Even throughout an experience as big as this one, it's the little things that count. It was the last week before my host family took flight to the US to watch their daughter graduate college, so I made it a point to spend lots of time at home. This week was calm, cool and collected, packed with awesome little memories and experiences.
Luz, the woman who cooks and cleans here, was also going home to visit her kids and her husband in the coming weeks. Standing between her and her 1:30AM door-to-door bus ride to her hometown of Mompox was an Arab rice & almond meal she had to make first. She told me that slicing hundreds of almonds into 1/4s was one of her least favorite things to do in the world. I suggested we make this a team effort, and set a goal. We did not quite achieve our goal of 1 hour flat, but still set a personal record with 1:04.
That night, I gave Luz one of the gifts I brought from home - a New York City snow globe. She'd mentioned to me how much she dreamed of going there, so I wanted a way to keep her dream nearby at all times. She loved it, and brought it home with her to show all of her kids.
Luz, the woman who cooks and cleans here, was also going home to visit her kids and her husband in the coming weeks. Standing between her and her 1:30AM door-to-door bus ride to her hometown of Mompox was an Arab rice & almond meal she had to make first. She told me that slicing hundreds of almonds into 1/4s was one of her least favorite things to do in the world. I suggested we make this a team effort, and set a goal. We did not quite achieve our goal of 1 hour flat, but still set a personal record with 1:04.
That night, I gave Luz one of the gifts I brought from home - a New York City snow globe. She'd mentioned to me how much she dreamed of going there, so I wanted a way to keep her dream nearby at all times. She loved it, and brought it home with her to show all of her kids.
The next day, while at school, I met a friend of mine at our favorite spot - the tennis courts. This is quite possibly the most thought-provoking stadium seating in all of the world. It's our favorite place to talk, think about life, and solve the world's problems. It doubles as a wonderful meeting point. We left and went to the mall to purchase supplies for making my friend Mark's birthday dessert. While there, he mentioned to me just how unexcited he was to head back to the US and study boring old business administration in college. While we'd planned on being at the mall for a half hour, we stayed two and a half as every bit of enthusiasm and passion I have for business poured out of me. It was an incredibly refreshing and reminding conversation, had sitting contently in the middle of a random Colombian mall.
That evening, I waited for the "on my way" cue from my friend Rachel, my partner in the postre-business. (Postre = desserts). By now, we have timed it perfectly. I get the text that someone just left the university in our beloved bright yellow Puerto Colombia buses, and know that if I leave within the next 2 minutes, I can get in a good run, high socks and all, to the entrance and meet them there just as they arrive. Rachel and I met there at the entrance, headed back to my house, and made some adorable Colombian-flag decorated brownies for Mark.
The next day, we celebrated at our ISA Weekly Meeting. It was both enjoyable and delicious. What a wonderful day it was until my night class took a turn for the worst. We had a long-awaited presentation on a campaign designed to encourage active participation in classrooms around campus. Though we felt prepared in the beginning, we got into the room and were in for a series of shocking turns. The first was my professor stating we had to choose a language and all do the presentation in the same language. As the minority, 4:1, I had 3-4 minutes to convert my prepared presentation into an effective spanish campaign pitch. The second shock came when one of our team members didn't show up, but sent plenty of photos of himself in the hospital with an incredibly broken foot. The third shock was when it turned from a college presentation to an episode of Shark Tank. We didn't have what the professor was looking for, and he didn't want to see more. He graded 1/5 of the rubric, and put X's through the other four categories. The fourth and final shock was how happy I was that my professor was willing to do that - demand excellence of his students. I wrote him a thank you letter after, and I really was appreciative!
I woke up the next day with a pit in my stomach, nervous for what was to come. I headed to school to do a semi-professional photo shoot for the ISA Texas team, but spent the whole time being nervous. A friend of mine was about to get laser eye surgery in Colombia. That worries me, and just about everyone who knew about it, for many many reasons. The sketchiness of Colombian surgical procedures and the low cost - to - supposedly high quality ratio was too real to be comforted by any amount of research. Regardless, he was set on it. We rallied the troops: him, me, and our great friend Maria from Venezuela. Somehow she got the nickname "Maria Venezuela" and it's stuck the entire 5 months. We had a 4-way translation system going on - from the doctor to Maria Venezuela in pure, advanced Spanish, from Maria Venezuela to me in watered down Spanish, and from me to my friend in Spanglish or English, and then all the way back up the chain. We covered all important medical information, healing procedures and restrictions.
While our friend was in surgery, we waited patiently on the floor of the hospital lobby next to the outlet. Not knowing which was more of a risk - a dead phone or an exposed laptop - we rigged a system to keep my phone charing via my computer which was hidden in my backpack, but still plugged into the wall. Maria Venezuela and I discussed the political, social, and economic situation in her country, our lives here in Colombia, and the potential for her to come study at my university in Boston. It was a wonderful bilingual conversation that confused everyone else in the waiting room.
Our friend emerged from surgery and immediately stated a number of noteworthy things ranging from "Oh my god, I'm actually crying" to "All I want is a cheeseburger from El Corral." Eyes completely closed, he still got us a cab at a great price. We went to Buenavista and enjoyed a nice lunch at El Corral, as per his request. He thanked us for all the support, all the translating, and all the "my eyes are running, please get more napkins" runs we made that day, and chose to pick up the tab for the food. Very nice and much appreciated.
