Santosa

Don't worry everyone, I'm still very much alive and doing very very well. I apologize for the blog posting hiatus, but the end of December and all of January have been a whirl-wind of new places, faces, life lessons, exciting adventures, contemplative thoughts and overall fun and enjoyment. What have I been doing you ask? Well the question is what haven't I been doing? and the answer to that is work. I have now been on vacation for over two months and I still have a week of vacation, thank you Fulbright for two months paid vacation.

Over the past few months there have been many moments where I've found myself contemplating insightful realizations about myself, life and the world that surrounds me, some of them I've written down in hopes of sharing them through this blog, but then another adventure would cross my path and blog writing was pushed to the back burner of life.  Truth is the past two months have changed my life. Not in any one big wild life-changing event like in my teens I would have imagined the out of country experiences that have filled my life to be, but in a subtle and enriching way. As I lay here in a hammock on the balcony of my apartment in Medellín, with the warm andean sun warming my legs, the gentle breeze of perfectly temperatured air brushes across my face, moving the wind chimes gently and a fruit seller passes by on the street below ringing his bell and I realize for the first time since July last year I feel perfectly 100% happy and content. Lloyd is sitting on the ground behind me writing in his journal in his thai beer tank top, I can hear our favorite reggae songs playing from his ipod and Leona is inside planning her next big south American move. The future and the past are far from my mind and I am entirely here in the moment listening to the birds, the Paisa voices down below and the open and close of car doors, the only thing plaguing me is a slightly upset stomach from gluten consumption last night and over the past few days. Since when have I totally been able to contently be in the moment? Its something I've strived for and worked on my whole life, but especially these past 6 months during my Colombian adventure, and without even realizing it I have reached it, well at least for now.


A few months ago, during an emotional rough patch, I learned the yoga philosophy word santosa during an in-home yoga class I did through yogaglo... the only thing bringing any yoga and meditation into my life. As the instructor explained the philosophy behind santosa before the practice began I thought to myself through tear-stained eyes how appropriate this concept was for my current state of mind and the struggles I encountered daily during the first 4 months of my experience here. Santosa is explained as modesty, as contentment for what we have and an acceptance that there is a purpose for everything. "When we accep that life is a process for growth all of the circumstances and experiences we create for ourselves become valid teachers and vehicles for expressing our highest nature". I knew this was the truth and I knew that I would one day look back on this experience with this attitude but at the time it seemed so far off and all I wanted was to return to the santosa I felt before embarking on the Colombian adventure. Now I've finally reached a new santosa.


What has brought me this new level of contentment? Unfortunately (for my physical shape's sake) it has not been yoga. It has arrived through settlement, time, old friends, new friends, travelling, love, the ocean and hammock time. 

ECUADOR

My almost 4 week trip to Ecuador was an amazing and healing experience. Theres a love that surrounds and warms me there, despite the frigid mountain temperatures I suffered during my weeks in Quito. My host family is truly a family to me.  A family so different from my real family, but equally as loving and equally as important to me and my life. It was so unbelievably normal to be back and living with them, and despite the year and a half that went by with minimal communication I am closer to each and every one of them. My friends there, also completely different and unique from my friends from home are a true family too, great people who understand me in a way that my friends from home don't, and since they are all boys, they are like brothers I've never had. Apart from seeing old beautiful Ecuadorian friends, I got to finally share a moment of Ecuador with many people who share the same love for this beautifully unique and quirky country. Plus, I was truly able to recognize how well I knew that country, how much i trusted it and how comfortable I felt there.

Maribel and I in front of the nativity scene

ferni and i!

Cuenca

First and foremost I was able to spend lots of time with the Peña-Dolls in Ecuador. I met them in the Quito airport to fly to Cuenca to spend Christmas with Juan's family. As I hugged Cynthia in the door of the national terminal we looked at each other and remarked at the same time "well this is weird! But so good to see you!". The time I spent with them was amazing, Cuenca is beautiful and Juan's family is beautiful within it. They all came from far and wide with many kids in tow to share moments together in the large beautiful white house surrounded with trees and flowers and the river running in front. I felt very warmly welcomed by everyone in the family despite being the awkward high school friend tag along. Despite being thousands of miles away from my own family I felt a sense of family with them in that house, the laughter, movement and kid's toys everywhere reminded me of a more relaxed, chill and Ecuadorian version of our Christmas visits to Los Angeles during my childhood. Cuenca in itself was a beautiful experience, as it is a much smaller, more beautiful, colonial, educated, clean and tranquil Ecuadorian Andean city. It is a more sustainable or green, safer, mellow, culturally and socially educated, less racist, and all around "mejor educado" place than Quito. On Christmas Eve we went to La Pase del Niño, a parade of primarily the indigenous people of the region as a sort of pilgrimage in honor of the baby jesus. It was bizarre in its own way but proved to me that Cuenca does a much better job of honoring, integrating and accepting the indigenous culture that plays such a hugely important role in the history and character of the country and all Ecuadorians. Cuencanos are proud of their city and you see that in the many well known family names that people proudly represent. Juan's family are kind of the shit in Cuenca, they are well known and well respected for their history as a family and the many amazing things they have done for the city and the country, Juan himself being a prime example of the wonderful influence the family has had on Cuenca and Ecuador in general. 

