Colombia Pictures Presents

Got chalk? Calling on my gymnastics connections!

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:31:00 -0400

Are you a part of the gymnastics world in the states? Do you want to pair up with a competitive gymnastics team here in Santa Marta, Colombia?

I’m looking for a “sister team” in the states to collaborate with La Liga de Gimnasia del Magdalena.

If you and your team are interested in taking part of a cultural exchange that would be mutually beneficial, please contact me!

We are professionals at making the most of what we have. Here the girls are practicing a basic conditioning drill using beer crates in lieu of foam blocks.

Here’s what I have in mind to kick off a cultural exchange: I would love to trade short videos of gymnasts introducing themselves, showing off their skills, talking about their favorite events and what gymnastics means to them. These videos can be filmed in the gymnasts’ native language and I will add subtitles in the language they will be watched in. If there are any gymnasts on your team that speak and could film a video in Spanish that would be fabulous as well! These videos do not need to be anything fancy nor a big time commitment.

I strongly feel this cultural exchange will reach beyond the gym mats for the gymnasts and coaches involved—-through the videos gymnasts will get to taste a slice of another culture. Global awareness is beneficial to all. Why not have a cultural exchange centered around our passion for gymnastics?

I feel a leotard drive is the best way to collect resources. Here on the Colombian coast, my team makes the most of what they have. Many practice in shorts and a tank top and save their one leotard for special occasions. We would be extremely thankful to receive any old practice or competition leos. If you are interested in holding this leo drive at your gym please contact me and we can talk about feasible shipping options :)

Thank you in advance for your potential support. I look forward to hearing from you and your gym :)

Flipping out in Santa Marta: Gymnastics updates

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:27:33 -0400

The Women’s Gymnastics team at the University of Florida just took home the NCAA National championship! Although UF has showcased a top gymnastics program for years, bringing home the NATIONAL TITLE is a groundbreaking win for the gators. Congrats ladies—you have most definitely worked your toned, little bodies off for this! The Gator Nation couldn’t be more proud :)

Riding on this gymnastics high, I would like to update the blog world about my gymnastics work here in Santa Marta. The start of the new year has brought the development of other secondary projects (Samigas and Teaching English in Primary Classrooms~updates to come!). Unfortunately these developments have put coaching gymnastics on the back burner. I might not be at the gym every day, but I’m in touch with my gym family and have every intention to keep flipping. I will be holding some choreography sessions and hopefully a self-esteem charla during the Colombian school year’s June/July break (if not sooner!).

Emily Fiocco, a fellow volunteer, wrote the article below about my experiences with La Liga de Gimnasia de Magdalena for the February edition of our PC Colombia newsletter. Catch up with my gym life through her lovely piece!

Flipping Out in Santa Marta, Peace Corps- Style by Emily Fiocco

Last February, Sammy went on a search for a public pool in Santa Marta where she could swim laps. Little did she know she‘d stumble into the city‘s gymnastics gym, where the team was looking for a person just like her: someone passionate as well as knowledgeable about competitive gymnastics, who had an interest in coaching, too.

Since that day in February, Sammy has been the head balance beam coach and floor exercise choreography coach for “La Liga de Gimnasia del Magdalena,” Santa Marta‘s nationally competitive team. The team has about 14 girls from ages six to fourteen years old who are dedicated to the team and committed to the sport, despite the lack of what US gyms would consider basic equipment—such as a spring floor, vault, or uneven bars.

Instead, the girls tumble on tile floors covered with a few inches of cushion, and stack the cushions to make vaults. To compete, they raise funds, and travel to Barranquilla every few months, where there is a better-outfitted gym in which they can practice.

“They make something out of nothing,” Sammy says, “and they‘re so happy doing it.” Sammy competed nationally in the US and brings a working knowledge of USA Gymnastics competition rules and regulations, which Colombia uses as well. The girls who compete from levels 1-6 perform standard routines. Those who compete at the higher, “optional” levels, however, need to have individualized routines, which Sammy provides during her coaching sessions two to three times a week.

