Happy Thanksgiving!

No, Thanksgiving's not celebrated here, so no turkey, parades or football for me today! But lots to give thanks for. I spent this morning in La Boquilla, a disadvantaged community by the beach about 10 km/6 miles north of Cartagena's center. It's amazing the difference--you ride the bus along the coastal road, and just past the international convention center, expensive apartment buildings and fancy hotels, the bus takes a left turn into another world. Here most of the houses are mere shacks with many people and multiple generations sharing one small home. I only get the very briefest of glances into the houses as I walk by, but it's incredible the discrepancy in the standards of living. The people in the highrises, if they are on the "right" side, have views from their balconies that give them a bird's eye view of how the other half lives.

The playing field attached to one of the schools.

I've volunteered at a school in this area a few times painting, serving & helping little kids eat their lunch, playing with the kids and teaching English. The hot noontime meal that they get at school is key for them. At this one school they're given uniforms also, which may be their best set of clothes. Despite it all, these kids seem very happy (see the photos below!), although I know I am not even scratching the surface of what their daily lives are like. You can get a better view of what life is like for the kids and families in this area via these 6 short (2-3 minutes each) videos on "The Beach Children." There are also few more photos of the kids and the area here. It truly makes you thankful.

A few kids finishing up lunch; this kids in this school range in age from 1 to 14. The roof in this open-air area is made of dried palm branches; it's amazingly good at keeping out the heavy rains!

This week, through a friend who's donated a lot of his IT expertise to this place, I connected with a community organization which is, among other things, working to help the local population develop marketable skills. For example, this morning I observed a class where about 25 adults were learning to set a table properly in order to work in a restaurant. The group has also set up time in their computer lab for locals to come for several hours in the afternoons to take free government sponsored online, self-paced English language courses. Each day next week I'll be to be the "go to" person in the lab to help answer any English-related questions while they are there taking the course. While a poor area, it is located on a beach that is frequented by locals and international tourists alike, and of course the convention center and hotels are nearby. So learning to speak English is an important skill to have, and having the computer lab--with highspeed internet!--available right in their community provides them with the access to these free classes.

Kids fooling around with the camera.

My Thanksgiving dinner will be fish, not turkey--I am on the Caribbean Sea, after all! But appreciating you all and how lucky I am.


Happy Thanksgiving!

I live in a maze

The fruit here is amazing!

The old wall not far from my apt

Something you might unexpectedly run into

While Cartagena is the 5th largest city in Colombia and has nearly a million inhabitants, most of my time has been spent in the historic center of Cartagena, which is probably an area roughly 3 miles around. Much of the old city is circled by the Spanish fortress wall from the 17th & 18th centuries and packed with narrow streets filled with people going about their daily lives, tourists gawking, street vendors hawking their wares (a lot of crafts, t-shirts, etc, to foreigners, as we are abundant here; but also fruit, guys carrying around thermoses of Colombian coffee, candy, sunglasses, the cell phone minutes mentioned previously, and other things to everyone), and the ubiquitous yellow taxis. There is always life in the streets--great people watching, great things to see. As most people don't have air conditioning, the house doors and windows that face the street, although gated, are often open to let air in. It means you have often perfect views of the sitting room & beyond, which as a observer I love (although would probably not like being on the other side as much). While this old town is a relatively small area, after 4 weeks here I am not always 100% sure where I am or if I'm heading down the right street. The streets change names *every* block, even though it is (in my mind at least) still the same street. This means that for the most part, people don't say what street something may be found on, they'll say instead what it's near (the Cathedral, x store/restaurant/bar, the Plaza Bolivar, etc). I'm still figuring out where the important landmarks are and am getting so that about 90% of the time I'm actually going the way I want to go, but it's fun getting lost in the maze and still discovering new things.

The bits outside of the walls that I have ventured out to are mostly adjacent to the old town. There are two small peninsulas to the south of the old city, Manga and Bocagrande, which are mixed residential/business areas with a lot of new buildings. Walking along the water in those areas also gives you great views of the bay and the Caribbean, depending on where you are.

And heading north from the old city (& I'm sure other directions as well), I've seen some mixed areas--some suburban type residential areas, but some also very poor. This photo was taken not far outside the old city wall, showing some of the really squalid housing some people live in. And imagine what it's like during the heavy rains. The various sections of Cartagena are given numbers, 1 through 6, depending on the relative wealth of the area, and your number determines the cost of various services (water, electricity, etc). The center of the walled city is designated a "5", the second highest/wealthiest, and these shacks on the water are a stone's throw from that wealthy area...I wonder if this area even rates as a "1." I've also been volunteering in a poorer community north of the city; more on that in a future post.