The Cathedral. so beautiful!

Christmas time! Juan's parents, Ami, Andreas, Me, Mateo, Cynthia and Juan!

colonial cuenca

the best float of la pase del niño

Montañita

I left Cuenca in a post Christmas frenzy as Andreas and Cynthia hurridly tried to plan for the next portion of their trip in Bahía de Caraquez. This was the portion of my trip that was most unplanned and what should have caused me the most nervousness but for some strange reason didn't. I got on a bus to Guayaquil and then to Montañita, totally by myself. I had never really entirely travelled by myself but after my four months in Colombia I was feeling more independently capable than ever and it was an experience I wanted to have, to see how I was travelling alone, if I liked it or not. Montañita is probably the biggest backpacker destination in Ecuador. I had spent only a few hours there before and felt like I needed to further experience it. Montañita had greatly changed in the two years since I had seen it before. It is a total surfer, party beach town especially in the days leading to New Years. I have further decided that I do not entirely enjoy the international backpacking scene, its fun for brief moments but gets old quickly, there are too many bizarre pressures, too much focus on appearance and having to prove your coolness. Furthermore, Argentinean backpackers are the worst and they were all over the Pacific and Caribbean coasts these past months since its summer vacation. They are beautiful and they know it, arrogant and for the most part cold and reserved into their Argentinean way, if I ever see a maté gourd again it will be too late (thats a total joke and exaggeration, I love Argentina and I love maté). My friend Damian from Quito was in Montañita raging so I spent some time with him. Another friend from Quito, Santiago was down there as well and had no idea I was in the country again so running into him my first night on the streets of Montañita was quite a surprise for him. He lived 7 months in Humboldt so we have a lot in common and to talk about. I ate Ceviche de Camaron, did yoga at my hostal (finally normal vinyasa!), chilled in hammocks, walked on the beach, relaxed on the beach, drank cocktails (my favorite the coco loco is condensed milk and coconut shavings. so good!) and bought jewelry. After meeting a wonderful half Ecuadorian man who has lived in the U.S. for longer than Ecuador and spending two great days together talking about and sharing our perspectives on life, Ecuador and the U.S. and two days alone on the beach in Montañita, I found myself eager to find "family" again before the impending New Years celebrations. 

The beach in Motañita

hanging out on the rocks in Montañita

Bahía

I cruised up the coast to Bahía de Caraquez to find the Peña-Dolls. The trip was not as easy as I expected and involved taking three busses and hopping in the back of a random guys truck for the last leg. However, I sat patiently and quietly not listening to music not reading, doing nothing but looking out the window. I got a true vision of the deep back roads and the truth of life in the Manabí province. Apparently Bahía is the place to be for most Serrano families (people from the mountains) in the winter time. The coast is lined with tall white condos and the beach is filled with families covered in sand because Ecuadorians like to literally roll around in the sand. Bahía is another place I had only ever spent a matter of hours as it is not necessarily a young backpacker's top Ecuadorian Coast destination. However, my host family loves it and Bridget, Andreas's girlfriend, is stationed there for her current job thats why the the Peña-Doll family were there. Coming from Montañita Bahía was quite a change of scenery, pace and overall vibe and at first I wanted to immediately turn around and go back to Montañita but it quickly grew on me  turning into my favorite part of my coastal trip and I ended up staying an entire week there abandoning plans to continue up the coast. Here it was me and Ecuadorians, I could take it in, absorb it, enjoy it, ponder it and be me. I didn't have to wear my cutest brazilian cut bathing suit, wear feathers from my ears, strut around the beach, brag about my backpacking adventures or pretend to be a surfer, I could just be me. Bahía is the first and only "green" city in Ecuador, unfortunately this doesn't mean too much yet. As Bridget began describing to me the insights of the place she had learned during her two weeks of living there and I began to witness life go by in Bahía through eyes well trained at exploring the inner workings and truths of a place and culture. Bahía is kind of a remarkable place, it is a truly resilient place that has experienced some crazy things in the past few years and you can see that on the faces of people and facades of buildings in the city. In 1998 Bahía was horrible rampaged by El Niño, it ruined the town, the mangroves and the overall ecosystem severely hurting the fishing industry, the livelihood of the majority of the locals. A few years later in the early 2000s a large earthquake shook the shores of Bahía again crumbling the city and the lives of the locals. The history of the city rings true on the faces of the locals, you can see that they are trying to rebuild but economic and natural pressures have made it difficult. But they are optimistic, happy and content. Bahía is a poor city trying to build up its tourism infrastructure (hence all the white condos filling the skyline) however for the majority of the year these condos remain empty, and the town and the beach are filled with a small handfull of locals. The days leading up to New Years and right after were hectic in Bahía. People were everywhere and they were all Ecuadorian tourists. The Tuesday after New Years I rode a bike along the coast and it was different place, the beach was empty, the city was calm, and everyone seemed to be sighing with relief. I thoroughly enjoyed spending girl time with Cynthia, catching up with Bridget (we haven't really met many times before but both instantly knew we liked each other), and adventuring, chilling and laughing with Andreas and Mateo. 