One of the amazing things, Sammy says, is to see her work come full circle. She spends a great deal of time with Valeria, one of the most advanced girls, choreographing and cleaning her routines. Valeria helps out with coaching the younger girls. In general, the gym practices strict coaching techniques, and often the main coaches give directions with yells and critiques. One day, as Sammy was leaving, she caught sight of Valeria coaching.

“She coached just like me!” Sammy says, describing the way Valeria clapped rhythms, encouraging the younger girls through their routines.

In the gym, Sammy has found a place where her talents make an immediate difference. During practices, she sees instant improvement. After one practice, girls may show real improvement on a certain skill, or their routines are noticeably cleaner. Their visible progress is a reward that provides a satisfying balance to the often-slow progress of work within her TEL co-teacher role.

Of course, there have been challenges. One of the biggest was learning a whole new gymnastics lexicon. Not just a matter of translation, the words can be completely different for different moves. Then, there‘s the matter of team communication—or an occasional lack thereof—in regard to practice times. Still, Sammy loves the work. “I‘ve become part of the family,” Sammy says. “There‘s definitely a gymnastics family and I‘m a part of it. It‘s amazing to be greeted with so much love and support, and to give it as well, to the girls and coaches and parents.”

This year, Sammy plans to give charlas and workshops on themes like body image, self-esteem, empowerment, team building, and even community service— powerful, meaningful activities that will build upon the close ties she‘s built with this group. An exchange with a “sister gym” in the States – for both material things, like leotards, as well as personal connections—is also in the works.

“It‘s been a wonderful way to become a part of the Santa Marta community.” Her experiences have provided her a stark illustration of two different worlds—but also the many cultural similarities. “It‘s just so amazing to see girls so dedicated and passionate,” Sammy says. Of course, that‘s a truth the Peace Corps community can state about Sammy herself.

Noticias: A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:24:00 -0500

Buenas buenas family and loved ones! It feels like I have updates galore. Johnathan’s visit and Carnaval were both too spectacular to tack onto this post, thus I’ll be devoting solo posts (do you feel the love?) to these events in the upcoming weeks.

Por ahora, I have some updates. Life has been particularly wonderful lately. I still feel completely recharged after my vacation back to the states. I really just can’t help but smile :)

I’m respected and established at school. Furthermore I’m focusing on areas that are close to my heart: primary school (implementing a curriculum, working with and training primary school teachers), girls’ leadership and empowerment (I’m forming a Samigas Chapter at my school—our first meeting is scheduled for the first week of March!) and secondary teacher training (I’m continuing to host weekly teacher workshops for secondary teachers). Outside of school, two PCVs and myself are kickstarting a weekly “Teaching English in Primary Classrooms” course that is open to all public school primary teachers here in Santa Marta. Our informational meeting is this Friday.

In other big news: I joined a gym. Having a gym membership is awesome— if I’m budgeting part of my Peace Corps’ living allowance into one, you bet your bottom dollar I’m going to go. I’m loving the classes and the change of not having to jump around in my room to stay fit. (You can only do so many months of P90X and Insanity, with a sane state of mind, in an itty, bitty space…) Sin embargo, I can’t get away from doing por lo menos one good yoga or pilates video a week at home.

And in even bigger news:

I MOVED! For more than a handful of reasons, it was time for me to move to a new host family. After a month of searching, I migrated with all my belongings down the street on Friday. I’m now living in an apartment with a wonderful woman called Genith. It’s a nice roommate vibe, we drink wine together and talk about day to day happenings.

I was lucky enough to have Heidi and Carla lug everything with me from my previous house to my new apartment. Here’s Heidi catching a bit of a break in my old room.

One of my collages at the old place. I love seeing letters and loved ones on my walls. Send me a letter and I’ll tape it up :)

Everything I own here in Colombia. I’ve managed to accumulate quite a bit since October 2011.

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Y en más noticias:

February 18, 2013 my school—Liceo del Norte—celebrated it’s 11th year!

All of the students had to stand for a mass and assembly. (That was a lot of standing…)

Unlike many public schools here on the coast, it’s not the norm for Liceo del Norte to hold masses. In fact, we held our first mass for this birthday celebration. Under new leadership (we have a new Director, translation = Principal), a mass was requested. We thanked God for past years at Liceo del Norte and asked for blessed years to come.

