Two Month Mile Marker

Its hard to believe I left California two months ago after a wonderful day spent at Jonas and Julia's with Emily, Anna, Julia and Jonas in the sun laughing, making daisy chains, eating artichokes and admiring the beauty that is rural Mendocino county and friendship.

Lovely California Coastline! Mendo Love <3

Its been a while since I've posted news about the colombian life and I apologize. My blogging absence has been the fault of being busy as well as experiencing various emotional ups and downs and working through it all to find mental clarity in all the difficulties and changes that present themselves as part of the natural process of cultural shock and adjustment. Apart from the natural culture shock cycle i think my mental and emotional lows also stem from the natural change of being out of college and in the "real world" and just wondering what that all means... thinking about the future-where i want to be, who i want to be and what my goals, desires and plans are... So those natural thoughts, feelings and uneasy changes combined with picking up my life and transporting it to a new culture, country and city has mixed and combined to create some serious moments of homesickness, unhappiness and loneliness. Furthermore, I have a bad tendency to over think and learning to live in the present is a lesson of my life, and this year will be the biggest practice of that skill. As I learned when I went to college the fact that I am from Elk, the most tight knit and amazing community I can think of is both the best and the most challenging aspect of my life. It has taught me many wonderful things and helped shape me into who I am and given me all the amazing opportunities I have had, but it has always made leaving, travelling, living and accomplishing my dreams, aspirations and goals twice as hard as they would be for an average person from an average town, because there is always a longing in my heart to be in Elk rather than where I am... especially when ALL my best friends are living, playing, working and loving at home, in the fog, along the coast in the redwoods. I have always been the wandering soul of my group of friends, but it has also been one (and continues to be) of the biggest challenges for me to overcome. Furthermore, friendship has a very different meaning for me that most people in the world. For me friendship is a kind of life long unconditional love, a kind of soul connection a relationship that never judges, people that know me better than i might know myself, people who make me laugh no matter what they are doing or saying and a relationship that is always comforting. This is a high standard for friendship, and I have also come to learn that unless I tote my best friends around with me I must learn to accept acquaintance type friendships and be thankful for the ones that develop and morph into true lifelong friendship. After reaching out to various people in my dire moments of homesickness and getting great advice support and out pouring love and beginning to do yoga again I have been able to soften my mental state of mind, to stop putting judgements on myself as to what i "should" be doing or feeling and to bring my thinking down to a soft simmer instead of an overwhelming boil.

Dance Camp!
Last weekend, in the midst of my depression last weekend, I wrote a whole post about DANCE CAMP but my internet failed and didn't post the post and i lost it all.. i was very upset and frustrated by that. But I must share the Dance Camp experience. As I think I had mentioned before, Jessy has been working since last October to bring her dance company from Asheville, North Carolina down here for a tour of Colombia including 8 performances, various workshops and master classes and a 5 day Dance Camp with La Red de Danza de Medellín (The Medellín Dance Network-an organization that gives dance classes to children ages 8-18 who come from backgrounds of limited resources and opportunities but who truly love to dance). Jessy being the fabulous woman she is has including me in this and allowed me to get my foot in the door with La Red de Danza in hopes I will be able to continue working with them and helping them.. as it fits perfectly into my Fulbright side project. My role was primarily translating as only Giles the artistic director of Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre (ACDT) can speak Spanish and the other four dancers have a stronger French background. The 40 children of La Red de Danza were split into 3 groups divided by age and each of them choreographed two pieces to fit in with the already created show of ACDT on Fables. The first fable is about the cowardly Ostrich who is in love with the beautiful Swan and wants to show his love by picking her flowers. The youngest group were the flowers and bees, they were soooo adorable. The next Fable was the adventures lobster and scared crab who go for a boat ride in a storm. The middle aged children danced the role of the water, wind and thunder as well as the boat. I helped with the choreography and all the translation for this piece. The oldest children danced the next fable which was the ballet dancing camel, who continues to dance even though her friends tell her she is awful and boring. The children did a dance representing the desert sand dunes and palms. Next was the Lion King and the Lady bug and a challenge of abilities. The young children danced as lady bugs and forest animals. Then the older children came back as campesinos (farmers) and trees in the forest for the fable of the bear with new clothes. Then the middle aged kids danced as clients, cooks and servers in the restaurant when the hungry (tap dancing) hippo comes in to eat!!

 Alexis as the Ostrich and the little girls as the flowers in rehearsal the day before the show.

 The amazing Ostrich costume!

 Amy and Alexis as the crab and lobster! 

 Karen as the ballet dancing camel! 

 The ACDT cast at el Jardin Botánico performance!

 The whole crew of people who worked so hard to put on this fabulous production!! 

 Spanish lessons for Amy at snack time during rehearsal!

Rehearsing the sinking boat scene with Amy and Alexis.

The children are AMAZING. Friendly, happy, talented, hardworking and sooo creative. The pieces they created were wonderful. Furthermore, the costumes of ACDT (created and designed by Giles i believe) were mindblowing. The costumes of the children were great too, the parents were involved and worked very very hard all Sunday to create wonderful costumes under the artistic eye of Giles. I worked very hard the five days, but it was amazing and the final performance in el Jardin Botánico as part of the Book Fair was amazing and I even had a sense of pride and accomplishment. I am not sure what my continued role will be with La Red de Danza but I am hoping to be able to continue working and volunteering with them because the children and the director Esperanza are amazing!


ACDT then took off for a week to La Zona Cafetera for more performances and workshops. I was sad when they all left as i had spent basically a week straight with these girls, Giles and Jessy, but then they came back and we had more fun this week in Medellín! They were staying in an apartment so they had Jessy and I over for a deliciously healthy dinner Wednesday night, Thursday we went to a tapas dinner and then salsa dancing at my new favorite place in Medellín. La Son Havana. They have salsa dancing all nights and live bands thursday and saturday. the band was killer and we had sooo much fun. The company and Jessy left early because they were tired and Jessy had to work at 6 am, but i ended up staying with two of Jessy's colleagues until closing. They are awesome woman and great dancers. After the band stopped playing there were still people milling around and dancing and two older men switched off inviting me to dance salsa. Surprised as most people are that I actually am very competent at salsa dancing even though I'm a gringa, they continued to ask me to dance! It was sooo much fun!! Friday evening we all went to Envigado to meet up with some boys Jessy has been giving English classes too, it was there lesson to talk to all the dancers. Then we went to La Taverna to meet up with the Tios and many of their friends... my favorite Friday night activity! The dancers left on Saturday, partially sad to see them go as they were 5 of my friends for the past 2 weeks... but  I can't wait to make a trip to Asheville North Carolina when i get back to the United States!


