My Love Hate Relationship with Quito

It seems that most times I am flying over Quito my eyes are filled with tears. When I left a year and a half ago I was crying tears of sadness that the life I lived for that year in Quito would never exist again, I felt like i was dying to my Ecuadorian life. This time the familiarity of the city and a rush of good memories came back to me filling me with joy to be returning. As I stepped off the plane I was immediately greeted with a rush of cold Andean air and the smell of Quito. You know how all cities often have their own smell? It was all so familiar. I was met by my host mom and Ferny, the oldest brother. It was awkward for about 3 minutes and then it just felt completely normal again, as if nothing had changed. I was welcomed back into the comfortable home I had lived in for 10 months and although initially I wasn't sleeping in my old room because the Pitzer student was still there, it still felt like nothing had changed, like I had never left. 


Moments into my stay however the love hate sentiments I feel for Quito came back to me. I love Quito because of all the amazing good times and for how much my experience here changed me. In a certain way, I think of my life as before Ecuador and after Ecuador. Its hard to pinpoint the exact things that changed me but I certainly developed and keener sense of myself and a deeper self confidence, an ability to show people and be myself honestly and without shame. I felt a freedom here that I had never felt before, and it was an important way to live for that period of time. I love Quito because I have an amazing family and group of friends here. I love Quito because it is beautifully placed in the middle of large grandiose mountains and has a true Andean feel and deep indigenous influence. I love the Mariscal and going out in Quito, its amazing how at home i feel wandering around La Plaza Foch. This past weekend it was insane how many people recognized me. A bartender in my favorite bar walked up to me and gave me a huge hug, earlier in the same bar (the first bar i walk into in la mariscal) there is my favorite Colombian chilling in the corner, i go up to him he looks at me smiles gives me a huge hug and responds "wow you're so much smaller..." haha thanks i guess. We spent the rest of the night drinking, catching up and talking about Colombia and Ecuador. In that same bar a beautiful afro-Ecuadorian guy was eyeing me. I was pleased of course, and then he came up to me and said "regresaste" (you returned) i looked at him as i didn't really recognize him and he went on to explain that he was from Atacames. We had met in Atacames when I was with Elvis and he had danced samba in this bar one night when I was there. I love Quito because its such a small city and crazy coincidences happen all the time. I love Quito because the artisan products are amazing and gorgeous, Colombia has none of that going on. I went to the market today and was overwhelmed by the beautiful products. I realized that I may not be returning to Ecuador for a while so I might as well stock up on beautiful tapestries, table clothes, napkins etc. for my future houses and to have found memories of the beautifully colorful country Ecuador is. I love Quito because I have forgotten about all the delicious traditional foods there are, I think Ecuador is winning in the food category.. although i do love arepas. I love Quito because in a strange way it feels like home. 


I hate Quito because its so polluted, everyday i have black boogers. I hate Quito because it takes FOREVER to get anywhere and its never easy. I hate Quito because busses are always so ridiculously packed. I hate Quito because every man I pass on the street says something, whistles, honks or makes some sound (way worse than in Colombia... haven't come up with a theory about that yet). I hate Quito because I get extreme side walk rage as people move super slow and I naturally move quickly plus I'm tall with long legs. I hate Quito because surprisingly there isn't THAT much to do other than party (really realizing that now...) I hate Quito because of the poverty, inequality and racism that is smashed into your face everyday. Truth is, after living here for a while you get used to it, and the question is it that a good thing or a bad thing? Its amazing how accustomed I am to having empleadas in the house, and poor people and children begging you to clean your shoes. I hate Quito because there are so many gringo travelers who act so stupid and ignorant and some who don't even speak Spanish. I've been amazed at how many more gringos and tourists i see in Quito than in Medellín. 


The truth is that I really do love Quito. There are just many small little things about Quito that I can easily criticize and that easily frustrate an extranjera. I love Quito because I feel like I understand it in many ways, and in its own way it understands me. 


I've been overwhelmed in thinking about the many small yet real differences between Ecuador and Colombia. From an outside perspective they are very similar, but when you know the two countries or one of the two, the differences are countless. The biggest differences can be boiled down to a few things. 1) The indigenous influence in Ecuador is so strong and important and a reason for many of the problems and inequalities but also the beauty and uniqueness of the country. 
2) Colombia is way more developed than Ecuador. Surprising but true. Then again Colombia is rich with drug money and support from the United States. They have also not been in a million wars that have put them deeply into debt and had 8 different constitutions in 10 years.
3) Colombians are beautiful. This makes them super vain, especially Paisas and Paisa Women above all. But although I know and see some gorgeous Ecuadorians, the Colombian beauty especially in women is breathtaking. 
4) Ecuadorians have a higher level of English. My theory here is because Colombia has been so shut off from the world (tourism and business speaking) that there has been less reason to learn English. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for a Colombian to get a visa to any country in the world (getting easier but still difficult) therefore, there are less opportunities to live and work abroad therefore less incentive to learn another language. 
5) Ecuadorians appear more machista. Its really hard to measure the levels of machismo, but I do have some experience with this having written my thesis on this topic. On the surface, meaning piropos in the streets and respect for women, Colombia is definitely slightly more educated in this respect. Again, I cannot exactly pinpoint the reason for why I get many more cat calls on the streets of Quito than in Medellín but its definitely true. In fact I get way more attention here in Quito in general. I used to walked into a bar or disco and literally be grabbed at. I couldn't get away from Ecuadorians, but in Colombia at times I hardly feel noticed. 
6) Racism. My friends in Colombia are often shocked by the level of racism expressed by Colombians. To me I've been impressed by the lack of racism. I have witnessed way less racism in Colombia than in Ecuador. I think this is because there is less of an inferior indigenous population and in general Colombia is just must more racially mixed. You see people with bright blue eyes and red or blonde hair in Colombia.. and they aren't Meg, Elly and I. They are true Colombians. Of course the social hierarchy and general system is racist, but Ecuador is a different story.


Regardless of the differences, I still cannot really answer the question "which do you like better?" Some days I answer with Ecuador and other days with Colombia. The truth is that my experiences in both places are super unique. I am a different person now than I was in Ecuador and my life in Colombia (although it has its similarities) is very different. Both countries hold a special place in my heart, and both countries have taught me very valuable life experiences that I will hold onto forever. 


