Comida de Santa Ana

I am proud to say that I have not even come close to being sick of the food here, yet! One of my biggest fears about moving here was getting sick of eating the same foods over and over and over and over. Getting overloaded by carbs, carbs and more carbs as well as fried food, fried food and more fried food. Our lunches are provided by the school everyday and always consist of rice and then usually either beans, lentils, beef or chicken, along with some kind of side like french fries, fried plantains, beets or salad. One of the most ridiculous meals they served was rice, pasta, french fries and a piece of bread.... that was a bit out of control. I have to say, I am pretty overloaded with carbs and fried food, but I am surprisingly thoroughly enjoying it. 

For dinners we make our own food. I have learned how to make some amazing colombian dishes! 

our tiny kitchen that we love and adore (even when covered in ants and feels like 100 degrees)

We make lentils a lot... and we love to put yummy fresh vegetables inside.

Arroz con coco (coconut rice) is absolutely to die for.... sweet rice on the side of any dish makes it 10x more delicious.

We have even managed to make our own delicious desserts..... such as homemade ice cream and an entire birthday cake! We were extra proud that day....

For the superbowl we tried to be as American as possible... we bought a grill (and took it all the way from Cartegena to Baru) and grilled hotdogs, vegetables and made some delicious homemade guacamole! It felt just like home...

I have become an expert at frying foods... I can cook plantains any way you want.... sweet, salty, carbonized.... deeeelish! 

We make lots of potatoes... mainly in chip form or french fries.

 Empanadas we made with the help of some of our Colombian friends (not quite an expert, yet). But I am becoming very advanced in making arepas! Thanks to my loyal Colombian friend who told me my first attempt at arepas was "muy muy mal" and proceeded to teach me the correct way to make them...  so yummyy!

We also make lots of eggs, beans and pasta... and eat pretty much anything in a tortilla... 

For breakfast or midmorning snack, one of our favorite places to go is the "derdito place"... A family next to our school sells this wonderful fried bread filled with either cheese or jelly for a whopping 25 cents... it is the most satisfying snack in the world.

And of course if we are out of food or don't feel like cooking we can go to the only restaurant in town, called "Baru Grande", which is the most delicious food ever. If you show up without warning, you have to be prepared to wait at least a good 2 hours for your food to come out, but it is definitely worth the wait.... and it only costs $2.50 for a huge plate of delicious food. Now that is what I call a deal.

Creatures who decide our home is their home...

I cannot even describe the amount of creatures that invade our home on a daily basis... I wanted to share some of the glorious visits we have received from various creatures....

ANTS..... ants are the number one invader of our home.... Giant ants live in the walls... They came pouring out of my friends' wall when they sprayed RAID on a couple roaming around the floor... then hundreds emerged. They're room was reeking of the smell of RAID, when we were done conquering them. They also live in our kitchen... no matter how much we clean, there is always that one crumb, or that one miniscule drop of juice or that one smell that they can sense from miles away. I have gotten used to cutting my vegetables amongst ants scurrying around and having to brush off ants from my hands and arms when making cereal. I'm certain that I kill hundreds a day... They also emerge when any kind of animal or bug dies... they swarm the animal and carry it away faster than I have ever seen.

FROGS.... frogs are EVERYWHERE. I have found frogs on the toilet, in the shower, in my sink, on my bed, on my roommate's bed, in my closet, on my wall, on the couch, in my classroom, etc, etc, etc.... All I can say is thank goodness I have a mosquito net now... I feel so safe and secure not having to worry about waking up with a frog on my face. However, I don't mind the frogs so much because they eat all the bugs. I'd rather have frogs in my room than get eaten alive. I have become quite the expert at catching these sneaky little guys.

GECKOS.... these are everywhere, too. They come in all different sizes... I've seen some the size of my big toe and some the size of my foot... I have seen some with tails and some without. I have to say these are probably my favorite of the creatures. I think of them as friends coming to say hi. I never mind a visit from a friendly little gecko :)

IGUANAS.... I have only seen a couple.... here is one we found in the sink. I hear that they are everywhere and can grow to three feet long... I think my heart might jump if I saw one that big. These iguanas are not so friendly and they kind of freak me out a bit.

WASPS.... my oh my they want to take over our home and will not give up... they make nests everywhere... in one day they took over the entire entrance to our home.... the whole side of the door was black (as you can see in the picture)... it really still gives me chills to think about. Although I have gotten used to the wasps flying around me often and it does not bother me as much as it used to... this was just out of control. I couldn't believe it... really.... out. of. control.

A couple of other creatures not pictured.....

RATS... rats have rummaged through our bread... I have not seen it but there is definite evidence of them in our home. They manage to tear open the bread bag and nibble nibble nibble... one was found two nights ago in one of the teacher's rooms.... they killed it with a broom. UGH, so gross.

