We’ve been everywhere…

So, since we last gave you any depth here on the blog, we have seen some other parts of the country, but not nearly enough. I took a trip to Ecuador to study Spanish intensively for 2 weeks. Jess and I have been to Bogota, and we’ve travelled a bit in the area outside the city limits. To begin, because I have some pics here, I’ll talk a little about our trip to Bogota.

Our friend Juan Carlos is from Bogota, and was nice enough to invite us to visit Bogota with him over Semana Santa this year. We visited his family and friends, and saw the city. It was a great trip! But first, we had to get there… a 10 to 12 hour drive through two mountain ranges.

As this picture makes clear, my dog had to be drugged for the trip. He gets non-stop carsick, so we had to get him some traveling medicine from the vet. He looked out of it.

Near one of the many towns we past, we spotted some of the local youth who preferred not to walk up the mountain to get to the center of town. watching the mount and dismount was much more stressful than the ride…

Finally, we made it to Bogota, where Juan Carlos and his family took us to see the sights. We went to a beautiful (but cold) spot to look out over the city. It is a big city, with something like 8 million residents. It was a clean, modern city with a good public transport system, and the climate is kind of like fall at home, all the time, except the trees and grass are green. Here we are, not looking over the city with our friend Juan Carlos.

The owner of a restaurant at that overlook took a liking to us, and sent us a free drink inside a pineapple, which you can see Jess enjoying above. There are more convenient vessels, but who am I to complain? Jessie may or may not have eaten the entire pineapple thereafter.

Jessie and I ventured out on our own on one of the holy days (don’t remember which one, sorry) and found the modern art gallery, MAMBO (Museo de Arte Moderno). We had some fun with this exhibit of poster styles through the 20th century. A striking resemblance, don’t you think?

  We also saw this shaving chair for siamese twins, or at least that is the only use I could think of for it. Can you spot Jess in the picture?

When we left the museum, we found ourselves in the parade route, which was awash with people, entertainers, vendors, etc. etc. etc. This little clown man would remain completely still until someone gave him a coin, He would then do a happy little mechanical clown dance! There was also a Michael Jackson impersonator, which fit with the spirit of the season, I think.

We were invited to a birthday party for Juan Carlos’s girlfriend and mother. Late in the night, an ominous knock on the door revealed a 9-piece Mariachi band ready to serenade the birthday girls. It was louder than it looks, but what takes a party to the next level like mariachis!

They tried to draft my little Jessiachi, but she was too shy to make the career change. The fashion accessories, however, she can live with.

While in Bogota, I played a show with Juan Carlos and his friend in a small bar. We practiced 3 times and then played a ten-song set. It was a good time, and I was automatically a good singer because I don’t have an accent when singing rock songs!

Aureliano, my dog, played with the band too…

We took a trip out of Bogota to visit the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá an underground cathedral built in a salt mine. It was a tasty trip. I can honestly say I have never though about salt for such an extended period in my life. There were movies and signs and brochures and free samples. My blood pressure couldn’t handle any more.

Jessica explored many career opportunities in Bogota, including “salt miner.” She liked the fringe salt benefits, but the Lupus was a deal-breaker.

And those are just some of the highpoints of our trip to Bogota. Contemplating careers, playing in shows, supporting local arts; all just another excursion into the great wide world. Until the next…

Seasons? I don't need no stinking seasons!

Hello everyone.

Jessica may have made the complete transition to Facebook, but I still enjoy a more cohesive narrative. Call me an old-timer, say I do not appreciate our new, fragmented, quick-hitting age, but I enjoy spinning a yarn now and then. So... I'm bringing it back.

Here we wait in the land without seasons (OK, there is one season... summer), while many of you are packing away the last of the single layer, short-sleeved relics of the hot summer-gone-by. Nope, not us. We are still sporting the shorts, still going to the river on the weekend, still watching hot garbage blow down the street (only sometimes). But I miss those seasons.

So, it is with that spirit of sighing nostalgia that I gladly inform you (if any of you are, indeed, out there) that Jessica and I will be home for the holidays! Home long enough to pull some doughnuts in parking lots, take a snowball in the ear, and see Jessica's famous upside-down snow angel!

Hope we catch you while we are there. We will be the one's shivering and cursing the cold. Can you believe that, only a little over a year removed from Mongolia? Damned adaptable bodies.

Looooooooong Overdue!

Hello All!

So as you may have noticed, we have been VERY negligent in keeping up with the blog posts. The truth of the matter is, now that we are both on Facebook, we use that much more than this blog. The photos upload through the facebook program much more quickly. So, as a compromise, we have created a photo album on facebook which you can access here from the link below. In this album you will find lots of photos of what we've been up to in the past few months, along with captions.