As I mentioned before, I cried and cried leaving Ecuador in June 2010 knowing that I would never get that experience back. It would never be the same. This return trip has proven that to be true, but not entirely. Sure, I don't have my dear gringo study abroad friends to explore the city with, and who are available and willing to do something at all points of the day. I don't have gringos to tell about the crazy thing that happened on the bus, or in the mariscal last night, or the story my empleada told me at lunch. True, I am a different person now, more mature and more independent (and los jibaros certainly pointed that out). But, as I said there is still a feeling of sameness, as if I had never left. I still have the most fun partying in the Mariscal. I still kind of feel like a rock star here. I still love Next Level (which is now The Attic) I still love going to rugby games and hanging out with the Jibaros. I still love my host family and everything involving them: having dinner, playing with Jose, tickling Jose, talking to Ferny about life, laughing at my brothers (mainly jose), talking to Jaime about interesting cultural and scientific facts, cuddling with my mom on her bed watching telenovelas, telling my mom the truth of every detail of the night before, or my most recent love interest, chatting with my host dad about politics or cultural differences or food, hearing stories from Luzmilda (our maid's) past, waking up from the boys getting ready for colegio and being able to fall back asleep and the general comfort and welcoming atmosphere that I feel in this house. I still know my way around the city and how to get almost everywhere on public transportation. I still have to control myself when I walk into the artisan market. And lastly I still enjoy just being here. I haven't done much the past week and it feels so good. I don't feel the need to run around the city and see all the touristy things, i've done it all and most of them aren't that exciting. I came to Ecuador to spend a week in Quito with my family, because they really are my family. Its the holidays and that is what the holidays are all about. I've been thoroughly enjoying just being. And that my friends is something I strive to do everything single day of my life, somedays are better than others, but somehow here, in this country, in this city, in this house I can just BE and I'm ok with it. 

Some photos from my Ecuador trip so far...

Jair, Pablo, Edison and I at Santiago's house Saturday night

pablito and i

Edison and I and Juanka and the trophy!

juanka and i (he had a spill)

Tomorrow morning at 11 I will meet up with Juan, Cynthia, Andreas and Mateo in the Quito Airport to fly to Cuenca to spend christmas with Juan's family there. I am so grateful that they have invited me to spend christmas with them and so happy that I will have people from Elk to be my family for the holidays. I am also super excited to see Cuenca, I never went when i lived here years ago and many people have told me its a beautiful city! More updates from the trip to come... probably not until early January since I am leaving my computer behind in Quito so has not to lose it. :) 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! So thankful to have all of you in my life. <3 <3 <3

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas....

.....Well actually that’s kind of a lie.... for a few reasons.... first of all because stores have been filled with Christmas decorations and they have started putting up decorations around the city since SEPTEMBER! Also, I am on the equator, the days are still exactly 12 hours long, temperatures still average around 20-27 degrees Celsius and very little has changed in terms of the weather, except now its almost always cloudy (which sucks, I miss the sun and I'm losing my tan) and it rains everyday, sometimes it monsoons, this is what they call the rainy season.  Regardless, this does not feel like Christmastime. Except that Paisas are pretty much Christmas crazy. No joke. As I said decorations have been around since SEPTEMBER! Furthermore, every Paisa asked me if I will be here in December and then precedes to tell me how great and amazing Christmas is. I knew about the elaborate lights over the river that light this Saturday I think and how everyone goes out and sees them and takes pictures and that December 7th and 8th were crazy party days in celebration of the Virgin Mary and they light many candles in honor. I also knew that all of December is filled with Christmas parties and Chivas. However, yesterday I learned about a new event and so far its my favorite as it is the only one I have experienced and because I think its hilarious. On November 30th, people fill the streets and bars of the city and especially of the smaller municipios of Envigado and Sabaneta to party and celebrate... what are they celebrating you ask? The beginning of December. My students explained this celebration to me in my conversation class and when I asked why the response was that people wait all year long for December to arrive, so they party, set off fireworks and celebrate on December Eve. All evening long it sounded like the city was at war with the sounds of fireworks going off, but at Midnight things really went crazy. Unfortunately, the night kind of failed us or we failed the night because we couldn't really get straight answers as to where the best place would be to go to watch the fireworks and enjoy the party. We ended up in Parque Envigado which was chalked full of people drinking and playing music, but no one was setting off fireworks right there. Furthermore, people just set off bottle rocket type fireworks so there wasn't too much too see... but we heard it all... Afterwards we tried to find a bar or club to hit up in Envigado, but apparently on Wednesday nights most bars close early. So we never had success in truly partying it up like the Paisas were, and perhaps we got to Envigado too late as we rolled up at 11:30. But either way Medellín is happier today, now all the radio stations pretty much solely play Christmas music, on the way to work this morning I had to laugh when a song with the lyrics "viene la alegría bienvenida Navidad" (Here comes the happiness, Welcome Christmas), there are also frequently heard shouts both on the radio and on the streets "Estamos en Diciembre!!!". 

Arriving at Parque Envigado wednesday night, lots of decorations everywhere 

The Christmas Tree in the park right outside the church, pretty groovy....

The way Christmas stories and traditions vary around the world is very interesting to me and today I learned many of the Colombian (or Medellín) Christmas Traditions and stories. I successfully got my students to actually TALK and have conversation today in my Conversation Class. I was proud and impressed by them. Here in Colombia they do not have the Santa Claus belief or story. Instead gifts are brought by Niño Jesus (Baby Jesus) or Dios Jesus (Jesus God). I asked them how he arrives, and each student's family had a different story. He walks, he flies, he becomes a white dove and files into the home.... They also play a game where they hide figurines of Niño Jesus and the children search for him and win candy... reminded me of an Easter Egg hunt. Furthermore, they celebrate what is called La Novena, I believe it runs from the 16th-24th and its basically one week of praying and family celebrations filled with music, dancing, stories of Niño Jesus and the whole history of Jesus' birth and good food. Colombia has many traditional Christmas desserts, Natilla for example is some sort of corn pudding, sounds bizarre but at the same time I think I'm gonna like it (and its gluten free!!). They also eat lots of buñelos which are basically fried breaded cheese balls (which might also be corn based), ohuelo (also gluten free) and empanadas (also gluten free). I told my students about some American Christmas customs and traditions and of course shared my love for Christmas music and told them all about the Elk Christmas Sing-a-long and while I was telling them all these things and about what my family does, I got really sad. My body filled with that familiar feeling of Christmastime and I got sad that I wasn't going to experience it at home in Elk. However, I'm sure the Peña family in Cuenca will celebrate it in good Ecuadorian style!

