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!