It Turns Out...

...that living in a city for a year made me love being in Chicago! The jury's still out on what happens when the weather gets colder.


The biggest thing I was taught happened within the first week. At our orientation, one person's advice toward minimizing culture clash was to "accept rather than comparing."


Money feels differently to me now, too. The L here feels like taxis did in Bogota. Going out to eat is twice as expensive, but just as worth it.

Reflections

After a nice lunch of tortilla soup, strawberry juice, and a chocolate pastry with Carlee, my taxi tried to take me to a party about 10 minutes away. Sometimes in Bogota, you just can't find the address though. It's kind of weird like that. So while I wait for word from any online party-goers of any corrections to the published address, here's a little bit of looking back on ideas from last summer.

The Good Things:

• Predicted Correctly: Saw new places, High school problem-solving based curriculum, Quality discourse and friendships with colleagues, Sufficient planning time (for a change!), More confidence at times
• Felt Mislead: The number of days off
• Unanticipated Rewards: Learned the kind of travel the relaxes me best, Spanish better than expected, Successfully expanded comfort level for some new situations (including conferences), Salary bonuses, Staff treated faculty exceptionally well, I'm better at living in a city than I was during college, Little culture shock of the city/country.

The Drawbacks:

• Predicted Correctly: Less theater, Missed friends, Calendar duration, Unlevel sidewalks frequently affected my back
• Felt Mislead: Overall student attitudes, School had many ineffective policies
• Unanticipated Negatives: Poor mattress frequently affected my back, Pollution (minimal wind) on main streets, Unable to recharge my batteries during the teaching day due to discipline issues.

Ten Questions I'd Written Down During the Interview Process:

1. How long is the school year? Pretty long... it starts one week earlier and ends one week later than the Chicago suburbs. 
2. Job expectations? 5 sections of Interactive Math Program grades 9/10, supervise breaks approximately one week in four.
3. Salary? $45,000 goes far here for a lifestyle of travel, eating out, and still being able to save money. The average teacher in the local suburb of Chia earns $12,000. That must be why the largest bill here is 50 mil -- the people in our neighborhoods are the only ones commonly carrying them around.
4. Kids? Some are super nice, like anywhere else. Sweet, empathetic, and motivated. Many lack respect and discipline, but it's not a Colombia thing -- it's a part of this school's culture.
5. Insurance? Just like food and other goods can be domicilio (i.e. home delivery for very little money), so can doctors and medicine. The copay was about $13 US.
6. Feedback to students? While maintaining up-to-date Sharepoint and online grades websites, and giving rubrics for 95% of assignments, there is a consistent complaint of "I don't understand how my grade was calculated." Behavior-wise students respond very well one-on-one for the most part, and very defensively when in a pack mentality.
7. Acceptance of methods? Students routinely say they want to work in groups, but when they're given the chance they basically use it as a social structure that validates giving up on anything the least bit challenging. They also want their questions answered now, which is likely how they were raised. On both topics, many students made a lot of progress this year. Some never tried.
8. Safety? I've had zero issues. That includes walking around at night, occasionally getting taxis off the street, and carrying around the equivalent of thousands of dollars US when absolutely necessary. Several other teachers have made rather thoughtless decisions that backfired, but that is not to say they aren't good or smart people. When you live in any big city there can be theft. As the economy worsens, so does the theft.
9. Housing? I've got had a good location, rarely had any issues with hot water, and had excellent Internet service. It's a 25 minute walk from school when I go the longest (safest) route, and 5 minutes to the grocery store and gym. Two beds, two baths, a stainless steel counter in the kitchen, nice flooring, cleanly tiled bathrooms.... I have been taken care of! 
10. Medical care? I shied away from some appointments that I could have had to look at my sprained ankle in the fall and to have cleaned my teeth, but the opportunities were there. If you are given "incapacidad," you are not allowed to return to work until the end of a 1-3 day period. You cannot be docked pay with that diagnosis.

First CityWide Change Bank

This afternoon I bought a delicious cup of Oma's Italian coffee for 5,800 pesos... using 30 hundred-coins, 10 two hundred-coins, and 16 fifty-coins. It felt like an old Saturday Night Live commercial where they talked about making change any way you want it, so here it is!