In further news rainy season is in full swing, which is both frustrating but kind of nice, especially on lazy Sundays. Both yesterday and today we've had some quite impressive storms... with VERY large amounts of water coming from the sky..... also Medellín starts Christmas preparations in September.. apparently the city goes all out with decorations so extensive they have to start NOW! craziness. ............. I have the next three weeks off (yeah my job is a joke) so i will be spending a weekend in Cali for a reggaeton festival, then headed to the Carribbean coast for 10 days with Jessy to hike in national parks and do a 5 day treck to La Ciudad Perdida (the lost city)... well these plans are still pending as both my flight change and our trip bookings are still waiting confirmation..... so hopefully it all works out. But either way despite the fact that I'm spending TOO much money on this trip it is totally worth it and way better than hanging out lonely in Medellín for 3 weeks.... and definitely better than working... a quick update on my job: not too stoked on it, but it is still a good experience...


I can imagine that it is starting to truly feel like fall, after what i sounded like a few days of an indian summer (the best part of the coast!). Missing the beauty of our land and people as always.


Hugs and kisses from rainy Medellín!

Days off

Wow, its been another crazy week. Time just flies here, unbelievably so and I have two main reasons for this. 1) everything takes way longer than you think, especially when using public transportation, I pretty much need to leave almost an hour to get most places, but then again you aren't really held down to being on time. 2) it gets dark at 6:30 every day. This is the number one draw back of the equator. I love long days, and having you day end at 6:30 is sad especially coming from Northern California summer. Not to mention danger rates go up significantly as soon as the sun goes down so one is even less likely to be roaming around after dark. So that plus doing a good job at keeping myself busy has really made these weeks begin to fly by. Not to mention I somehow ended up with Monday-Thursday off. Edgar (my boss) had been in Brazil last week and came back Monday completely swamped and was unable to make and send me my schedule so I got until today off and I used my time off well.


Sunday night Meg and I met up with a Colombian guy, Andrés, who essentially Meg had gotten set up with through the señora she lives with. Turns out this guy is the son of a friend of a friend of the señora's... yeah pretty removed. Turns out a friend's boyfriend's friend from Australia was also staying with him so he joined us as well. These guys were super sweet and we ended up planning a trip to San Jeronimo and Santa Fe de Antioquia for Tuesday. We of course got off to a later start than expected... this is Colombia and Meg overslept her alarm. I was punctual per usual (its almost a fault i have). Medellín is surrounded by many small pueblos some are warm and some are cooler (depends on where in the mountains they lie and at what elevation). San Jeronimo and Santa Fe de Antioquia lie north west of Medellín at a lower elevation and are fabulously warm (but alas as I learned in Ecuador warmer and lower=bugs.. and thus i was confronted with the return of the evil bugs from Mindo and have bites all over my body. yay!). As we started driving out of the city I was instantly reminded of Ecuador. "Here is where the similarity lies" i thought to myself, geography. The Andes sprawled before us as we winded through them encountering waterfalls and busses in our lane around the corners. As we winded down and up and down and up the scenery got more lush and tropical as the air got more humid and warm. Andres informed us we would be stopping for the best chorizo in the world... we stopped at a random little restaurant with an amazing view and got chorizo and coke... classic :)

the view.

Chorizo, mandarina (to put on the chorizo) and arepa.

We were then quite close to our destination Parque Tamarindos (a water park!!!!!) when we encountered a horrible car accident. A truck driver had lost his breaks going down the mountain pass (talk about a complete nightmare) and ran into the mountain. The truck was split into three pieces and totaled but the driver somehow managed to escape with a few cuts on his face. Qué Suerte!!

 The cab of the truck

the trailer

So we were forced to wait for an hour at a random restaurant (they were stoked for so much added business) since we had just eaten we had juices and goofed around, entertaining ourselves by having coin spinning competitions. Then they got one lane cleared, and we were able to continue onward to our next destination parque de los tamarindos, a FABULOUS water park. Obviously I don't have pictures of this and we all lamented the fact that you can't have documentation of water activities unless you have a water proof camera... (mom and dad: christmas gift suggestion... ;) ). I'm a huge fan of water slides (RIP windsor waterworks) and in my experience waterslides in Latin America are freaking insanity (waterslides in Mindo and Tena). On weekends parque tamarindos is said to be ridiculously packed, but on a tuesday we were pretty much the only ones.. which meant we could dictate when they turned on what slide for us. The best one being the blue body slide. Absolute insanity. As you shoot down the blue tube there is one moment in the first turn that i would find myself bummed feeling like i was slowing down, but not for long, then you are shooting down at an incredible speed with so much water spraying your face you can't see and for a second you feel like you are going to suffocate until you shoot out the bottom into a big circular vessel going at a truly incredible pace, you go around and around a few times before you drop out (i never was able to do this very gracefully, usually head first or ass first) the hole in the bottom into a pool. After the first time down we had large amounts of adrenaline pumping in our veins and spent the next 4 hours at the park reliving our childhood and being proud of it. 

We then continued on to Santa Fe de Antioquía, the old capital of the province Antioquía. Medellín is the capital now and there is really no comparison. Santa Fe de Antioquía is quaint, small and colonial. We arrived as it was getting dark and went immediately to el puente occidente one of the oldest bridges. It was absolutely beautiful crossing over el Río Cauca. We then headed into town to the main square where we had a much deserved dinner (we were starving) and walked around the plaza. My time was short in Santa Fe de Antioquía, but gave me a taste and a desire to go back for a whole weekend when possible. 

 Meg and I at the bridge

Paul, Andres and I at the bridge.

We headed out of Santa Fe de Antioquia as it started to rain and Paul djed us home with some of my favorite tunes as Andres drove us through the rain. They dropped me off at my house and I sat on my bed exhausted from a day of feeling waterlogged and a day of 100% fun. 