The Priest giving the homily. Do you spot the student blocking the sun with his notebook? I promise you this is the most common notebook I see on campus, among male teachers and male students alike.

Pedro and two of his loving students.

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Sandwiched between my Valentines—Eder and Erik from Peace Corps staff came to visit my school on the Day of Love. We met with the new Director and my English teachers to evaluate last year and discuss goals for this academic year. The site visit went fabulously :)

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And I’ll leave you with the view from my new apartment. I just can’t get enough of it!

La nueva vista!

Con mucho amor,

Sammy

Surprise health fun in the barrio

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:32:00 -0500

Last night on an evening run I was flagged down by a neighbor and asked if I would join a group getting together to exercise and talk about health. The group would be meeting next to the field, right in front of my house, in five minutes. I couldn’t say no.

It was quite an event.

I was one of the first to arrive to a group of three men dressed presentably in jeans and tucked-in collared shirts, accessorized with clipboards. After being introduced to the ‘men with clipboards,’ I found out they work for the Secretary of Health here in Santa Marta.

La Secretaría de Salud is embarking on a new project to spread awareness about healthy eating habits, common diseases and physical activity to different barrios in the city. My barrio, Los Almendros, was chosen to kick-start the program because one of the men with clipboards lives in our hood.

To commence, a scale was brought out. This quickly generated a crowd. I realized that many locals don’t have the opportunity to weigh themselves (besides doctors visits, paying to use a scale on the street (control de peso) or owning a scale). No joke, word spread and before I knew it close to 50 people were gathered to pesarse, or weigh themselves. (My host family even came outside and waited to be weighed).

Our weights, heights and heart rates were recorded. Unlike the mentality and often secrecy bounded to body weight in the states, weight is freely discussed here. Upon stepping on the scale, your weight was screamed out for everyone to hear and open to free commentary. I heard many things along the lines of: “Ayyy you are the heaviest one here!” and “Nena, que gorda” (Girl, you’re fat) and the very common questions of “Te peso? Cuánto pesa?” (Did you weigh yourself? How much do you weigh?).

After these body assessments, many people returned to their homes. About 25 people stayed to hear the men with clipboards give charlas about healthy eating as a family, common diseases and exercise.

It was nice to see my community learn more about these important topics, especially because many of them were surprised by things (like it’s best to avoid fried foods) that are common knowledge to many of us.

The men with clipboards wrapped up the night with some fun activities, stretching and a brisk walk. I must add, I was told sternly a few times that I was stretching too far and that I should not proceed to the next stretch until the leader did so…jaja.

The community hopes to continue meeting for workouts and the men with clipboards are scheduled to come back in a couple of months to jump further into health topics, and of course, to bring back the scales.

We were given useful pamphlets about healthy eating, physical activity, hygiene and eyesight.

Samigas Girls Camp: Forming female leaders for the future of Santa Marta

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:45:00 -0500

CII-3 Santa Marta volunteers held the first Samigas Girls Empowerment Camp on December 4, 5 and 6. (¿Qué significa Samigas, you ask? Santa Marta residents are proudly referred to as Samarios, thus Samigas is a play on Samario and amigas…clever, huh?).

Happy campers and PCVs after a dynamic 1st day

About 30 8th and 9^th grade girls from four of our respective schools attended the camp. It was a beautiful experience for participants and PCVs alike. Confianza was established early on and the girls flourished in an environment where we discussed and participated in activities covering body image, self-esteem, nutrition, fitness, financial planning, sexual health and team building.

Girls jotted down words that came to mind about images of women we cut out from magazines.

Similarly around the world, magazine images here don’t portray what the average woman looks like.

Carla teaching about a healthy meal.

Girls prepping for a little cheer competition: Yo soy una joven bella, adentro y afuera. (I am a beautiful young woman, inside and out).

Writing compliments on each others’ backs. Cue the warm fuzzies.

We brought in local female professionals to take part in shaping our young leaders. The camp included a lesson on self-esteem led by a local psychology student and a panel of successful women in Santa Marta (a museum administrator, a police captain, a psychology professor, Leandra from PC staff and the wonderful Allison Bakamjian). These women answered a spectrum of questions ranging from, “What advice would you give to your 15 year-old self?” to “What do you do when things don’t go how you would like?”