Job Review

To my surprise and delight, my summative conference with our principal exceeded my expectations. It was even more warm, caring, friendly, and complimentary than I'd anticipated.

 "We loved having you here! When you get a chance now that you've got a break coming up, drop me a line to let me know what we could have done to make your first year experience even better here. Maybe there's something we should do differently, tell teachers, or have at our orientation. I know you had to do a lot just to stick it out [at this school], and I appreciate that. If there's anything I can do for you, let me know."

What I Learned from Tutoring for Tomorrow's Final Exam

I had a nice 45-minute walk this morning to tutor at noon, but when I arrived the address I was given was not there! I'm guessing that Carrera 6 was really Carrera 6A... or that there was some weird split...  Oh how the mountains can screw up a grid system in a hurry! So I took a taxi home and eventually arranged to be picked up and dropped off by the family.


Tutoring went well. It's amazing how self-aware this student was about his not paying attention in class. Finally willing to focus, he caught on to algebra, graphing, and some computation quite well. I taught him the "Make A List" study method that I started using for myself in high school, and he was quite receptive to it.


The apartment was gorgeous, with a huge brick deck overlooking Bogota to the west. On the way home the father and I discussed Colombia a bit. He made a fascinating point that a huge reason for farmers growing drugs here is really the infrastructure. There are six big cities in Colombia, and some small but reasonably well developed towns. Outside of that, there are many tiny places with unpaved roads.  One of the attractions of growing drug crops is that farmers don't have to figure out how to transport their crops elsewhere -- because people will come straight to them.


I also learned that Israeli coffee is surprisingly good!

A Nice Treat

Comparing money here is basically 2,000 Colombian Pesos to 1 U.S. Dollar. Two years ago, during my trip to Medellin the ratio was figured at 1,960:1. When I first exchanged money here, it was 1,880:1. Now it's down to 1,835:1. That means it costs me less money in COP to buy USD now than it used to cost. Who ever said you can't make more money just by sitting still? So, on the way home I treated myself to a milkshake.

It Happened One Night

They say you're gaining fluency in a language when you begin to dream in it. On June 4, one scene of a dream was a taxi driver trying to overcharge the fare, expecting 20 mil instead of the 11 mil he actually deserved. In an amazingly realistic way, my first sentence toward him came out no problem in Spanish. My next sentence stumbled a bit more. That said, I won!

Why Was I Surprised?

"Mister, I don't get any of this."

"Since your group is ahead of you, Andrea please explain #41, Emiliana #42, Mateo #43, and then I'll explain #45 because it's the hardest one."

I walk away to work with another group of students.

"I don't get any of this." Insert first complaint here.

"Sit down. Work with your group. They've been assigned to help you."

"But they don't know how."

"Sit down. They already did those problems."

"But my parents pay you to teach me, not them."

Stories from Villa de Leyva

This weekend my friends Bonnie and William hosted me at their finca. All of the buildings on their property have been built mostly by themselves. It's so pretty!

While getting ready for the coach bus ride on Friday, I had a funny gringo moment. So many people have been complimenting me on my Spanish lately. That's the background. I went into a fast food restaurant called Kokoriko. Their menu is a simply chicken sandwich + side + drink + small frozen yogurt. I totally couldn't understand most of what was being said! In my slight rush I almost left the restaurant without a top on my chicken sandwich's to-go container or my French Fries. They were laughing, I was laughing. Gringo!

As for a new foods update: feijoa is used in salads like cucumber, and langostinos (which look like shrimp and have a slight taste of lobster) in thai sauce... delicious!

During the ride, another bus had been pulled to the side of the road. Occasionally, the military checks on the native born men to see if they are carrying their cards that show proof of military service. If they don't, they literally whisk the guys away to begin their 18 months of mandatory service.

Last night the stars were brilliant! I was able to see Alpha Centauri and the Southern Cross even though I'm still in the northern hemisphere. Vega and Scorpio were also crystal clear. I further learned that the Big Dipper is actually a part of Ursa Major, also known as the Big Bear. I never knew to look for the legs and head before!

