My job has fallen into something of a rhythm where I feel like I know what I’m doing and what might lie ahead. As far as the living part of life…I’m still digging around and swearing at suitcases but I might…might have what’s considered a permanent residence (at least in my terms, which isn’t saying much) in a day or two.

The city is vibrant and buzzing with Carnaval anticipation, supposedly (factually?) the second largest after Rio. There are decorations on houses, in taxis, all over the malls, sparkling from balconies and windows, decaled on cars and dangling from streetlights. Depending on who you ask, Carnavales are here, they’re coming or they never end, but the calendar stakes out February 9th-12th, officially. I’m more than excited to throw myself into the mix of culture, noise and colors.

There’s a lot more to be said and seen about my new home. The sunshine helps a lot but I’m not lying when people ask how I feel here and I answer contenta.

I made it no secret in my first few months that I wasn’t enjoying myself. I struggled with the hot and humid weather, I found it hard to make new friends and the change from independent student living to being with a family and sharing a room, had me feeling depressed. In my first 3 or 4 months I cried a lot, I spent a lot of time talking to people back home and a lot of time complaining about how much this experience had been terrible.

In my fourth month things started to get better. I joined a dance class, and going to it 2 or 3 times a week got me active and prevented boring weekdays. I decided to ditch the attempt at making Colombian friends, and started hanging out a lot more with Beci and Sarah (The other two British Council assistants) and through them I met mor gringos and my social life started to fill up. Over time I found myself enjoying Barranquilla more and more.

Now I really like the life I’ve made in Colombia. Things aren’t perfect, but whenever are they? I still do my dance class regularly. We have a movie night once a week. I’m going out nearly every weekend, and Carnaval fever is setting in.

In the long haul, I’m super glad I stuck through the rubbish first few months. I’ve really started to love Colombia, and I’m starting to think about ways to come back and live here for even longer. My advice to anyone feeling shitty about an abroad placement is stick with it. By forcing yourself to be social, asking your friends for help and keeping a positive attitude you really will come to like your experience: as Dolly Parton says, “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

While the box is relatively new (5 months) and has a healthy following so far (8 people were in the class I watched and 6 showed up the next morning for the 7am class!) I was more impressed that they were able to find a warehouse-type space in the middle of the busy city. (Funny enough, it’s located right behind “Bourbon Street”, a bar that is modeled after New Orleans famous Bourbon street and has all the proper decorations. Half of me wants to sit outside (when the bar is open) with a beer and cheer on the crossfitters who are running.)

I told Cathy that I wasn’t going to work out that day, but I would be in tomorrow. She asked if I wanted to bring my backpack back because we were going to be doing Murph.

guh…. Murph? I said no to the backpack (not without taking a picture, though!) and showed up the next day for my beating.

Murph:

run a mile
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
run a mile.

While there is very little scaling done at BAQ, everyone who finished the workout was definitely a “CSI victim” (where you can lay down and have an outline of your body drawn by the sweat pouring off your body.

Did I mention that it’s 27(C… that’s 80 degreesF) here at 6am?

Anyway, if you are ever in Barranquilla and want to get ready for the craziness that Carnival is surely going to inflict on your body, this is the place to come.

Shakira & Gerard Piqué  (Photo Courtesy Shakira Facebook)

Well, it’s official!

A spokeswoman for the 35- year- old Colombian singer says Shakira and 25-year-old Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona, welcomed their first born yesterday morning in Barcelona (Gerard Piqué is a member of the world-renowned soccer team FC Barcelona).

“We are happy to announce the birth of Milan Piqué Mebarak,” wrote the singer on her website.                                                                               

“Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth,” reads the press release.

“the name Milan, means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification,” says statement on Shakira’s website.

Prior to the news of Baby Milan’s arrival, several semi-nude photos of the couple came out in conjunction with a new charity initiative encouraging fans to send donations to poverty-stricken children. The name of their charity is “Shakira & Gerard Pique’s World Baby Shower to Help UNICEF Save Children’s Lives.” The initiative offers several “Inspired Gifts,” such as a baby scale ($37), polio vaccine ($10), or a malaria net ($5). All these items will in turn be donated to children in need.