Despite the many ways that it does not feel like Christmas, my apartment building is now seriously decked out in holiday flair with icicle lights hanging from every balcony, wreaths in the lobby and a flashing (fake) christmas tree. As pathetic as fake christmas trees seem to me, they also have a lot of benefits for example think about how much money you save only buying a christmas tree ONE TIME.. those things are kinda expensive... Also, its so much better for the environment and the world. No wasting of trees! :) However, there is something to be said for the tradition of going out and picking your tree either at the store or in the forest, bringing it home and the wonderful smell that fills your living room... definitely a classic smell of christmas. 

The building across the street, adding flair to Transversal 37!

Firenze Apartments! My home and where the dog house exists.

Last Saturday I was in a Salsa Performance (actually it was a chachacha rhythm) at my Dance Academy. It was so much fun! I danced with my Caleño instructor Norman and there were two other couples dancing in the same piece, Chloe ( an english teacher from England) and Daniela (a colombian student who happens to literally be my neighbor!), and Sheva (a girl from Sacramento who just happened to be travelling through Medellín) and Sergio (another salsa instructor at the school). The whole evening was super fun, there were a ton of people there watching and there was lots of time for free dancing as well as many presentations. I wish I had more pictures but since I was dancing it was hard to take the pictures. I have a video that a friend took for me, but Blogspot is not letting me upload the video, so we will see what we can do about that... I was able to upload it to facebook, so for those of you who have facebook or access to it you can check it out on my profile or under my videos.

While we entered, before we danced!!

one of my favorite moves, sliding between the guys legs! 

Sheva me and Chole after the dance... looking fly!

In other news I have about one more day of work left!!! Halleluja!!! We head to Bogotá early Sunday morning for a four day Fulbright conference, although the conference will probably be deathly boring I am excited to see all the other Fulbrighters after having had 4 months of similar but different experiences! We've had quite a few visitors to Paisa land this past week and its been so great seeing everyone and showing them our city! 

Me in my classroom during conversation class. Picture taken for my presentation I have to give about my experience teaching in Bogotá next week!

Well this is just Part I of the Colombia (and Ecuador) Christmas Chronicles (check out that alliteration!) so please stay tuned for what is more to come! Happy December everyone! Lots of love....

random morning anecdotes and thoughts

I currently find myself with an extra hour before I head to my 10:00 am conversation class and I got up at 6:30am. Why you ask? Well its quite simple really, Colombian disorganization. I'm currently rehearsing for a salsa performance  that will occur Saturday. I was chosen by my instructor at the academy to represent him and his students. Sounds pretty cool right? And it is for the most part, except that we didn't start rehearsing until Monday (leaving us 5 days) and now we are trying to cram in as many rehearsals as possible that fit into the four dancers schedules so we had decided today we would rehearse at 8 am because I have to work at 10. I get my ass up (I physically can't get up early these days.. not quite sure why) organize all my stuff for the day which involves bringing a change of clothes, all my class stuff, my swimming stuff etc. Eat some breakfast and head to the academy. I get there right at 8 as all the other instructors are arriving, it was crazy to be there so early since usually I am there at 4. I'm sitting and waiting while they finish sweeping up the floor etc. and hear someone ask Norman, my instructor, who he is with right now. A few minutes later he comes over and says, oh they made a mistake and I have another class right now can you come back in the afternoon. Are you kidding me? Luckily I can because well my schedule is quite open, but it was freaking 8 in the morning! Annoying. I act as if its all fine and dandy because what am I really gonna do about it anyway and leave to head back home. I knew I was going to run into Daniel one of the other dancers because yesterday we discovered we are legitimately neighbors, like we live across the street from each other. And there he was trucking up the street as i left. He looked at me questioning and i explained. He was pissed as he too did not want to get up so early. So we walked back to our houses together chit chatting and getting to know each other and he went back to sleep and I have this awkward amount of time to kill. Furthermore, yesterday when I found out we would be rehearsing at 8 am and I would have to book it directly to campus right before my class, I realized that I wouldn't have time to make copies of the things I needed for my conversation class (I'm doing a lesson on Thanksgiving) so I would have to pay to make copies now. So I go to the local internet and copy place make all my copies which I figured would come out to not be a lot because generally making copies isn't so I just brought 5,000 pesos with me. I was wrong. Came out to be a whooping 16,000 pesos!! Are you kidding me? I was pissed but it was, I thought, really my only option and I had to suck it up. Again I was wrong. So now not only did I get up early for no reason and trek the 20 minutes up la avenida 33 to the studio I'm out 16,000 pesos which is a solid meal or two right there! Its funny because this is not the only time that I've used my American skills of time management and was all prepared to blast through a busy tightly scheduled day and Colombia shits on me. Its as if to make things work in Colombia you have to always be late and disorganized because thats the way the rest of the country is and operates.....Oh Colombia.........


Another fun anecdote that I decided I wanted to share is about the Stadium here in Medellín. I had been there once at the beginning of my time here when we went to see the Under 20 World Cup game, and since then I've walked by it, gotten on and off the metro by it and gotten drinks on the avenue near it but I hadn't really been in and around and explored it. I knew it has some great features but I hadn't ever seen it for myself. Yesterday since I had an afternoon of free time (story of my life) I decided to go for a run. Usually I just run around the neighborhood which isn't super exciting but it gets the job done. Today I decided I would run up to the Stadium (its about a 20-25 minute walk) and see what was up there. Pretty happy I made that decision because let me tell you that place is AWESOME! There are a ton of Colliseums for all different sports... basketball, volleyball, handball, wrestling, fencing, gymnastics, soccer, an olympic size swimming pool, a gym, a track and of course the huge soccer stadium (and there could be more thats all I saw and I only stayed on one side of it). I wandered through it utterly amazed at what it had to offered. People who partaking in all of the above activities. My favorite to watch were the gymnasts. Colombians of all ages were learning to do round off back handsprings, jumping in trampolines, throwing hula hoops up in the air and balancing on beams. I eventually found my way to the track which was my ultimate goal and realized that the outer lane was open for anyone to run. Excellent! I took off running meanwhile seriously observing all the different kinds of people there were working out and training in this area. I'm still slightly confused as to who really uses all these facilities. There are programs through the Alcaldia de Medellín but I don't know if they are just for fun or what. I'm also pretty sure that many of the people working and training there are training to represent Colombia (or try to atleast) in the Olympics because all over there are signs that say "Medellín vamos por los Olympicos"... So I'm thinking that many of the programs are Olympic Development Programs (or what we call ODP). But there are also other government sponsored programs, for example there was a group of handicapped people, they looked like they all had down-syndrome who were sprinting and training as well... I don't know perhaps some sort of Special Olympics because they were decked out in some pretty serious gear. Furthermore, there were some serious muscles I saw there. A girl was running around (but doing the kind of run you do when preparing to pole vault) with the crazy abs I have ever seen. There were some very large girls and boys throwing the shot put, and in the training room I saw a girl with roaring thighs squat some insane amount of weight. So yea, here I am running around the track with people training for the Olympics... that made me feel good about myself... haha. But actually in the lane I was running I was the fastest and I lapped pretty much everyone because it was a mostly people walking and doing a slow jog that were running at this hour in the outer lane. Either way it was a great discovery that I will certainly go back to and look further into what sort of facilities I can use as an outsider while continue looking for the answers to all my questions about who exactly these people (mostly kids) are who are training and using the facilities.


Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I get sad when I think about what I'm missing and when I see on facebook that everyone is headed home. Again I am missing fall more than I would have imagined and I love going home for Thanksgiving, its usually the first time college students come home and EVERYONE is there. Saturday night at Patterson's and Dicks is just so fun! But, despite the fact that I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my family and friends I will get to have a Thanksgiving dinner and a good weekend!! I have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with Jorge and Dora two English professors at la U de M who grew up in the United States so they understand the beauty that is Thanksgiving. Then this weekend a group of Fulbrighters are coming to spend Thanksgiving with us and to get to know the lovely city of Medellín. Plus I have my dance rehearsal that should be fun and then I only have one short week more of work before two months of vacation. Praise the Lord!!!!!! I'm pretty over working and ready to get out and explore and not set foot on the stupid U de M campus for quite a while. Then when I come back to work I will only have FOUR MORE MONTHS of work which will probably be more like three because of spring vacations and the time I'm gonna take off when my parents come! Yup, things are looking up....


Well speaking of work looks like its time to leave the house, get on the bus and head up the hill to campus. Hope you all enjoyed my random anecdotes from the past few days.

Colorful Reflections

As many of you probably already know I am entirely enchanted by AfroLatin culture. It inspires me, interests me, attracts me and amazes me. In the United States, we have both Afro and Latino influence and culture, however they are rarely combined, and they have experienced extreme marginalization, prejudice, racism and poverty in the US. Furthermore, both African American culture and Hispano American culture in the United States are very distinct from AfroColombian or AfroEcuadorian culture. Its not to say that Afro cultures in Latin America have not been marginalized or haven't experienced prejudice. Ecuador was one of the most racist and racially separated cultures I have ever experienced. Yes the United States has an extreme history of racism, but because of this most North Americans are very very conscious and sensitive to racism and racist terms. We have a hard time using the adjective "black" to describe a person, we prefer and it is more politically correct to say "person of color" or "African-American". Colombia, in my experience so far, is much less racist, more diverse and more racially integrated and mixed than Ecuador. Here people easily call others "negro" or "negrito". AfroColombians refer to themselves proudly as negrito. The word "mona" is also used to describe someone with light features. I, for example, am called mona all the time. However, many Colombians have very light features, light hair, skin and eyes and are referred to as mona as well. Speaking of light eyes, I have seen some of the most amazing eye colors here. It is incredible to see a tanned latino or latina with strikingly blue eyes or "miel" (honey) colored eyes. My eyes of course still blow people away, especially young children, I have been asked many times if they were real. Anyway, Colombia is extremely diverse in physical features, for this reason you find some of the most beautiful people in the world and very little racism. 


However, many AfroColombians have experienced displacement due to violence and poverty. The Pacific Coast of Colombia has a dense Afro population, namely the department of Choco and many people from Choco are now living in Medellín. La Universidad de Medellín for example has many students who moved from Choco or Quibdo to Medellín for school. The diversity of UdeM is one of the most positive aspects of the university. The Pacific Coast of Colombia is wild and untamed, yet beautiful and sabroso (flavorful)... or so I hear. As I have found to be very true in my travels geography and culture are deeply linked. Therefore, the Pacific Coast has a unique, wonderful and sabroso culture. Apart from being deeply intrigued by AfroColombian culture, I am very attracted to AfroColombians, in fact they are pretty much the only Colombians I am really attracted to at all. 


Medellín continues to amaze me, with its constant offering of fabulous, FREE, cultural events. Last weekend was the Festival de Música Afrocolombiana aka Festiafro. After spending a rainy afternoon with Jessy in el Centro going to an artisan fair and eating delicious chocolate truffles, we headed to Parque de Los Deseos at 5:00 right as the festival was beginning. The first artist took the stage, a beautiful, pregnant woman in a patterned dress singing beautiful songs she wrote herself as thunder roared and lightning flashed and rain poured around us. The rain persisted throughout the night, but added flavor, excitement and soul to the whole event. As my favorite group of the night played Son Pacifico (http://www.myspace.com/sonpacifico), I looked around at a sea of umbrellas with smiles spread widely across a rainbow of faces. Many people were dancing with so much passion, excitement and happiness getting drenched in the rain, there is something about singing and dancing in the rain that is truly magical and beautiful. By the end of the night the crowd had grown significantly and the rain hardly seemed to faze anyone. I was in heaven, surrounded by good music, a good energy, absolutely gorgeous people and the familiar smell of marijuana. To the left side of the stage there was a large group of Chocoana's who, led by one main guy, danced together the traditional steps of baile Chocoano. Everyone was so talented and everyone knew the steps. I was entranced as I watched and stood in the back trying to dance along. To the right side of the stage there were 3 AfroColombian men, two adults and a young boy who stood in a line and danced some traditional moves together, led of course by the little boy. There was also a gringo who although he had no style, rhythm or beat was dancing his heart out. Jessy looks at me  and states "it pains me to watch that gringo dance with no rhythm" I laughed but it was true, in comparison to the graceful and stylish Colombians surrounded him he looked quite stupid. Its amazing how most Latinos have dance, rhythm, grace, movement and style in their blood. There was also another gringo couple who could actually dance. They were soaking wet from the rain but enjoying themselves so much and dancing their little hearts out, they were in love and clearly having the time of their lives as they travelled together. This scene and moments like this are some of my favorites. Its what I cherish most about the summer music festivals my friends and I frequent and is even more inspiring and fulfilling when you find it in another country with a slightly different cultural flair and you can share it with a group of people distinct from yourself. Its a moment where your lives, excitement and energy cross, it is a moment of positive globalization and intercultural experience, sharing and communication as you share a look or a smile with a stranger or dance and sing with your neighbor all in this shared moment of ecstasy. Another magical moment that I didn't have a camera for, but will live as mental images in my mind and soul.  It was so beautiful and fun to see, it gave made me a longing to be part of it, to be part of a culture so close knit, passionate and beautiful. On my way home I realized that although my culture and community, is much less flavorful, diverse, traditional, passionate and "picante", it still is the base of my life, it still encourages me, supports me, fulfills me and created me. Sure we don't have a style of music or community dance styles, but we have love and community events that most members will do anything to attend.... 


