Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
Several small things happened in Colombia in November and December that I haven't gotten a chance to write about, so I figured I'd smoosh them all together in one post in the interest of getting to more recent stuff (while still reminiscing!). So, here's a bunch of small(ish) blog posts all in one.
25 de noviembre 2016
Colegio Panamericano, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
In most of Colombia, US Thanksgiving isn't a thing, which makes sense. They start decorating (and having sales) for Christmas before Halloween is over. However, due to the amount of North American staff, Thanksgiving is a thing at Colegio Panamericano. The week prior, we were told to head to the main office to get our Thanksgiving present from the school. I had never received a Thanksgiving present before, so I was excited!
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| It's a Bluetooth Speaker! |
The box for the speaker advertises that it uses "Beats technology," which makes it sound like it's made by Beats. Unfortunately, as noted by the "S" where you'd find a "B" on Beats, it is not. When turning on, changing modes, or connecting devices, the woman's voice that guides you has an accent that is a mix of British-English, German, Japanese, and robot. It's actually quite an interesting feat to get all those sounds together. Interestingly, the + and - buttons do not change volume, but skip tracks and change radio stations. There is not a volume adjuster anywhere on the speakers. This is fine when you're listening to your phone, but there is only one volume for radio - loud. All that being said, it's always nice to get unexpected gifts, and the speakers have pretty decent sound!
In addition to the gifts, Colegio Panamericano throws a hell of a Thanksgiving party for the staff. On Friday (we had school on Thursday), school gets out a few hours early so all the teachers have time to go get their hair and nails done and put on their suits and elegant dresses (Shout out to Kelsey for helping me with my makeup!). The party began promptly at 7, which in Colombian time meant 7:45 or so. Each guest was handed a cocktail on their way in, some sort of strong but tasty fruity thing. Waiters walked around offering glasses of sangria and scotch when it looked like your drink was getting low.
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| Beginning of the evening - only 2 drinks (and one half-hour) in! |
After a few drinks, dinner was served. They did their best to give us a traditional American Thanksgiving meal, and man, did they deliver.
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| Yum. |
Once everyone had gotten some food, they started announcing winners of the raffle every so often. This wasn't a little basket-o-food raffle - they broke out the big guns. Everything from food processors to tablets to TVs were given away as door prizes, with a few winners picked every half-hour to an hour. While we all anxiously waited to see if we'd be the next lucky winners (Kelsey won a tablet!), we danced to the live band (and when they were on break, the DJ).
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| All dolled up |
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| After dinner |
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| Party time! |
27 de noviembre
Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
That Sunday, all the expats had our own (low-key) potluck Thanksgiving. We met up on the roof of Ryan and Kate's apartment building, which is gorgeous. It's got a pool and a great view of Floridablanca.
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| Betcha none of your Thanksgiving celebrations had this view. |
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| Figuring out what to wear really tripped me out - usually when I think "What do I wear to a Thanksgiving party?" the answer is a sweater... |
In addition to the gorgeous weather and beautiful view, everyone brought delicious food to share. A fantastic time was had by all and we had to roll ourselves out of there!
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| Another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat! |
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| Nuestra Familia de Colegio |
7 de diciembre 2017
Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
The eighth of December marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (aka the Impregnation of the Virgin Mary), and it's a pretty big deal here in Colombia (and one of Colombia's many national holidays). The Eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a big deal as well - Colombians get together with their families, light candles, pray, and enjoy each other's company.
Noche de las Velitas, or Candle Night, is one of Colombia's Christmas season traditions. In the weeks leading up to the event, every store and street vendor sells packs of colorful little candles so you can stock up. Each family gets together and lights one for each member of their family and for loved ones who have passed away. They pray for everyone, eat, and enjoy the evening.
On this night, Courtney and I went over to Amy and Denise's apartment. On my way there, I saw families lighting tens and hundreds of brightly colored candles. It was pretty beautiful. The four of us sat on the balcony and lit candles for all our people and had some delightful conversations. Rather than the traditional buñuelos, we ordered Domino's for a little taste of home to go with our wine. It was quite a delightful evening.
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| Floridablanca is #lit |
8 de diciembre 2017
Piedecuesta, Santander, Colombia
On our day off (on a Thursday right before finals), my host family invited me and a few others to their house for a party. Vero and her friend Ximena picked up Colleen and I, and we headed out past Piedecuesta to where my host father calls "the boonies" and where their gorgeous villa is located. Colleen's host family and one other family also joined the fiesta later.