Our panel of successful women answering questions.

Importantly, we dove into the topic of sexuality, including pregnancy myths, the reproductive systems and how to use condoms. With the normal amount of 15-year-old giggles, the girls reported they learned a lot on topics they’ve never freely discussed.

Reproductive systems

Condom use demo.

The girls learning how to properly use condoms.

It was rewarding to work on a project with other PCVs and see different volunteer strengths come into play. We are looking forward to forming Samigas chapters in our schools to further dive into these topics and to foster a network of young female leaders in Santa Marta. <3 <3 <3

Chain of goals and expectations for the camp.

My group of sweethearts that will help me start a Samigas chapter at our school.

Hot yoga

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:49:00 -0500

What to do when it’s 91 °F and the feels like temperature is a scorching 104 °F? In the middle of November. Besides melt that is…

I’ve gotten in the habit of trying to make the most of the heat by indulging in hot yoga sessions in my room. I have become a loyal user of this awesome yoga site that offers a plethora of top-notch yoga and pilates classes. FOR FREE!

I’m off to my heat box (my bedroom) now to do a quick yoga/pilates fusion class. Que pena I don’t have time to write more, but if I’m going to squeeze in this class before a 4 p.m. folklore dance performance at my school, I must go…

I hope you all are enjoying crisp November weather wherever you are :)

Namaste

Old toilet paper rolls to give your hair some va-va-voom! Love the creativity and...

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 21:00:51 -0400

Old toilet paper rolls to give your hair some va-va-voom! Love the creativity and resourcefulness!

This is the woman who comes to our house and paints my host mom’s nails. Mani & pedi for 12 COP, roughly 6 USD. What a deal! I still need to take her up on doing my nails.

Please note: It’s entirely socially acceptable to travel around town, as she did to get to our house, like this.

Fun fact: She’s seeking a little extra va-va-voom and opted for larger, hotel toilet paper rolls. However, I was informed that the normal household ones work just fine too. Let me know if you decide to give this sustainable fashion trick a go!

One of my counterparts, Lourdes, loving on her precious...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 18:25:30 -0400

One of my counterparts, Lourdes, loving on her precious granddaughter. Can’t you see the resemblance?! I got to play with this curly-haired sweetheart while she was visiting her abuelos in Santa Marta :)

One Year in Country: Things I've Learned

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 17:38:00 -0400

In a recent skype date a dear friend asked me, “So you’re a year in…do you still feel like joining the Peace Corps was the right decision?”

My answer is a resounding yes. Sí, claro! There are definite highs and lows, struggles and rewards. There are days where I feel accomplished and like I’m making a difference and there are days where I just want to sleep. This whole experience is such a learning opportunity. I feel like I’m in life’s classroom—-learning so much about myself, the culture of the Colombian coast and living in Español.

12 months in, here are some things I’ve learned along the way:

A strong sense of personal motivation is needed. No matter how difficult it may be, it is important to not be too affected when day to day things that are supposed to happen don’t. Or simply when things don’t work out the way you thought they would. And it’s a very safe assumption to expect everything to be canceled when it’s raining.
Kids are so darn cute and naturally good. Kids all around the world hold these common merits.
Colombians tend to say ‘yes’ to you in order to not hurt your feelings or let you down, even if they are well aware that their ‘yes’ is a definite ‘no.’ This is genuinely done in good character with the aim of not disappointing the other person and results in a lot of unfulfilled promises. I personally would rather be ‘let down’ initially.
Being bilingual is sexy. I stole this from another volunteer’s facebook status because it rings so true. Even on the days where nothing seems to be going right, I feel very blessed to be in a different country and interacting and living in another language.
I absolutely have to have a creative outlet. Whether it be choreographing beam routines and coaching gymnastics; teaching dances to my kids at school or taking dance classes myself. I have rediscovered that I need this creative and physical release.
The hardest part about living abroad for an extended period of time is being away from family and friends.
I can be a lot more comfortable with being uncomfortable than I’ve ever imagined.
A good support system is vital. Big shout out to the wonderful one that I have!
I am a complete foodie. Food is one of the things I miss and think about the most.
Colombia is full of warm, loving people. Families have taken me in with their own and have provided much love, compassion, rice and patience with my Español.
We need to take care of our planet. The Colombian coast is breathtakingly stunning with mountains, waterfalls and beaches. But there is also a plethora of trash. Everywhere. Littering is common practice and trash cans are scarce. Living in an area that is clearly favored by Mother Nature’s thumb, it is heart wrenching to see the very earth being used as a garbage dump.
I enjoy my alone time. As an extrovert and person who feeds off the energy of others, I also enjoy some quality time solo. Time to regroup, think, process and relax.
A slower pace of life can be a healthy pace of life. As the locals do, I’ve become accustomed to stopping and talking to every person I know on my way from Point A to Point B. With the idea, you are with said person you know and ran into on the street now and that is where you should direct your attention and energy, instead of focusing on rushing to your destination (Point B).
Naps are wonderful. I’ve always known this universal truth. But the amazing thing is, I never feel guilty about napping here. It is common practice and expected to nap every afternoon after lunch.
When you say yes to life, life often says yes back to you.

