Three Countries in12 Hours

A six hour layover at the Toronto Airport has given me plenty of time for my bags to be inspected, some light shopping, and continuing to read Baldacci's "The Christmas Train." Actually a friend offered to let me come to her sister's house about 15 minutes away to get a few hours sleep, but alas there were separate escalators to different areas for domestic and US destinations.


Sitting at the Queen West Bar now, I'm drinking vitamin water (defense flavor) and watching a Samsung Yule Log (which is a bit different in HDTV.) The stereo system is playing "Christmas Time Is Here" from the Charlie Brown specials (woot woot!) and it just started snowing lightly. So, it could be worse.


Here's a fun little article that made the headline on Toronto's home page, called Rogers.

Weather

Yesterday I was ready to see a concert in a park, when all of a sudden the rain started up. Half an hour later there was still no taxi to be found. It's funny how they seem to disappear due to rain, when there are so, so many of them normally.


Today has been cold all day. Our school is up on the hill, which technically is a very tall mountain, but the close part of the city has such high elevation already that it really is just a steep hill. Usually the day will start cool and then warm up to maybe the low 60's, but I don't think today has gotten above 55. I've been wearing my Walgreen's "Magic Gloves" all day long. They're life savers for being able to type grades all day amongst the cool air.


So just to clarify, yes I am at 4 degrees north latitude and no it is not gloriously warm here all the time. It's a perennial Autumn. (Medellin has a perennial Spring, called "La Eterna Primavera".) Actually 28 of 32 districts (i.e. states) here are flooded due to the huge amount of rain from El Nino this year. Fortunately downtown Bogota is not, but there has still been a ton of rain this year.


T-minus 3 days until I'm in cold and snow.

Shout Out to Harry Potter Fans

Death eaters = moligrafos
Holcruxes = holcruxes
Blimey = no exact translation

La Chiva

Built on a standard bus chassis, the perimeter of a chiva has broad rows of wooden benches. Chivas rurales are used to transport people, luggage, animals, and goods. They're often painted a lot of colors. Chivas turisticas are predominantly gold, red, and blue as per the Colombian flag. Each Chiva is named, and ours was called La Tetona. Delicately put, it's referring to a woman with... well, it is Colombia, home of plastic surgery...

Kris Nath with Flat Stanley

Me, William Seward, Jorge Givaria, Tim Hicks

There is a dance floor in the middle, a couple of flashing colored lights, and loud music. Some teachers rented a Chiva for three hours last Friday night to go see some of the Christmas lights and party along the way! Below two more stills is a video.

Vanessa Romero, Julie

Heather Thur

Gringo Moment

I'm such a gringo! The porter just called me downstairs to rent my parking space for a month. Now, intellectually I knew that we would bargain just a bit. So to get the appropriate price of 60 mil I should have quoted 70 mil. However, I accidentally started at the real price right away.


The renter started to negotiate and I simply replied "no entiendo," I don't understand. He immediately switched to English and asked, "If I give you the money in advance, can you give me a lower price?" I just looked at him blankly... realizing what I'd done. So he followed up, "If I give you the money in advance, 50 mil?"


By this point I just instantly agreed. "We're okay?" "Yes." We shook hands again. As we walked out of the garage I smiled and admitted, "It's easier with me than other people, isn't it?" He smiled. Oh well, it's still 50 mil I wasn't counting on having. Together with the 240 mil from tutoring a student for finals, that covers gifts for my nieces and nephew for the holidays and their birthdays. Good enough!

Providencia

Over Thanksgiving I took my first trip to the Caribbean Sea, and it included my first time snorkeling! While there, I met a couple from Bogotá with whom I spent about half the trip. We toured the island, ate great seafood on the cheap, and enjoyed each other's company. They ended up inviting me to their home in the near future.


One night the power went out on the island for twenty minutes. The sky lit up with fireflies and stars! When the power returned, I drive my rented golf cart to Manchaneel Beach. This secluded spot was ideal for looking at the sky as the gentle waves rolled up onto the shore.