What you won't find there is this: Clayton was hired full time at an NGO here in Cali, and we have decided to stay here one more full year! We are enjoying our time here, and both doing some really rewarding work. So, we will be heading home mid-July and start of August (sadly, not together) to visit friends and family. Hope to visit as many of you as we can! Without further ado, here is the link to the photos! Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90472&id=587007983&l=38696a7ba2

Lasagna and Karaoke!

Last weekend we went to a friend's house to show him how to make lasagna the "american" way. He and his family were all impressed with clayton's cooking skills. And as if they weren't impressed enough, we sang karaoke after dinner and clayt blew them away with his heartfelt rendition of "My Way." Here are some pictures from the fun.

Just when you start to feel comfortable....

.... the US Embassy sends you an email like this:


U.S. EMBASSY
BOGOTA
WARDEN MESSAGE
March 20, 2009

The United States Embassy is sending this Warden Message to remind
American citizens traveling to or residing in Colombia that Bogota and
other parts of the country remain a high threat environment for
terrorism and crime. This month is the first anniversary of what the
FARC is calling "Black March", which marks the deaths of three senior
FARC leaders in March 2008. While the Embassy possesses no information
concerning specific and credible threats against Americans in Colombia,
Americans traveling or residing here are strongly encouraged to continue
to exercise caution and remain vigilant.

American citizens and U.S. interests remain targets for terrorists and
criminal elements. All U.S. citizens are encouraged to exercise
caution. All official and personal travel outside of Bogota by Embassy
personnel is subject to review. In addition, the Embassy advises all
American personnel to avoid areas where foreigners are known to
congregate. Throughout Colombia, Embassy personnel are prohibited from
taking mass transit (e.g., public and private buses, metros, etc.) and
frequenting outside cafes and street-side exterior dining areas. The
Embassy strongly advises all Americans to refrain from using mass
transit as well.

U.S. citizens in Colombia should be proactive in taking security
precautions. They should vary their travel routes and the times of
their arrivals and departures, and remain aware of their surroundings.
U.S. citizens in Colombia should avoid large public gatherings or
demonstrations.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should
regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at
http://travel.state.gov , where the current
Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts can be found. Up to
date information on security can also be obtained by calling
1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside
the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.
These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). American citizens
traveling or residing overseas are encouraged to register with the
appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the State Department's travel
registration website at https://travelregistration.state.gov
.

In case of an emergency, please contact the Consular Section at the
Embassy in Bogota, Carrera 45, # 24B-27, Bogota, D.C., Colombia.
Emergency telephone contact may be made 24 hours a day at (571)
315-0811.

We get by with a little help from our friends.

One of the things that makes living here so nice is the people we meet. So, here are a few photos of our friends and us, enjoying good times together!

Here I am with some of my co-workers from the Colombo Americano. Andres, Me, Alejandro, and Carla (the boys are Colombian, and Carla is from Taiwan, and happens to live right next door to us!)


Here are Juan and Clayt, moving our game of RISK, so we can eat the delicious dinner his mom cooked for us. We were at his apartment for the night to meet his mother, who was visiting from Bogota.


Here are Ximena and I, at a nightclub called LuLu's. Ximena is also a volunteer at the Defensoria with Clayton, they work on a lot of projects together. She is the one who invited us for the Calbagata, and to celebrate New Year's with her family.


Me and Alejandro, a co-worker from the Colombo, who has the best English i have ever heard from someone who has never been to the States!


Clayton with his co-workers, the Defensor - Andres, and Ximena, out for a night interview that just turned into a night of fun.


Clayton and Juan - apparently Juan did or said something very funny! Colombians have great senses of humor, it's nice to be around people who always make you laugh!

Recent Activities

We have finally figured out the secret to uploading pictures successfully! So, hopefully that means we will be posting more regularly again.

About a month ago I started a volunteer job at an orphanage called Casita de Belen. It houses about 40 young orphans (children who are left on the doorstep, some as young as 7 days old, and other children who are removed from their families because of abuse). During the day they also have a school program for children from very poor families. The children are there for the school day, get lunch and snacks, and after-school care until their parents can pick them up. The place is swarming with children. I go on fridays, my day off from my regular job, and help with the babies, play with the kids, and teach 2 hours of English lessons. The kids are so warm, so loving, so eager to hug you. It's been a great experience so far. So, I was telling my one class of students (at my regular job at Colombo) about my experience, and they were interested in helping. So, they came with me twice, to help with giving lessons to the kids, and to visit with the little ones. I think it was a nice experience for my students and the kids as well.

Here's one of my students, Natalia, with one of the little ones.

Me with a little guy who liked to touch my face!

Snack time!

This little one wanted to be held a LOT, cried whenever we put her down, which is of course understandable, and sad.

Another shot of snack time.