My salsa instructor, Norman, is a large, strong, tall negrito from Cali. He is gorgeous and awesome, we have so much fun dancing together and its so nice to dance with someone bigger than me! Haha. On Thursday he slid me through his legs... it was awesome! One day we were dancing and he stops and looks down at our hands. "Look how beautiful our skin looks together" he commented. I had to agree, the contrast was incredible. He looks at me and asked if I had ever been with a negrito. I smile and nod. He smiles back and continues to tell me that his girlfriend (a doctor) looks just like me, "una mona" he describes. "Here in Colombia we are very diverse" he continues. I have to agree and tell him that last weekend I went to "El Festival de Música Afrocolombiana", he is happy to hear that it was so amazing and goes on to tell me about the AfroColombian culture or La Chocoana culture (from the department Choco). They have their own style of dancing, music and way of life. This is exactly what I witnessed during the Festival. It was a communal passion, tradition, flavor and shared experience. Norman went on to describe that there is very little racism in Colombia and that AfroColombians were the first to be free after Independence from Spain and Europe. I remarked that I noticed that and that Ecuador was so much more racist. He laughed and responded "Si, claro. Ecuatorianos son brutos y tontos!" (innocent/uncouth and stupid). Considering Ecuador and Colombia are such close neighbors and similar in many ways there are some fundamental differences, this being one of them. Ecuador continues to live in a strictly divided, hierarchical, prejudice and racist society, while Colombia for some reason has been able to move beyond that. In Colombian I really have not seen much less of that, but I have yet to create a theory as to why this difference is so big. Of course there is a major socio-economic separation and the upper class tends to be lighter skinned and featured (or get work done to appear that way) there is much less outright racism and prejudice. People say Colombians are more intelligent and certainly more developed than Ecuador so maybe this all has something to do with it, but it still is quite interesting and puzzling to me. Its certainly something I will continue to question, observe and ruminate on trying to find a theory behind it. 

This isn't to say that Colombia isn't without its social problems. Here in Colombia if you have money and you come from one of the handful of families of power you will get anything and anywhere in life. It doesn't matter how smart or devoted you are to your studies, and children from these families know that and are brainwashed into believing many untrue facts about life from their parents. These children will get good jobs and live wealthy lives because of their last names and connections. Connections run Colombian society, I asked a girl my age who had just graduated and was looking for a job. I asked her how one goes about getting a job out of college, she described that you must fill out applications online, but more than anything its the connections you can make or your family has. Luckily, I have very little contact with these families and children, because as I stated before la UdeM is a middle class university and the cheapest of all the private universities in Medellín where tuition is based on your income and it has a high level of diversity. Not to say that there aren't ugly girls with zebra-striped hair, braces, boob jobs and lipo-sunction driving nice cars, but its no EAFIT (the "best" University in Colombia, full of spoiled rich kids) who go to college just because its the next step not because they care. Jessy however works at one of the "best", meaning expensive, colegios (schools) in Medellín called Montessori (although it is far from a true Montessori school). I went to visit her last week, to check the scene and attend her little kid gymnastics class (which was awesome). The campus was beautiful and cute, however Jessy and any other teach I've met who works there can give you quite an earful of the problems they experience working at Montessori. This job has given her quite the insight to the upper class and El Poblado life of Paisas. El Poblado is the most southern part of the city which also happens to be the most upperclass neighborhood. There are many people who live in the hills of El Poblado (where you MUST have a car) and never leave this sector, unless they are forced to and then they keep their car windows up, do their business and hurry back to the high rises, tennis courts, golf courses and pools of El Poblado. Everyday Jessy has a new ridiculous story about the lives and attitude of her students and even worse, their parents. There are many behavioral problems and even some incest... rich families marry rich families... its not uncommon for cousins to marry cousins (first cousins!) and the result?... strange looking children... this is no joke. 


Last night (Saturday), we met up with a friend of Meg's from Cartagena who is a break dancer, in an outlying barrio of Medellín for a Concurso de Breakdancing (competition). As we cruised North out of our normal comfort zone of the city, I looked at Meg "where the heck are we going?", she shrugged and laughed. "Alright," I said as I looked around feeling nervous, "I guess I should just accept that I might get robbed tonight"I joked.  Meg laughed at me, because this of course is always a possibility no matter where we are, but since we stand out even more in poorer barrios like this we feel more at risk. But we would be with the 6'3" Colombian and we weren't planning on wandering around the streets after the show was over, so we'd probably be ok. The crowd was very Colombian and Hip-Hop (Colombian style of course). We were the only gringos, sticking out like a sore thumb. We walked in and the whole crowd gave us a stare down. I smiled back at them and continued with my life. The Concurso was amazing and a great additional study to my side project for Fulbright...Colombian Dance... Not exactly sure what the final product of all this will be, but it has been quite enjoyable to experience and observe many different kinds of Colombian Performing arts. Keko, Meg's friend from Cartagena, is an awesome guy. He is spirited, fun, intelligent and apparently a talented break dancer. He was not in the competition although he says he has the skill level to compete. Since the moment I met him a week ago, he has been teaching me and sharing with me the culture, style and the specifics of breakdancing. In fact he won a scholarship to go the US for a month in December to study and practice Breakdancing. Apparently it is a more developed subculture and practice in Colombia than one might expect. In Medellín there are many hiphop schools and in el concurso there were groups from all over the country. It is certainly very different than any style of dance I have ever done, but it is beautiful, challenging, useful and amazing in many of its own ways. Breakdancers are called B Boys or B Girls and its a style and way of life. Keko was describing to me last night how it is used to solve problems as an alternative to violence, because its about showing off your skills and being humbled and inspired to practice more and get better when presented with someone more talented than you. He described how for him its a mental reminder to be a good person as well as a kind of meditation and inspiration. Furthermore, the crowd is often a huge influence as they know and respond when one dancer has more passion, style and talent than the other. In the Concurso there were two judges from New York and L.A. and they judge in 5 categories (can't remember them all). There are many rules to a contest and many categories of competition. It was a fun and unique experience as well as a way to further understand and experience the Colombian culture outside the little bubble we can so easily remain within. 


