Mid-service Conference and Bogota

Joy and I at lunch in Bogota

Well we are through half the year now and it is time to look back and reflect on everything that we have achieved and overcome.  A few weeks ago it was time to regroup with some of the other volunteers.  Dale and I took a 30 minute flight to Colombia’s capital, Bogota, where we met with the other 17 interior volunteers.  The bus buzzed with stories of all of our adventures as we drove to Fusa, Bogota’s neighboring town.  We settled into our cabin-like “resort” that was equipped with a pool, bar, restaurant and a game room.  We spent the whole weekend catching up and swapping stories and comparing schools and placements.  It was refreshing to hear how everyone is working through similar struggles and interesting to hear how everyone’s experiences have been so different from one another.  Having the support from other volunteers and the field staff is a very important part of this experience and it was great to take the time out of our busy lives to be with one another.

  Luckily, after the conference was over Dale and I did not have to go right back to Medellin so we stayed with Dave and MR, another WorldTeach married couple, for a couple more days.  We drank wine, ate pizza, and played cards and I was so happy to have a family game night with the other volunteers!  We also had a chance to do some sightseeing before I became ill, perhaps a travel bug, and I had to call my evening short. This trip was the first time that we really had a chance to see the city and it was a great city to be in.  Bogota is like Medellin’s opposite and it is very interesting to see the differences of the two biggest cities both of which are so close to one another.  Some differences that I noticed is that Medellin is sunny and Bogota is rainy, Medellin is cookie cutter and very modern looking while Bogota’s buildings look historic with a lot of character, Medellin is a big city that feels small but Bogota is a big city that feels very big.   Both cities have good and bad attributes but I am very happy to be living in Medellin.

Fiestas and Ending the Semester

Colombians love to celebrate! We had the opportunity to go to a great fiesta thrown by the school for Teacher's Day.  We were invited to the party only a few days before the event; which is more advanced notice then usual.  We were told that we MUST cancel our classes for this big event, because of coarse a party is much more important then teaching any class (just one example in the difference of priorities.)

We arrived on time to Uniminuto, which of was way too early, to be greeted by 3 buses ready to shuttle the teachers to the restaurant where we would be for the rest of the evening.  As we jumped into the bus to wait for the rest of the teachers to arrive we received an envelope of tickets; one ticket said rum and one ticket said food.  I thought how nice it was to include a drink for everyone with their meal.  To my surprise I found out that the ticket was not for one drink but for a bottle; Colombians sure know how to party.  Needless to say everyone had a great time; drinking, dancing, and eating.  

Later as I was thinking about this great night;  I thought how strange it was to have such a party.  I know that in the States the schools that are struggling would cut such an extravagant party first or at least cut back.  Perhaps we didn't need to have 3 buses or a whole bottle of liquor or such large portions of food, etc.  Whereas I enjoyed the party I can't help thinking that maybe if they had cut back then they could afford to put the money towards what I would consider more important things; the school is certainly lacking in more then one area.  Maybe this is yet another difference in our cultures (can't say that I didn't enjoy it!) 

 We are now at the end of the semester and it seems like we just started yesterday.  It was difficult to say goodbye to the classes that I loved teaching but it is also very exciting to know that I can start all over again with new groups of students next semester.  All the students were so thankful to have been OUR students and they showed their appreciation in many different ways but one class went above and beyond my expectations.  After I gave my very difficult final exam to my Friday night class they returned to the classroom to surprise me with a giant cake that read "Tank you teacher." They presented me with gifts and as we all enjoyed the cake they played a slide show of Virginia with Metallica music, perfect.  Although I may have stumbled through my first semester of teaching it was very nice to see that they appreciated my hard work.
Now for a great two month vacation!