A coffee shop called "Arts and Crafts" was operated by a woman named Maria. She was wonderfully welcoming and advised that when I get to the cold of the Chicago winter, I think about Providencia. She made great cappuccino and homemade Popsicles -- mine was coconut. There's also a book exchange there. When I located a book by David Baldacci, Grandpa's favorite author, I decided to give it a try. It was a good excuse to enjoy the breeze coming through the coffee shop and really relax awhile. I ended up buying that book and am still reading it -- which for me is saying a lot. Anyway I'd remembered reading a 2006 that the owner's name was Frenchy, so I wondered what happened to him. Alas I saw his 2007 grave the next day as I strolled through the small cemetery. It was ornate especially in comparison to the other graves, so clearly Maria has picked things up in his spirit.


I'll stop there with the vacation stories. There are more but it's easy to get bored by someone's vacation. So, if you're interested in hearing more I can tell you in person. In the mean time, below is a video of my time there.

The layover in San Andres on the way back ended up very much worth it. I finally found some really chillaxing beach time. (Thank you, Brian, for that term!)

La Gran Llanera

Still catching up a bit, this really took place Nov 20. The primary principal organized a group of maybe 15 people to enjoy a restaurant out near the airport. The grilling smelled really great walking in from the street.

Now it's time for a few words about their specialty! The Chigüiro [pronounced chee GWEE roh] is the world’s largest rodent. They live in herds and can weigh up to 140 pounds.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to go through with ordering this food, but trying a sample near the entrance I was sold. This food is so delicious! No wonder it's considered a delicacy in Venezuela.

As you can see in the picture above, it's served kind of like ribs. The spicing is different and really get down into the meat. It was served with a small arepa on top and plantain below. The restaurant also had a band that included guitar, harp, and a male vocalist. That photo turned out dark so here are some other candids.

 

Lastly, I was glad to see some awareness of how bad smoking really is for you. The Spanish label at the borrom of this picture reads "Smoking Ages."

Parents Visit

This entry really takes place Nov 10-14. Aviatur picked up Mom and Dad at the airport and we met up at their hotel, a three-minute cardiac experience from my apartment. That is to say, there's a steep grade on the hill between the Stellar Jones Suites and where I live. The next morning, they toured the Gold Museum while I taught classes. Then we met up for a tour of the Candelaria. This is where the city of Bogota originated before it spread out to become the 30th largest land-area city in the world, hosting 8,500,00 people at about 8,600 feet above sea level. That night we had steak at La Biferia.


Friday morning Mom and Dad saw the home of Simon Bolivar, which I'll have to get to one of these days. Then we went to the leather district. This was definitely a highlight of the trip. There is store after store of leather jackets, hats, pursues, wallets, etc, and they bargain just a bit. Once you hear the price it's then less money in cash (since they don't have to pay Mastercard), but also we often said "Tal vez vamos a mirar mas." (Maybe we're going to look around more.) We were able to communicate with just enough Spanish that it was clear Dad wanted a warm coat with some style to it. The first store price was 380,000 pesos ($195) and by the time we had worked our way down the block, it was down to 210,000 pesos ($110)... and when I say working our way down the block, we really did. Each store thought they could figure out what Dad wanted. So they often sent someone next door or down the block, even across the street, to bring back something they thought they could sell! My purchase of a Newsies-style hat that matches my brown jacket from Men's Wearhouse in Arlington Heights gets an honorable mention.


We spent Happy Hour at the Embassy Suites listening to a great jazz/pop duo and chatting with some colleagues. Our crowd included Janis Heigl and Jim Short, two math consultants who happened to be in town from Oregon and California, respectively, as well as my friend Karlita who was on the Medellin trip in 2008. Carlee and Guillo came out as well. We decided to stay in for dinner, ordering Bob's pizza (yes, it's actually called that -- I'm pretty sure they're not native Colombians owners!) and playing some Bananagrams.


Mom and Dad went to services on Saturday morning and then we met up for the Botanic Gardens. It was rainy but still a good experience. Then we had lunch at La Hamburgueseria, henceforth known as the only place in Bogota that I really wish to grab a hamburger. YUM! There bathroom doors are pretty funny.

  

Later, dinner was at Casa Vieja. Not only is their food traditional Colombian, it was among the best food I've had since I've been here. Dad and I did some beer tasting back at their hotel to wrap up the night. Note to self: don't bother with the light beers in a beer tasting next time!

Sunday we hung around the airport's Juan Valdez before they headed off through security for the plane ride home. Apparently that was an interesting experience (which Mom can explain better). Thanks for the visit!