Two days later, Thursday, I found myself on a bus heading out of Medellín again. This time to the Northeast to a place called Guatapé, this time with dear Pitzer alum Sonya Fierst and her friend Anna. It was raining in Medellín and raining the whole way to Guatapé. One main attraction of Guatapé is El Peñol a huge rock with 264 stairs that gives you an amazing view of the winding waterways that make up the region of Guatapé. You can also go on boat rides through the waterways (something to do on my next trip). Apparently these waterways are man made for hydro-electric use, but breathtakingly beautiful and very natural looking. We got off the bus at El Peñol after wishing the whole way there that it clears up, it was raining, hiking the Peñol at this moment would suck and the view would be very disappointing, we chased after the bus and it took us into the city as we waited for it to hopefully clear up. It was cold and drizzly so we went to a restaurant and ate bandeja paisa's (a typical plate of Antioquia which consists of four kinds of meat and is incredibly large and crazy, but delicious in its own way). 

The bandeja paisa that has brought back that lovely feeling in my stomach I was so familiar with in Ecuador and the reason I am home on a Friday night. 

Then in a food coma and still in the rain we wandered down the street to get cappucinos with a shot of baileys to aid with digestion... as we finished our cappucinos the sun started to peak and feeling slightly lighter we started walking back up towards el peñol. We then decided to hitch hike to save us time as Sonya and Anna were hoping to get back to the city by 6. 

Anna, me and Sonya in the motor-taxi headed up to el peñol.

We got to the base and began the climb (all stairs) to the top with the view grower more and more amazing.

 incredible no?

 repping my favorite town at the top!

view through a window of the building on top of el peñol. 

 the stairs that carry you to the top.

view of el peñol from the bus on the way home. 

When we got to the top the view made every step and bead of sweat more worth it than anything! After sufficiently soaking in the view we headed back down, almost got charged too much for a ride down and again ended up hitchiking this time with an American family travelling by private car. We caught the bus and bounced our way back through the mountains to Medellín where it was still grey and drizzly. 

So it was certainly an exciting and fun few days off, unfortunately it left me quite exhausted and stomach sick. But nothing i'm not used to and i am actually beginning to feel better, but it should also be bed time as tomorrow I must work at 8am.. grrrr.... There are a few other amazing things happening in my life right now, but things I will have to write about at another time. 

I hope you all enjoy the many photos i've included in this post as well as the stories of my first two trips out of Medellín. The best part of both these places are that they are easy day trips but also wonderful places to spend the weekend... who is excited to come visit me??? 

sending love from Antioquía. xoxo

Settling...

What a week its been. My heart is very saddened by the loss of our dear family friend Jonathan Shepard. He has been such a ever-present force in my life,  I have distinct very early memories of trips to "Shepard farm" and the warmth and smell of the pygmy. He was among many other things, the coach of anyone who played as much as a year of soccer, a strong community figure, a political activist, an intellectual, a writer, but to me and my sister, he was family, some form of a crazy uncle figure and this loss is greatly emotional for both of us. The fact that i am thousands of miles away from everyone I love makes this even harder and trying to find closure on it will be a challenge as pretty quickly my Colombian life changed and carried on and its easy to forget and not think about it, which in turn makes it seem unreal, but it is very real and the Acker residence will not be the same without the frequent Jonathan visits, long stories, conspiracies and copious cups of coffee consumed at all hours of the day and night. He was an amazing man and a strong and beautiful presence in my life. Thank you, Jonathan for leaving a mark on my heart and our community, you will be greatly missed and it makes me happy to know you are with your dear love Luz, wherever that may be.....

Including this picture as a tribute to a beautiful man. 

I am writing this post from my new bed, in my green room in Apartamentos Firenze. I have moved and it is lovely. Although I am of course still getting to know my room mates, I am not much closer to everything (well most things), I have a new felt independence, I can cook for myself and I am surrounded by young energy and people to hang out and talk with... friends! The ONLY downfall is our pug Juanita is not potty trained.... but she's a city dog and rarely goes outside.. so what is a pug to do? luckily we have stone floors, an empleada and a mop is easy to access. Pictures to come because I want to take them during the day....


Mi vida colombiana is starting to finally feel like its coming together and getting settled. Some notable things that have happened in the past week include moving and having a graceful and peaceful departure from Luz Mary and Jairo's house and promising to visit frequently, because i do plan to, beginning to swim again at the pool at the university--even though Colombians don't understand how swim lanes work and it was at times extraordinarily frustrating it felt so good to get in the water and after just 3 days I already have a bathing suit tan line on my back, going to a free jazz concert of Triage (colombia) and Deborah J. Carter (USA) as part of El Festival Internacional de Jazz en Medellín, starting two dance classes (a modern dance class taught by Jessy Kronenberg, and a baile tropical class... i'm hoping to take one more salsa class!!), another night at the tavern in Envigado, and getting involved in La Red de Danza which brings kids ages 8-18 who live in the outer and poorer regions of the city into Medellín to take dance classes. I am hoping to be as involved as I can be. Jessy has worked for them and brought me Saturday to meet the whole crew. Furthermore, Jessy is bringing her old dance company from Asheville, North Carolina to perform and create a performance with these children as part of their tour of Colombia. I will go Friday to help translate at the rehearsal and be as involved as I can as Jessy is truly doing an amazing thing here.
Some photos from lunch with Edgar and the whole family...

 Me, Maria (Edgar and Luz Mary's sister's daughter, half colombian half american) and Edgar at lunch.

Me, Maria and Jairo my old host man and a fabulous saxophone player (he gave me his CD).

I have become semi-frustrated with the English program at U de Medellín. Apart from the fact that I have to unjustly work Saturdays, and despite Edgar's argument that it is the most important day of the week I feel the most useless on Saturdays. I have been meaning to meat with him and see if we can change this, but he is a hard guy to track down and every time I trek up to campus to meet with him he isn't there or he's in a meeting. Apart from that though, I am often appalled by the low levels of English many of my students have and it is a direct reflection of the way classes are run. For one, the book they use is absolute CRAP. It doesn't have ANY grammar in it, just stupid pointless lessons and random vocabulary words that are not useful. It is a book published in Colombia and even has mistakes in it. Ridiculous. Furthermore, most of the teachers are not native speakers, they speak in a very heavy accent and make many mistakes. Last week I visited a woman's level one class and she HARDLY spoke English. This has created a question in my mind that I have pondered before, especially when I consider potentially being a Spanish teacher some day. Should the only language teachers be native speakers? I have two main arguments for either sie of this. Of course native speakers are advantageous since they have perfect pronunciation and can teach culture along with language. However, non-native speakers who have learned the language have a better grasp and understanding of what it is like to learn that language, and how the grammar actually works. Take myself for example, I know very little about the specifics of English grammar, however I have a very strong grasp on the workings of Spanish grammar and spelling.. something native speakers struggle with... And when I look back on my language teachers some of my favorites have not been native speakers, but most of them have been. Its a difficult question for me to answer and something to seriously ponder especially if I think I want to teach Spanish some day.