Kudos to this wonderful couple! In the midst of their new family and fame they have found a way to give back to those in need. Fantastic! It even makes this die hard Real Madrid fan warm up to Pique…well, in light of his philanthropic projects, I guess I can make an exception (shhh…just don’t tell my husband Jose’, his loyalty to Real Madrid is unwavering).

Don’t expect Shakira to take much of a maternity leave, as she will be one of the judges on the 3rd season of NBC’s “The Voice.” She will be joining Usher, Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine.

I hope you enjoy these beautiful shots of the new parents, BEFORE they were parents! So glad Shakira put them out there for all of us to enjoy. Beautiful!

Not here in Barranquilla!

The weather is still hot and sunny- but to my delight the new year has brought a gentle but cooling breeze into the city that means its normally a lovely temperature. The humidity has dropped, and if the weather stayed like this forever- I definitely would stay too!

Last night Carnaval was officially opened, as the mayoress of Barranquilla handed over the key of the city to La Reina De Carnaval (Queen of Carnaval). There was a big ceremony in the Romelil Martinez football stadium, and wonderful fireworks that could be seen across the city.

The night before I went to a parade and party. There was dancing, drinking, music and everyone enjoyed themselves- the city is certainly getting into the party spirit and I can’t wait for the actually carnaval of 2013 to get started!

Carols during his Junior days ( Image from elespectador.com)

But when they do, like in the case of Carlos Bacca, the results are superb. Bacca, Club Brugge’s prolific Colombian striker, just showed the world what he can do in a Saturday’s mid-season friendly 2-1 win against Dutch side Feyenoord. Early in the first half with the score still standing at 0-0, Bacca took control of a long forward pass by controlling it with his thigh. With his back to goal and some 40 yards out, the skillful striker flicked the ball up and round before volleying it over the Feyenoord keeper and into the back of an empty net. Brugge celebrated as the Feyenoord team tried to work out what had just happened and how they were now trailing the game 1-0.

Carlos Bacca spin and volley for Club Brugge (Image taken from Video)

For 26-year-old Bacca, hitting the back of the net has become a regular occurence for most of his career. The player started out with Atlético Junior in 2007 but found first team football hard to come by. Successful loan spells at Barranquilla and Minervén where he scored an average of 1 goal every 2.5 games, convinced his parent club Atletico to recall him and start him as their main striker at the beginning of the 2009 season. Over the next three years, Bacca scored 50 goals for Junior in 97 appearances and gathered enough praise that he was awarded with his first international cap. In January 2012, Club Brugge paid 1.5million euros to take the player to Belgium which many saw as a risk considering the player still had a lot to prove. Despite needing a few months to adapt, Bacca finished last season with three goals in ten games but this season he has been on blistering form, scoring 20 times out of 26 appearances in all competitions.

To see Carlos stunning goal, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZndhmxpW6Q

Las vacaciones en Colombia son divertidas y relajantes. El sector turístico se ha convertido rápidamente en este país. Los turistas vienen en gran número a visitar este país. Colombia ofrece un poco de turismo grande, las aventuras, los bosques y las playas. Aconsejamos investigar en linea los hoteles en barranquilla para mayor información.

Aquí está una lista de las atracciones turísticas más importantes de Colombia que no puede permitirse el lujo de perder.

Medellín

Es la segunda ciudad más grande de Colombia. Se encuentra en el Valle de Aburrá, una de las más septentrional de los Andes en América del Sur. Parque Explora es educativo y divertido. Niños y adultos por igual pueden aprender acerca de la ciencia y la tecnología en este parque.

Para tener una idea de la historia y cultura de la zona, el Museo de Antioquia es el mejor lugar para empezar. Contiene 108 piezas de arte de Botero. Situado en el centro de la ciudad, Plaza Bolívar es un gran lugar para pasar el tiempo. Es un refugio de sombra rodeado de restaurantes y tiendas.