For more city shots, click here.

Mas fiestas!

Towards the end of the Independence Day Parade

And the parties continued...! I realized only after my last post that the kids (mainly) covered in blue (chalk), black (motor oil?!), etc, ask people for money & if they don't get a coin, threaten to  throw paint or chalk on them or hug them (& thus "color" them). It's basically meant to be all in good fun. For a couple of the people I asked if I could take their pictures in exchange for the coin "donations". The guy above right is wearing a traditional Colombian hat called a "Sombrero Vueltiao", which, if one of the real hand made ones, is a true work of art. The group on the left all assembled themselves for the photo after I asked just one of them for a picture. Anything for fun! I still am not sure why I saw on a couple of different occasions grown men walking around dressed like babies: in humongous diapers with pacifiers. Will have to figure that one out later. A lot of people were covered in splotches of white powder, too--in addition to selling huge cans of spray foam (shaving cream-like) all over the place, vendors were selling boxes of cornstarch too -- the weapons of choice for the Fiestas Novembrinas!! :)

I must say that despite several days, well, nights, actually, of seemingly straight mayhem (and fun), the old town cleans itself up pretty well. Each morning the cans, boxes, cups, etc, that had been strewn around the previous night were for the most part gone.

Getting ready for the next street party; these smart people on the corner are charging for bathroom use!

The real reason for the parties: statues of the revolutionaries and flags of Colombia and Cartagena.

After days of dodging shaving cream, cornstarch, and "colored hugs", it's back to reality tomorrow--the parties are over (for now!). 

For all of my Fiesta Novembrina photos, view the slideshow here.

The November Parties

Keeping my beer safe from the shaving cream attacks!

That's a literal translation of Las Fiestas Novembrinas, but it doesn't do justice to what's happening here. This past Monday the 7th was a public holiday, celebrating All Saints Day (which was the Tuesday prior, many holidays are moved to the following Monday to make a 3-day weekend). Today, November 11, is the anniversary of Cartagena declaring itself independent from Spain, another national holiday, and it just so happens I'm here for the 200th anniversary of that. Most people had yesterday & today off, and add to that last Monday, and it's party week!

The Colombian flag starts off the 10K!

This past Saturday there was a 5/10K held around the old part of Cartagena as part of the November fiestas. It was free as long as you signed up, you got a t-shirt, support, etc. People young & old, fit and working-on-it, all sorts were out for it. It was held in the late afternoon, when it would be at least a bit cooler than in the morning plus there is always an afternoon breeze by the Caribbean. But still, the sun was hot. I got here too late to register (ah, shucks) but tried to volunteer, although it doesn't seem to work that way here, or at least not for this event. An "I ran the Cartagena 10K" t-shirt would have been good tho!!

Decorative lights line the streets of Getsemaní

The streets in the old city have been decorated with lights making it all look very festive & there are street parties in the different neighborhoods all week. For some reason during these parties there are various things that one must do: cover yourself in blue chalk &/or cover yourself in black substance &/or shoot off small firecrackers to scare the heck out of everyone &/or throw water at people &/or spray everyone you can with shaving cream. There are probably more "to do's" that I've missed on this list. 

By the Caribbean Sea....

Yesterday I watched the Miss Colombia contestants parade, held on the main avenue that's just between the city fortress wall and the Caribbean Sea. (I like saying that: "Caribbean Sea", as in "I live on the Caribbean Sea"; "I'm standing here looking at the Caribbean Sea"; "I'm watching the sunset on the Caribbean Sea"....am I making you jealous?!?! But I digress....) The Miss Colombia contest is always held in Cartagena during the Fiestas Novembrinas. We got tickets in order to be able to sit in the grandstands underneath a tent; having shade was key. We got there at 1 pm to get a good spot and entertained ourselves for the next 3+ hours until the parade actually started going by where we were.

Shaving cream, anyone?

There was Latin music blasting the whole time, the growing crowds constantly dancing, shaving cream was being sprayed at all times (there's even a song which tells people to spray at various points during the song, surely put out by the shaving cream company to boost sales?!), and vendors selling just about anything you wanted. There was a tent at the base of the grandstand where you could buy water, soda, beer, and small bottles of chilled rum. Yep, chilled rum. It was an entertaining day, with the parade itself not even being the highlight.

In front of the Chiva bus.

On the Chiva bus.