Today is my day off and it was a great one! One of the professors who comes to my Friday conversation class for professors and administrators who lives near me invited to take me to la plaza america. This is a large market that sells everything from meat to baskets to veggies, flowers and plants. Beatriz bought me a plant for my room, and some crazy fruits I had never tried before. I purchased lots of fruit and veggies... pineapple, mandarinas, apples, peppers, ginger, papaya, a HUGE avocado, cabbage, lettuce and strawberries.. Beatriz then took me to HomeCenter (home depot basically) so I could be tupper-ware and a bedside lamp then she drove me around the city showing me different things. She is a wonderful woman, she is an athlete and a yogi (we are going to go to yoga class together) and has never had kids. She has invited me to do many things with her. She speaks ok English and wants to learn more, but today we just spoke Spanish. It was a great morning. Then I dropped all my stuff off quickly at the apartment and headed to Parque Poblado to meet up with Pitzer Alum Sonya Fierst and a friend of hers who went to Hampshire and knows MAY MARTIN (small world) for some comida tipica for lunch. Then i headed up to campus hoping to talk to Edgar (my boss) but he wasn't there, so instead i ate some arequipe (dulce de leche) got confronted by a random man who saw me coming down a pathway and shouted at me "where are you from?" this did not throw me off at all. "California" I responded and we continued walking together and talking. Then I ran into Edgar's brother, Norberto (who is hilarious and I watched him finish a bottle of rum by himself one night). Then i headed back down the hill to the gym, where i ellipticaled for an hour why reading the current book i am reading and lovely (again, thank you Jessy Kronenberg). Then as I was getting ready to consider being done, I saw a class was starting with the most beautiful instructor ever. I asked what the class was.. abdomen... sold. So i did an hour of ab-work with the most beautiful colombian man i have seen yet... he even touched my abs...twice...and my legs while i was doing pelvic thrusts.. Unfortunately colombian women are the most beautiful and sexy women in the world so most sexy colombian men hardly look twice at the tall awkward gringa. Then i walked home, met Paola's (roommate) awesome gay friend, had the apartment to myself, took a much needed shower, cut up the pineapple i bought to day, ate some grapes with seeds in them (HATE THAT) and made myself a yummy salad.. a real salad. the first one in a month and a half! Then i started writing this post and now its pretty much bed time...and my roommates have just gotten home.


Tomorrow Meg and I are being taken by a SUPER TALL Colombian and his Australian friend to San Geronimo a small area outside of the city. Should be warm and beautiful, can't wait to share the stories and the pictures.


paz y amor.

Sunday Reflexions

My life seems to speed up and then slow down again. My mood and emotions go up and down with the scheduling of my weeks, when I stay busy, life is great, but when it slows down it gives me time to miss Elk and all the wonderful people there. However, still, a month in, my life here is far from settled and that is frustrating but I just have to remind myself of the reality of this adventure I have embarked on.


I have worked on this post all morning on and off and it has turned into quite a long one, one that I do not expect everyone to read or enjoy, but it has provoked many important personal reflexions and thoughts... please bare with me as this as become a beautiful outlet for me to put words to my feelings, experiences, dreams, emotions, desires and longings.....


First, I want to add some pictures from small adventures I have taken around the city......


A few weeks ago Meg, Miles and I used our puente Monday (three day weekend) to make a late afternoon mission up Nutibara to Pueblito Paisa, a historic example of what a classic Antioqueño township looks like. At the top of the hill sits a museum style township, and a small park where families come on the weekends to fly kites with their children. I had gone to lunch with my host people and was literally dying of a food coma. I was so uncomfortably full I could hardly breathe and thought moving around might help.

 pueblito paisa.

 Kite flying Colombians

 Medellín from Nutibara looking North

 Despite being in a food coma and hardly able to breathe from the Cazuela I had for lunch, I am able to smile with my new ciudad behind me!

The high rises of El Poblado

Team M.M.S. (Miles, Meg and Serena) also took a trip to Parque de Pies Descalzos (barefoot park). Yes, this is a park devoted solely to being barefoot. There are little pools to put your feet in, and fountains that children run around in getting soaking wet. Although it may not be the most exciting tourist destination in the city it is a fun place to relax and people watch.

 los pies descalzos de serena y miles

Colombian children disfrutando the fountains.

It's Sunday, which in Latin American culture is a day of family and a day of rest, however when I am not hungover and trying to catch up on sleep, I find myself getting anxious on this Sunday morning. I am watching CNN in English with news of Irene battering the East Coast, and thinking about how all my friends and family stranded in their homes as wind and rain pummel the windows, I have been reading the local news of Mendocino County, shocked at the recent tragic murders, shootings and robberies which seem to make our quaint little town rival Medellín as drugs show their evil side, with drug cartels shooting people on Timberland, unbelievable. I'm trying to gather energy to get my 10-pound-heavier self to the gym while waiting for it to be late enough to call home to California to wish my dear parents a "Happy Anniversary" (24 years!), and debating if I want to motivate the Fulbright crew to do something with me today....


Usually during the months I spend at home, I spend my Sunday's hustling and bustling around Queenie's making sure people get their soy lattes, huevos rancheros, water and coffee refills and eggs benedict, the Sunday special. I love Sunday mornings at Queenies, even though at times I want to kill myself as Anne and I run around like chickens with our heads cut off as I too am recovering from the night before. Sundays in Claremont consisted of sleeping in as long as possible, a leisurely breakfast and then facing the reality of the weekend's homework I had put off. Sundays spent doing nothing leave me with an unsettled feeling, part of me truly enjoying the my ability to do nothing, while feeling extremely lazy, lame and inadequate and at times wishing I was somewhere else... today, I've wished I was at home having gluten-free pancakes with my parents celebrating their anniversary........or at Queenie's making some well earned tips and sharing my morning and the local news with some of the most wonderful people I know.........or at Dana Grey watching my two best friends dominate in a women's soccer tournament............ or lastly, waking up to 100 degree sunshine beating in through the sliding glass doors in my Marshall Court bedroom, then retreating to the swimming pool to bronze my skin and "do some reading". I'd never thought I'd miss my Pitzer life, but I really do, especially my life last year. Although it was dramatic, sad in ways and consisted of some of my less fine moments, it was quite a year of change and growth, just what I needed after the crazy adventure Ecuador was and the status it left my body. Many aspects of that life combined with many more aspects of my Elk life are what I yearn for now, but unrealistic possibilities for life in Medellín. Sometimes its hard to believe that life is forever in the past. Some of these aspects I miss are not totally an impossible reality here in Medellín and beginning Thursday when I move to a new part of the city have a more independent life and living with young friends I hope to add these things some of them as simple as cooking myself breakfast and having friends to wake up to.