Tonight Jessy is having a potluck at her house! I made roasted corn salsa, but am having a hard time making it a decent spicy level since most Colombians can hardly handle the spiciness of mint gum. 


Been dreaming about the fall and how its such a magical time of year. In the grocery store today they had ornamental pumpkins and I almost bought one just to put in my room. I'm craving the flavors of fall, the weather and the feelings as the days get shower and energy begins to slow as we leave summer and enter the winter months. Living in the tropics and on the equator has many benefits, however as an North American changing seasons are seriously missed as the weather affects your life and personality so much throughout the year. Here we are in the midst of rainy season, which kinda feels like winter, but it will be over in a month or two, which I am excited about because my tan has started fade :)

Hello November!

Halloween, one of my favorite celebrations, has come and gone. The year I was abroad in Ecuador I spent Halloween bussing across the country trying to catch our flight out of Lima, Peru to get to Cusco to start our hike on the Inca trail after being unable to fly out of Quito when planned. Ecuador didn't really celebrate Halloween they celebrated Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead) with pan de wawa, colada morada and some nasty soup. I definitely ate a lot of pan de wawa and colada morada to celebrate the time of year. Then last year of course we had the best Halloween celebration of all time at the Community Center! Colombia surprisingly celebrates Halloween in very American style and tradition... i'm realizing more and more how they just really try to be as American as possible. All over the city apartment buildings, businesses and stores of full of classic Halloween decorations, however I have yet to see a real jack-o-lantern. Its funny because even though they have all the decorations and celebrate the holiday I don't think they really understand why. But then again do we Americans really know the true history behind Halloween? Halloween was the topic of all my conversation classes this week, and for the most part it was very very successful! This Halloween weekend was kind of special and different here in Colombia because today is election day. Therefore starting last night at 6pm until tonight at 6pm no one can purchase alcohol. That meant Friday night was the night of Halloween celebrations or last night at house parties. I hadn't planned on celebrated Halloween at all and it made me sad, then last minute we heard an advertisement for a Halloween Celebration at Mango's a crazy disco that we were sure would go off for Halloween because it has crazy decorations, entertainment and costumes as it is. We Fulbrighters couldn't let Halloween pass by with out at least putting on some face paint. We got together at Meg's house, made some nachos (in american style) and got ready before heading out to Mango's. It was actually really nice to have it just be the four of us because we hadn't hung out the four of us in a long time and it was just the perfect night. Mangos was the best place to celebrate Halloween because of its eccentricities. Everyone was dressed up and there was a great costume contest. The top two winners were a woman dressed as Avatar (sooo awesome) in second place and a man dressed as Michael Jackson won first place, he was incredible he actually looked exactly like MJ (see picture of him and Elly below) it was insane!!

Happy Halloween from Team M

Elly and the Michael Jackson look-alike

Last saturday night I went to Edgar and Luz Mary's brother's house with them and a whole crew of their family to celebrate a sister-in-law's birthday. Even though I at times have negative feelings about that family, I am really happy that I went. It was so great to see Luz Mary and Jairo again, proved that it was good that I moved out cause now I have positive feelings for them, because they really are great people! I truly felt part of and welcomed in their family last night as I had met everyone before and I just feel so much more comfortable in Colombia in general. I came home last night feeling great about my life here and as if I had reached some form of a turning point.


On Monday, the actual day of Halloween, I spent all day in El Centro, a place that kind of scares me. But I have a new Colombian friend who lives in El Centro and he became our tour guide and I felt safe walking around with him. It was a lovely day. First Meg, her friend Erin and a friend from Cartagena and I went to El Museo de Antioquia because it has free admission on Mondays. There were all sorts of exhibits all different, including the permanent and most famous Botero (who is from Medellín). There was a small photography exhibit of trees, i immediately recognized it as California and looked at the description of the exhibit. The artist was named Ken Gonzalez-Day from Los Angeles... this name sounded very familiar to me but it took me a moment to place it. Then I realized I recognized this name because I had had an email exchange with this man, as he is the associate art professor at Scripps College!! I had tried to get into his photography class! My mind was kind of blown, here I am in Medellín, Colombia in a random museum and here I am brought right back to Claremont.. its such a small world and it just keeps getting smaller!


After the Museum we cruised around to a few parks, and watched many Colombian children dressed as pirates, cowboys, smurfs (pintufos), princesses, ladybugs and boys dressed as school girls as they trick-or-treated... or "trickytricky" as they say in Colombia. At 1:00 pm children were cruising around trick-or-treating.. however not from houses in residential areas, but from businesses. An interesting take on trick-or-treating, but it still gave me a positive fill of Halloween... maybe I haven't quite got my fill though because we are thinking about going back to the same disco we went to on Friday for their second weekend of Halloween celebrations!! I guess Colombia parties harder the US for Halloween!


In other news i have exactly 15 more days of work in this semester, then two months off!! I currently have epic plans in the making for a trip to Ecuador. I can't even imagine what it will be like to be in Ecuador again, with my family with my rugby team and just there again. After so much time to reflect on my experience in Ecuador and after 4 months in Colombia the way I see it will be so different. The Peña-Dolls have also invited me to their house in Cuenca for Christmas which will be great after having a shared love for Ecuador but never having been there together. It should be great!


And lastly Alfonso Cano, the leader of the FARC was killed tonight. This is a big deal in Colombia. 


Happy November to everyone!

