Jenny in Colombia

A few weeks ago, the janitors threw us a party . Our janitors are pretty amazing and work very hard for very little pay. One of them told me they make only 20,000 pesos a day which is equivalent to about $10. It was definitely a good time and there was plenty of dancing.

Two weeks ago, some teachers living in Cartagena rented a pirate boat to take us out to sea for awhile. We all dressed in costume and enjoyed an amazing party on the boat. It was a sort of farewell to all the teachers leaving this year. About halfway through the ride, the most amazing rainbow appeared. It was complete from end to end and you could see every color.

Last weekend, some friends and I went to a beach close to here called Puerto Velero. It’s by far the best beach I’ve been to in the Barranquilla area. Not only that, but there were hardly any people so it was as if we had the beach to ourselves. The water was so warm it felt warmer than the air. You could walk forever out into the sea and not get more than waist-deep. I managed to find an adorable puppy and enjoyed taking it into the water for a swim. I did get a bit of a sunburn, but it was a very fun day!

Today was Teachers’ Day. I really had no idea so when the kids all came to me this morning and wished me a “Happy Teachers’ Day,” I was quite surprised. I have the best class in the world this year. Other teachers asked me how many gifts I got, but I only got a few. So what did I get? Cards and letters. And the letters said the sweetest things I’ve ever heard. The kids thought it was such a great day. We would be in the middle of a lesson and a boy would scribble “Happy Teachers” Day” in his notebook, hold it up and shout, and the entire class would start cheering and clapping. They interrupted math class with a song they had made up. They each came up to me one by one to wish me a Happy Teachers’ Day. I’m definitely lucky to have them.

Speaking of my students, they do the strangest things. Here are some stories from the recent weeks:
1. One of my students insists that a teacher’s aide is in love with him.
2. We were playing a review game in which I would throw a bouncy ball to a student if he wanted to answer. I threw it to one of the boys and he said, “Wow Missees, do you drink asteroids?” After much confusion, I finally deciphered that phrase as meaning “Do you take steroids?” They think somehow steroids and asteroids are the same thing.
3. In the middle of a social studies lesson, one of my students put pens behind his ears, stood up and shouted, “I’m a bull! I’m a torro!!”
4. One of my students got stuck in the legs of his desk. How he managed it, I have no idea, but it took someone shoving from behind and someone pulling on his arms to get him out.

The move to Morocco is coming along smoothly. They’ve already sent me my plane ticket and I will be flying out on the 16th of August. KCP sent me my plane ticket home and I’ll be back in Montana on June 21. I think the transition to Morocco is going to be fairly easy. The way the school and apartments are set up is very similar to how it is here. I do know I’ll have less students (max 22) so that’s definitely something to look forward to!

I apologize to all my loyal readers for being such a terrible blog author. (Especially Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Pete). Miss you guys!!

So here goes… it’s going to be a long one so you might want to go get a cup of coffee (or a beer, whichever you prefer), before you start.

For spring break, I took a trip to a little fishing village called Taganga to get my Scuba/Open Water Diving certification. You all know how much I loved diving the last time and the directors in Morocco advised me to get my certification before I arrived. I had originally planned to go alone, but was happily accompanied by two of my dear Colombian friends from Barranquilla.

Taganga, as I said before, is a small fishing village with very little entertainment. Though it is quaint and full of tourists, it is also quite a shock to enter for the first time. The beaches aren’t all that great because of all the boats. It’s also extremely poor. There are plenty of children running around the streets (and to the restaurant in our hostel) trying to sell their chickens. The roads are sand and rock and the houses consist of a cement one-room building. It’s really amazing to look in some of these houses (they don’t have doors) and see only a bed, refrigerator, and a few other small items in a room about the size of my bedroom here in my apartment. It’s amazing how people live their entire lives like that and then to think of what we have.

I stayed in a hostel that left a lot to be desired. This hostel came with several recommendations, but I suppose I didn’t catch them at the right time. Before I tell the diving stories, I’ll share some from my hostel experience. It’s something I need to remember for the future and can hopefully look back and laugh about.

