want to Walmart and knowing that someone will be dressed worse than me. In Colombia I'm typically the under-dressed one. Two more words in this category: sweat pants. Woot woot! Can you tell I'm excited?
(6) Church. Not that I don't go to church here, it is just that English speaking church will be a wonderful change.
(7) Talking to strangers. I typically like to talk to people but now that I've been deprived of this privilege for so long, I might just go over board.
(8) Driving. I haven't driven a car in months.
(9) Texting. Yes, I do miss texting and I can't wait to be back.
(10) Shopping. I've never really liked shopping in my life - but to be honest it's going to be great.
(11) Teaching. I get to teach a lesson on Colombia while I'm home. I'm excited to share my experiences.
(12) Bundling up in warm clothes.
(13) My dogs and cat. Can't wait to cuddle with them.
(14) Snow. I just want to have snow and be cold.
(15) My home. Just being home is something I'm looking forward too.
(16) Chopping down a Christmas tree and decorating it with home-made ornaments. Ha - I may even drag my sister along with me.
(17) Speaking English to everyone. Wow. It's going to be great.
(18) Sending people packages/cards
(19) Telling people about Colombia and my experiences
...well for now this is my list - my plane will be boarding soon, so I should get ready to go!
Hasta luego Colombia! See you next year =)
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The Duck-and-Run
Wow. It seems like forever since I've sat down to tell a story and looking back at my last post, it really has been quite a while. 7 days isn't quite forever, but the scary thing is that 7 days can very quickly turn into 100 days and before I know it years will have passed without getting a thing written down. Not really, but I mean I see the potential. So, I haven't written in a while. Is it that life in Colombia has become normal and mundane? Ha! Impossible. This country is full of craziness for us gringos and I'm not certain the day will ever come when something doesn't surprise me.
As the sub-title to my blog eludes to, I live in Pereira, Colombia. This city is the capital of the department Risaralda. It's like saying I live in Lansing, Michigan. Not the capital of the country but just of our little "state". The city itself has around 1/2 a million people. Although it's not THAT huge, for a Yooper like myself that number is nothing to cough at. What I find interesting is that even though it's a big city, I'm typically confined to a 23 block radius (No I didn't count the blocks. Yes I made the number up.) Unless I go exploring, there is really no reason to leave my little area. I have a grocery store, a mall, lots of restaurants, and my friends all live in this area. You know who else lives in this area? A large portion of my students. And guess what? They like to hang out in this little barrio too. This means I see them. All. The. Time. (I hope you paused slightly after each of those words and let them sink in. That's why the periods are there. Ha!)
I feel like in the United States, when you run into your students they will normally do the "duck-and-run". Oh gosh, there is my teacher. Don't let them see me in real life. Here it is the exact opposite. Usually when my students (or students that go to my school that recognize me) see me, they want to make sure that I know they saw me. MEASE LEAN!!! Yes. That is my name. We exchange greetings, they sometimes introduce me to their parents or boyfriends and then we continue on our way. If they don't stop and scream my name, they will at least make sure at school the next day I know they saw me.
Student (who knows my real name): Hey Leanne! I saw you yesterday!!!
Me: You did, where was I?
Student: Walking, you were wearing jeans and a blue top.
Me: Yes, yes I was. I never doubted for a moment you didn't see me.
Student: But yeah, I saw you.
I find these conversation very interesting. I wonder what is going on in their little minds that makes them desire so strongly to tell me they saw me. The other foreign teachers and I are now developing the duck-and-run. See a student, run for cover!
As the sub-title to my blog eludes to, I live in Pereira, Colombia. This city is the capital of the department Risaralda. It's like saying I live in Lansing, Michigan. Not the capital of the country but just of our little "state". The city itself has around 1/2 a million people. Although it's not THAT huge, for a Yooper like myself that number is nothing to cough at. What I find interesting is that even though it's a big city, I'm typically confined to a 23 block radius (No I didn't count the blocks. Yes I made the number up.) Unless I go exploring, there is really no reason to leave my little area. I have a grocery store, a mall, lots of restaurants, and my friends all live in this area. You know who else lives in this area? A large portion of my students. And guess what? They like to hang out in this little barrio too. This means I see them. All. The. Time. (I hope you paused slightly after each of those words and let them sink in. That's why the periods are there. Ha!)