October Adventures

Warning: lots of adventure went down so this is a long post, but it has lots of pictures too! If you don't read the whole post I recommend to at least check out the pictures! :)


Is it really October? Month three, really? I had been looking forward to October for a long time because I would have three weeks off that filled with traveling. After Edgar told me I wouldn't have to start work until October 18th again after the 10-day break between cycles of the English classes at UDEM, I decided to extend my trip to  Santa Marta so I could stay 5 extra days and do the Ciudad Perdida trek with Jessy. It seemed as if the main attractions to Santa Marta are Parque Tayrona and Ciudad Perdida so even though it cost me some money to change my flight it seemed worth it.


September 30th, I raced out of my Friday English Conversation class hopped in a cab and anxiously waited as the driver made horrible traffic decisions watching the clock tick closer to 2:00 when I was supposed to catch a bus to Cali with Meg. I made it to the Terminal at 1:52 found Meg buying jewelry from a Peruvian man inside the terminal and we raced to get on the bus. There was of course no need to hurry and due to a lack of air conditioning on the first bus we switched buses and headed out of Medellín at closer to 3:00. This was our first bus trip in Colombia and our first exit of Medellín to the south. We talked about life and gawked at the beauty of the Andes as we winded out of Medellín on one of the most dangerous roads in Colombia. We finally arrived in Cali at 11:30 checked into our Hostel and rallied to go meet our dear Cali Fulbrighters Emma and Molly at a Salsa club. The minute we entered my eyes got wide with excitement as I watched the many Caleños spinning, dipping and rocking sweat hanging thick in air of the bar. Everyone was passionately and enthusiastically dancing Salsa with a passion I had never seen. We got our free drink and found Emma and Molly in a corner. Emma has become a very proficient Salsa dancer and it was fun to watch her tear up the floor with the many men who randomly came to ask her to dance. I was quickly asked to dance and felt confidente with my salsa skills as he lead me to the dance floor. However, as soon as we started dancing I quickly realized that I had no idea what I was doing. I tried to find the beat and stick to the basic salsa step but my Caleño partner was not following the step I knew anyway. His feet were flying around in different directions, there was not a beat to be found in the music and he was definitely just dancing to his own rhythm. He spun me around with crazy arm moves, I looked like a fool and I was frustrated and confused, but he just kept a smile on his face, his brow pooling with sweat. The song ended and I was thankful that was over, but I felt defeated by my salsa skills. I quickly asked Emma what the heck that was! She responded explaining that Caleña salsa is a very different style than the much more common Cuban Salsa. Learning this I decided I wouldn't try and learn Caleña salsa tonight, and instead sat back catching up with Molly and watching the talented Caleños dance and dance.


Cali is so different from Medellín. Meg and I found ourselves constantly critiquing it as a superior and uglier city. I guess we are truly becoming Paisas. It is the third largest Colombian city and is full of construction, there are parts that are nice and it is clear that they are trying to develop, but it has a long way to go before it catches up to Medellín. However, despite its inferior urban planning and ugly architecture it has a different vibe than Medellín and very different looking locals as it has a much higher afro-Colombian population. It was refreshing to see more natural beauty and less plastic surgery, zebra striped hair and braces. Our main mission for our trip to Cali was the Don Omar concert/reggaeton mini-festi on Saturday. Apart from the fact that it was a dry concert it was a pretty epic event (it was an all ages event and apparently they have problems with youth gangs in Cali especially when they get drunk so any all age events are alcohol and drug free, even cigarrettes had to be purchased secretly in the concert). The best part was when Danza Kuduro came on and the stadium went crazy then fireworks started going off!


We headed back Monday to Medellín and arrived back in the evening. Thursday morning I caught a colectivo to the airport unsure of what I was embarking on. But excited and not nervous nevertheless.


I stepped out of the plane onto the runway with a rush of humidity and warm caribbean air, with the ocean lapping gently 5 yards away. I smiled happy to see the blue sea again after 3 months in the mountains, even if it wasn't the Pacific the tranquility that the ocean brings to my soul was just what i needed. I was immediately sweating as I cruised out of the open air airport and onto the blue bus headed into the city of Santa Marta. I was amazed at the difference of the world around me. The coast is so different than Medellín, its hard to believe they are the same country. I was intrigued by the bounce and spice of the locals, the donkey's in the street and the costeño accent, but saddened by the many stray dogs and the much more obvious poverty spread along the streets and up the mountains. I stayed two days in Santa Marta with the Fulbrighter Sarah. We hadn't really gotten to know each other in Bogotá or DC during orientation but it was great to get to know her and share the many ups and downs of the Fulbright experience. We ate camarones, empanadas and had lots of delicious fresh juices as well as some of the best mojitos i've ever had!


Santa Marta is the first Colombian city, but now one of the most neglected apart from their small tourist economy mostly involving Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona and the Ciudad Perdida trek. The city is small and colonial with the oldest cathedral in the country with a waterfront, but it is lacking cultural events and a beautiful city beaches. However, Rodadero 15 minutes to the west is a tourist resort spot for Colombian tourists with a beach that looks like Miami, and Taganga 15 minutes to the East is a party tourist destination for extranjeros famous for drugs, exciting nightlife, scuba diving and and easy coastal living. I spent a day in Taganga while Sarah had to work, I wasn't too impressed with the beaches even after we hiked over the hill to the nicer beaches, certainly it was beautiful and enjoyable but nothing compared to what would come at Parque Tayrona.


Saturday Jessy was scheduled to fly into Santa Marta, we would meet up and the three of us (Sarah joined us for the weekend in Parque Tayrona) would catch a bus to the entrance to arrive there before it closes at 5 and hike in. Sarah and I spent the morning running around Santa Marta getting supplies ready for our 3 days on the coast. By 1:20 we were ready to go with our bags packed and just waiting for the phone call from Jessy saying she had landed. I looked at the clock at 1:40 and Jessy still hadn't called, this made me a little nervous so I called her.. voicemail.. i called back two minutes later... voicemail again... now i was really nervous this seemed wrong. Then Jessy called me "hey! I'm in Baranquilla!" "WHAT!?" i responded confused for a brief minute... "Thats 2 hours away!?" Something had been wrong with the flaps of the plane and they had to land in Baranquilla because it had a longer runway than Santa Marta. She suggested Sarah and I go ahead and she'd meet us on Sunday. Hesitant to leave my partner in crime behind in Santa Marta for the night I looked at our packed bags and the excited looks on our faces and realized it made the most sense. We got Jessy a room in a hostal and headed out to Parque Tayrona.