I came home the first night to find a cockroach on my bed. As soon as I entered, it scurried under the mattress. I was then completely distraught and didn’t know what to do. I obviously couldn’t go to bed knowing it was right under me, but was too afraid to look for it and squish it. I finally decided that I needed to be brave and find it. As soon as I lifted the mattress, it jumped out at me. I screamed and ran. It ran the opposite direction and hid in the corner. Now, for those of you who have had experience with cockroaches, they’re no party. This one was about 3 inches long and was faster than fast. There was no way I was getting close enough to stomp on it. After a few short minutes, I was able to chase it under the door and out of my room. I then took a towel and jammed it under the door so it couldn’t come back.

The second night, I came home to find a cockroach in the corner. Luckily, I still had friends outside so I left for awhile hoping it would disappear. I came back and it had done just that… disappeared. UNTIL….. I had fallen asleep. Now, I thought I had been smart that night by sleeping with the lights on. Didn’t someone once say cockroaches are afraid of the light?? Not Colombian cockroaches apparently. I woke up to one staring me right in the eye. After that, I had had it. I was so scared I stayed awake the rest of the night.

The next day, I attempted to get my money back and switch hostels. No luck. The lady refused and it was way too much money to just leave. I was going to be sharing a bed with cockroaches for the next week. The following night, I fell asleep with the lights off figuring what I can’t see can’t hurt me. Instead, I had a dream about one and woke up suddenly thinking I had one on my pillow again. I ran to the door and grabbed a shoe. It’s really amazing I didn’t give myself a heart attack from going from a dead sleep to fight or flight position in 2.5 seconds. Luckily, the rest of the week turned out to be cockroach free (at least from what I saw). Unfortunately, I did spend 2 nights without water and 2 nights without electricity. Being in a town on the Caribbean coast, it’s no picnic having to sleep without a fan or even a breeze.

Fortunately, I did get free breakfast every morning so we can look at that as a plus. Saved a little money.

The diving experience was wonderful. I went with a very reputable company, paid a little extra, and got exactly what I needed from the course. My instructor’s name was Gerd and he was from Germany. Gerd was no sweet-talking Colombian and insisted we always follow the rules. He didn’t go easy on me AT ALL. He made me do every task until I got it perfectly. One of the things you have to do is dive down 10 meters into the ocean, remove your mask, and then clear it using your nose. I was pouting when he told me to do this because my eyes are so sensitive and the salt really hurts them. He just laughed and made me do it anyway. It turned out ok, and I’m proud for accomplishing it. It took 4 days for the course and I studied all day on the fifth day. I didn’t realize there was so much one had to know just to get a certification. The final exam took about an hour and amazingly, I scored a 100%. Because of this, they gave me an entire day of free dives which was wonderful!!

Now, about the diving experiences. In a nutshell, it was pretty amazing. We went around some islands in Parque Tayrona where there are lots of reefs. The fish are just incredible and come in every shape, size, and color. We also saw seahorses, sea cucumbers (that shriveled up when touched), starfish, an octopus, sea slugs, sea anemones, lobsters, and plenty of creatures that I couldn’t identify. I loved when a huge school of fish swam right past me. The great thing about diving is that it’s like flying. There are things all around you and you’re completely weightless. I love it. My next goal is to get the Underwater Naturalist and Underwater Photographer certifications. I would also like to do a night dive sometime.

Like any trip I take, there are plenty of embarrassing moments to go right with it. On the day of my free dives, I was with a group of 10 or so people from all over the place. The boat had anchored at a beach and we were to get out, wade to shore, and have a snack. Of course, I wanted to take my gear so I could do a little snorkeling and practice my underwater photography. As I’m climbing down the ladder with things in both hands, I slipped and fell face first right off the boat. My things flew everywhere and everyone seemed to think it was the funniest thing ever. At least I have the ability to make people laugh.

So I have two months left here in Colombia. I’m beginning to organize my apartment and think about the things I will take back with me and what can stay here. Luckily, I haven’t bought a lot so it won’t be too hard getting things home.

Hugs and kisses to everyone back home. I think about you often and hope you are all happy and healthy.