The Bahía-San Vicente bridge over the bay

beautiful rock formations

the best beach I went to! Andreas and Bridget on the beach!

On our beach bike ride! so epic!

The hotel we stayed at in Bahía was also a farm, it had over 300 animals (cynthia did an inventory) and had many peacocks that were in heat! Therefore there were males showing off their feathers all over the place.

Off to Isla del Corazon to check out some birds and learn about the mangroves!

pacific sunset handstands

new years with Mateo, Andreas and Bridget!

I made my way back to Quito a little earlier than I had planned so as to be able to spend time with Santiago and Laura before they headed off on their Ecuadorian travels. We spent a lovely night together drinking wine, talking about life and catching up. It was so beautiful to see them together, still so happy and in love. A love that I introduced and watch grow and flourish. Not to mention they are two of my favorite people in the world. I also was able to spend more time with Ms. Andrea Blanton, who is in Quito teaching English and see another Claremont friend Diamond who studied in Ecuador the year after me. And of course I got to spend more quality time with my host family, celebrating my host father's birthday with Ceviche and my favorite Ecuadorian dishes. I was sad to leave Ecuador but also so excited to return back to Colombia, it felt like going home. I came home to beautiful Medellín, it was no longer rainy season and the city was warm, sunny and as alive and wonderful as ever. 

My last view of Quito <3

RETURN TO COLOMBIA

I couldn't have been happier coming down the mountain from the airport and returning to my city of eternal spring. I had met a man waiting in line at the airport in Quito, he grew up in LA and now was working all over the world building orphanages... pretty cool if you ask me. We ended up sharing a taxi down the hill from the airport together and his overall excitement to be back in the city just enhanced mine. He pointed out to me out in many ways Medellín almost reminds him of LA many years ago.. There are many stark differences but the weather and general positivity makes sense. As I ponder on this thought, I realized that particularly my neighborhood actually almost felt like Claremont to me at times, with tree-lined streets, families, old people sitting on balconies and windows, children riding bikes and people walking their dogs. It may be a slight stretch but there is definitely something similar there. I went out dancing with friends celebrating our love for this love city. I immediately felt some negative reality vibes coming back to me upon this return as I stressed out about getting my life on a better track for next semester. But after spending a day going on a run, sending emails, catching up with important people and signing up for dance classes I felt better and back on track. Then without losing a beat I repacked my bags and headed back to the airport (I have taken 21 flights in the past year... yea.. my Eco-footprint is not looking good) to fly to Cartagena. 

Cartagena

After being delayed for a painfully long amount of time I finally arrived in Cartagena alone and without a place to stay. Cartagena is a huge tourist destination and has been the only place in Colombia people continued to visit throughout these years of violence. I felt like I had stepped into a movie, as if I was walking the pages of Gabriel García Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera (which does take place in Cartagena) or travelled back in time. Cartagena is extremely gorgeous, it's colonial buildings, painted pleasantly alive colors, are huddled together overlooking small cobblestone roads, majestic plazas and sculptures, protected by the strong and powerful Spanish Colonial fort and wall that surround the old city, protecting it from foreign attacks and Pirates and overlooking the blue Caribbean. I could have walked around the old city of Cartagena forever. However, all the obnoxious tourists, more Argentine backpackers, expensiveness and lack of fun passionate Colombian nightlife quickly drove me out of there ready to see more of the Caribbean Coast. But not before we took a day trip to a mud volcano (one of the stranger experiences and sensations of my life) and a boat ride to some beautiful islands off the coast and Playa Blanca and over-run typically Caribbean beach. Meg, Erin and Emma (another Fulbrighter) came the next day and Miles was there for my first night and we met up with Elly for a day as well. Meg has a boyfriend in Cartagena who played tour guide for us having to remember back to his grade school history classes. Miles and I had an unfortunate run in with a brothel, that really turned out fine and allows me to now say "I've used the bathroom in a brothel".. it was called the pink dream, i guess we should have figured that one out sooner! 

colonial cartagena

handstands along the wall

at the mud volcano!

arriving at playa blanca!

classic cartagena view

colonial streets

islas de rosario!