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena de Indias es otra de las ciudades más importantes de Colombia, que combina una gran cantidad de la historia – que se encuentran en la antigua ciudad amurallada. El centro histórico de Cartagena está marcado por la UNESCO como Patrimonio de la Humanidad y deben encabezar cualquier lista de los viajeros de lugares para ver, sobre todo de noche, cuando está en su más bonita. Una recomendación importante es visitar el Patrimonio de Barranquilla, otra excelente alternativa en su viaje a Colombia.

Selva Amazónica

La selva amazónica es la mayor selva tropical en la Tierra y un sitio del Patrimonio Mundial Natural. Usted será asombrado e iluminada por el esplendor, la belleza y la diversidad de la selva amazónica – cautivados por su maravilla y lo salvaje.

Hay muchas cosas que hacer en las expediciones de selva – paseos en canoa en los arroyos pequeños, caminata en la selva, pesca de pirañas, observación de caimanes, espectáculos folklóricos nocturnos, observación de aves, pesca deportiva y tours amanecer.

La Ciudad Perdida

Para aventuras, no te olvides de visitar la ciudad perdida (Ciudad Perdida). Va a tomar un viaje 5-6 días para llegar a la ciudad, pero lo que te espera allí vale la pena el esfuerzo.

En su camino a través de los 20km, podrás cruzar varios ríos, consulte los pueblos indígenas y de sus habitantes y ver algunos lugares asombrosos, que culminó en llegar a las espectaculares ruinas de Ciudad Perdida.

Vacaciones en Colombia son siempre lleno de turismo y aventura. Si desea pasar un tiempo en la playa se puede visitar una isla del Caribe. Si usted viene por primera vez o por segunda vez, usted siempre tendrá cosas de sobra para hacer en Colombia.

Ahora se puede encontrar una de las joyas ocultas de Sudamérica situadas dividido entre el Mar Caribe y el Océano Pacífico. Colombia es una tierra de bosques encantadores, hermosas playas, montañas espectaculares, un productor de esmeraldas extraordinarias, y por supuesto café rico colombiano.

Colombia es un país que se encuentra en el noroeste de América del Sur que limita al este con Venezuela y al norte con el mar Caribe. Con una población de más de cuarenta y seis millones de personas, Colombia es ahora la tercera población más grande de cualquier país de habla española en el mundo.

Los conflictos armados internos disuadido a los turistas de visita en Colombia durante muchos años, sin embargo, en números la historia reciente han aumentado considerablemente gracias a las mejoras en la seguridad con incrementos significativos en la fuerza militar y la presencia de la policía en todo el país que empujó a los grupos rebeldes más lejos de las grandes ciudades, carreteras y turísticos sitios.

Colombia es ahora seguro para los viajeros con mucho por descubrir. La diversidad de este país podrá sorprenderá con ciudades coloniales, ruinas arqueológicas, sus preciosas playas del Caribe y hasta los rascacielos en ultra modernas ciudades.

Se ha sugerido que la época más agradable para visitar Colombia es en la estación seca, entre diciembre y marzo.

Nuestro destino de aterrizaje del aeropuerto es una ciudad balneario grande llamada Cartagena que ha sido un importante puerto sobre el Caribe desde que se fundó en 1533 y se dice que es la ciudad más bella de Colombia, si no toda América del Sur. La temperatura promedio anual es de alta de 32 grados Celsius o Fahrenheit 89.

Teniendo poco más de cinco horas en avión para llegar a Cartagena desde Montreal he decidido quedarse en un hotel Holiday Inn la noche antes de nuestra partida. Recomendamos investigar en la red los hoteles en barranquilla para mayor información.

Por el precio de una habitación entre los cuatro de nosotros llegue a aparcar el vehículo de manera segura durante dos semanas y nuestro desayuno está incluido antes de tomar el servicio de transporte del hotel al aeropuerto y un taxi de vuelta a nuestro regreso. Sólo el aparcamiento en el aeropuerto habría costado más y me pongo a empezar mis vacaciones un día antes sin las molestias y preocupaciones de llegar al aeropuerto a tiempo.