One of Bonnie's townie friends also has a huge tumor on his lip. The hospitals are supposed to take care of everybody, but since he doesn't have health insurance they find an excuse every time he shows up. It's something like, "A few other people just got here ahead of you. You'll have to come back another time." How sad.

To end more humorously, I heard one story of a girl who is somehow physically allergic to her boyfriend! Every time they're together, she starts to break out. They haven't determined why yet.

There's less water up your nose each time!

Luckily, my Cartagena hotel had a deal with a local resort: during the off-season, guests could use the pool, beach, and other facilities of the resort! Now I realize their water slide was a baby version compared to water parks... but for me to even go down the thing was actually an achievement. To my delight I started finding ways to accelerate more and change the angle of entering the water. All in all, I went down 34 times, plus one for good luck! (Come to think of it, in August maybe I'll throw a Walter Payton themed birthday party.) 


I got two souvenirs this weekend.  The free one was grabbing some small sea shells and rocks to adorn the top of some Bed Bath and Beyond type of indoor rock/water sculpture. That will bring me great memories of the excellent beach experience I had today! The more pricey one, but totally worthwhile, was the four square pieces of artwork I bought from a vendor. His parents and grandparents are both artists, and the art I got turned out to foreshadow the tree lizard and parrot I saw the next day!

Haiku 2.0

Toes buried in sand.
Sun glimmers on crashing waves.
My calves? Warm water!

Back and forth, stumbling.
Isn't that me getting wet?
Two-year-old in tides.


P.S. Putting ajibasco in Aguila made the skin above my upper lip all red! At the same tienda, the cazuela de mariscos was awwwwwe-sommmmme! (Yes, that last part was sung.)

Vacation Poetry (A.K.A. Haiku Five-0)

Cartagena! Large,
Beautiful room. Music plays
On the beach below.


Unobstructed view:
Sunset, Caribbean Sea.
Balcony shows West.


In the moment now,
Ev'rything else is on hold.
Allelujah, dude.


Reds/Indians game
Is on TV now. Strangely
Appealing... Bat cracks!


Eighty degrees out.
Me thinks, "It's time for a beer!"
Dinner will be soon.

Sunday's Highlight

Chocolate massage. Yeah, you heard me. Chocolate.

In The Moment

According to Eckhart Tolle, there is no future and there is no past, because all we can ever live in is the present. Rather than trying to attack his comment with logic, consider his point that we can gain peace of mind from internal stillness. It's still all well and good to learn from experience and plan as we need to, but the idea (partially) is to minimize all that extra mental energy that can unnecessarily run us ragged.


Friday was, quite simply, a bad day. I was ill going to bed the night before, tired waking up for work, and late because the normal 10 minutes it takes for a taxi to arrive took 30. First block went well, second block included my second "orange violation" form in two days (that's part of our discipline system), and my favorite group of students  -- yes, I have favorites -- had only a half block due to a college inventory test. Most of the students for that test ambled in late, so a (good) parent meeting got delayed and ran 15 minutes into the time I was supposed to be using as a buffer to get to the airport. 


Now the first and third blocks of teaching actually went well. And fortunately I had hired a driver who was waiting for me at the gate when I got to the school entrance 20 minutes late. Since I had checked in online the night before, I hopped right through security and then was told I had twenty minutes to eat before the flight. Chicken caesar salad, mandarin juice, almojabana -- only 15,000 pesos. The small cup of coffee on board actually gave me a little boost... My hotel in Santa Marta is only five minutes from the airport. The staff at the hotel was very nice. My room is clean, and there are four pools... All of this began to ease my mind, but along with the rain that fell from 5 pm yesterday through the overnight my mind was not quite settled. 


A waiter from the restaurant did bring a tray of ceviche peruano, shrimp and calamari stir fry, and coco limonada into the breakfast room for me so that I could eat without walking through the deluge. My bed is so good to my back with its superior comfort in the three s's: size, softness, and sheets. This morning I had a nice Facebook Chat that let me release the student stuff from my system a little bit -- besides, only six of each block separates yesterday from final exams. The mostly cloudy weather didn't make the day a dark one today. I've enjoyed some episodes of The Big Bang Theory and online links to The Jack Benny Program. I spent two hours alternately swimming at the first pool and lounging on its well padded chairs surrounded by palm trees, other greenery, and a wall of running water. At the second pool later this afternoon I slept lightly for about an hour, and enjoyed what was visible of the sunset over the Caribbean from my chair (which was clearly set up to face due West.) 