I feel established in my community and ready to make more things happen. Look out for another blog post of goals I have for year two!

Thanks for all the love and support!

Week in Review

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:00:00 -0400

October is here! Take a look at some of the highlights of my first week of octubre. Enjoy!

Lunes

Carla and I gave a taller (workshop) to the new trainees in Barranquilla. We presented on ‘Teaching with Limited Materials’ with an emphasis on ‘Using Music in the Classroom.’ I’d say our presentation went quite well and it was very cool to be on the other side of training. We had the pleasure of introducing the trainees to jazz chants and were both entertained and impressed with some of their creations.

A common theme seemed to be crazy bus experiences in Barranquilla…

Look at those jazz hands!

After giving our presentation twice (we broke up the trainees into two groups of 15), we began our journey back to Santa Marta. Heidi, Carla and I decided to stop at McDonald’s before hopping on our two hour bus. Mickey D’s is not something we treat ourselves often to here in Colombia. I’m afraid if I were to tell you what we collectively ordered and ate you would be disgusted. With that, I’ll leave you with this real-life scenario:

We were sitting at the bus station, eating McDonald’s and waiting for our bus to arrive. Me: (With a kid’s half-eaten cheeseburger in hand and working on a mouthful) Oh my goodness, look! I have a cheeseburger in my hand AND half of my other cheeseburger sitting there…(half of another kid’s cheeseburger sits on the chair next to me). I thought I finished that one!

I got back to Santa Marta, stopped at home for a quick minute and then headed straight to Heidi’s school for her host sister’s Quinceañera mass. The mass was as beautiful as Heidi’s school. (And let me tell you, that is gorgeous. Imagine a spacious, pristine school run by nuns).

Judy, the Quinceañera princess, is on the left.

Martes

Two very exciting things happened on Tuesday. First, I was given a key to the teachers’ lounge at school. A key to a room with air conditioning? Thank you and I feel honored. It’s not that it took nine months for me to get a key, although I would believe that too… Last week the window and lock of the teachers’ lounge was replaced and with that it was decided the door should always be locked and every teacher should have a key. The intention behind this is to keep students out of the teachers’ lounge—they often hang in there to bask in AC.

And secondly, I found a great African dance class here in Santa Marta! It’s held in the theatre downtown. I am happy to report it’s finding is the product of one of my frequent ‘I need a dance outlet’ internet hunts that I conducted a few weeks back. I didn’t get my hopes up too high about the class because the online advertisement I found dated way back to January (strike one) and the fact that one Tuesday I tried to attend the class and was told by other dancers waiting outside the theatre that there was no class because the door was locked and nobody had the key (strike two). But to my relief, I gave it a go on Tuesday and there was in fact class!

I walked into nine dancers on the stage dancing hard and drenched in sweat. I joined the class and the ten of us danced on the small stage to African rhythms led by a great teacher. I couldn’t stop smiling for the hour and a half. After the class I committed right away to the month: for the cheaper rates and for the guarantee of dancing every Tuesday.