En primer lugar, si alguien de la familia no le gusta el calor no recomiendo ir a Colombia, ya que es aún más caliente que Centroamérica de mis experiencias. Tuve cuidado de pasar dos semanas en la sombra, excepto cuando se nada y todavía tiene un gran bronceado. El mar Caribe está caliente y las piscinas son fáciles de echar mano.

Cogimos un autobús de la ciudad excursión turística en Cartagena llegan por barco desde el complejo y no nos sentimos amenazados en cualquier momento, pero la gente siempre está tratando de vender algo en las calles. La Isla Del Rosario paseo en barco era interesante ya que puedes ir a un parque marino con un show de delfines y más tarde tuvimos tiempo de caminar en otra playa llamada Playa Blanca.

Elegimos el Royal Decameron Baru Beach Resort todo incluido en Colombia nos cuesta menos de 200 dólares cada uno por día durante 14 noches. Teniendo en cuenta el acuerdo global para todo lo que puedas comer, todo lo que se puede beber, la habitación, el entretenimiento, pasajes aéreos que se han incluido, pensé que era una oferta bastante buena en comparación con otros destinos. Aconsejamos tambien visitar el Patrimonio de Barranquilla, otra excelente alternativa para usted.

El Royal Decameron Barú fue construido en 2009 y debe ser considerado como un complejo de cuatro estrellas muy similar a la de El Salvador. Se trata de un viaje de dos horas desde el aeropuerto y la carretera justo antes de llegar al lugar de quedar muy duro y parece bastante como algo fuera de la edad de piedra. Las habitaciones son amplias y limpias, y la comida es buena, pero la selección de comida empieza a repetir después de sólo una semana.

Los espectáculos nocturnos son mediocres, pero la fiesta de Año Nuevo con una banda en vivo y DJ era muy entretenido. El equipo de animación hizo un buen trabajo con lo que tenían por desgracia, el director parece satisfecho en la presentación de cada semana el hotel señorita llamada concurso que fue tal vez más divertido que hace veinte años que revienta con globos y juegos para beber, pero ahora está totalmente fuera de fecha para los que tienen viajó algo en el extranjero.

Casi todos los turistas que conocí había estado en varios otros destinos incluido yo mismo. Muchos turistas se alojaban en el complejo por dos semanas, unas tres semanas y, sorprendentemente, más de un par de nuestros nuevos compañeros de viaje estaría allí un mes. Me gustó el viaje, pero no me veía estancia en este complejo durante más de dos semanas y no se recomiendan tres semanas o más a mis amigos.

Colombia parece estar de vuelta en los negocios para turistas, pero todavía tienen un poco de ponerse al día en cuanto a los servicios normales que nosotros, los viajeros se han acostumbrado a todo en el aeropuerto de Cartagena, que están pasando por las tan necesarias reformas.

Thanks to my taste in music and dancing, I am often the token lighty in the room, and that was how I was to spend the next few days. What was interesting about this bar was that it wasn’t reggaeton, dancehall or afrobeats like I am used to hearing in afro-clubs, but pura salsa. Luckily I spent the first semester at uni in the salsa presentation class at my university, so I managed to defend myself on the floor and salsa the night away. The club had little table booths all around the sides so when we weren’t dancing in the middle we were chilling in the booths with Bea and her cousins friends. In the next booth the guys were snorting coke on the table the whole night and I had to carefully reject their passes without causing a scene.

It was a fun night and an experience to be in that kind of crowd. I stayed with Bea and one of her cousins, rolling in at a ridiculous hour and barely slept because I was going out of town to spend New Year’s with Bea and her family in a small town way out by the sugarcane fields. I went back to where I was staying, picked up my stuff and got a taxi to the bus station. Somehow I got out and my phone stayed behind, and what with it being Colombia, the chances of us being reunited are pretty slim I would guess. So I had to mission it to some internet, get my Beas number and sort everything out old school style like before phones were invented so that we could coordinate.

