I SPEAK SOME SPANISH!!

Well, it's been a good week for my spanish learning. I'm sure I'll have lots more struggles, and I still have trouble stringing full sentences together but I've had some firsts:

1) I've had three successful conversations in a row with Antonio, the janitor for the science building, where we have conveyed ideas correctly and I've understood and acted upon it successfully! It doesn't sound like much but this guy is really nice so I want to get better at having conversations with him.

2) I had a ride from school back home in a taxi and kept up the conversation for the entire 20 minutes in Spanish! That's a first for me.

Medallin Pics

So these are the pictures of the Medallin trip that Jordan and I took last weekend. We made a big fort out of matresses on Jackie's living room floor (Jackie is the super good friend that we were staying with). Here Jordan and I are testing the Fort out.
This is right near the Botero Museum. You can see one of his statues in the back along with some huge foil floats and other figures that were all around town for the upcoming festival of lights. Clearly Jackie and I don't stand out at all.
This is me at the foot park, looking angry for some reason. I loved it though. All kinds of different textures for your feet.
More Botero figures and Jordan and Jackie making surly faces.
Here's Jackie (on the left) and her friend Rebecca who we also hung out with during the weekend. Jackie seems really excited about something... perhaps making up for the pervious photo.

Slight Change of Plans...

Well, I'm pleased to say that when my fantastic trip to the island of Gorgona fell through it only took Jordan and I 35 seconds to come up with a new fantastic adventure... and what fun it was!

Tara (a friend who teaches at the Bolivar and was organizing the Bolivar trip) called us on Thursday night to tell us that the trip had to be cancelled because the son of the man who was going to take us got very sick and was in the hospital. So of course I'm thinking "How DARE some child get sick when I'm trying to go on vacation" (to those who have trouble with sarcasm over email, this is one of those times that I'm using it). Never down for very long Jordan and I immediately formulated a plan to take a nine (yes "9") hour bus trip north to the city of Medallin where my very dear friend Jackie Zwambag (one of my best friends all through university forevermore as far as I'm concerned) is teaching grade five at the Columbus School.

When we told another teacher at the school that we were planning on taking the overnight bus to Medallin she made the sign of the cross... not because it is dangerous or anything (actually there were tons of families with small kids) but because it's know as a barf fest.

For myself, I've always had a cast iron travelling stomach and I was ok, but there were a few slightly quesy moments. Jordan has a little more trouble with motion sickness so he popped a few gravol and was a-ok. We tried to sleep on the bus but it was kind of difficult. Now, just to get the image straight, think Greyhound or Coach Canada bus not metal death trap filled with 400 crammed in people, chickens and donkeys (I know some of you were thinking it!). The last 3 hours going up to Medallin were a lot of back and forths along the edge of mountains but we didn't get to see how beautiful it was (amazing) until the bus ride back.

Let me tell you, Medallin is AWESOME! What a beautiful, interesting, cosmopolitan city. Cali is definetly rugged by comparison. Plus people in Medallin drive like they are sane, unlike Cali. If we crossed the road like we did in Medallin, in Cali instead we would be dead really fast.

So we met up with Jackie and hung out for the whole weekend. It was so great to see her again. We made a Fort in her living room to sleep in which was obviously the greatest idea ever.

On Saturday night we went to a little Columbus teacher bbq and met a lot of Jackie's co-workers who were a really fun bunch. One of the teachers there, Rebecca, did her B.Ed. with us last year... small world! That evening we all went out to the neatest bar I've ever been. It is owned by a professional artist who does is up in some sort of special theme and we hit on Midsummer Nights Dream meets Christmas. All the staff were wearing sequins and big elf ears! There was also a huge art exhibit in the back that you could wander through.

Sunday we visited the Fernando Botero Museum and the foot park (a park designed to have lots of interesting and differing foot textures) and then went out on the town again (never enough of Medallin) with Jackie and Rebecca.

Monday, sadly was another 9 hour bus trip home but at least we got a good view this time. At about 3pm I was sitting by the side of road at an outdoor busstop diner thinking, "I'm eating lunch under open sky at some little roadside in Colombia.... how interesting". Jordan and I periodically remind one another "Dude, we're in Colombia"! Just for effect.