Not to be missed is the Rumba en Chiva trip earlier this week. A "Chiva" is a long, wide bus with benches which is apparently what all the buses of Colombia used to look like. In many places they are now used for tours/party trips. There's a Vallenato band on board, a type of Colombian folk music (that of course gets you moving). They provide drinks, a snack of traditional Colombian arepa as well as commentary during the trip. At one point all the Chivas stop at a section of the old city & the bands go up on the wall to play. People dance, there are other street buskers there, it's a party!

Chiva party on the wall!

Ok, time to go to Juan Valdez Coffee Shop (the Starbucks of Colombia) for my Spanish class. Yes, I have class during party week, the studying can't stop! :) Hasta luego!

Winter in Cartagena

October and November are normally the rainy months in Cartagena, ie, winter. It has been raining off & on since I've been here but as long as I've had an umbrella, it's been nothing for me to worry about--it's warm rain & doesn't last that long.  I met some friends at the local Juan Valdez coffee shop last week (the Starbucks of Colombia, although not as prolific) and in the course of the 45 minutes that we were in there, it had gone from being completely dry outside to a torrential downpour. After what seemed like just a few minutes, the streets were flooded although cars continued to plow through. People took shelter wherever they could or just waded through the water, with or without shoes on. Another 30 minutes or so later, the rains had stopped, the flooding receded, and all was back to normal.

However, there has been a lot of serious flooding in various parts of Colombia, and even since I've been here there was a town in the interior that had been without water for 12 days due to complications from the rains: a landslide hit the town's main water supply lines. There are people in the Cartagena area who have been affected by flooding also, although I haven't personally seen it.

Bienvenida a Colombia! (x2!)

October 23, the day before I was to leave for Colombia, was the first day I felt a bit nervous--what the heck am I doing?!??! Ah well, just keep packing & getting stuff done...the trip was fine except that given my free tickets, I didn't have the most direct routing: SFO to Houston to Bogota (arriving in Colombia) to Panama City (leaving Colombia) to Cartagena (back to Colombia). A bit crazy, & despite having been told that my bag would be checked all the way through to Cartagena and that I wouldn't have to do anything out of the ordinary, I not only had to get my bag in Colombia but had to go through customs/immigration to enter Colombia in Bogota, to leave Bogota to go to Panama City, and to return to Colombia in Cartagena, all in the space of a few hours. The airline personnel & immigration folks found it odd and amusing.

My hotel is the orange building to the right.

Once I arrived in Cartagena, the butterflies were gone. I had only spent 3 days in this city in 2009 but it seemed the right place to come back to & start my Latin American adventure. I reserved a budget hotel room in the center of town for the first several days and had already been emailing with a few contacts about a semi-permanent places to stay for several weeks, as well as advice on where to study Spanish. People who I didn't even know (but who were friends of friends of friends of friends...) were being incredibly helpful & generous in offering help, accommodation options and advice!

A minutero outside a shop in Cartagena

My first adventure was in trying to make a phone call. Among the many street vendors in the center of the city are people selling minutes on cell phones. I later learned they were called "minuteros" & that this is a relatively new occupation in Colombian & many other places. As cell phones proliferate, the number of public phones is on the decline. This opened up an opportunity for people to sell minutes from their private cell phones to those who didn't have a cell phone, such as a newly arrived gringa. There are 3 cell phone companies in Colombia and the cost of a call depends on the carrier you're calling from and to; minuteros have 3 (or more) cell phones, one for each company, and the one that they give you to use is the one for which your call will be the least expensive. Some minuteros have the phones connected by chains to their little tables or to their belts. It's a bit of an experience!

I needed a minutero to call a new (friend of a friend... :) friend's brother-in-law who was going to help me buy a cell phone. There is a possibility that a gringa could be charged more for something than a local would be; Edwin was great & helped me get an inexpensive cell phone. He helped me set it up, get it loaded with minutes, input his own as well as his sister & brother-in-law's names/numbers, and on my first full day in Cartagena I was ready to text and call!

My other missions were to check out the various Spanish language learning possibilities as well as housing. I had three great housing options and am, as of the 1st, settled in an apartment in the historic center living with a Colombian woman, who is a friend of my new Spanish teacher. In looking into the various Spanish language schools, it seemed that with my background in Spanish, it might be better for me to have private lessons. So Claudia & I meet for an hour once a day; not only do I need to get used to Colombian Spanish (vs the Iberian Spanish I learned), but the Spanish they speak here on the Caribbean coast is very fast, they drop a number of "s's" (someone said to me "B Dos Tres" as in the apt number B 2 3, which I interpreted as "B Oh 3" -- really, I can't tell when someone says "Dos"??), and they have a lot of their own colloquialisms. Ah well, all to be learned...!