Triple Mamasita Deliciosa

I like it is "me gusta," which more literally means it is pleasing to me. If something is a bit better, to say how nice it is would be "que rica." The highest level would be "muy deliciosa." At first it sounded like that would be only about food, but the title of this post basically means "What a hottie!" It's even more entertaining when women gesture their faces with the alternate "triple papasita deliciosa." Knowing all this I asked if I could use the Rosetta Stone phrase "Encantado a conocerla," which sounds a lot like Lumiere's "Enchantee, mademoiselle." I liked the answer. "It's pretty formal, but you'll get points for it!"


Changing topics... Yesterday Amber, a high school English teacher, rode the bus because there was a downpour following the hail we'd gotten twenty minutes earlier. Along the way she shared some good insights about the culture here. I oft wonder whether it is the culture of the CNG student or the culture of Colombia that influences certain behaviors. She pointed out that most things hear are up for negotiation, so that includes home life. A parent may say one thing but the children come back to negotiate it from different perspectives. That explains why some students are so prone to arguing in the classroom. They just think it's fun. That's been a pretty big culture clash for me. My previous strategy of telling students we could discuss it after class, which usually diffused the whole thing (and still does work for Amber) hasn't been working for me. 


The next time an argument appears to be starting I won't let it get to the point of a kid telling me "I'm not arguing," which apparently is at least somewhat more honest than I had realized. I'll just keep it simple and say "no" over and over like a broken record... or at least that's my first strategy. We'll see how it goes.

Welcome Andy!

Friday--Andy flew in from via Miami and boy were his arms tired! There was a long line for the taxi stand, starting from near the end of the security line and then out around the corner of the airport.

We grabbed some hamburgers at El Corral and boy was it good to start catching up. Skype is good, but it's just not the same as hanging out! 

When we got to my apartment, Andy made himself at home. Quickly.

Saturday--We saw Desert Flower at the local mall. Tickets were only $5. Remember when the regular, big, nice movie theaters cost that much? According to the National Association of Theater Owners, that average price goes back to 1999. Then we had dinner at Local, including terrific cevice and Sopa de Mariscos, a red broth seafood soup that in this case had some shrimp and calamari. Yummy!


Sunday--Lunch in the local city Chia at a friend's home! Cost of time: 1 hr 15 min dual bus ride each way. Cost of money 2300 pesos ($1.75) one-way. Cost of trying out the public transit system with Andy: priceless.


Monday--Magic show included an act where four people from the audience were brought on stage.  I had earlier made the comment "I wish we weren't in the front row of this section. That's always where they choose members of the audience." Well, Andy was one of them! He did a great job onstage despite being spoken at quickly in Spanish. He got back to his seat, looked around, and exclaimed, "He took my watch!" Sure enough, all four volunteers were brought back their watches at the end of the act.