SNAKES.... a snake was also found three nights ago in one of the teacher's rooms... Snakes are all over the place and I get nervous whenever I walk in an area with long grass.... snakes are one of my least favorite animals of all time... they terrify me.

and of course...

MOSQUITOS.... there is really no getting around it, they are just everywhere.

So far, those are the creatures who live with us in our home, and I hope that this will be it, but somehow...... I seriously doubt it.

Cartagena

 Cartagena is one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to. It is beautiful. The architecture is historic and unique, it sits directly on the ocean and contains an incredibly rich culture. Everyone in Colombia is extremely friendly and welcoming. I come to Cartagena when I need to embrace my urban-loving side... cities are where I feel most at home. One of my biggest worries of living in Santa Ana is feeling trapped or stir-crazy because I have only ever lived in cities, but I'm glad to know that I have Cartagena nearby to turn to when I start to feel as though I may lose my mind here. It has not happened yet, and I don't think it will happen anytime soon (I am still most definitely in the "honeymoon phase")... However, if it does, Cartagena is absolutely the most perfect city to be a "happy place" for me.

I'm an English Teacher!

I've had two weeks of teaching now and I am falling more and more in love with it. The first week was a bit chaotic because I didn't have any kind of schedule (just because its Colombia and that's how they roll)... and about half the school doesn't even show up for the first week or two (just because its Colombia and that's how they roll)..., so that makes it difficult to really start teaching. This week was much better because I had a schedule and knew where to be and when to be there, which made it just a wee bit easier to plan for the week. Now I feel like I am really settling into the whole routine and actually getting used to the whole "go with the flow" attitude here. 

The kids are completely crazy and energetic, which makes teaching them extremely difficult and exhausting, but equally just as fun. Luckily I have the homeroom teachers in the classroom with me, who are a big help, especially because I cannot always understand what the kids are asking me or saying in class.... due to the lack of spanish knowledge in my brain. 

Here is the whole school in the morning meeting that we have twice a week. Que lindos!

To add to the whole "go with the flow" attitude here, there are some days in which it is decided that we will take a break from class and have a large soccer game... either between the teachers, the students, the other school, teachers and students, etc... the whole school gets really into it and we have a TON of school spirit. It is very exciting and a fabulous excuse to have a descanso in the middle of the day :)

The soccer game....

The audience...

The end of the game... (we won!)

I am teaching Kindergarten through Third grades. One of the most challenging things for me is LEARNING THE NAMES! I have over 160 students and they all have ridiculously difficult names to remember/pronounce.... I have no idea if I will ever be able to learn all of them. I have been taking pictures of them with their names to help me remember, but who knows. Not to mention, I am still learning all of the names of the teachers here as well. It is quite an overwhelming task.

The whole learning environment in Colombia is completely different. It is not uncommon for fights to break out in the middle of class (especially with little ones). My kindergarten kids are extremely moody and break out in fights constantly. I looked over the other day at two of my students and one of them had taken off her shoe and was smacking the child next to her with it... I have also witnessed strangling, punching, chasing, tackling, grabbing, hitting and hair-pulling. Needless to say, teaching the youngins is quite an exhausting task. However, fighting is not taken seriously in this town. It is not uncommon to be walking down the street and see two full-grown women having a physical fight.... so it is no wonder that these children behave the way they do. It is also pretty much an unknown practice to raise your hand in class. Instead, the students come up to you or yell "teacher!" from across the room and don't stop until you respond. I am trying to work on that with them, but we will see........

Despite the fighting and yelling in class, I really do love teaching here and adore the students. I literally walk into the class and the students start cheering and jumping up and down because they are so excited to have English class. I get chased around campus with students yelling "teacher! teacher!" "good morning!" "hello!" "how are you?!" I receive a countless number of hugs a day and I feel as though I am constantly smiling. 

I am so excited to see where this year will take me!!!

The Canal

Isla de Baru was once a peninsula, but it is now separated from the mainland by a canal. There is no bridge connecting the island to the mainland, so whenever I need to go to Cartegena, I have to cross over this by canoe....

There is very little that you can get here in Baru, so if I ever need to go to the ATM, grocery store, buy school supplies or just grab a slice of pizza... I have to take a motorcycle, followed by a canoe, followed by a hot, sweaty bus, followed by a taxi... by the time I arrive in Cartegena, I am in desperate need of water and an ice cream cone.

However, last week the other volunteers and I were invited to go meet the mayor of Cartegena... this was awesome because our school kindly provided us with a pick up truck to get there. Although it was windy and a bit uncomfortable squishing in the back of a pick up (especially when we were in our nice clothes/wearing dresses), it took about half the time it usually does to get there. I wish this could always be our mode of transportation... (plus it is way more fun)

Notice: the ferry for the cars is a large floatation device powered by a canoe with a motor attached to it.... very effective.