Today, part of me feels kind of lame considering my weekend hardly consisted of alcohol, discos and reggaeton but I am aware that this is just social pressures and have also impressed myself with being ok with a mellow night that involves good company, crispetas and a romantic comedy that left Meg and I crippled with laughter. Not sure how Miles felt about it, but sometimes good comic relief is just what one needs. Unfortunately, the night ended with a reminder and a scare of the reality of Medellín. Don't worry nothing happened but Meg and I, well Meg much more than I, were taught a lesson and reminded of the Colombian reality.


After the movie, it was raining, we were tired, the mall was closed and we just wanted to get home. We have been told countless times to never hail taxi's on the street, especially at night and to always call them and write down the placa numbers of your friend's taxis so if something were to happen you'd be able to find them. I was warned this same things in Quito, but quickly got lazy and always hailed taxis on the street, late at night and nothing ever happened to me (luckily!). I have already begun to get lazy with my safety precautions here as most people are warm, welcoming and overly kind making me feel quite safe. However, this is Colombia and its better safe than sorry because who knows what sorry really entails. Last night, Miles got in a taxi, Meg hailed a second one and was in the process of hailing a third when i suggested we just share it. We got in, the driver was a little strange but we were together and it seemed ok. He took us through some back roads to get to my house first, but I had a general idea of where we were and I wasn't worried. As I got out of the car there was a flash of lightning and a large clap of thunder, I screamed as I scurried in through the two gates. I told Meg to text me when she got home, our usual method. I got home, got ready for bed and it had been a half hour and I hadn't heard from Meg. Then she called, "Serena, I had to call you and not text you to tell you about that taxi ride. It was so intense!" "Oh my god Meg, what happened?" My heart was pounding for her. "Nothing bad, but as we drove away the taxi driver rolled up all the windows took me the back way home and told me he had to teach me a lesson about Medellín." Meg thought this was it, this was how it was going to happen and she was worried that she only had a few pesos to give him. However, luckily this was not what happened. Instead the man just wanted to tell her that we had put ourselves in danger tonight in the way we hailed the taxi, didn't write down the placa and the fact that we are beautiful American girls. The lesson was certainly one of fear, but a realistic reminder that by being stupid and not extra cautious we are putting no one else at risk but ourselves. As I listened to Meg's story I knew everything the driver said was true, but it bummed me out to remember this reality and the fact that calling and waiting for taxi's as a safety measure just makes being out after dark that much more of a big deal and a big effort.


Friday night was another story, and even though I was home and in my pajamas by 11:30 it was probably my best night in Colombia so far. Jessy Kronenberg (my dear friend, ex-housemate and favorite roadtrip buddy, Daniela's sister) has lived in Medellín a year now and is practically Paisa. She's got the city figured out and she's got a wonderful community and "family" here in Medellín. She has been quite kind and welcoming to me and her Paisa World. Last Friday we met in Envigado (the Brooklyn of Medellín) and spent an hour and a half sitting and "watching life pass by" in Parque Envigado as thunder roared around us. We then headed up the road to her "abuela" Magola's house for tea and dinner. Magola lives in a 100 year old house that is beautifully quaint and classically Colombian. Open to the elements, with an indoor flower garden, slanted stone floors, antique furniture, an outdoor herb garden, two old stoves and a paila for making helado de paila and arequipe outside. She is a wonderful woman who welcomed me a large, blue-eyed gringa into her home without a second of hesitation. This Friday we made a repeat trip to Envigado. I went with Jessy to her English class with three young Colombian boys who are eager and motivated to learn English. We sat and talked about college as two of the boys are graduating in November and looking forward to University life! Afterwards we made our way back to the Park and up to a sweet little old fashioned Tavern near Magola's house where every Friday evening Jessy's "tios" meet to sit outside in the pleasant Medellín climate and drink Aguardiente or Vino. The three men, Alirio, Raul and Jairo welcomed me to the table in as much kindness as Magola had the weekend before. They ordered Jessy and I have half bottle of Vino Chileno to split and then another and then another. In typical Paisa tradition our drinks were accompanied by carrots, mangoes, chips, cheese puffs, popcorn and other small snacks "pa'picar" (this might be one of my favorite parts about going out for drinks here in Antioquia). We talked about everything under the sun with these men and it truly felt like a family outing. Alirio is a business man who has done quite well in life, but uses his wealth to give back to the Colombian people. As is usual, people continuously came by trying to sell lottery tickets and random knickknacks. Most people just wave them away, but Alivio bought something from every one of them even though he clearly did not need them. Some items purchased were: a jesus on the cross wall hanging, a complete needle pack with needles for every kind of sewing necessary, many pirated DVDs, and two lottery tickets. His kindness overwhelmed me. The tavern was decorated with old instruments and portraits of an antique style. The only music playing was played on records leaving us with a soundtrack of music from the 1950s-1970s. As we sat outside with a warm breeze blowing in our faces occasionally an old car would drive by and I couldn't help but feel as if I was sitting in Medellín in 1970. Sure, I was probably safer than I would have been back then, but it was truly a magical night. Two older women dressed up in fancy silk shirts and lots of makeup came in and Raul leaned in and explained to me that these women come in to the Tavern every friday without their husbands, they get super dressed up and come in to share a media botella de aguaardiente. I loved this anecdote and couldn't take my eyes off the women for the rest of the evening, loving the simplicity of their lives. As the night began to come to a close (for Jessy and I, the other men remained) they called us a taxi, a man "de confianza", who they called personally and he took us home. I got home happily buzzed feeling content with a night that included more than juvenile debauchery in Parque Lleras.

 La Taverna en Envigado

 Jessy y yo con los tios Alirio y Jairo

 Truly enjoying the evening

just two girls and some vino.