New Life in a New Apartment

This week we moved to a new apartment, one that hopefully fits our lifestyle a little better then our previous living situation.  We have 2 new human roommates, Wilson and Alejandro and a canine roommate named Toby.  We live in a completely different part of the city and it seems worlds away from where we work.  We live in a world of security guards, street cleaners, bike lanes, modern buildings, and hot water!  These are luxuries that we may take advantage of if we didn’t work where these things would seem so out of place.  A towering modern style building with cows grazing on its landscaped lawn, or a man urinating as a street cleaner scrubs the sidewalk next to him; it just seems ridicules. 

So we cherish all aspects our new luxurious home.  We have a nice big kitchen fully equipped with an oven and everything!  Wilson cooks frequently and makes delicious food.  With the quality of food at our previous apartment Dale ended up losing 30 pounds and I lost 10 pounds myself, all of which I am sure we will gain back at this rate.  We have a nice clean modern style apartment.  There is a small balcony where you can look out over all of Medellin at a 20 story view.  Our new bedroom is small but suits all of our needs.  We share a bathroom with Alejandro and it has HOT WATER! You don’t know just how important hot showers are until you don’t have them.  The apartment also has a beautiful recreational area with a pool, steam room, gym and basketball/ soccer court. 

     

Not only are the facilities more then what we could dream, but also our roommates are everything we could ask for.  Alejandro works in logistics and Wilson owns the apartment.  Both of them are very welcoming and we seem to fit right into their home.  We met some of their friends, including a tiny puppy named Juanes, and we had a delicious bbq with everyone last night.  We are also learning a lot of Spanish as neither of them speaks much English. 

The location is also a big plus.  Everything is at our fingertips; we walk by 3 huge malls just on our daily walk to the metro.  Movie theaters, Lleras Park (which has every restaurant and bar that you can think of), parks, and museums are just minutes away.  Our first week in our apartment has been amazing and although school is winding down for the semester I feel like we are starting a new life here in our new apartment.

Colombian Beer

Typical Colombian beer is similar to many Mexican imports that we drink in the States; like a Tacate or Corona.  There are 3 standard beers that you can find just about anywhere. 

Medellin’s favorite is Pilson it tastes like a Budweiser and EVERYONE in the city swears by it. 

Poker is also a favorite but it seems to be mostly in Bogota and is not very popular in Medellin.  

Then there is our typical favorite the Club Colombia.  These are a little more pricey (meaning a $1 rather then 75cents a beer) but worth it.  There are 3 kinds of Clubs: the standard gold, which taste like all the other typical Colombian beers. Roja, which is a standard weekend drink for Dale and I, it is mild and light but with a bit of an amber ale flavor.  Then there is negra which is MUCH more expensive then the others and I have only tried it once it tasted the similar to the other two to me.  Although we have our favorites really they all taste very similar and aren’t the flavorful craft brews that we have grown accustomed to.

Luckily there are some craft beers available here too.  One craft brewery is called Apostal; a large brewing company that is available in select cities throughout Colombia. Apostal has five different types of beer that Dale and I were lucky enough to try with a sample pack.  I recommend this brewer you cannot go wrong with any of these flavorful beers.

The Tipo Weizen is a fruity wheat beer that is something between a Bluemoon and a Stella.

The Tipo Helles is a light golden ale with simple clean flavor.

The Tipo Marzen is an amber ale with a big flavor starting flavor with no lingering after taste.

The Tipo Dubbel is very flavorful and fruity similar to the Weizen but deeper in flavor.

The Tipo Bock is nutty with a hearty thick flavor without being as creamy as a stout.

Medellin also has it’s own microbrewery called 3 Cordilleras which makes beer that you can buy throughout Medellin in stores and at bars.  They have 4 standard beer flavors: Negra, Mulata, Mestiza, Blanca, (soon to be 5 with the new Rosa coming out this week.) 