Miércoles

Wednesday afternoon was one of those wonderful days where a co-planned lesson was conducted in a co-teaching format in a successful matter! Wahoo!

Dalmir and I reviewed parts of the face and taught four new body parts to first and second grade.

Here are two students participating in an activity where they had to stick sticky notes (with body parts written on them) on the corresponding parts of their partner’s body.

Dalmir explaining an activity. (Draw a face in your notebook and label eye, ear, mouth and nose).

Of course, I taught the students ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ to reinforce body parts!

Jueves

Thursday brought me back to the gym for some gymnastics coaching. The team is attending their first competition of the year this weekend in Cali. (I’ll be celebrating ONE YEAR in Colombia and therefore won’t be in attendance). So the night mainly consisted of a your-not-taking-this-seriously pep talk given by another coach. Oh how I remember those pep talks and all of the emotions that encompass competition season.

After practice I headed to Buena Vista (the mall) to meet up with some teachers. This was one of those experiences where I really had no idea why we were meeting or what we were going to do. I was simply invited to the mall by Martha, a biology teacher, and took her up on the invitation. It turned out to be a lovely evening of chatting with eight other female teachers. Since Martha invited us all to get together she bought us milk shakes and bread. I did more observing than talking and felt very blessed to be included in such a gathering.

Daily Delights

Hugs and kisses from every elementary student that I pass
Chats with Elvis (host mom)

Elvis in the palace that she deserves.

Daily Challenges

Bug bites. I am constantly eaten alive by ants and mosquitoes.
Getting one of my counterparts to sit down and meet with me to co-plan. I was stood up three times this week.
Tinto, my host family’s dog. His favorite activities include peeing in my room and biting my achilles tendon.

Because sometimes, things just seem to be going backwards…

Education here on the coast of Colombia is a unique thing. As...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:43:25 -0400

Education here on the coast of Colombia is a unique thing. As laid back and tranquillo as the people of the coast, education often takes a back seat to celebrating holidays, watching futbol games and PAROS (school strikes).

Check out this awesome video, CosteñoEDU, made by two of my fellow PCVs. CosteñoEDU features PCVs in Cartagena and their Colombian teacher counterparts as they touch on challenges in Costeño education and the plethora of holidays in the Costeño school year.

Enjoy this little taste of what it’s like working in public education on Colombia’s coast!

¡Bienvenidos CII-4! On August 29th we welcomed 30 new Teaching...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:28:21 -0400

¡Bienvenidos CII-4!

On August 29th we welcomed 30 new Teaching English for Livelihoods trainees at the Barranquilla airport. These newbies more than doubled our Peace Corps Colombia program! Wow. Currently we have 20 PC Volunteers working in the TEL project (me, me!), 3 PC Response Volunteers working in Youth Development, 3 PC Response Volunteers working in Disaster Relief and now 30 brand-spankin’-new PC Trainees that will be working in the TEL project. Our PC Colombia family went from 26 to 56 over night. We are definitely growing!

Welcoming this new group of trainees opened the flood gates in my memory bank. I reflected back on how I felt stepping foot in Colombia for the first time. There were so many unknowns and I could feel an overwhelming sense of excitement, nervousness and purpose coursing through my veins.

Next month will mark one year in country (wowza!) and I must say all the positive energy and excitement radiating off the newbies is reviving and takes me on a little trip down memory lane to my three month training. This time around I’m an experienced Volunteer, I’m ‘in the know’ and I can speak Spanish…I’ll take it!

Extending a very warm welcome to the newbies :)

Me: Mira la cucaracha grande en el piso. (Look at the big cockroach on the floor).

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:27:42 -0400

Me: Mira la cucaracha grande en el piso. (Look at the big cockroach on the floor).
Host dad: Está muerto. (It's dead).

***Just a peak into the cleanliness standards in my house... The plethora of live cockroaches scurrying around our kitchen doesn't really bother my host family either. But if a dead cockroach is lying around the mentality is, 'No big deal it's dead. Let's just leave it there until someone finally picks it up...'