I'm on a dialup internet connection at home that I've managed to rig up so I won't post any pics right now but I will soon.

In conclusion: Medallin is AWESOME and 9 hour bus rides are small potatoes!

Tres Cruces

Three big bad Crosses. The Catholics know how to light up the world.
Jordan and Julie (another Canadian import teacher) being totally serious as they look down on Cali from the Tres Cruces.
Jordan and his sweetie Patricia.


At night in Cali, even from our end of town in the South you can see these three huge crosses all lit up on a nearby hill. Lots of people hike up there so we decided to go this morning. Kinda comprable to Mount McKay I think, except there is watermelon at the top AND an outdoor gym with really beat up weights, parallel bars, chin up bars etc. Weird I know.

Long Weekends

Hi all,

Well, it's official! We've hit November and you know what that means! (well, actually you don't).

IT'S LONG WEEKEND MONTH!

Yup, that's right! This weekend was a long weekend. So is next weekend. We also get a four day weekend for American Thanksgiving. I don't feel like a teacher so much as some guy who lives in Colombia.

This weekend was getting all the work done so I can do a bit of travelling later on in the month. Next weekend is a trip to the Island of Gorgona which is off the west coast of Colombia. It's a small island and a nature preserve so you need special permission from the government to go there.... I can't wait! It's an 8 hour boat ride there but they have monkeys and a prison museum (think Alcatraz) so it's basically going to be the best thing ever.

At Thanksgiving it currently looks like Jordan and I will be meeting up with my dear friend Jackie Zwambag (she was Con-Ed president the year I was VP and we go WAAYYY back as amazing friends) and going to the Island of San Andreas. No monkeys, or prison museums.... It's more of a 'lay on the beach' type of place from what I hear but that can be fun too.

So this weekend Jordan and I were making dinner and our neighbor next door, Andres knocked on the door and wandered in started hanging out as he is known to do. His girlfriend came over too and soon after our neighbours Kate and Tim (other import teachers) saw that we 'had people over' from their vantage across the way and came over with Aguardiente (the Colombian drink of choice). Well, we were going to a movie with Jordan's girlfriend and another friend from school so we had to take off but we told them just to lock the door on their way out. When we returned 2.5 hours later we found not only them but some of our other neighbours sitting on the balcony having a party. Apparently our other neighbours Scott and Sonia had been trying to sleep but couldn't because of the loud music coming from 'our house' so they just decided to join up. ..... Whew! Well we love having people over so it's actually nice to come home and find people already having a good time. It saves you from having to go somewhere else.

Science Projects

For the past while my students have been working on their culminating project (this just means, "Big project that you do at the end that incorporates lots of stuff") for the electricity unit. They either had to build a useful electrical system or answer a question about electricity and its properties by designing and conducting an experiment.

This student here decided to make a chair that, whenever you sit down has a lightbulb above that turns on automatically. I have dubbed it "The Reading Chair". The only drawback is that my classroom reeks of glue and paint right now. Good thing I'm in Colombia and can keep the windows open ALL the time ALL year long.

Halloween FUN

Well, I figured out what Colombians do for Halloween. They all take their kids to the mall. This I discovered after going to do a little shopping at the supermarket that is attached to the mall after work on Monday (the 31st). To get there I have to move through the mall and this time it took me about 4 billion times as long because of the mass of humanity composed of small children looking uncomfortable in hot costumes and doting parents looking for photo opportunities. I'm not sure why they all ended up there, maybe because it's a good gathering place, maybe because it enclosed and very safe... I'm not sure. I saw this one poor girl all dolled up as a Princess or some such thing who didn't look too impressed at having to wear a layed evening gown and eye makeup as her mom snapped photos in front of one of the Halloween backdrops.

We did have some kids come by our neighborhood in the evening though, which was fun.

Right after Halloween (ie. RIGHT before Christmas time if the decorations are to be believed) another neat tradition kicks in. Kids, usually from the poorer neighborhoods come around all Christmas season dressed as the Devil, Death, and the Widow and bang on drums. I'm not sure that I understand the tradition yet but they are looking for small donations. Something like Christmas Caroling but with more supreme evil beings and symbols of death and less 'Silent Night'.

Oh, yeah. They also sing the birthday song here but there are more verses.