I feel like in the United States, when you run into your students they will normally do the "duck-and-run". Oh gosh, there is my teacher. Don't let them see me in real life. Here it is the exact opposite. Usually when my students (or students that go to my school that recognize me) see me, they want to make sure that I know they saw me. MEASE LEAN!!! Yes. That is my name. We exchange greetings, they sometimes introduce me to their parents or boyfriends and then we continue on our way. If they don't stop and scream my name, they will at least make sure at school the next day I know they saw me.
Student (who knows my real name): Hey Leanne! I saw you yesterday!!!
Me: You did, where was I?
Student: Walking, you were wearing jeans and a blue top.
Me: Yes, yes I was. I never doubted for a moment you didn't see me.
Student: But yeah, I saw you.
I find these conversation very interesting. I wonder what is going on in their little minds that makes them desire so strongly to tell me they saw me. The other foreign teachers and I are now developing the duck-and-run. See a student, run for cover!
Monday, December 3, 2012
The Sounds of a Colombian Christmas
Imagine this: you’re finally settling into bed after a long
day. You close your eyes and your mind begins to wonder as you drift into the
land of dreams. You’re not quite sleeping yet, but you’re approaching the
threshold between reality and the world in our minds. BAM! All of a sudden a
bomb explodes outside of your apartment and you’re violently shocked back into
your bedroom.
I’m certain you’ve probably had an experience close to this
and as soon as you realize it was a half-dream you can snuggle back into your
thoughts. I’m also fairly certain that
you don’t live in Colombia in December.
This exact scenario happened the other night – except the
explosion wasn’t a random neuron accidently firing while trying to relax. There
really was an explosion. My eyes shot open and I pictured guerilla fighters taking
over my city. Within 2 minutes another explosion went off. These were the ensuing
thoughts, “I’m going to die. They are throwing bombs. Oh wait, Good thing I’m
on the 4th floor. They won’t get me up here.”
Following those thoughts I managed to slow my breathing, my
pulse soon dropped, and I fell back asleep. Clearly I have a difficult time thinking
logically when I first wake up. The next morning I decided that upon hearing
bombs, one should not shrug it off and go back to sleep. Maybe I should call my
portero. Maybe I should at least look outside and see what is happening. Maybe
I should make a shelter and hide under my mattress so when they break in to
kidnap me I won’t be found? I’m thinking option 1 or 2 would be best.
So the next day at school I had a huge story for everyone:
There were a series of explosions outside of my apartment last night!!! Ah!!! My
students were not impressed and kindly explained to me: Meese, don’t you know
that we begin celebrating Christmas at the beginning of December and everyone
lights fireworks all the time.
Fireworks, they call
these things FIREWORKS? No. Fireworks usually have a visually appealing light
show that accompanies large blasts. Not these “fireworks”. These are bombs.
I’m starting to get used the sound now. Every night there are about 8-10 of explosions. I still scream
sometimes in shock (like when someone sneaks up and scares you) and the jolting
out of sleep is inevitable, but at least I have some reason now: Christmas in
Colombia means celebrating with loud noises.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
What the Fudge
Monday morning I received an email from the human resource manager at our school. The subject was "OVEN". My heart skipped a beat and I quickly opened it. Here is what it said, "Good morning Leanne, I hope you had a great weekend. The
oven technician just called me this morning to go to your apartment,
I´m so sorry. I think is better to contact a particular technician to
fix the oven, I will let you know. See you later and have a nice day."
To most of you this means nothing so let me explain. The entire time I've been in Colombia my oven has been broken. It heats up to the right temperature and then turns off. About 2 months ago I pursued a way to get it fixed. Since that time the technician "is going to come" on three different occasions. Each time I was asked to stay in my apartment from 8:00 until 12:00 on a Saturday morning and wait for him to show up. Each time I was sorely disappointed when nothing happened. I don't really mind having to sit at home all morning, what makes me sad is that my oven still doesn't work. I love love love to bake and my sweet skills are smoldering inside me without an oven to release them.
Last night this smoldering desire erupted and I decided to try my hand at making homemade fudge. Why fudge? Well, it doesn't need an oven! Little did I know the task ahead of me.
It started off pretty well: put sugar, milk and cocoa in a pan and bring to a boil. At this point I had my apron on and I was dancing to Christmas music. Next, the recipe told me when the mixture started to boil to stop stirring, reduce heat and maintain it there until a drop of the mixture in cold water would form a solid ball that I can squish between my fingers. What the heck. I heated and tested, heated and tested, heated and tested. I began to think I had done something wrong. After 10 failed attempts to "form a ball" I decided I should probably change the muddy-looking water. I changed the water and then voila! when I dripped the liquid into the cold water a ball formed! Score.