And then, while alone in the pool doing some kind of modified backstroke that I picked up from who knows who during who knows when, my mind really settled down. I noticed the faint music in the background. There was some measure of stillness. I came up with the idea of "TheHardestPart.Com" to possibly implement next year if I'm teaching -- a site to post daily podcasts explaining whatever students vote to be the hardest part of the lesson. 


Ahhhh, stillness. As I get ready to return to the States I know that most of my daily life uses time very efficiently, and that not just the body but also the mind needs to power down. I dried off and nearly stood up to walk away, when my good sense of awareness caught the delayed results of the earlier sunset. The sky was red behind the clouds in the distance. I sat for five minutes just looking. There was the slow, incoming tide. The pool in front of me was churning more quickly and in the opposite direction. A plane took off from the airport and I tracked it far into the distance, finally feeling like a plane actually looked like it was moving quickly.


Peace feels well.

Shopping

Fire & Ice dozen roses $8
Cheddar cheese $7
Peanut butter  $4
Empanada $0.50

9/11 Revisited

Osama Bin Laden is dead. I am surprised to hear the news and unsure how to react. This announcement is momentous, and a likely source of pride for the troops defending us in Afghanistan.


Watching 20 minutes of pre-speech coverage on abcnews.com and nbcnews.com, I was surprised  how the feelings from 9/11 could resurface. Many reactions were coming through on Facebook as well. This oft maligned website, one that didn't exist in 2001, became my link to social rallying. (I don't think that I even checked my e-mail once that particular day.)


As President Obama walked down the red carpet toward his podium, I thought about being in the East room over five years ago on a school trip. I could hear the echo of President Obama's voice across an empty ballroom that clearly contained little more than camera equipment. Yes, this message is important, but how can I feel proud that someone had been killed? The answer is I cannot. 


A good hour after thinking that, someone being interviewed on the news commented, "I know it's unnatural to feel happy about someone being dead, but it's justified tonight." I do respect the closure some victim's families may feel from this military strike. I do recognize this killing is an act of war. And somehow I feel comforted by the spontaneous crowd cheering in unity across the street from the White House. It reminds me of how New Yorkers gathered together after 2,600 people were killed in the Twin Towers -- as well as several hundred more in the Pentagon and on four aircraft. It's not the permission to be happy about death that is comforting -- it is the oneness and the patriotism. They're feeling 9/11 again, too.

‎"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." 

          --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A friend just posted that some students at Western Michigan University are setting off fireworks right now. They were around the fourth grade on 9/11. I doubt they left the TV on as they fell asleep that night, but I did, waking up to it at 3 AM and hearing little new information being reported. I feel glued to msnbc.com the same way right now.


I did particularly appreciate one friend's status post: "ok - who had 01-May-2011 in the pool?" Now THAT was funny. Also thanks for this Family Guy link!

Buenos Aires -- last two days

Thursday featured a trip to the Recoleta Cemetery. On the way there I stopped at a corner flower stand to pick up a little tribute to Evita.

Plaza San Martin has a war memorial for the Islas Malvinas and a British clocktower. We played tennis on a nearby court before dinner.

At Plaza Mayor the mothers of the disappeared continue weekly protests that have been going on since April, 1977.  The student flag is labeled "no one left behind." Also notice the handkerchief the woman below is wearing. Blue embroidery tells the name of her missing child.

Friday was at a nice, slow pace. The Niza Petit Cafe at the corner of Alvear and San Martin had my favorite lunch of the whole trip! The manager was exceptionally friendly; he is so proud of his business and genuinely likes his customers.

In addition to the fantastic banana shake I enjoyed, he also sent over complimentary ice wine in champagne classes. I signed his guest book, he shared how he's been in business for two years since redecorating (notice the fine English, imported wallpaper.) and highly recommend you go there if you ever get the chance! This was a very lucky way to end the week.