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| This place could be a hotel. |
This house is HUGE and was built to my host family's specifications. The master bathroom has a bidet, and the bathroom between the fitness center and the workshop has a urinal.
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| No excuse not to work out. |
The kitchen is enormous - two ovens (one doubles as a microwave) and a giant island in the center.
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| This is the kitchen of my dreams. |
In his fitness center, my host father has one wall dedicated to a map full of pins of places he's been (he used to be an airline engineer before he retired). I hope to one day have that many pins on my map.
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| I want to be a world traveler. |
In their giant yard, they have a huge outdoor cooking pit (probably mostly used as a paella pit).
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| Time to make the paella |
My host father Luis is from Spain, and his wife Luz Elena is Colombian. Their daughter Samara was born (and lived her first 7 years) in Florida. Luis loves the United States and is hoping to move the family back there soon.
We had quite the Spanish smorgasbord - we started off with pan con tomate - like Spanish bruschetta - which was made by cutting tomatoes in half, grating them (with a cheese grater) so you get all the juice without the skin, grating in some garlic, and adding salt and olive oil. You then spoon it onto some nice fresh bread. They had gotten some kick-ass garlicky bread, apparently from Mas por Menos, a grocery chain! It was so delicious and I think I ate a whole loaf by myself.
Next on the menu was tortilla española - Spanish omelette. We sliced up a bunch of potatoes and onions into thin-ish slices, and then in a deep cast-iron pan, Luis heated up about 2-3 inches of olive oil. He cooked the potatoes and onions a while in the oil, then added several eggs and scrambled it all together. After it had hardened enough, he used a plate to flip it over and finish the omelette on the other side. When finished, this concoction was about 3-4 inches deep. We cut it into little cubes and snacked on it (and I think I probably ate almost half of this delicious dish).
Next, Luis headed out to the grill to start work on the paella, while the rest of us had a little descanso on the porch. Colleen and I actually curled up on a hammock and a bowl-shaped chair and took a little siesta.
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| It felt like we were on vacation |
After an hour our two, the paella was finished - complete with mussels, shrimp, octopus, calamari, lamb, chicken, and rice. The pan was probably about a 2-foot diameter, and it was their smallest paella pan.
Even with about 10 adults and 4 kids eating, we only got through about half of the paella. I was all ready to put my pickiness aside and eat the seafood, until the little octopus on my plate waved at me as I carried my plate to the table. I picked at it and ate some of the land-dwelling animals and the rice, but I couldn't bring myself to get over it and try the seafood. It'll be my challenge for next time.
9 de diciembre 2017
Colegio Panamericano, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
The next day was an odd one at school, since we had just had a day off (that for me and Colleen felt less like a 4-hour party and more like a 3-day weekend). We had a half day at school because the students had to finish preparing for their Christmas show that evening.
Kindergarten, elementary school, middle/high school band, and the senior class had been working hard for the past month on their dancing, singing, and musical performances. The seniors had been taken out of class for much of the previous week to finalize their choreography (their dance was superhero themed...not sure how that relates to Christmas). It was quite a to-do. On top of all these performances, we were also treated to a mini-concert by Ivanna, winner of La Voz Kids Colombia, a 7th grader at our school. Man that girl's got pipes. Here's a video posted by the school about the event:
Mesa de los Santos, Santander, Colombia
On our last weekend before we all left for Christmas break, Rosa and I jumped on a bus and headed up to Mercado Campesino in Mesa de los Santos for a bit of Christmas shopping. The bus from Piedecuesta made a bunch of stops to pick up and drop off people, sometimes seemingly in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain.
We finally got there and got some breakfast of arepas de choclo, platanos con guava y queso, y cafe.
We wandered around, looking at everything from homemade pasta to salves made from marijuana and coco leaves.
We made several lists of more things we need to eat next time we're there, including fried quail eggs on a stick. Unfortunately, our first meal filled us up too much to have anything other than Colombian-made German beer and fresh coffee that was roasted and ground specifically for our cups.
As we waited almost an hour for our bus that was supposedly supposed to come every half hour, a trio of young people came up to us and asked if we knew the name of God. Rosa said she didn't think of God as having a name, and I guessed Yahweh. Apparently we were wrong, and they dug out the bible passage to tell us his name was Jehovah. We were trapped waiting for the bus and did our best to seem uninterested, but they kept telling us about their church in Bucaramanga and how we should look them up. The bus eventually (finally) came and we hopped on to head home.
