I just have to say that I can't believe I am already passed the 200 days mark! When did that happen?! Well... I suppose that it happened about 12 days ago. But, that doesn't change the fact that it is really crazy to think about for me.
Update - I spent about two weeks (Monday July, 9th until Saturday July 21st) in a "little" coastal town called Riohacha. Riohacha holds the oldest Mennonite church on the coast. The church there is also a nursing home which is really exciting. Nursing homes are very rare in Latin America because families are so predominant here. However, there is a very big need for these establishments, so it was a great experience to be able to be a part of one of these communities for two weeks.
The front of the church in Riohacha
This is when you walk in the door. Everything is very open in Colombia. I really enjoy that.
While there, I was able to build relationships with many of the people who lived and worked there. I also had the chance to give a few English lessons. It was a lot of fun! I made some really great friends there. I got a chance to learn how to fish with just some fishing line, a hook, and a plastic bottle! That was definitely new! They have a little guest room that I was able to stay in, so it was nice to be right there in the church.
This was my bed for two weeks in the guest room. The previous occupant really enjoyed music!
Also lions! One of the workers always made sure that I had a thermos full of ice water every morning! It was so nice of her! I would leave and come back and she would have replaced it every morning. It made me feel very special!
I taught a class to younger kids in the morning, high school aged kids in the afternoon, and adults in the evenings. It was a lot of fun having the different dynamics and age groups there.
One of my afternoon classes
On my way back from this trip I took a very short trip to a hostel that I previously stayed in for a little rest and relaxation time. That was definitely a blessing! I was able to meet a lot of really cool people and spend a lot of time in the pool and chatting it up with backpackers from ALL over the world! I met people from all over Europe and Australia and New Zealand as well.
I even made my way to a little fishing village called Taganga and spent some time on the beach there! That was awesome.
Taganga is a little village and you can take a 5 minute boat ride around a small mountain into a little cove and sit on an awesome beach! The view was incredible!
This is a view from the beach.
Then, this is a view of the beach.
There were venders everywhere that were selling things from fruit juice to shrimp, to sunglasses. It was great!
Since being back I have been getting back into a routine that now includes volunteering in a local school that two of my good friends work at! That has been such an incredible experience! I just finished my first week there! The little kids are just great! I work with grades one and two primarily and I was also able to meet with some grade 10ers and we spoke in larger conversations and got a little more serious. All of their teachers have to be bilingual and they teach two subjects (as well as English classes) in English by the time you get to junior high years. So, by the end of school there almost all of the students are very very near being bilingual, if not actually bilingual. They have a great system and I have really enjoyed getting to know the teachers and students! They are a hoot!
The kids in the school make me feel like a celebrity! This last week every day during their first break a lot of the kids would come up to me and just stand there and stare. I would ask them what their names were (usually in English because I was told I wasn't allowed to speak in Spanish while there, haha) and they would just blush and smile and run away. But then a couple brave students would ask me in English what my name was and how old I was and how many brothers (the idea of the word "sibling" is very strange for Spanish speakers because "hermanos" means siblings but also brothers, and you would say "hermana" for sister) I had and little things like that. They would get SO excited when they could understand me. There were a lot of giggles (on both ends of the conversations because I giggle when I get nervous) and smiles and one little boy even shared a cookie with me! I am REALLY looking forward to continuing to volunteer there.
Today was Sunday which means church! We had a lovely service and Pastora Mitzi gave a very nice sermon on prayer and living for God from I Peter 4. After service we were standing around and talking and then all the sudden there was a TORRENTIAL downpour! Traveling in Barranquilla while it is raining is actually VERY dangerous. I am not sure why exactly it is this way because it isn't the case in all of Colombia but it is bad. It is famous for it's "arroyos," or flash floods. Many many people die every year and a lot of damage is done as well. They have been known to move city buses. Not just move as in a couple inches, but move as in a few blocks at a time! Scary stuff. I am going to include some links to youtube videos at the end.
So, since we were trapped in the church we had an impromptu lunch. It was so much fun because it was really unexpected and we just hung out and laughed and told stories and goofed off and watched the Olympics (a female long jumper from Colombia got a silver medal!) had a great time! It is so often (and as is the lifestyle and culture here in Colombia) that the best times are had with the impromptu get togethers and random occurrences.
There was a meeting afterwards and people were getting a little overly excited. I was pretty pumped though because I understood about 80% of the conversation even though people were talking back and forth and over each other and speaking VERY quickly! Sometimes in situations like that I really surprise myself with my Spanish and it make me feel like I am actually learning!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOd39djeGb8&feature=fvst
This one is a slide show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYOFEavp8M0&feature=related
This is an extreme one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ranUY9TJqc&feature=related
This one is actually just about two blocks from where I used to live!
I am very happy to live on the 6th floor when these things happen! On a very similar note, I was really confused when I first got here and saw that the sidewalks were up REALLY high from the street and often there are waist high walls at some intersections. Well... I soon found out why.
On a lighter not, these don't happen often at all! I would say just maybe twice a month or so depending on the part of the city you are in and the time of year. The rainy season is roughly June-ish until maybe November.