I have two favorites by 3 Cordillera: the Negra and Mulata.  The Negra is a typical nutty brown ale it is a decent brown and since it is the only true nut brown in Colombia it satisfies my thirst.  The Mulata however in a world full of amber ales is the best with great flavor.  Dale likes the Mestiza, he thinks that it tastes like your standard Pale Ale. It has a quick punch of hops but nothing that lingers on the tongue too long or has a real complex flavor. Just a nice mild hoppy smoothness that gets close to the IPA taste that he loves so much.

This weekend 3 Cordillera’s but on a beer and music festival called Vibra Mi Tierra.  This was the best festival I have had the opportunity to attend.  It had something for everyone!  The main attractions included a taste testing of home brewed beers.  People who brew at home brought in their batches to share and talk about the flavors that they created and the processes they took.  The explanations were mostly in Spanish but their enthusiasm for their beers were clear and one group even explained their beer to us in English.  

                                                  

Many local businesses had stands out for people to shop at and local restaurants brought their best foods for us to taste.  We tried chimicangas from Revolucion Mexicana 1910 and chirzos from Patria Mia but the options were limitless.  And as though that was not enough to entertain us for the day some amazing bands played all day including Puerto Candelaria and Monsieur Perine.  Puerto Candelaria put on an amazing show they had everyone singing, dancing, yelling and screaming.  They are the Colombian Gogol Bordello and played some amazing gypsy punk.  I have to say the best moment of their show was when they played Ghost Busters but the familiar words that I grew up singing were being sung in Spanish- I could not stop laughing.  Monsieur Perine was not as energetic as Puerto Candelaria but she didn’t seem to need it.  Her presence alone got the crowd going and everyone knew each and every word as they sang with her.  She sounded like No Doubt having all the attitude from Gwen Stefani’s prime.

Puerto Candelaria Video at Vibra Mi Tierra 2012

Monsieur Perine

Lead singer: Monsieur Perine

The entertainment was beyond compare and the location made it all that much more incredible.  The festival was at the lovely Botanical Gardens in an organic amphitheater that seemed to grow out of the surrounding trees.  The way it was lit at night made it seem like we were dancing and singing in the forest rather then a typical pavement of a parking lot like in the States.  All in all it was another great weekend in Medellin.

        

Public Nudity

Pubic nudity in Medellin is not the taboo that it is in the States.  On any given day you can witness several different displays of nudity.  Where one would receive a ticket of indecent exposure in the States it is just a common necessity that doesn’t even receive a second glance here.

Women completely pull out a boob on the metro to breast-feed.  I am all for a woman’s right to breast-feed in public, though taking your boob out on a metro calls for a second look.  But that doesn’t even scratch the surface.  On our walks home there is always at least one taxi driver pulled over, with his hazards on, urinating in our bushes.   I have seen men creatively finding a restroom in about every inch of the city: a tree, a bush, a trashcan or even a Botero sculpture.  They don’t stop at public urination, although it is less common, I have been witness to others defecating in the middle of the city streets.  Imagine you are walking along a crowded metropolitan street. People are shoulder-to-shoulder trudging by: shopping, heading off to work, or running errands.   You take a moment and glance around to see a woman just whip down her pants and get some of her own business done, right in the middle of everything.  No one even stops to look! 

We also live next to a rancher that strips down every day to take a bucket shower in the middle of his field.   I would say that it is one of the harder things to get used to here and it is a constant reminder that we are not home.   We have to watch our step as soon as we leave our house. Is that puddle just collected raindrops, or something more?   I don’t take the risk!  I wake up every morning to look out the window at the beautiful landscape that surrounds us.  As my eyes move down the mountains I see a man butt naked in the center of the field and I say “I don’t think I am in Kansas any more!” 

Women in Medellin

               As a woman in a foreign country there is always a concern that the freedoms and liberties that the women of the United States enjoy would not be the same elsewhere.  In my experience in Medellin there are certain things that are definitely different then what you would experience in the States. 

Historically in Latin America male and female roles have been distinctly different and it has been a patriarchal culture. The Spanish language gives an example of how this is true.  In Spanish there are masculine and feminine words. For example if it is a group of men you say “ellos” for “they” and if it is a group of women you say “ellas;” however if there are 1 million women and 1 man in a group you still say “ellos.” This is only one example of many that shows the male dominance in their language. 