Reviewing the english names for animals with the grade 3 students.

My student Diego with his group, playing a memory game i made for the kids.


Then, this past weekend, we were invited to go to the "finca" of the family who founded Casita de Belen. A finca is like a summer house, outside the city where people go to spend the day on the weekends. This finca was pretty impressive, with a large main house, 3 smaller cabins for staff and etc., and a stable for 17 pure-bred horses, seen below.


Here we are in the front yard, enjoying the rare opportunity to have our photo taken together!


Here I am in front of the house, enjoying the view. There were beuatiful flowers everywhere you looked, and an amazing view of the mountains.


Here we are horseriding! The horses were tall and strong, and a little willful, which made it a little scary for me... but we enjoyed it nonetheless, and had good company too, as the people we were riding with have been riding horses for over 13 years!


Some of the beautiful flowers around the house.


There were 3 baby horses born within the last month, and this was one of them!


Another picture of the vast array of flowers around the grounds.


And, lastly, a current event that wasn't so fun. About 11 days ago I was walking past clayton in the kitchen, and hit my foot against his heel in passing. Hurt pretty bad but we thought it was probably just bruised. 9 days later when it still hadn't improved much, I finally went to the doctor to get x-rays. They confirmed I had broken it, and ordered me to stay at home off my feet for 8 days. So, no going to work for me this week! Unfortunately, I didn't help it heal much in those 9 days before going to the doctor - i thought it would just get better, and was trying a little tough love, trying to do things like normal - going running twice, and even out for a night of salsa dancing... apparently not the best thing to do for a broken toe...
So, here i am at home self-medicating with ice on my foot and a glass of wine!

Christmas and New Years!

We have spent the last 4 christmases and New Year's in 4 different countries: USA, Mongolia, China and now Colombia. This year the holidays were pretty low-key for us. Christmas and New Year's here are holidays centered around the family and a few traditions.

So for Christmas Eve we went downstairs to visit with our landlord and her extended family. They all sat around having drinks and a few small snacks until almost midnight. Traditionally, here they don't eat christmas dinner until midnight, and then open gifts afterwards. Dinner was delicious, turkey, salad, and a few other side dishes, and then some dessert. After dinner presents were opened. It was certainly different from home. Only 2 or 3 gifts at the most for the kids, and some of the adults got gifts, others didn't. It was very low key, but everyone was happy and enjoying themselves.

After dinner, but before opening gifts, they pulled out this little book of - i don't know exactly - songs or prayers or chants, about the birth of jesus. They also pulled out some maracas, to shake while they took turns reading verses, singing, and chanting prayers. Even clayt and I got a chance to read aloud for the group (in spanish!).

For New Year's, we went to the house of a girl who works with clayton at the Defensoria del Pueblo. There was a very large group of her extended family there for the celebration, maybe over 50 people. Again it was a late night celebration, with dinner after the countdown at midnight. At about one minute to midnight, everyone gathered into a big circle, and counted down to midnight. At the strke of 12, everyone cheered and shouted "feliz ano nuevo!" Then, all 50+ people proceeded to circulate and hug and kiss each and every one of each other! It was a lot of love! After all the hugs and kisses (the most I have ever gotten in one day i think, besides our wedding day) everyone sat down to a big dinner, dessert, and more drinks. I think the biggest difference was that it was all family - here New Year's is all about family, not a night for going to the bars with your friends, like we tend to do back home.

A few days after New Year's a friend invited us to join her with her family for an annual tradition, called a Cabalgata. This is a horse riding trip that starts in the afternoon, lasts about 5 hours, and ends with a big dinner. Their extended family is fairly large, so there were about 40 of us altogether. Important detail - while on the horses, everyone drinks a lot of aguardiente, the local liquor of choice, made from sugar cane. So, by the end of the trip, lots of people are drunk on horses, riding through the forest in the pitch black. Luckily the horses knew the way well, because we couldn't see 2 feet in front of us at some points! We went across rivers, up and down steep embankments, and 3 people fell off horses. Clayton was one of those people, although he claims he jumped over the horse... He went to get on the horse, and sort of fell over the other side, into the mud. Everyone was very amused.

Unfortunately, uploading photos to this blog has been difficult from here, which is why it's taken so long to post this. So, we're going to try something new. Below is a link to the related photos on my facebook page. Just cut and paste the address into the address window, and you should be able to see all the pictures there:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55136&id=587007983&l=28b0e

Then a few days afterwards, we were invited to go to a place called calima lake with our landlord and her family for a few days. We would call it a "misdventure" of sorts, which I think Clayton may write a specific post for in a few days. So, here are some photos of New Year's and Calima Lake as well:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56498&id=587007983&l=43cf9

please let us know if there is any trouble seeing the pictures.