I took a bus to the town on Puerto Tejada, an afro-sugarcane village where many of the slaves who came to Colombia were brought to work in the fields. It is quite amazing to the racial differences between different cities in Colombia. This was the first town that I had been in where the population was entirely black. My university is predominantly white, with a few token mestizos who are not really in touch with their roots and Bea, who is the only afro professor. I could feel the difference in the way that people referred to me. In Bogota I am often referred to as “La Morenita”, which roughly translates to mean “The Little Brownie” because I have a cinnamonny colour that makes me look darker than my European looking students. But when I was in Cali and the surrounding area they called me “La Monita” or “The Little Lighty”.

When I got off the bus in Puerto Tejada I heard a succession of loud bangs and saw some naughty looking boys running away from where they had been setting off fireworks in the middle of the street. I sat outside the fire station which seemed quite ironic to me, and watched the people going by as I waited for Bea to come and pick me up.

The street was chockablock with motorbikes, obviously no helmets and more often than not 3 or 4 people aboard. I know that comparing places to places you have already been to is a terrible habit, but I will just say once that the feel of this town made me think a lot of the Latin America I loved in the Dominican Republic.

I felt really happy to be there because it just felt normal. I hate travelling with a guidebook and I don’t like being in a place with other visitors because I think that in a place where the locals are accustomed to foreigners they have a preconceived idea of who you are and that is usually not a good thing. I am quite fussy about the whole thing about not travelling like a tourist mind you, because I also don’t want to rock up in some place where I have no base and flounder about trying to “get in with the natives”. Luckily I have quite naturally met interesting people through work, socializing and generally being a bit of a chatterbox so I have been fortunate enough to be invited into friends’ homes to meet their gramps, nephews, aunties and cousins.

Due to the nature of the season I have spent extra time with friends’ families, but I could write a pretty interesting essay to the title “Compare and contrast the Colombian communities where you spent Christmas and New Year’s”. I spent Christmas in Baranquilla with my flatmate from Bogota, Andrea and her family. The day before all of the women spent the day in the salon, the men went to the gym and the maid worked all day preparing food for the family meal for the evening. There were lots of presents, photos were taken on iPhones and Samsung Galaxy watchamathingies, and Instagrammed instantly. My favourite thing about the night was watching the aunties, uncles, ma, pops and gramps dancing salsa together and feeling the happiness of all the family being together.

The next day we went to a cribs-worthy home with the whole family where the kids were playing on their new bikes and drum set that they had received, and where the adults launched into Karaoke. After all the partying subsided Andrea and I recovered by the pool.

New Years was a different experience to say the least. The whole village was on a completely different economical grading to where I had spent Christmas, and the streets were more dirt than paving, and we had to be careful about no getting blown up by the fireworks that were being literally lit and thrown high into the air. Someone should have told the kids that fireworks are designed to fly by themselves…

I dropped my stuff where Bea was staying at her grandma’s house, and we went to find her cousin Leidy to see what the plan was. Leidy is 26 and has two adorable kids that I partially adopted for the time I was there. Her five year old son was sitting on my lap and I was playing with his little ears which he must have liked because he took to calling me his girlfriend and was telling everyone that I was his lady. He went took his mother’s hand and put it with my hand said “suegra” which means mother-in-law. They get started young in their habits here in Colombia! I have to say I fell in love with the chocolate babies who looked adorable in their best clothes, suited and booted like miniature princes and princesses with their hair gelled and braided, running around and wiggling to the music that filled the streets.

At midnight we were all in Grandmas house to say the prayer and soon after midnight we were out in the street. All day I had seen people across Cali with scarecrows flopping precariously out of the boots of their cars. In Pto. Tejada the boys had made some with oversized penises and were looking for small change from passersby. They fill them with old clothes and usually stick on the face of the President, or an equally unpopular public figure, and at midnight they set fire to him in the middle of the street. So after midnight the streets were ablaze with bonfires, the music was blasting, fireworks were being set off in every direction and motorbikes where whipping past making me dizzy. I loved it.

Everyone was wishing Feliz Año to each other, and I was presented to numerous faces as the sister-in-law of Leidy who was adamant that she was going to set me up with her brother. Leidy quickly passed her kids over to her great aunt so that she could get on with the party and I think she must have introduced me to every man in Puerto Tejada. She is evidently very popular.

