Art and History

26 de agosto 2016

Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

A few days ago on Tuesday, I went with a couple of my teacher-friends to Bucaramanga.  We had heard about an art exhibition and wanted to see what there was to see. 

It appeared to be a class exhibition; all the pieces were furniture found in a bedroom with pen ink drawings.

All the drawings were a bit surreal, and some were a bit creepy.  Perhaps they were dreamscapes?  This cat came from a dresser with very Tim Burton-esque drawings on it.

The exhibition was cool, but with 9 pieces it was smaller than we had expected (well, smaller than Dan and Rosa had expected; all I knew prior to our adventure was what Colleen had told me: "We're going to an art exhibit.  I think it's by a park."  For those of you unaware, Bucaramanga is called "The City of Parks," so you can imagine how helpful that statement was.)

After the art exhibition, we decided to caminando (walk around) the city a bit.  We walked around the shopping center area, where the streets are pedestrian-only and are full of people selling their wares - everything from fresh juice and fruits to books to a multi-purpose kitchen tool that rolls and cuts your empanadas just right.  We almost got run down by 4-5 people running with giant styrofoam boards full of knock-off sunglasses (the cops had found them).  Between the carts and tables of peddlers were more of the painted hormigas culonas statues.

These were among the few that still had all their pieces - most were missing their heads and/or wings.  Thanks vandals, this is why we can't have nice things.

We bopped around some more, and then Nestor realized that we were near the Santander History Museum (located in an old house of Bolivar's), so we headed over there.  At the door, a little old man was taking down the flags bordering the entrance; closing up shop.  He did let us in though, at the low price of $2.000 (FYI, 3 mil [thousand] Colombian pesos is approximately 1 USD).  

El Liberatador, Simón Bolivar

As we walked through the museum, the little grumpy man turning lights on as we entered (or 5 minutes after we entered) each successive room, it became clear that this was not a sustainable way to preserve these artifacts. Like many buildings here in Colombia, the boundary between outside and inside was blurred; many of the rooms did not have doors, or had large open-air windows to the courtyard.  There was no attempt at climate control, and many of the artifacts (including a few prints) were in direct sunlight for at least part of every day.  The cases they were in did not prevent the sun or air from entering either.  In a few generations, many of these artifacts will be lost to history.

Creepy mummies in plexiglass cases... the guane must have prserved them well, because this museum doesn't seem to be doing much in the way of preservation.

Guane textile, much of which has already disintegrated.

Museum cats!  Adorable in their homes in the eaves, until you realize they live there because there is game for them to catch...within the museum...

All in all though, we got to see some cool stuff (while it lasts) - Bolivar's possessions, Guane artifacts, and a bunch of other things from revolutionary times.

Took another selfie with this lady (same one I took a selfie with at Panachi) - there's statues of her ALL OVER the city, always holding that tax edict and a gas burner.

If you happen to be in Bucaramanga, I recommend visiting this museum. It's pretty cool if you look past the probable asbestos and rats, and it definitely makes you think about the longevity and preservation of history.

"The liberty of the new world is the hope of the universe."

Recap of Week 1

31 de Julio 2016

Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia

Hello!  I've been here nearly a week but haven't been able to write much with limited WiFi.  It could be a few days or over a month until I get WiFi in my apartment; but if it is the latter, the school will give me a little USB drive that gives basic Internet (emails, etc, but no TV streaming).  Right now I'm sitting in Juan Valdez, kind of like the Starbucks of Colombia, in one of the malls nearby.

A few miscellaneous observations from this week:

• I need to learn more Spanish.  ASAP.  Basically no one outside the school speaks English, and many of the secretaries, clerks, janitors, etc speak only Spanish.
• Bathrooms are interesting.  Many don't have seats (gonna really up my quad strength), many don't have toilet paper in the stalls, only one dispenser near the sink (so you gotta know how much you need beforehand), and most cannot handle toilet paper flushed (so you throw it away).  
• You can't walk around with your phone out (it will get stolen), so I have NO IDEA how all these people are controlling these Pokemon gyms (I've played a few times when we were in our coach bus during orientation week).
• People dress nicer here.  Short shorts are considered slutty, plastic flip flops are only for cleaning the house, and people dress up to go to the grocery store.  Usually nice jeans and a cute tank top or blouse.  No guys are wearing pants that are falling off and showing their underwear.
• Living up a steep hill from the grocery store is terrible but I guess a good strength and endurance workout.
• There are not as many bugs as I thought there would be.  Wayyyy less than the swarms of mosquitos in Chicago.  I think I've seen like 3 the whole time I've been here.  I'm probably not going to hang the mosquito net I brought.
• The sun is BRUTAL and MERCILESS.  Very hot sun.  In general, the temperature is ok (upper 70s right now) and there's usually a nice breeze so it's comfortable.  That sun though.  So sweaty.  I keep sweating off the sunscreen I put on, so my face is a little burnt.
• There's a lot more motorcycles and mopeds here, and neither they nor the cars stop or even slow down for pedestrians.  Beware crossing the street.
• You can walk down the street drinking a beer at any time of day.  You cannot order mixed drinks; you get a full bottle of liquor to share and a few little bottles of mixer (I.e. A handle of rum and 4 one-liter bottles of Coca-Cola.  Pour your drink with only a splash of coke, because otherwise you will run out of coke.)

