1 Month

As of today, I have been in Colombia for one month. Boy how time flies by! 2 nights ago I was dreaming in Spanish. It was a restless night of sleep but I do remember people talking to me in Spanish. Last night, I dreamt that one of the neighbors was telling me in Spanish that I needed to learn more Spanish. “Laura es necesito aprendar mas espanol”. At least I slept better.

I have been back volunteering at the local school here. It was really trippy and strange. Here I am in a foreign land but what are the children learning in school? All about Christopher Colombus and the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria that sailed across the Atlantic and discovered America. The kids drew and colored Indians with feathers in their headbands and tepees. I did not realize until this week that when Colombus landed in Massachusetts, it was the first of any of the Americas were discovered. At the school, they had an assembly with all the classes. The classes walked in single file and sat down in rows on the floor crisscross applesauce. A few teachers talked and then everyone stood up and placed their right hand on their heart and sang a song - sound familiar??? Things are so similar yet so different at the same time! Then a variety of children performed different acts - mostly dancing - break dancing, dancing routines etc. All the classes sang 2 more songs and then the assembly was officially over but everyone formed a big circle and different kids danced in the middle. It was really neat to see. They also had 3 different flags. One for the country, one for the town and one for the county/region. I am really loving being in the school. The children are much more comfortable talking with me. Thank Gosh!! A group of 9 and 10 year olds sit down and talk comparing words in Spanish and English. I am really grateful because they are really particular on how I pronounce the words.

Tonight M, D & I went over to a neighbor’s house and helped make arepas. I love arepas!! They are similar to a thick tortilla made out of corn. The corn kernels are boiled in water and then we put it through a grinder, mixed the corn flour with salt and some water and rolled them into their circular form using a wooden rolling pin and an arepa mold. They were then heated over a charcoal grill which is one of those 50 gallon barrels. How ingenious! It was really fun! The family has 3 girls ages 8 - 14 years. They make arepas as a side business each Friday so I am planning on going over there each Friday. I feel sooo lucky J