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.