We eventually settled down on some plastic chairs outside a small open bar at watched the people from the down “dando vueltas” of the main streets, getting together, gossiping and generally being loud and happy. The street filled up with men and women sporting the clothes they had received for Christmas, totally done up and ready to show themselves off.

Let me break down for you the typical male in Puerto Tejada on New Year’s. PT is something like 50 Shades of Chocolate, and the guys were competing for who had the most talented barber with a range of fades, ringlet mohicans, braids and intricate patterns including among many designs ones with flowers, spiders and of course, their own names. On a similar thread, the majority of them had tattoos across their chests, arms, necks and God knows where else; Pictures of the Virgin Mary, the names of their various children and sometimes portraits of their own mothers. What is most disturbing is how many Colombians choose to get tattoos in Arabic that do not resemble what they want them to say in the slightest… Anyway, the clothes were bright and blingy with many of them dressed in fluorescent yellows or oranges, and rather amusingly there were many wearing tshirts that said something about London or America. nyone would think that London and Manchester United were countries by speaking to some of the guys over here… to tie everything up, most of the men were wearing flashy Nike Air Max or Converse that they were taking EXTREME care not to crease.

The women were my favourite ones to watch. Every outfit without fail was iced up with some degree of bling. Bling on the shoes, bling on the dresses, on the nails, dripping from the ears, neck and wrists and the really talented ones managed to work it into their hair. It would appear that bling was part of the New Year’s uniform. Weave and braids were the basis of most of the hairstyles, but what the women did to make themselves stand out was nothing short of impressive. The dresses and jeans looked like they had been sprayed onto them and they gripped onto their thighs, asses and waists. There were splits and gaps wherever possible to show more than a flash of skin and I must say that I was mesmerized by it all for hours. There were tell-tale stretch marks on many of the girls which they had no intention of covering up and although it was quite a garish sight I was impressed by the variety of bodies and the “sin verguenza” attitude of the ladies who were unapologetic of their bodies.

People would say to be “You don’t dress like the rest of the people here” and I would politely smile and have a little giggle in my head to myself. HA!

I spent the night dancing salsa in the bar, one of the very few similarities with the way I had spent Christmas Day. When I wasnt dancing I was chilling on the plastic seats in the middle of the action. There were loads of people around, a few motorbike accidents and lots of noise coming from every direction. Upstairs in the next building was an open club where there was a lot of what can only be described as violent dancing taking place. There was not a smartphone in sight. Bottles of rum were rapidly emptying on the each of the tables and I sipped Mango juice and water all night to the great surprise of the people that we were with.

There was a gay guy doing the rounds on the streets, knocking his hips out of joint as he sashayed down the main road. When he swung around spectacularly you could see that he had butt implants that made him look like a voluptuous woman front behind. It was a sight to behold. Many of the women had also had surgery but it wasn’t always easy to tell who had had surgery and who was just flaunting what they Momma gave them…

By 6am I was dead so Bea and I made a move for home where I collapsed into bed, but the loud music continued right until 2pm the next day. I went for an adventure at the River with Leidy, her brother (who I have no interest in whatsoever) and her children. I feel like I have rambled so much, and there are so many details that I have missed out but I just wanted to capture some of what I have seen this week and share it with you. It was too dangerous to venture out with a camera so I have described things in quite a detailed way so that you might understand better what I am talking about and also so that I don’t forget it all. I have had an eventful month of travelling and I feel very far away from home but also very alive. I hope you have had a blessed New Years and Christmas, wherever you spent it. Stay blessed. Un besito x

So I decided to spend time with my host family and ring in the new year with them in their hometown, Santo Tomás, which is about an hour from our apartment in Barranquilla.  They’ve invited me a few times before to Santo Tomás, but I was only able to make it out there once before.  It was a nice change of pace from the loud, bustling streets of Barranquilla.  So when I was unsure of my New Year’s plans and my host sister insisted I come with them, I took them up on it.  I don’t hang out that much with my host family compared to other volunteers.  My host sister had been working a lot before and generally doesn’t go out.  My host mom is always sewing or yelling or gossiping.  I thought this would be a great time for us to bond.