Rock & Roll is Here to Stay

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:45:00 -0400

My school is holding a school-wide English Day sometime in the future. (The proposed date is August 28th, but this date has changed several times so ‘sometime in the future’ is probably more accurate). Every English teacher is in charge of something. The day will consist of a wide range of cultural booths and presentations led by students. English Day is meant to excite students and staff about English and showcase some American culture. My fellow English teachers were quite excited about the American culture aspect and insisted on some cultural points: hot dogs, Levi jeans, popcorn, apples, Halloween, Valentine’s Day…to name a few. (It’s okay if you chuckled. Some of these amuse me too).

Dance is a huge part of the Colombian culture. At our first meeting discussing English Day, the idea of hiring a choreographer to choreograph and teach a Rock and Roll dance to students was thrown on the table. I immediately volunteered for the job. (Please note, my school doesn’t have money to buy textbooks and they wanted to pay for a choreographer, a glimpse at some of the priority differences between our cultures). The teachers happily let the Rock & Roll dance become my project.

And thank goodness because it has provided me with a great creative outlet.

Aren’t they cool? Some of my Rock & Roll guys

I started dance practices with a group of 40 students at the end of May. At first we only practiced on Saturday mornings. The Rock and Roll practices turned out to be such a hit that the students asked if we could practice every day after school. I compromised for two to three times a week.

Three months later we are still going strong. I have a solid group of 20 dancers—ranging from 6th to 11th grade and coming from both the morning and afternoon jornadas.

We are dancing to a mix of three hit songs from the Grease movie soundtrack: You’re The One That I Want, Born to Hand Jive and Grease Lightning. I choreographed a simple Rock & Roll style dance, complete with some partner work and hand jive action.

Here’s a look at some of the great things have come out of this Rock & Roll adventure:

I’ve had the opportunity to get to know and develop strong relationships with a select group of students.
This performance gives the students something to work toward and look forward to. They really enjoy having something to do after school. ”Profe, Profe vas a ensenar hoy?” is a question that I get from my dancers every day. On more than one occasion some students have come banging on the gate to my house at 5:50 p.m. asking why I’m not at the school yet for our 6 p.m. practice. (Please note: I live across the street from my school so I still have plenty of time to get there on time. And I do feel quite accomplished that I’ve gotten students to be early to something in a culture where it’s completely normal and expected to be late).
Practicing for this performance has given some older students leadership roles. There have been times where I haven’t been able to lead practices (a week of PC trainings back in Barranquilla, etc.) and the students were set on continuing to practice. Entonces, some of my older dancers were in charge and led the practices.
My dancers and I have been able to share our passions for dance and delve into our creative outlets.

Cheesing and posing after practice. Can you find Liam?

A short and sweet video of Rock & Roll dance practice.

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:34:07 -0400

A short and sweet video of Rock & Roll dance practice.

Fam Jam in Colombia

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:44:26 -0400

Sneak Peak! My parents and Liam came to visit me in Colombia. Their visit was nothing short of amazing—I showed them many of the coast’s gems, my barrio, my school, the gym where I coach gymnastics and the city I live in. I also had them assist me in leading some English activities/songs at my school and at my Rock & Roll dance practice.

The students treated my family like celebs.

We did a little body part lesson for my second graders. Naturally, we taught them Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes!

My mama and some happy primary students. They adored her and I don’t blame them!

I think one of the most magical parts was introducing my real family to my two host families. My family in Barranquilla took this to a whole new level. We had a fiesta at one of my tía’s apartments (which is also the same apartment complex I lived in for my first three months here in Colombia). My Barranquilla family LOVES to dance and wanted to show my family a good time in true Colombian fashion. This meant a night filled with singing (Liam even sang a musical theatre piece for everyone!), dancing and chit-chatting. We ate pizza, drank wine and enjoyed a night of uniting the families in good company :)

My dad dancing salsa with Abuela.

Liam dancing with Tía Sora.

My mom breaking it down with Jamie.

The clan—missing a few late arrivals. (And of course, missing Johnathan in Africa…)

The breeze has returned to Santa Marta and I must say it is...

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:40:28 -0400

The breeze has returned to Santa Marta and I must say it is glorious, keeping the air moving and providing a glimpse of relief from the heat. The breeze has also brought some rain clouds and rain. Santa Marta doesn’t handle rain well—all the rain pools up in the streets and stays there, stagnant for days. Think dirty, smelly and full-of-trash rain water. This fills the city with a not-so-pleasant aroma.