Although this male centeredness is ingrained into their history I do not see blatant inequalities between men and women in the work place.  The head of the English department is a woman and women hold many of the other higher positions at the university (as well as the ministry of education.)  Although these women hold high positions in the university they do seem to be treated differently then the men who hold the same positions.  Women seem to have to work much harder to earn the respect and authority needed in their position.  I see this daily from my experiences in the classroom compared to Dales, although I’m sure it does help Dale that he is 2 feet taller then any of his students.  The women who are holding high positions also seem to be coddled and treated and spoken to in a much soother way when hearing criticisms and when issues arise then when speaking to man. 

Socially there are still distinct gender roles that are expected by both men and women.  On the metro women are given all of the seats on the train before men and it is looked down upon if a man is seen sitting while a woman is left to stand.  Doors are held open for all the women and in greetings men give a woman a kiss on the cheek.  These are gentlemanly acts that are socially required to be performed by all the men.  The woman’s roles are mostly in the house and therefor they are in charge of being the leader of the household.  Women clean, cook and run the daily routines of the home.  Not only do men not do these activities but they do not even know how or our ever taught.  It is so uncommon that when our household watched Dale clean the dishes their mouths hung open in shock. 

Although the gender roles are more distinct here and maybe with more time with the Colombian culture I will understand more, but right now it seems like they are moving into the right direction.  It also seems as though they struggle with similar issues that we do in the States.  So I will take and enjoy the seats on the metro and doors being held open and hopefully Dale will be a role model in our apartment and change their ideas of who should do what domestically.   

Our three day weekend in San Rafael

 

We had an amazing weekend in the countryside of Medellin last week.  Our coworker, Giovanny invited us to join him and his girlfriend to her family’s farm.  They own a fish farm about 2 hours outside of Medellin in San Rafael.  It is a beautiful small mountain town that has a gorgeous river that runs through it.  During our drive to San Rafael we stopped to climb Penon de Guatape, which is a famous rock that people trudge up the endless steps to get to the top for spectacular views.  The steps are anything but safe and are definitely not ADA approved but the views were worth the struggle.  After our up hill excursion we enjoyed the touristy little river town of Guatape.  Guatape is full of bars and shopping and water sports much like the beach towns in the States.  We strolled around a little before heading to the country. 

Alejandra’s, Giovanny’s girlfriend, family was there and they were so excited to have us join them.  Martha showed us all the fruits and trees that grow around their house.  They tried their best to speak English and we tried our best to speak Spanish.  The kids, two boys about 12 years old, tried their hardest to speak English and it was a great source of entertainment.  Everything they knew came from video games and rap music and they never knew what they were saying!  Then they wanted to go for a little walk, even though we were still exhausted from the endless staircase we decided to go.  Unfortunately families in Colombia are similar to mine and although we took the “short cut” it ended up being a 2 hour walk!  Needless to say after a beer and a soccer game I passed out. 

After falling asleep we woke up to the noises of little tiny feet scurrying all around us.  After hearing one then there were 10 and 20 and then they were EVERYWHERE!  There was no more sleeping for the rest of the night.  But even after a less then perfect night the morning was so beautiful that it was soon forgotten. After a nap on the porch I couldn’t even remember the sound of those scurrying feet.  We spent some time in the little town of San Raphael, it was a typical busy Sunday morning.  We sat and enjoyed some people watching before heading over to the market.  The rest of the day was spent laying around, swimming in the river, and enjoying the company of the familia.  The evening was spent drinking a couple of beers and playing cards, Colombian rummy is much more fun then the one in the States. 

It was a very relaxing weekend and so much fun being a part of a family for a weekend.  We made a lot of friends and had a great time.  Hopefully each holiday weekend will be as fun as this one was!