We spent three days sleeping pleasantly in hammocks and hiking, walking, swimming and lounging in the strong caribbean sun and warm water. I couldn't believe how warm the water was, it was almost too hot for this Northern Pacific beach bum. But who can really complain about ocean water being too warm? The park was full of extranjeros and colombians everyone pleasantly enjoying beach time.  I fought with the mosquitos and "no-see-ums" leaving with legs looking like they had experienced a war zone and we hadn't even started the jungle trek yet. We hate fish and the most delicious camarones ajillos (in a garlic sauce) we saw a huge crab, beautiful birds and a crocodile!

Sarah had mentioned that someone had seen one she was there before and the next morning Jessy and I found this guy on the beach, mouth open, obviously hungry.....

 The beach in Arrecifes where we stayed for the 3 nights. The water was too rough to swim and people die all the time, but it was beautiful.

 Heading down the beach to El Cabo for the day, it was 9 am and super hot already.

 We had to do the hand stand picture. The magic of Parque Tayrona is that it is where the mountains meet the sea. Pretty freaking amazing. From some places you can see snow-capped mountains from the beach apparently!

 Cabo! the most beautiful part of Parque Tayrona!

Necessary self-timer picture when we reached El Cabo! So beautiful!


Tuesday morning we got up early and hiked out along the beach so that we could be at the entrance at 9 for the transportation to pick us up and take us out to start the trek to Ciudad Perdida.. I guess it was silly of us to actually think they would show up at 9 to take us, but we were there at the entrance nevertheless and waited until 1130 for them to come. We talked to the policemen, ate arepa de huevo and juice, played with the kitty cat, saw a monkey and eventually our lovely little chiva showed up for us. We had been told that it would be just Jessy and I which would have been fine, but we were happy to be joined by 13 other foreigners: 4 israelis, 3 germans, 3 czechs, 2 irish and 2 other americans. The 2 irish girls and three of the israelis went ahead after the first day so they could finish a day early and to catch flights, so it left us with a great little crew of "tranquilos!".


The trek was 5 days total and it was a full blown jungle excursion! I ruined two pairs of pants that were not up for jungle adventures, sweat more than ever have, got attacked by bugs (to be expected), scrambled up water-falls, slid down muddy hill slides, ate bananas off the tree, waded through rivers, swam in rivers, bathed in rivers, observed indigenous jungle living so different than the way I live, slept in more hammocks, learned how to play an awesome german card game "schwimmen", saw some of the most beautiful views ever, climbed 1000 feet of stone stairs, hiked around mules, donkeys and pigs, gifted military men cigarettes, and got many blisters on my feet. But it was all amazing and worth it!!

 My monkey friend. Its an "audiodor" or a howler. 

 Our chiva that carried us up to Mamey/Machete to start the hike!

 Me jumping into our first swimming hole it was also our last and totally changed my mood at the end making the hike end on a positive note.

Day one started with a big lunch, then a dip in the first swimming hole, then a long uphill climb with two fruit breaks. Then a long down hill until we reached our first camping spot. It got dark about 45 minutes from camp and had to hike with no light for a bit, but most of all it was an easy day.

 Just one of the epic views of the hike. The caribbean sea is in the distance somewhere.

 Another beautiful view.

 Attempts to dry our clothes after day one... Nothing was ever dry for 5 days. 

Day 2 was another relatively light day. We had a nice long swim in a swimming hole and arrived at our camp at 2 pm swam in the river as it started to rain. We then had a leisurely afternoon playing uno, and schwimmen. 

 A banana for energy fresh of the tree given to us from a campesino man. 

 Jessy, Kristen and Sarah with their guavas fresh off a tree growing along the trail. heaven.

 El pueblito indigena. The indigenous don't actually live here but they use it for ceremonial events and meetings. We weren't allowed to go all the way in. 

 Chit chatting with some indigenous children.

 taking another fruit break with a wonderful view.

 Sarah, me and Matthias (the jolly german) enjoying the view!

Day 3 was a little longer leaving us just one km from la ciudad perdida. But a serious river crossing and a 1,000 foot climb up tiny stone stairs. 

 An intense river crossing. We crossed at least one river a day, some were easier than others and after a serious rain fall it was always a lot more intense. 

Day 4 we got up early hiked up to La Ciudad Perdida cruised around up there for a few hours and then came back to camp, grabbed our bags, had lunch and rushed out doing everything we did on day 3 in the pouring rain. My blisters were hurting my legs were tired, my pants were ripped and the trail was very very muddy. I was very happy to reach camp that night. 

 Only 1000 feet of stone stairs to go before reaching La Ciudad Perdida. Wet pants from the river crossing, sweaty skin from the humidity and a blurry lens..

 Stairs to the temple. 

 Hand stand at the top. Pretty necessary!

 The military guys thought we were crazy as we all did handstands a million times. Not the perfect handstand picture but it will have to do. 

 Behind me is where the womens and mens temples used to be. not a bad location!

 La Ciudad Perdida also known as Teyuna which means mother nature. 

The whole crew!! From left to right: Isabel (Germany), Me, Sarah (Colorado) Kristen (Colorado), Edwin Rey (our guide), Andrew (Czech republic) front row: Anya (Germany), Jessy, Daniela (Czech), Veronika (Czech), Matthias (Germany), Yael (Israel), Levy (Guide).

Day 5 we woke up and pushed it back doing everything we did on day 1 and 2. IT was a pretty gnarly day ending with a long and knee grinding downhill and a serious mudhole but a very rewarding dip in the river and a delicious lunch before getting in the chiva and heading back to Santa Marta. On the way back to Santa Marta it started to rain and before we knew it the streets of the entire city were knee deep in water. Luckily the chiva is a high clearance vehicle. I couldn't believe that it was really happening as we watched children playing in the river running through the streets, the cars attempting to drive through it even motorcycles and people walking around as if everything was normal. Finally the driver and Edwin are guide turn to Jessy and and say "ok your hostal is 2 blocks that way" i looked at them in disbelief "en serio!? we have to walk?" i had 4 open cuts on my feet that i did NOT want to submerge in that water, but they left us no choice. Luckily both of us were wearing chacos, we stepped out into a strong flowing river of brown water taht went half way up our calves. Edwin lead us to our hostal through the sewage water wearing is bright white sneakers. He bid us farewell and we thanked and tipped him. 

It was a wonderful amazing trip that kind of left my body in shambles, but it was totally worth it. Now only 6 more weeks of week before TWO months off!! yayyyyy!!

hope all is well for everyone. Lots of love. XOXO.