Tango!

http://www.viejoalmacen.com/esp/cenashow.html

NOT some place I ever thought I´d go

Uruguay turns out to be gorgeous! The town of Colonia is a one-hour boat ride from B.A. Founded in 1680, this city as a small but very important battleground between Spain and Portugal. The scenery is picturesque, including many building from the 18th century and a beautiful mix of trees. 

 

Below: Playing cards over a pitcher of Uruguayan beer.

Uruguay had a variety of cars, ranging from Chevettes to old classics. For the record, the street below is NOT brought to you by the letter E!

 

 The evening wrapped up with stargazing along the waterfront. Amidst the Milky Way I was able to spot the Southern Cross. It´s incredible how a simple pair of binoculars increated the visible number of stars and nebulae despite the nearly full moon.

Walking Around the City

It´s rewarding to be on vacation. After a couple of good workouts and two nights of sleep I´m more anxious to explore Buenos Aires neighborhoods. Yesterday there was good antiquing at the Feria de San Telmo.  The street band below played tango music across from a church.

We spotted the exterior of the Casa Rosada at dusk, and I enjoyed Chateaubriand and 650 mL of Quilermo Cristal for dinner. Today I could´ve shopped and eaten virtually everywhere Ricoleta had to offer. (Dropping a grand at Ralph Lauren alone would have been no problem!) 

I Want To Be, I Want To Be, In Buenos Aires, Big Apple

Sitting at a little cafe, eating a veal panini and drinking coffee, it became immediately obvious why I felt right at home here within 30 minutes of walking around the city. The marina had some red brick construction along the way, and some mirrored glass buildings in the background. Isn´t that really called Grant Park?

Walking along Avendia Corrientes I noticed the lettered subway routes, some narrow-ish restaurants where Andy and I will inevitably play some cards over pizza and soda, The Sound of Music (in Spanish) at the Citi Opera, and the parody show of Musicals playing across the street. Avenida Florida is densely packed with tourists and touristy sales along the street. Isn´t that really called Manhattan?

To top that all off, I noticed some replica statue of the Washington Monument a few blocks away. Honestly if it weren´t for being surrounded by Spanish, and the occasional reference to Peronistas, I would not know that I am in Buenos Aires. That said, I also saw a couple of nice sweaters and suit jackets for reasonable prices along Calle Florida... so maybe I´ll buy an extra duffle bag to bring back some clothes and souveneirs.

I think Andy will enjoy it here as well. That´s right, think so. His flight from Chicago yesterday was delayed due to weather, so he will be arriving tomorrow morning. He may be also be able to verify or reject whether my belief that calles and avenidas have the reverse orientation from the roads in Colombia. 


Randomly, check out this street light. Crossing the street I feel more like I'm in a silent movie!