Saturday began with an early morning alarm (the bane of my Colombian existence), arepa con huevo for breakfast and a frustrated taxi driver taking me to work. I helped in three classrooms, one of which i got to lead the class on my own for the last hour. At the end a beautiful and sweet Colombian girl who spoke the best English in class stopped to ask me if there were any programs like mine that would allow her to travel to the US to work. I told her indeed there were and gave her my email address and offered to help her. I headed back home for a lunch that left me another 2 pounds heavier then headed off to meet up with Jessy to go to see the final film of the Festival de Cine Colombiano which was being screened in a library sitting up above the city on the hillside in a poorer neighborhood of Medellín. To get there we took the Metro almost as far north as you can go (unlike Quito, the North is poorer and the South is richer). We then transferred to the Metrocable (the longest teleferiqo/cable car actually used for public transportation). Yes this is a cable car that carries you up the mountain and people living in these upper barrios ride it to get to and from work or to get down the mountain to go out in the city. It's amazing, and as you rise up the mountain you get a bird's-eye view of orange-colored Medellín and the amazing mountains and landscapes that surround it. Not to mention you get a view of a version of Medellín and an estrata so different from that which I generally exist in.


Jessy explained something very interesting to me about the different estrata's of the city. I am living in an estrata 3/4 of 5 or 6. These estratas are divided by socioeconomic class and in each estrata you live there is a base energy and water rate that all residents must pay. For example, people living in El Poblado (Estrata 6) bay a high base rate and subsidize those living in Barrio Santo Domingo (where we were headed Saturday) who pay close to nothing. In a country and city as divided as Medellín and Colombia this seems like a great set up. We got to the library and settled into the auditorium excited to watch this movie which describes and shows the beautiful rural life of the Colombian Andes while telling a real story of the violence and narco-trafficking experienced here. But, in classic Latin-American style technical difficulties did not allow us to watch the film, so I'm left eager to see this film at another time. So instead, we wandered around this barrio, got some ice cream and stared out over the city as many children and families wandered and played in the park behind us. We then headed back down the Metrocable over an unbelievable roar of children's voices. I was impressed by the sheer number of children living and playing in this barrio, but it makes sense, poorer people have more children and despite living with little money, opportunities and in makeshift brick houses built in the mountainside, these children still have a smile on their faces and are living and enjoying life to the fullest.


Well it appears to be another lazy Sunday on Calle 13 here in Medellín. Sometimes I frustrate myself at my ability to truly "waste time", but then I remind myself that's just the American in me talking and really I'm just doing what the Romans do. Luz Mary has been wandering around the apartment making phone calls, listening to Christian Hymns, reading and relaxing. While Jairo has, for a change, been gone all day "at work", meaning, playing saxophone at a birthday party or some other event outside the city. A lesson I will have learned by the end of this year is to be content and comfortable in the way my days go, to be able to let go of the regret and wishes that I was elsewhere doing other things. Today seems as if it will be a day to ponder life.... if only I had a forest cabin, a puff of a medicinal herb and a dear friend  to do it with.

Daily Observations and Lessons

Today is exactly ONE MONTH since I left California.. or should I say since I got sucked out of my summer. I can't believe how quickly time flies. I still feel like I'm settling but this week has felt more settled, especially in terms of my job and working in the classrooms. However, this feeling of settlement will get shaken again as I am moving next week to a new apartment... an awesome new apartment with two young colombians and a girl from Austria... oh and a pug... yup I, Serena Acker, am going to live with a dog and I think I am actually ok with it, probably because that little thing and all its snorting and hideousness makes me laugh... I love the elder couple I've been living with, but I am tired of feeling like a daughter/child again and although the food they serve me is incredible and I have started to look forward to it every day, for my health and body image I need to stop eating three course meals heavy on the meat.


I would now like to take a moment for a short listing of various things in mi vida colombiana:


Things I see pretty much daily:


Colombian women who have made horrible decisions: Yes this sounds kind of harsh, but i'm not joking. The most common bad decisions are hair color. Why would one zebra stripe their hair? Stripe? yes, stripe literally. horrible horrible decision. Highlights in dark hair turn out to look like zebra stripes. Another one, going blonde!? really, first off when dark haired people go blonde it turns out a weird yellow/orange color and second why would you get rid of your beautiful shiny black hair? On that note i should probably include that the woman i am living with wears a wig when she goes out. At first I was like wow her hair looks really different when its styled, then i saw her pull at it once and all her hair moved, then i saw it sitting in the other room.  Other bad decisions include the amount of makeup they wear, tattoos, the men they date and plastic surgery which brings me to item 2.


Butt implants: I think I mentioned before that Colombia is the capital of plastic surgery. In Ecuador there was a lot of nose jobs as people tried to get rid of the "indigenous nose" to look more European/white. Here you see everything, butt implants being my personal favorite. Can you imagine what it would feel like to sit on silicon balloons all day? I cannot, not to mention it looks ridiculous. At lunch yesterday my host woman says nonchalantly "Well another woman died in El Poblado yesterday during lipo" (El Poblado is the ritzy rich people neighborhood). I choked on my food when she said that.


Used dime bags: Every day as I walk to my bus stop I find new litter scattered on the street.. candy wrappers, cigarette butts and dime bags with a little white powder remaining in the corners. The first time  I saw this I was like "woooahh someone had a crazy night!" Then a few feet later I saw another, and another. Then I said to myself "ok, only in Colombia I guess". Continuing on this topic...


Drug deals at my bus stop: The other day I was walking up to my bus stop and there was an older man sitting there with a wad of cash just blowing in the wind. I thought to myself "dude you are crazy, don't dar papaya like that" (dar papaya means putting yourself in a position to be taken advantage of). Seconds later a VERY young boy on a motorcycle pulls up with a smile on his face. Before the man even gets to him, he pulls a little dime bag out of his pants hands it to the man, the man hands him the money and walks back into la biblioteca (where he works) and the young boy zooms off. I stood there kind of shocked for a second and then repeated the phrase from before "only in Colombia..". I was told before I came that cocaine usage is looked down upon because it has rampaged their country so much. However, this does not mean that it is uncommon and they say its cheaper to buy than alcohol.