So, after 4 months in Barranquilla, and being Latina, you’d think that I’d feel right at home here and not go through those awkward cultural clashes, right?  I should be fully integrated and I should fully understand the culture, right?  Well….

It started I guess as we were getting ready to leave.  I put on pants and a tank top, I figured I’d wear pants to lesson potential bug bites.  Plus they were my maternity pants, so I could sleep comfortably in them and wear them home the next day.  That’s called being practical where I’m from.  But my host sister came in, asked me if that was what I was going to wear just to get there, and to take my dress to change over at her grandma’s house.  Okay… scratch the maternity pants, I gotta wear a dress apparently.

I pack and wait…. I was told to be ready to leave, so I got ready at about 3, and ended up waiting.

4:00pm…. still waiting.

5:00 pm… I watched a good chunk of season 3 of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” at this point.  No worries.  I could hear my host family scrambling around, disconnecting every device in the house before we left.  Finally my host mom comes in my room and says “Linda, we’re waiting for you, you gonna take a while?”  What the hell?  That’s what I thought, so I turn off “Sunny” and go to the living room.  And what do you think I did?  Yup, let’s say it together now: I waited.

Finally we head out the door and catch a cab.  As my host sister negotiated, I stood back, learning tips from the pro, and waited for the green light to get in the back seat.  My host sister scoots back, and hops in the back seat.  I’m right behind her, so I get in.  I’m thinking that my host mom will go in the front, so I proceed to close the door.  She stops me, and climbs in the back seat.  Three ladies in the back seat, and no one in the front passenger seat.  What the hell?  I thought again.  I would’ve got in the front seat.  I think to myself, it’s uncomfortable back here.

We arrive to Santo Tomás and my host sister takes me to various houses to meet various family members.  We sit around and chit chat.  Family members are hustling to get things ready for the party down the street.  My host sister takes off to go by liquor and leaves me at grandma’s house.  I sit outside with host grandma and the orange kitten that’s been running around.  A host family member invites me in to take a shower and start getting ready before the other girls come back from the store.  Hmm, well, I took a shower before and did not feel the need to shower again if I was just going to end up sweating again.  That’s a waste of water and soap.  So I just go in the bathroom for a bit.  I change into my dress, secretly wishing I had my maternity pants on.  I’m ready for the party in 5 minutes, so I go back outside to chill with host grandma and host orange kitten.  Then my host sister arrives, and she and the other ladies start getting ready.  About 20 minutes later, they call me into one of the rooms.  They look at me and say “you’re not going to put any make-up on?”  Well, I did put on the basic stuff, powder and mascara, before I left.  I guess I looked like shit, so I said sure, I will put makeup on.  I didn’t bring mine on purpose, but I told them I forgot it and acted a little distressed about it (I’m good at acting, by the way).  So they lay out the goods and tell me I need to put on everything.  I didn’t feel uncomfortable so much that I felt slightly insulted.  But I put on makeup to fit in.  My host sister asks me if I took a shower.  I told her I didn’t because the bathroom was occupied and I didn’t want to take too long getting ready (yes, another lie).  With all the questions regarding my bathing and makeup situation, I was uncomfortable.

We proceed to the fiesta.  By fiesta, I mean family sitting around in the infamous plastic chairs that adorn every patio in the coast.  We chill, chit chat, and drink aguardiente.  I really don’t like aguardiente, but I drink it for the sake of fitting in.  It’s rude to turn down food and drinks here anyways.  The host family decides to pull out their Blackberrys and such, and take pictures with me.  It was odd, but I guess it’s good practice for when I become famous!  Even with the steady flow of alcohol, being surrounded by people I don’t really know wanting to take pictures with me made me a little uncomfortable.