While I was helping the patient, Claire was volunteering in a nearby town. She doesn't have a cell phone or any access to technology, so you can image... meeting up is tough. Someone sent me a message saying Claire had already left for my house. My host uncle and I strategized, knowing she was somewhere between the university and our house. I knew she would be stopping at the store on the way to buy sweets. We hopped in the car just as the sun was setting, hopping we'd find her en route. On our way, one Puerto Colombia bus passed us heading towards the house, so by process of elimination, I knew she was either in the store, or waiting for the next bus. Just as we pulled up to the store, I saw her outside, about to get on the wrong bus. I yelled her name, and we finally got her!
After an imaginably long day, we decided to relax with a less than classic combination - Tequila and White Chicks, the movie. My host cousin had one of his friends over, as did I, so the 4 of us spent lots of time on the back porch telling funny stories, answering tough questions (ex. why I don't drink), belting out old Disney songs, and loving life. We ended our night around 3:30am, set an alarm for 7, and crashed real quick before our next day's adventure.
The alarm soon rang, we quickly got ready, headed to our meeting point, bought a chocolate cake and ate it as a communal breakfast, and loaded the bus on our way to the town of Usiacurí and El Volcán Del Totumo - our last full group excursion. It was just a one day adventure, but definitely memorable. We started in the town of Usiacurí. We visited the home of the famous poet Julio Florez, checked out all the gorgeous, handmade crafts, bought some souvenirs, and made a quick stop at church before making our way to the volcano.
Our friend emerged from surgery and immediately stated a number of noteworthy things ranging from "Oh my god, I'm actually crying" to "All I want is a cheeseburger from El Corral." Eyes completely closed, he still got us a cab at a great price. We went to Buenavista and enjoyed a nice lunch at El Corral, as per his request. He thanked us for all the support, all the translating, and all the "my eyes are running, please get more napkins" runs we made that day, and chose to pick up the tab for the food. Very nice and much appreciated.
While I was helping the patient, Claire was volunteering in a nearby town. She doesn't have a cell phone or any access to technology, so you can image... meeting up is tough. Someone sent me a message saying Claire had already left for my house. My host uncle and I strategized, knowing she was somewhere between the university and our house. I knew she would be stopping at the store on the way to buy sweets. We hopped in the car just as the sun was setting, hopping we'd find her en route. On our way, one Puerto Colombia bus passed us heading towards the house, so by process of elimination, I knew she was either in the store, or waiting for the next bus. Just as we pulled up to the store, I saw her outside, about to get on the wrong bus. I yelled her name, and we finally got her!
After an imaginably long day, we decided to relax with a less than classic combination - Tequila and White Chicks, the movie. My host cousin had one of his friends over, as did I, so the 4 of us spent lots of time on the back porch telling funny stories, answering tough questions (ex. why I don't drink), belting out old Disney songs, and loving life. We ended our night around 3:30am, set an alarm for 7, and crashed real quick before our next day's adventure.
The alarm soon rang, we quickly got ready, headed to our meeting point, bought a chocolate cake and ate it as a communal breakfast, and loaded the bus on our way to the town of Usiacurí and El Volcán Del Totumo - our last full group excursion. It was just a one day adventure, but definitely memorable. We started in the town of Usiacurí. We visited the home of the famous poet Julio Florez, checked out all the gorgeous, handmade crafts, bought some souvenirs, and made a quick stop at church before making our way to the volcano.
Despite getting kicked out by people who technically don't even work there, the volcano was a wonderful time. We had a bit of science lesson about why it is that we float so easily in the volcano. In fact, the scientific composition of the muck we were swimming in was painted right there on the restaurant wall opposite the volcano.
We spent the night making brownies, watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians (something I never do), and making some sweet, homemade cards for our mom's (Spanish/English) for Mothers Day, the next day.
We woke up, delivered our cards both in-person and digitally, and then got ready to go to church. It's the same church I visited my first weekend in Colombia, the one where Shakira used to sing as a child. It was the most upbeat, animated Catholic church I have ever seen in my lifetime. At times, I knew some of the songs in English, and caught on quickly to the Spanish, but the majority of the time I was just observing, so entirely captivated.
We ran to the store with my host mom to buy a cheese platter for the "lunch" which turned out to be much more than that. We took lots of time, calculating prices and the value of our time, deciding whether we should just go with the platter or make it ourselves. We ended making it ourselves, and it was quite funny, because Claire and I ended up walking around with serving trays as if we were working the party. We made a joke with my host dad that he'd let us live for free if we work all the parties, and he agreed. Just as everyone had finished shoving down assorted cheeses and greeting each other, there was an announcement made stating that on behalf of Uncle Julio, we needed to gather around. In through the doors walked a Mariachi Band with massive hats, instruments, and some pretty awesome blue velvet outfits. They played a set in our living room, stayed for a rushed photo op, and then left, probably to their next gig.
We ran to the store with my host mom to buy a cheese platter for the "lunch" which turned out to be much more than that. We took lots of time, calculating prices and the value of our time, deciding whether we should just go with the platter or make it ourselves. We ended making it ourselves, and it was quite funny, because Claire and I ended up walking around with serving trays as if we were working the party. We made a joke with my host dad that he'd let us live for free if we work all the parties, and he agreed. Just as everyone had finished shoving down assorted cheeses and greeting each other, there was an announcement made stating that on behalf of Uncle Julio, we needed to gather around. In through the doors walked a Mariachi Band with massive hats, instruments, and some pretty awesome blue velvet outfits. They played a set in our living room, stayed for a rushed photo op, and then left, probably to their next gig.
As mentioned, this week was not as eventful as normal, but certainly a quality one. I'm remembering how true it is that big things come in small packages, and it's the little things that count. So, for now, my last few weeks here in Colombia, I'll just be hanging out, sitting down, catching up - with old friends, new friends, and friends I may never see again - doing school work, life work, and everything in between.