Now is when it starts going downhill. I took the pre-fudge off the stove and the next step was to add butter and vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until it lost its sheen. What does that even mean. Loses its sheen? I decided I'd just stir until it changed appearance. So I stirred and stirred. And stirred some more and kept on going. My left arm eventually became sore. I switched arms and kept going and going. After nearly 15 minutes of stirring it started to solidfy and like magic it became dull looking. Yes! Score. Now where does the downhill part come in?
Well, the next part was dumping the fudge into a pre-greased pan to cool. I got 75% of it into greased pan and decided I needed a spatula to get every last drop of chocolatey goodness from the original pot. My only problem was that I couldn't reach the drawer to get the spatula. So with my left hand stabling the pan on the stove I stretched and stretched to the drawer. Nope. Still couldn't reach. Here we go Leanne, you got this. I slid over more...a little more....a little more....CRASH! I had slid a little too far and my pan of hot fudge toppled to the floor. Of course it landed upside down. I quickly flipped and and decided to salvage as much fudge as possible. My immediate thought was: hands, scoop, pan. Thankfully reason took charge before impulse: million degree sugar mixture = burn. Next reaction, spatula! Yeah yeah yeah! Let's salvage as much as I can. I mean I just swept the floor yesterday? Yeah. No big deal.
In the midst of my brain going crazy my cat's brain was doing the same. She came charging in and decided to take control of the situation. Her solution? Let's stick my head in this and use my tongue as a scoop. Not to scoop into the pan, but into my stomach. Get. In. My. Belly. Ahh! No. No. No. Cats should not eat chocolate. With my gooey fingers I scooped Amiguita up, threw her in my bedroom and shut the door. So not only did I dump the fudge pan I also put my cat at risk of death. Great Leanne. Score.
Then I stopped. Looked at the floor, considered my situation, realized Christmas music was still playing in the background and just started giggling. Really. Is this real life? Of course this happened. Still giggling I manged to clean up the rest of my mess. It's the journey that we're supposed to enjoy right? Not the final destination? Yeah, I'll go for that.
I'm thinking more and more every day that this oven situation needs to be fixed.
To most of you this means nothing so let me explain. The entire time I've been in Colombia my oven has been broken. It heats up to the right temperature and then turns off. About 2 months ago I pursued a way to get it fixed. Since that time the technician "is going to come" on three different occasions. Each time I was asked to stay in my apartment from 8:00 until 12:00 on a Saturday morning and wait for him to show up. Each time I was sorely disappointed when nothing happened. I don't really mind having to sit at home all morning, what makes me sad is that my oven still doesn't work. I love love love to bake and my sweet skills are smoldering inside me without an oven to release them.
Last night this smoldering desire erupted and I decided to try my hand at making homemade fudge. Why fudge? Well, it doesn't need an oven! Little did I know the task ahead of me.
It started off pretty well: put sugar, milk and cocoa in a pan and bring to a boil. At this point I had my apron on and I was dancing to Christmas music. Next, the recipe told me when the mixture started to boil to stop stirring, reduce heat and maintain it there until a drop of the mixture in cold water would form a solid ball that I can squish between my fingers. What the heck. I heated and tested, heated and tested, heated and tested. I began to think I had done something wrong. After 10 failed attempts to "form a ball" I decided I should probably change the muddy-looking water. I changed the water and then voila! when I dripped the liquid into the cold water a ball formed! Score.
Now is when it starts going downhill. I took the pre-fudge off the stove and the next step was to add butter and vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until it lost its sheen. What does that even mean. Loses its sheen? I decided I'd just stir until it changed appearance. So I stirred and stirred. And stirred some more and kept on going. My left arm eventually became sore. I switched arms and kept going and going. After nearly 15 minutes of stirring it started to solidfy and like magic it became dull looking. Yes! Score. Now where does the downhill part come in?
Well, the next part was dumping the fudge into a pre-greased pan to cool. I got 75% of it into greased pan and decided I needed a spatula to get every last drop of chocolatey goodness from the original pot. My only problem was that I couldn't reach the drawer to get the spatula. So with my left hand stabling the pan on the stove I stretched and stretched to the drawer. Nope. Still couldn't reach. Here we go Leanne, you got this. I slid over more...a little more....a little more....CRASH! I had slid a little too far and my pan of hot fudge toppled to the floor. Of course it landed upside down. I quickly flipped and and decided to salvage as much fudge as possible. My immediate thought was: hands, scoop, pan. Thankfully reason took charge before impulse: million degree sugar mixture = burn. Next reaction, spatula! Yeah yeah yeah! Let's salvage as much as I can. I mean I just swept the floor yesterday? Yeah. No big deal.