Motorcycles and motorcycle crashes: I would venture to guess that 75% of people in Medellín own and drive motorcycles. I have become accustomed to dumb-asses riding around in circles outside my window on their stupid motorcycles or trying to get them to start at all hours of the day. Those of you who know me well know that the sound of motorcycle engines makes me want to kill someone. Furthermore, everyone drives them. Its common to see women in stiletto heels driving around on motorcycles weaving through traffic, which brings me to the second part of this observation. People are idiots on motorcycles (plus they barely wear protection) and I see a motorcycle accident pretty much everyday or almost get killed by one on campus. I'm really not a fan.


Men teaching their children to be machismo: Yes, I know a lot about this topic and its a lot better here in Colombian than other places. But the other day I was crossing the street and this man with his like 10 year old son on the back of his motorcycle honked, whistled and yelled at me, both of them looking back and smiling. Pissed me off.


The most hilarious gym outfits ever!: Pretty much every time I am at the gym a moment arises when I wish I had a camera on my ipod or cellphone so I could document the outfits people put on for the gym. To describe a few: Full piece leotards with open backs (women), speedos and skinny strap tanktops (men), bright colored spandex pants with a matching colored MESH top (women), baseball caps and fanny packs (unisex), spandex pants with tall knee socks... we are in the tropics people!! (women), full blown bike gear for spin class... yea you know those unitard spandex shorts things? with a baseball cap, biking gloves, and yesterday I even saw strap-in biking shoes... FOR SPIN CLASS!


People with braces: I have a feeling orthodontia has just recently come to Colombia because EVERYONE has braces. Taxi drivers, professors, security guards, 25-30 year old men (really quite a bummer since for an American braces= awkward pre-teen or in my case the first 16 years of my life and really takes aways someone's atractiveness). On the streets there are hundreds of places advertising orthodontia without an initial quote or for "súper barata" (cheap) kind of reminds me of the "a new nose in 30 second" advertisements in Ecuador.


Things I've learned in the past month:


Always leave the house with an umbrella (or rain jacket): I have yet to purchase an umbrella and have gotten entirely soaked multiple times because for some reason it decides to start raining the second I leave the gym, or get out of class or get off the bus.


How to Jaywalk like a pro: In California jaywalking is illegal in most cities, like you actually get fined for it. This is not the case in DC or NYC I learned this summer and its especially is not the case in Medellín. In DC and NYC people jaywalk at cross roads, here people sprint across major high ways when there is a small break in the traffic. I'm really good at timing my sprints now.


Shy people cannot be teachers: Good thing I can pretty much be a "one woman show" when I choose to be, I love to talk and I am not shy because a shy timid person would DIE doing what I'm doing. I have become accustomed to basically being an object, to answering all kinds of questions from academic to very personal about my life and basically putting on a show and entertaining the Colombian students. I have been working for three weeks which means I have visited approximately 24 classrooms in which about 75% we had a 2 hour "interview session" with me. I've totally gotten all my answers down too. The one people always judge me most on "Whats your religion?" "Do you pray?" After struggling with this one for a while and being asked rudely "you're not an atheist are you?" Realizing responding with agnostic probably wouldn't fly either I came up with my new answer... "I believe, but I don't belong to an organized religion and I don't go to church". These interview questions have also made me realize how difficult it is to describe my life and my hometown in simple English to people who live completely differently. For one, describing Elk as a 250 population town, but not some weird creepy boondocks town and that there are actually a lot of people and a big community that I interact with is a challenge. My parents occupations, also very difficult cause i can't just spit out lawyer or doctor I have to describe it using words like "water system" "county" "manager" "secretary" "working from home" "pump guy" "wells" etc. Another hard one, "What did you study in University"...... well first of all I didn't go to a University I went to a small liberal arts college... blank stares... I studied Spanish and International Intercultural Studies... more blank stares... First off studying spanish as a career seems very bizarre to them and the words international and intercultural are VERY complicated and they usually can't understand them coming out of my mouth so I write it on the board. Then I have to describe that no its not like international business its more general and "interdisciplinary"... thank you Pitzer.


When a man on the street is going to say something to me: They get a certain look on their face, they do this weird lean in thing and then wait for the perfect moment to make the comment, they almost do it from behind as if they are whispering it into my ear. Super sexy bro I'm definitely flattered...This goes for men in cars/trucks also, they lean up close to the window kind of cock their head strangely and either stare and honk or shout out the window.


I can improvise a four-hour class!: Last saturday I got to campus a little late, just 15 minutes though and that nothing for Colombia. I get to the classroom I'm supposed to be assisting in and my phone starts ringing. I look to see who would be calling me at 8:15 am on a saturday morning and its Edgar my boss. I figure I should probably answer it. I answer it outside and he says "Serena where are you?" I thought "dude I was 15 minutes late how did he know??" I told him I was in Albert's class where I was supposed to be. He preceded to ask me to come downstairs because he had a sort of situation he needed my help with. Turns out a teacher didn't show and his level 3 intensive class was sitting waiting for him. Edgar thrusted their book into my hands and pushed me through the door asking me if I could run the class today. I hadn't showered, my hair smelled like cigarette smoke, I was still half asleep and I had never taught my own class before. But I just started talking and before I knew it 4 hours had gone by and the students LOVED ME. One of them even gave me chocolate afterwards.


Baby talk in spanish makes me want to hurt someone: Whiney baby-talk should be OUTLAWED especially when its a 57 year old woman talking to the 22 year old GRINGA living in her house.


Envigado is the Brooklyn of Medellín and a night that begins or ends in Envigado was or will be a crazy one: As tends to be normal when living in a foreign country your first friends and often your best friends are other foreigners. You are all going through similar experiences and emotions and you can relate on many of the realities of living in a foreign country. We Fulbrights have become good friends or should I say "mates" with two other British ELAs (English Language Assistants) who are here through a program run by the British Council and administered by the same Colombian organization ICETEX that Administers Fulbright grants as well as programs through France, Jamaica and probably other countries. Other than the fabulous Geoff Carter (my favorite Queenie's customer and bar mate at Bridget Dolans)  I have very few good British friends, so it has been awesome hanging out with these lads and laughing at the many un-American phrases they say. Both these guys live in Envigado a city separate from Medellín but pretty much still attached. It is apparently what Medellín was like years ago and also the center of Escobar's drug cartel. But it is beautiful, old and bohemian. I spent an afternoon in Parque de Envigado people watching and then had dinner with a friend in the 100 year old house of her adoptive Colombian grandmother, it was such a classic experience. Anyway, our friends live with a large group of other foreigners (Peru, France, Norway, Uganda, Italy...) and their apartments are often quite an international party. I have taken a taxi home in broad daylight from Envigado quite a few times now (in my defense it gets light at 6 am here every day...).