11 de diciembre 2017
Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia
The next evening, after hanging out with Dan, Colleen, and Kelsey, Rosa and I went to Parque San Pio to look at the lights and shop a bit more. Bucaramanga went above and beyond in its Christmas decorations (starting in October). Lights everywhere, especially in the parks. Of course, Bucaramanga is known as the City of Parks, so, really, everywhere. Luckily, most of the light displays are made from recycled materials like plastic cups, so it's actually pretty green.
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| Dayum |
Even with about 10 adults and 4 kids eating, we only got through about half of the paella. I was all ready to put my pickiness aside and eat the seafood, until the little octopus on my plate waved at me as I carried my plate to the table. I picked at it and ate some of the land-dwelling animals and the rice, but I couldn't bring myself to get over it and try the seafood. It'll be my challenge for next time.
9 de diciembre 2017
Colegio Panamericano, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia
The next day was an odd one at school, since we had just had a day off (that for me and Colleen felt less like a 4-hour party and more like a 3-day weekend). We had a half day at school because the students had to finish preparing for their Christmas show that evening.
Kindergarten, elementary school, middle/high school band, and the senior class had been working hard for the past month on their dancing, singing, and musical performances. The seniors had been taken out of class for much of the previous week to finalize their choreography (their dance was superhero themed...not sure how that relates to Christmas). It was quite a to-do. On top of all these performances, we were also treated to a mini-concert by Ivanna, winner of La Voz Kids Colombia, a 7th grader at our school. Man that girl's got pipes. Here's a video posted by the school about the event:
In addition to the performances, the school was also hosting a silent auction of paintings made by students and their parents, with all proceeds benefiting a foundation that helps underprivileged children. I put my name down on several cool pieces of art, and I got a text a few days later that I had won one! Plus, it was painted by one of my seniors, Camila, so that was extra exciting. They also threw in another painting that they had forgotten to display (a 9th grader named Maria Jose), so now I have two beautiful pieces of art by Colegio Panamericano students.
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| On the left is Maria Jose's, and the right is Camila's. |
10 de diciembre 2017
Mesa de los Santos, Santander, Colombia
On our last weekend before we all left for Christmas break, Rosa and I jumped on a bus and headed up to Mercado Campesino in Mesa de los Santos for a bit of Christmas shopping. The bus from Piedecuesta made a bunch of stops to pick up and drop off people, sometimes seemingly in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain.
We finally got there and got some breakfast of arepas de choclo, platanos con guava y queso, y cafe.
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| These are likely my favorite food in Colombia. |
We wandered around, looking at everything from homemade pasta to salves made from marijuana and coco leaves.
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| All these meats just out in the open air...the stray dogs and the flies really liked this aisle. |
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| Market buddies! |
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| Baby chiva! |
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| Spending some time with the local wildlife |
We made several lists of more things we need to eat next time we're there, including fried quail eggs on a stick. Unfortunately, our first meal filled us up too much to have anything other than Colombian-made German beer and fresh coffee that was roasted and ground specifically for our cups.
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| And the man roasting the coffee wasn't too hard on the eyes either. |
As we waited almost an hour for our bus that was supposedly supposed to come every half hour, a trio of young people came up to us and asked if we knew the name of God. Rosa said she didn't think of God as having a name, and I guessed Yahweh. Apparently we were wrong, and they dug out the bible passage to tell us his name was Jehovah. We were trapped waiting for the bus and did our best to seem uninterested, but they kept telling us about their church in Bucaramanga and how we should look them up. The bus eventually (finally) came and we hopped on to head home.
11 de diciembre 2017
Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia
The next evening, after hanging out with Dan, Colleen, and Kelsey, Rosa and I went to Parque San Pio to look at the lights and shop a bit more. Bucaramanga went above and beyond in its Christmas decorations (starting in October). Lights everywhere, especially in the parks. Of course, Bucaramanga is known as the City of Parks, so, really, everywhere. Luckily, most of the light displays are made from recycled materials like plastic cups, so it's actually pretty green.
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| Happy as a sunflower! |
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| Botero's lady is admiring the tree |
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| Cheesy Christmas-card-esque photo |
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| It's like a fairy forest |
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| Of course I needed a photo of this... #mathnerd |