Here is a picture of rain water pooled up at my school. This pool of water is right outside of the classroom where I co-teach 8th and 9th grade English. Due to the horrid smell and constant interruption of our class from frogs hopping in (Imagine: a class of 40 screaming at the top of their lungs at the sight of a frog) caused us to leave the classroom and hunt for another available one.

Here’s a musical tribute to the Peace Corps that is too...

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:59:23 -0400

Here’s a musical tribute to the Peace Corps that is too good not to share.

When you go to a restaurant on the beach in Santa Marta and ask...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:36:00 -0400

When you go to a restaurant on the beach in Santa Marta and ask to see a menu, the waitress brings out a tray showcasing the different fish caught that day (first photo). Meaning two things: all the fish are fresh and caught right there in the ocean and if you are not educated on the names of different types of fish (like me) you can just point and say, ‘I want that one.’

Last Sunday I went beach exploring with some teachers at my school again. This time I brought along two other volunteers. We ate a lovely lunch at Playa Gairaca. Heidi and I split the fish with it’s teeth hanging out (second photo). I’m pretty sure it’s called a Sierra fish.

The third photo shows Heidi and I showcasing our lunch. YUM. Fried fish, arroz con coco, patacones (fried green plantains) and a typical Colombian salad (raw onions, iceberg lettuce and tomatoes). As you can see, they fry the entire fish and you pick the meat off the bones. This particular fish was delicious—not super fried, with some juicy-white meat. Photo correction: Heidi ate the head of the fish and I ate the tail.

Beach Review

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:04:00 -0400

Below is a beach review I wrote for the PC Colombia newsletter. Enjoy!

My alarm started quietly beeping at 6:30 a.m. and by 6:35 a.m. the beeping was too obnoxious to ignore. After hitting snooze for the second time I remembered why on earth I wanted to be up so early on a Sunday—for a beach exploring adventure with fellow teachers!

A group of teachers and I had plans to meet at 7 a.m. in Taganga, where we would rent a boat and beach hop for the day. There are several beaches that are part of Parque Tayrona that you can reach by boat from Taganga. (And as a perk for entering via boat, you don’t have to pay the park entrance fee!)

When the last portion of our party arrived on ‘Costeño time’ at 9:30 a.m. we set off on our beach adventure. I piled into a boat with 14 Colombians and we all squirmed into our life jackets.

Jetting off to Bonito Gordo, a secluded beach 20 minutes by boat from Taganga, I realized the boat ride itself is well worth waking up early for. If you are looking for a romantic beach getaway Bonito Gordo is a fine option. Secluded and tranquil, it is likely that you and your group will be the only ones on the beach. We literally had the beach to ourselves. The mountains curve around Bonito Gordo placing it in a little cove. This provides a stunning landscape and a great atmosphere for snorkeling. The waves are calm and the water is crystal clear. We snorkeled for a couple of hours and found a great area for some shallow water snorkeling over a coral reef that was swimming with fish!

Bonito Gordo is a perfect nature retreat where you can escape crowds, city life and even vendors! That being said, this beach does not offer amenities and services such as restrooms or restaurants. It would be a perfect place to bring a picnic and snorkel for the day!

Around midday we packed back into the boat and headed to Villa Concha, only five minutes away. Villa Concha is bigger and more populated. There is a restaurant, restrooms, vendors and an area to camp. You can arrive here by boat or by car (although I hear the road isn’t the best). Tired from snorkeling, we rented chairs and hammocks under the shade of some trees and spent our afternoon relaxing.

Boat costs: One of my counterparts was born and raised in Taganga and thus got us a special deal on the boat. We each paid 20.000 mil to rent the boat for the day, granting us the boat and its two drivers at our disposal.

The plan is to set out on these beach-exploring adventures once a month. In June we are scheduled to visit Chengue and Gairaca. The teachers at my school feel it’s their duty to make sure I’m an expert on all the beaches in Santa Marta before I leave. Challenge accepted!

Enjoying the boat ride. There’s nothing quite like cruising where mountains and ocean meet.