Photo credit: Meg Frost. International party picture and proof that I had an expander that made my mouth quite large... :)


So there you have it a few Colombian observations and lessons ala Serena. I will be sure to write all about my new apartment next week after I move in. I'm so excited! Alex the guy renting the apartment and one of my roommates is awesome. He's so nice and funny and jokes and makes fun of me all the time, luckily I grew up with Charlie Acker as my father, Holly, Lloyd, Alex and Anna as my best friends and Jonas as my sister's boyfriend so I can handle jokes and getting burned on all the time. His girlfriend is super sweet also, they drove me around the other night showing me where to catch the bus, where to buy groceries, where to grab a beer, which store I can order delivery groceries from (awesome!) and where Crepes and Waffles is! The Austrian girl is also very sweet, funny and so European its amazing and the other Colombian girl from Cartagena is beautiful.


I hear great day in Elk was foggy but great as usual and I must say hearing that it was cold and foggy made me feel a little (only a little) better about missing it.


Love love.

Life Sin Prisa

Here's the problem with being abroad: everyday I experience so many interesting, strange, funny, noteworthy and philosophical moments, conversations, interactions and observations that when they happen I think "oh I want to tell (insert name here) about this" or "(insert name here) would find this really funny or interesting". Then my day goes on and before I have a chance to tell (insert name here) about that moment too many have built up and its impossible to share them all much less remember them all. But, that is why I have my other Fulbrighters, we share daily texts, emails and stories (often over delicious chocolate and coffee) of interesting anecdotes, frustrations and happenings of our days and we can all entirely appreciate and laugh or commisurate and be supportive.


Many things have happened since my last blog post and more than just everyday events and occurrences I have found that I have let go and eased further into mi vida Colombiana. I came to a realization as I was walking to the gym one morning that I had to give up on trying to recreate the California lifestyle I have lived since returning from Ecuador and accept the many realities of life in Medellín that may or may not be entirely ideal to me. Such as the following a) plans you create for the day can get totally shut down and you feel like your day is a total failure b) no matter how hard I try, avoiding meat and fried foods is almost impossible c) everything, I repeat everything, is 1.5-2 times slower here in Colombian than in the US.. except the speed of taxis and buses and d) official dates, times and bus routes are non-existant (can you believe an academic calendar actually does not exist for U de M?).  However, this slowness and relaxed way of going about life (that us American's might mistake as laziness or flakiness) is something I truly admire about South American culture. A friend who has been living in Medellín for a year described to me Parque Belén (a park near my house) as a great place where "in the afternoons you can find old men in their silly hats playing chess or simply watching life go by". This couldn't be a better description of Parque Belén and the Colombian life. I often find myself briskly weaving in and out of people wandering down the street walking at a glacial pace with no hurry to get anywhere while also passing men and women sitting on balconies or outside their shops just observing life. Who knows what they are thinking and pondering, but the point is they are content. There is no where else they'd rather be and even if there is somewhere else they ought to be they are in no rush to get there. I can name a few dear friends who are incredibly good at living this way (often to the chagrin of faster moving others) as this is also a wonderful characteristic of the Mendocino life-style, but for the most part we Americans do not possess this quality.We are always on the go: Starbucks to go, drive-thru restaurants and extreme punctuality. A friend writes about and reflects on this trait in his memoir about biking through the Andes from Ecuador to Venezuela and although it can at times be extremely frustrating it is something that brings back a familiar feeling from Ecuador and something I am sure to ponder and at times hate and admire during the next 10 months. They live sin prisa (without hurry). 


I am now in my second week of teaching at La Universidad de Medellín and things are going well. I work 16 (ish) hours a week on campus which is sure to become more as I begin helping Edgar (my University host) edit the book he is writing, create office hours to help students with whatever English concern they may have and potentially start a casual conversation group for students who want more practice speaking English and talking about US/Colombia cultural differences. My role in the classes is exactly what my title, English Teaching Assistant, applies. I go to classes and assist the professors in whatever they need: I can be a helping hand in what they already have planned for the class, I can plan additional lesson plans elaborating what they have been working on or cultural lessons about the US or I can be used to read dialogues and stories introducing the students to what a true American accent sounds like. I have mostly been pleasantly surprised with the excitement and acceptance of the students as well as surprised by the varying levels of English. Within one intermediate course the competency can range from proficient fluency to an inability to create a sentence and instead a string of practically incomprehensible words. This makes for quite a challenge for the instructors. Another difficulty is that many of the instructors are not native speakers, therefore they do not speak entirely correct and have an accent. This teaches the students incorrect pronunciation and furthers the many common mistakes of Spanish speakers when speaking English. This is why Edgar stresses the importance of my attendance to the classes. This also makes me wonder about language acquisition... who is best fit to be a language instructor? A true native speaker or one who has already learned the language?


In other news, last Saturday we went to the Pitbull concert. If you don't know who Pitbull is, don't worry you are among 85% of Colombians who also have never heard of him. Pitbull is from Miami (I think) and sings his songs in Spanglish. The concert was in a huge venue and only a fraction full. We were in the way back (where the cheapest tickets were) surrounded by Americans and Brits and a few gangster Colombians (literally throwing up gang signs the whole concert.. very strange and kind of scary). We got to the concert at 9:30 but didn't make it into the hall until about 10:30/11:00. By the time we got inside we had missed the first opening band. At about midnight the second opening band came on. Here's how this concert worked: one band played a 1-2 hr set then there was a 1.5 hour break in between sets, then another band played their set, then another 1.5 hour break, then FINALLY the headliner (Pitbull) comes on at 2:15 a.m. plays a short but epic set and I was home by 3:45 a.m. Although Pitbull's set was extremely short (under an hour) I quite enjoyed myself as (I'm embarrassed to admit) he performed half my workout playlist and since there was hardly anyone there I had lots of space to dance and it was basically a zumba class with live performers. 


And here I am on the verge of another weekend in Medellín, who knows what this weekend has in store for me (other than classes 8-12 on Saturday.. womp womp). We have talked about planning a trip out of the city, however there is always so much going on here in Medellín we can always find something to entertain us here. But we do have 10 more months (actually only 9 now.. crazy!) to do plenty of travelling. 


Until next time... love you all....