In the midst of my brain going crazy my cat's brain was doing the same. She came charging in and decided to take control of the situation. Her solution? Let's stick my head in this and use my tongue as a scoop. Not to scoop into the pan, but into my stomach. Get. In. My. Belly. Ahh! No. No. No. Cats should not eat chocolate. With my gooey fingers I scooped Amiguita up, threw her in my bedroom and shut the door. So not only did I dump the fudge pan I also put my cat at risk of death. Great Leanne. Score.
Then I stopped. Looked at the floor, considered my situation, realized Christmas music was still playing in the background and just started giggling. Really. Is this real life? Of course this happened. Still giggling I manged to clean up the rest of my mess. It's the journey that we're supposed to enjoy right? Not the final destination? Yeah, I'll go for that.
I'm thinking more and more every day that this oven situation needs to be fixed.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Potentially Suspicious Activity on your Credit Card
Well, I did it. I bought a motorcycle today. Charged $2,348.33 on my credit card and walked out the door. Brand new Honda something will be ready to be picked up on Saturday. They lady just has to call me.
Of course, this motorcycle isn't for me - BUT I did buy it. I'm guessing you'd like an explanation?You see, a friend of mine here wanted to buy a motorcycle but he was explaining all the hassle/fees he had to go through in order to transfer money from the United States or charge it on his credit card. Before leaving the United States I made sure I had a credit card with "no foreign transaction fees". Most cards with such awesomeness have an annual fee, but I managed to find some without any strings attached. So, I offered to buy it for him and the his parents in the states would just transfer money to my account. Pretty simple and it avoids all these fees. He hasn't given me the money yet, so technically the bike is still mine. Woo hoo! Proud owner of a Honda motorcycle.
In order for Steve to get this motorcycle he had to "take a test, go to the driving school, apply for a license, receive the license and then he'd be set". The use of quotations signifies that this is what should happen, but definitely not what did. All he did was pay this guy $150 US to do all the paper work, he signed some forms saying he knew how to drive, and then waited a week for his license. He got the license yesterday and then after school today we went and bought the thing. It took us about 20 minutes and then we were done. Now on Saturday one of the salesmen will call me and I'll call Steve and send him to go pick it up. It was easier than we had imagined and definitely happened more quickly than in the United States. For the first time since I've been here Colombia has proven to be more efficient at something! Score!
Oh yeah, one more thing, when I got home from charging the motorcycle on my credit card I had received a email notice from Capitalone, "We recently noticed potentially suspicious activity on your credit card." Ha! They didn't like a purchase in Colombia for over $2000. Made me smile.
Of course, this motorcycle isn't for me - BUT I did buy it. I'm guessing you'd like an explanation?You see, a friend of mine here wanted to buy a motorcycle but he was explaining all the hassle/fees he had to go through in order to transfer money from the United States or charge it on his credit card. Before leaving the United States I made sure I had a credit card with "no foreign transaction fees". Most cards with such awesomeness have an annual fee, but I managed to find some without any strings attached. So, I offered to buy it for him and the his parents in the states would just transfer money to my account. Pretty simple and it avoids all these fees. He hasn't given me the money yet, so technically the bike is still mine. Woo hoo! Proud owner of a Honda motorcycle.
In order for Steve to get this motorcycle he had to "take a test, go to the driving school, apply for a license, receive the license and then he'd be set". The use of quotations signifies that this is what should happen, but definitely not what did. All he did was pay this guy $150 US to do all the paper work, he signed some forms saying he knew how to drive, and then waited a week for his license. He got the license yesterday and then after school today we went and bought the thing. It took us about 20 minutes and then we were done. Now on Saturday one of the salesmen will call me and I'll call Steve and send him to go pick it up. It was easier than we had imagined and definitely happened more quickly than in the United States. For the first time since I've been here Colombia has proven to be more efficient at something! Score!
Oh yeah, one more thing, when I got home from charging the motorcycle on my credit card I had received a email notice from Capitalone, "We recently noticed potentially suspicious activity on your credit card." Ha! They didn't like a purchase in Colombia for over $2000. Made me smile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)