While we’re sitting around, I hear my host mom telling one of her nephews to talk to me, to dance with me, etc.  She was playing match-maker, but I didn’t want in on this game.  I think she’s disappointed that I have yet to bring back a lover (see previous post on host family).  I chit chatted with host cousin, but realized how awkward my small talk skills really are.  The rules to small talk are different here in Colombia.  For instance, it’s OK to open with “how old are you?”  I asked 2 people I hardly knew how old they were, and felt really costeña!  It’s such a habit for me to ask people what they do for a living, but you can’t ask people that.  I asked host cousin what he does, and he didn’t really understand what I meant by the question.  So I had to rephrase: do you work or go to school?  What does day to day life consist of?  I got a look back that said “nothing”, and finally after rephrasing the question for the 5th time he finally told me he doesn’t do anything.  My host mom tries I suppose, but she’s got to learn that I like men that are employed or have a damn good excuse for not being employed, like studying for a good career or at least pursuing something that makes them happy.  I don’t think that’s a lot to ask for, is it host mom?  We’ll work on that.  Nevertheless, I was uncomfortable.

New year’s rolls around, and all of a sudden we are all standing and saying Happy New Year to every person in site.  I was waiting for all the cool traditions that I had heard of, like eating a grape for every month of the new year, running around the block with a suitcase, etc.  None of that happened.  Only people from the interior do that, according to the host family.  So we sit around and eat and drink some more.  All of a sudden, host sister tells me to get up because she’s tired.  So we go back.  I’m sitting in the living room, and she comes out kind of yelling, asking me “Why is your stuff in my cousin’s room?  Are you going to sleep in there with him?”  I had no idea, but my host mom put my stuff in the cousin/nephew’s room.  My host mom is real subtle.  I am of course mortified, and explain to my host sister that I had no idea my stuff was in there.  So we relocate to the girls’ room.  I proceed to get ready for bed and go to the bathroom to wash my face.  Now let me tell you that your home girl here is well known for getting stuck in bathrooms.  I got stuck in the bathroom.  I pushed the lock in a little too hard apparently.  Then the light went out, so I couldn’t see what I was doing and was in there for a bit.  I was uncomfortable.

I drifted off to sleep, but was woken up by something fuzzy by my legs.  I feel around in the dark and for a moment I think it’s a tarantula in my bed.  But I feel little pointy ears, and realize it’s my host orange cat.  He somehow knew that I would tolerate him sleeping in bed with me.  No biggy, methinks.  But he jams his little body closer and closer to me.  And it’s hot, people.  I sweat in my sleep, so something fuzzy next to your perspiring skin makes you, yes, uncomfortable.

I get up, and right away I am urged to take a shower.  My host family is obsessed with cleanliness and non-sweating.  It’s a bit much for me, because I like to keep things low-key.  But I do admire how much people pride themselves in their physical presentation, especially the ladies.  But them always pushing me to take a shower and stop sweating makes me a little uncomfortable.

We sit around and chit chat about dogs for about an hour.  I can recite word for word all the stories about my host family’s dog, also named Linda, because I’ve heard them so many times.  But one more time can’t hurt, right?  After barely stomaching my bollo breakfast (yes, uncomfortable), I decide to leave a little early to get back to Barranquilla.  I arrive to a quite house and am alone for a few short and sweet hours.  Listening to a little Bach, reading on my new Kindle, and sitting in the rocking chair that is always occupied by my host sister, I am finally feeling comfortable.

The moral of the story: Peace Corps is all about stretching your limits and getting out of your comfort zone.  Sometimes it means eating strange foods that you don’t like, but you eat them anyways, like bollo.  A lot of times it is getting to know people that are from an entirely different culture.  I may speak the language already and have the Latina thing going on, but this is still a foreign country filled with what I initially thought were weird and foreign customs.  I still have to work at integrating with my host family who I have lived with for 4 months, and it’s often uncomfortable when you’re surrounded by people you don’t really know.  I sometimes find it especially overwhelming to be with a family celebrating with each other.  Being Latina, I get how important family time is.  I find all the questions that people ask me to be a little overwhelming, and it makes me uncomfortable to be asked so many personal questions.  But that’s what I signed up for, and as frustrating as it can be sometimes, I most of the time find it extremely amusing in the end and have some awesome stories to share now.  So join me in my new year’s resolution to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and may you have an awesome 2013!