Alright...I promised a recap of this week, so here goes!  We flew in on Monday, and you already heard that whole story.

Tuesday

We did some paperwork, went to the notary, went to take Visa pictures, got SIM cards for a three-month prepaid plan until we figure everything out...boring important stuff.  Then we had a tour of the school, which is GORGEOUS and so big!  It's so open and has so many views of the mountains.  I'm so excited to work in such a cool place.  For a snack, we got our first of many Colombian empanadas!

What a gorgeous place to work!

Here's the view from the front entranceway (INSIDE the school)!

Wednesday

We had a couple of presentations; HR, Atlas (our unit plan/curriculum map system), etc.  Then we got our classroom keys (you saw that video already) and later went on a brief bus tour of Bucaramanga (due to traffic, wasn't much of a "tour") on our way to an authentic Colombian lunch at Chiflas.

On the way to Bucaramanga, we had Obleas, a traditional food of Santander. 

Obleas are two wafers with arequipe (kind of like caramel or dulce de leche) and other things.  Mine had arequipe, fresas (strawberries), y queso (cheese). 

The Obleas place had some really fun romantic names for the different kinds you could order. 

At Chiflas, we had arepas, potatoes, chorizo, and blood sausage, and that was just what they put on the table while we waited for our order.  I had originally ordered some kind of combination plate, but they only served that on Fridays I guess, so the waiter suggested this BBQ plate and I went with his suggestion.  It was yummy, it was barbecue ribs (HUGE), yuca, and a plantain.

I had the rest for dinner last night.

I also had my first Colombian beer!  Nothing to write home about...standard beer.  Kind of like Miller or Corona.  After lunch we went to HomeCenter, which is like Home Depot meets IKEA meets Bed Bath and Beyond.

Colleen and I got too much stuff...getting it all in the taxi and later up the stairs was a struggle. 

Thursday 

We got our laptops (pretty nice, HP, Windows 10) and had a presentation about our health insurance (you can get transplants covered in your 6th year!) and our Colombian pension (12-15% interest per year!).  We then had a class on Colombian fruits and juices (more on that later).  After some time in our classrooms, we went to Club Campestre (a really fancy country club) to meet our host families.  La Familia Bodeguero-Blanco is super nice.

The dad (Luis) is Spanish, the mom (Luz Elena) is Colombian, and their 3rd-grade daughter (Semara) was born (and lived half her life) in Miami.  

They got me a cute succulent that I am keeping on my desk in my classroom.  After lunch, they took me on a tour of the club, and Kate's host mom signed us up as guests for the club.

Friday
We had breakfast (arepas stuffed with egg) and coffee with our mentors and some other teachers at school.  After mingling, we had some classroom time (I finished decorating! Expect another tour this week).  Later, we went to one of the teacher's houses for a barbecue.

 What an attractive group of teachers.

 Los Newbs

What a neighborhood.

Super fun and super tasty!  He's got such a nice house in such a nice neighborhood.  After passing out for a few hours, we met up at Megan and Andrea's apartment and hung out for a while.

Saturday 
On Saturday a few of us met up with one of our Colombian colleagues, Rafael, who took us to El Centro, a market in downtown Bucaramanga.  It was really cool, but also very overwhelming.  People everywhere yelling at you to buy their wears...I even had a guy walk up to me to try to sell me a (probably stolen) cell phone.  So many people.

I bought some really cheap and yummy fruits!

 We all got some delicious juice.  

Bucaramanga is famous for its "Hormigas Culonas," or large-bottomed ants, which you eat as a snack.  Supposedly they taste like peanuts or granola.  I don't know yet.  However, the city has these painted ants all over, a la Chicago's painted cows.

When we got back from El Centro, I went to the grocery store since the only food I had was what they gave us when we moved in.  Unfortunately, I live up a STEEP hill from the store and bought too many heavy things.  Man am I going to get fit living here.  I fell onto my bed and laid there in front of my fan for a while until we went out that evening.  We went to our first salsa club, Discoteca Calison.  Everyone that was dancing was REALLY good.  And according to Colleen, who tried to dance with a few people, you really only dance with people you know rather than strangers.  Mostly we just sat, drank, and talked.  A few danced (that knew how).  The Colombian husband of one of my colleagues poured me a shot of Aguardiente, the typical Colombian liquor of choice.  It's anise (licorice) flavored, so it's not my favorite.  It's definitely pretty strong though.  After a while of salsa, we started trickling next door where there was more music variety and less experienced dancers.  Lots of early 90s hits there...think "I Like to Move It Move It" and "Pump Up the Jam."

Sunday
After sitting at Juan Valdez and starting this (long, sorry) blog post for an hour or so, all us newbies met up for a "Tour de Homes."  We started at the apartments closest to school (mine's 3rd closest at 6-10 min walk) and walked to each apartment and explored.  The closest is literally right next to school, and the farthest is probably a 20-minute walk.  It was cool to see everyone else's places and compare. It took us nearly 4 hours by the time we were done, since we chilled for a bit at each one before moving on.  I made my best day since getting my fitness tracker thanks to the tour!

 The view from Kelsey's balcony - check out that double rainbow! 

The night-time view from Ryan and Kate's roof.