Frank Gonzalez

Weds 4/6: BOG -> ATL -> ORD
A Botero figure became my latest souvenir purchase to bring home. Landing 15 min early at O'Hare enabled a smooth connection to Metra. Booking 303 Taxi online had a cab waiting for me in Buffalo Grove. The funny thing is the cab ride to Walnut Ave cost the same leaving El Dorado Airport for my apartment in Bogota!
Thurs 4/7: LOYOLA & CUBBY BEAR
The spinach deep dish pizza was the best part of the buffet lunch at Carmen's. Thanks to Alison, I met for over an hour with her friend who works in university level educational administration. My next couple months will include researching student/ academic affairs career paths. Dad and I hung out and saw the Bulls beat up on the Celtics over a rib eye!
Fri 4/8: TOYOTA AND LINCOLN
Guess which one is a car? My Matrix XR was serviced for a recall while we went to see the latest Matthew McCounaghey film.
Sat 4/9: AUDITION & MEXICAN FOOD
To my delight Todd Bulmash and Aaron Stash were both at callbacks for Forever Plaid. I hope they get cast! I'll be playing Smudge again. After a trip to the barber I went to dinner with my theater friend, Sarah. Movie night took a twist when we watched Aladdin instead of some classic older movies.
Sun 4/10: BUBBE'S BIRTHDAY
This was a special party all around. I finally met Casey and was excited to see Shawn and Abigail. I'm working on posting a speech that Bubbe gave after we had cake.
Mon 4/11: WALKER BROTHERS & SHOELESS JOE'S
It turns out that some high school jobs were posted over the weekend, but I didn't see them until later this week. After returning my car I had an apple pancake a la mode with Mom. In the evening Andy, Ryan, and I grabbed some food.
Tues 4/12: ORD -> ATL -> BOG
The Hartsfield-Jackson airport decided it would be a good day for runway construction. So, although I was at my gate over an hour before the boarding time, the and weather was all clear, the first flight left 90 minutes late. Hustling to the connecting flight, they reopened the gate for be to board. I stopped to talk with the agent at the desk, who apparently was in Spanish mode, asking "Ha llegado mi equipaje?" Any guesses? That means, "Has my luggage arrived?" She frantically referenced the luggage receipts I was holding amongst my other documents. Feeling she had missed my point, I rephrased my question a bit. "Han llegado mis maletas?" (Have my suitcases arrived? Thanks again, high school Spanish!) When she continued to usher me on board, I decided it would only be with good luck that my bags would possibly be in Bogota from our flight. Sure enough, they weren't. A Delta agent gave me a receipt for the bags, along with his name and phone number, and I confirmed that I was supposed to return to the airport near a restaurant on Thursday morning. Oh well. At least I had a nice conversation about Chicago and Buenos Aires with three flight attendants while taking a tram from the runway to the gate.
Weds 4/13: BACK TO IT
My first block of teaching was lousy, though the rest of the day was much smoother. I was ready to sleep a lot by the end of the day. Pizza = dinner. Bulls = 62 wins.
Thurs 4/14: DELTA, DELTA, DELTA, MAY I HELP YA, HELP YA, HELP YA?
8:30 AM  Arjadis, a receptionist, kindly called the agent; my bags can be delivered.
10:20 AM  Luckily done with classes for the day, I signed out to wait at home.
12:45 PM One correct bag (including the banana bread) arrived. The second bag belonged to Frank Gonzalez. I know that sometimes people think I'm Hispanic (or Italian, which I prefer), but not only am I not Frank Gonzalez, I don't even know Frank Gonzalez. I don't know whether he's the Frank Gonzalez who, according to the Internet, got a PhD at UW-Madison and works at their Center for Cancer Research, the painter of abstract landscapes who makes birds and figurative works, the guy who investigates tsunamis for the NOAA, or just some random guy. However I am now most grateful to know that he lives over 50 blocks from me... so sometime this afternoon he will be discussing with a Delta employee why he received the red bag with black trim instead of the black bag with red trim (that I received.) Anyway it could've been worse. Neither of us is Gaylord Fokker.
2:45 PM Done and done. Woo-hoo!

Photos: Festivus and some catching up!

Mar 19: Happy Festivus! 1) Dominique (the girl from Chile), Bridget, Carlee, Guillo, and Chris inspect something inappropriate on the Internet. 2) We celebrate theFestivus miracle birth of Seven Costanza. 3) So, it turns out that pine cone candle that a student gave me for the holidays holds a lot of melted wax... which Dominique discovered by trying to move it, and seeing the wax end up all over her arm, the table, and a glass. It's another Festivus miracle! Not pictured: our nice friend Mario.

Jan. 15: We actually found good Mexican food! The restaurant was called something cheesy like "El Taco" though I cannot remember the exact name. It's in La Candelaria, the Old Town here in Bogota. Here are Kenna (California), Louis (Vietnam), and William (New York).

Jan. 22: I hosted Bunco night. We've been playing once a night and rotating apartments. Shown below are Aaron and Katie Kaio, and two of my favorite local Canadians, Heather and Peter. 

Feb 17: David (Sweden) and Sarah (Denmark), who I met in Cartagena, visited Bogota. He was adopted at an early age and came to look into his family history out here. We left a standing invitation for visits in any of our countries!

Feb 24: This insect was on the wall outside my classroom, which is better than spider I saw above the white board during instruction this past week!