Juan Valdez/Suck it, grammar!

Most days, my friend Jennifer picks me up and we go to her house to work on our homework for the TEFL class we have in the afternoons. We always try to leave a little early so we can make it to Juan Valdez, a delicious coffee chain in Colombia. The coffee sold by Juan Valdez comes from the coffee farmers of Colombia. There is a Juan Valdez in Granada, close to our school. The guys who work at Juan Valdez and even the parking guy know us now. It’s nice to see familiar people every day – we actually walk in and ask for the usual.

Jenn and her granizado at Juan Valdez

Me and my cafe con leche at Juan Valdez

Speaking of parking, that’s something I had to get used to here. Almost everywhere you go, there are people (usually men) who work helping people park. They find you a spot, wave you in using a red cloth, and then the idea is that they keep an eye on your car while you do whatever it is you’re doing. When you leave, they help you back out of the space, which can be difficult due to massive oncoming traffic and the fact that they park cars in the craziest positions here. In exchange for this service, you give the guy a few coins and go on your merry way.

After Juan Valdez, we head over to ISSO. Here are a few pictures of Jenn and I being very studious. On this particular day, we got the results of our grammar exam, and I passed with a 96%! Suck it, grammar!!!

Our school, ISSO

Street outside school

Ready for class...

Jenn pretending to teach the class

Yes, this is how I teach my students

My instructor, Harold, demonstrating his favorite class-time activity (playing with his cell phone)

July 4th weekend

Needless to say, I did not see any fireworks for the 4th of July, but it just so happens that Monday (July 5th) is a holiday here in Colombia, so we had a long weekend. I went with Elizabeth, Ramiro, and Mauricio to their house in the country. I love the drive to the house; we pass through several little towns along the way and the mountains are beautiful.

Church in Restrepo, a small town on the way to Darien

Vendors in Restrepo

Pipe on the ride there

A lot of people here have houses in the country that are called "fincas", which means farms, but not all fincas actually farm something. The word can apply to any house in the country where people go on weekends and holidays to relax and enjoy the beautiful countryside. Elizabeth and Ramiro's house is near Darien, a little town on Lago Calima, a huge lake in the mountains. As with the house we live in, they also designed the house in Darien.

View from the backyard

It rained pretty much all weekend, so we mostly stayed inside and watched movies. On Saturday we arrived, took a nap, and then made dinner. On Sunday, Mauricio and I went for a muddy walk to the river with Pipe. It was fun to be outside, and those of you who know me well know how much I love mud! The country is so beautiful, so green, and so peaceful, especially compared to city life in Cali.

Hot shower!

I would just like to inform everyone that a couple of days ago, I stayed the night with my friend Jennifer (from class), and I had my first hot shower since I've been in Colombia. It might have been the most incredible experience of my life. Although I have to say, I am slowly becoming accustomed to the cold showers - some days I even find them refreshing. Never thought I'd hear myself say that!

First day teaching

On Wednesday, I taught my first English class. My TEFL instructor offered me a short-term job teaching a series of review classes to a group of Colombian professors who teach at a bilingual school here in Cali called Colegio Berchmans. After the school changed the class schedule on us three times, we finally had our first meeting yesterday.

I woke up to a bird staring at me. We don't have any window screens in the house; everything is open to the outside, and secured with metal bars or grates. So, the occasional bird finds its way into the house. This one had gotten into my room sometime during the night I suppose, and was perched on the rod supporting the window curtains, staring at me as I slept. I don't know if waking up to pigeon poop on your bed is typically a sign of good luck, but I think it was for me because the day went really well.

I got up, did some signature Amie Davis abs and buns exercises, showered, and ate breakfast. I walked to La 14, which is a big supermarket/general store to buy some food and make photocopies for my class. I spent the afternoon relaxing, going over my lesson plan, and studying. I'm apparently not very good using the self-timer on my camera, but here is the best picture I could manage of myself, on my way out the door to teach.

I took the MIO to Colegio Berchmans in the afternoon and taught the class from 3 - 6pm. After teaching so many semesters of Intro Bio at UCF, it was nice to have adults as students for a change. The teachers (aka, my students) were all really friendly and participated well in the class. We spent the first half of the class working on speaking and pronunciation activities, and the second half on reading, writing, and grammar activities. I was worried about filling three hours of class time with constant activities, but the time worked out perfectly. It's a big change from teaching bio labs, where the students largely work at their own pace and my job is to facilitate as they go. Now I am responsible for planning out every minute of class time. Our next class is Saturday from 8:30am - 12:30pm, so now I have to figure out how to fill a four hour class. Thank God my TEFL instructor has been really helpful.

Buga 06/12

My second weekend here, I visited my friend Juan Pablo in Buga, a smaller town that is about an hour away from Cali. Buga is famous for the basilica pictured above, la Basilica del Señor de los Milagros. Thousands of people from all over Colombia and many other Latin American and European countries come to the basilica every year to pray, attend the special mass they have on the 14th of every month, and to see El Negrito, the Christ represented in this church.

On Saturday, we took a walk around town in the evening and went into the basilica and saw part of a mass. Buga is really pretty at night, and the area around the basilica is really calm and quaint. It was nice to be in the atmosphere of a smaller town. We went out to eat chuletas, which are typical food of the area, and consist of large pieces of meat pounded out thin, breaded, and fried. It is typically served on a palm leaf with french fries and a kind of salad.

On Sunday, we visited the basilica museum and I learned the story of El Negrito. The river used to pass through where the church now stands. In the 1500s (or 1400's ? I can't remember), there were few people in this area who believed in Christ, but there was an indigenous woman who believed who had been saving her money to buy a crucifix. She saw a man who was being imprisoned because he had stolen food to feed his children. The woman chose to use her savings to free the man so he could return to his family, rather than purchase the crucifix she had been saving for. The next day, as she was washing her clothes in the river, a small crucifix floated past. (The Christ on this crucifix is black, hence El Negrito) She caught it and put it in a small box in her home. That night, she heard sounds coming from the box, and saw that the crucifix had begun to grow. It grew to the size it is now and was placed in the church. At one point, it was ordered to be burned, which it was. But then some years later, the crucifix began to sweat water and repaired itself. Throughout the years, different people have tried to take the crucifix to various places, includingRome, but it has never left Buga. There is a replica that they use for regular ceremonies, but the real crucifix only leaves the church once every seven years for a procession.

You can wait in line to see El Negrito up close, in a room raised above the altar. The day I was there, there were First Communions going on all day, and the monthly mass on the 14th was the next day, so it was too crowded for us to go, but I have been promised a return visit to see El Negrito.

Painting of El Negrito in the museum

Part of collection of posters throughout the years in the museum

Juan Pablo in the museum. This room is filled with plaques from people all over the world, praying and giving thanks.

Courtyard of museum

Representation of indigenous woman washing clothes in the river and finding the crucifix; this is next to the basilica

It was more important to the indigenous woman to liberate a man than to possess an image.

Basilica del Senor de los Milagros muesum

Inside the basilica

Representation of Christ inside the Basilica

The altar in the Basilica

After seeing the museum and walking through the Basilica again, we walked to the river and saw the old lighthouse (faro). We ate calentado for breakfast/lunch, which is a delicious combination of meat, rice, beans, arepa, and a fried egg, served of course on a palm leaf. We left after eating and took a bus to Darien, a small town on Lago Calima, so that I could meet up with Mauricio and get a ride back on Cali the next day.

El faro

Park surrounding the lighthouse

Street in Buga

Courtyard in front of the Basilica

Statue of Mary in the courtyard in front of the Basilica

Basilica del Senor de los Milagros