Santa Marta, Taganga and Minca

After four days in Cartagena Emma and I left Meg and Keko for some romantic couple time and headed to Santa Marta (I had already been to Santa Marta but am not one to avoid return trips) to meet up with another group of Fulbrighters to celebrate one of their's birthday. We drank gin, danced, caught up and played pool. The next day we headed to Taganga a smaller more touristy beach town 15 minutes to the North just for the day. After a slight mishap with some foreign hostal working men, and the loss of ONE of my flip-flops due to the hurricane force winds, we decided it was time to leave La Brisa Loca so we headed into the mountains to Minca a small mountain town overlooking Santa Marta and the beautiful Caribe. We had had pretty good luck with bugs until we reached the jungly mountain town, during our hike up the hill to our hostal we each received upwards of 5 bug bites each. We then went canyoning and tubing along a beautiful river, then on a coffee plantation tour that I couldn't enjoy due to the bazillion bugs that were sucking my blood. Minca was beautiful and chill reminding me in many many ways of Mindo in Ecuador, however I hit a slight low during our stay there due to the over 100 bug bites I acquired and the sleepless night I had deathly ill making trips from the bathroom to a hammock outside.

taganga!

travel partners!

fishing boats in taganga!

waterfall jumping in minca!

the river we tubed in MInca!

coffee!!

Riohacha

The next day I woke up finally able to consume water without running to the bathroom and felt strong enough to make the next leg of our trip up to Riohacha in La Guajira a region known as the "Wild West" of Colombia. I was eager to explore what this wild west was but due to limited time we only left ourselves one day to only explore the city of Riohacha... there is definitely a return trip in my near future as there is so much more to explore in this region. We experienced A day in the life of Callan (the fulbrighter living in Riohacha) which was mostly culinary including a breakfast at his favorite breakfast place, beach time, a frisbee game on the beach, delicious juice of various crazy tropical fruits from his favorite juice man, a visit to the best arepa place in the city, drinks at a beach bar, an early morning swim with his swim team, the traditional post swim coffee and arepa de huevo and sleeping in the most comfortable chinchorro hammock ever. I loved Riohacha, but then again I'm a fan of small intimate towns. It really was the wild west, which meant people were quite down to earth, country and hardworking, in a weird way it felt like the Rural Northern California Coast of Colombia. I was sad to go but we had big plans and not enough time to head up to Cabo de la Vela the main attraction of the region. 

the beach in riohacha!

Barranquilla

Next we hopped on a bus to Barranqilla, our plan was to spend the night with the two Fulbrighters in Barranqilla then head to Mompox for a day and then back to Barranqilla for pre-Carnaval celebrations and then back to Cartagena. However, when we arrived the plans changed, turns out Mompox is extremely difficult to get to and not really worth it for only one day/pretty much impossible to do. So instead we stayed in Barranquilla (Shakira's hometown) for three nights. We pretty much went nocturnal partying until the sun came up, finally getting out of the house by 5 or 6 to get a meal and starting the whole cycle over again. Turns out there isn't much to do in Barranquilla other than party, especially in the month of February when the entire city shuts down in celebration of Carnaval. It was fun, giving me a taste of what Carnaval will actually be like, but not something I could do all day everyday, it was exhausting. We the hopped a bus back to Cartagena, Emma went straight to the airport to fly out back to Cali and Erin and I met up with Meg and Keko to stay in Meg's friend's house for a few days truly entirely relaxing for my last few days on the coast. I pretty much spent two whole days in a hammock listening to reggae music........... bliss :)

Back to Medellín

After having explored new areas of Colombia I came home to Medellín super content for being able to live in this city. Colombia has wonderful regions and cities but Medellín is the bees knees for me :) I spent a few days sorting my life out then headed back up the hill to the airport to pick up my two dear lovely friends Leona and Lloyd at the airport. It was amazing to see them, and so normal to have them in my life here. I was halfway worried that it'd just be too strange to so intimately mix my two lives, but its been wonderful. They arrived just in time for my birthday celebrations and its been wonderful! I've felt so comfortable and normal, I've felt like myself having them around. I am excited to have Lloyd around for the next two months and I think he will enjoy it here, especially once he gets a little routine down. Its truly amazing how close and wonderful all my friends are from home. I am so blessed to have grown up in such a wonderful and amazing community! 

up the metrocable on my birthday!

family visits! 

My life here in Medellín will never be the same as last year, so much has changed. Friends have left and friends have come and when I look ahead to the next 4 months there are only bright stars, sunshine, butterflies and flowers...in other words only good things on the horizon. Its insane to think that I only have 5 more months left here in Colombia, but I know that it will be a great 5 months and I'm looking forward to everything even working again (kind of). 

Happy very late new year to everyone, may 2012 bring all joy, happiness, love, health and laughter! 

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!