A happy face spider at school |
I have taught middle school for many years. That I now do this in Cartagena, Colombia, doesn’t change the fact that young adolescents are similar in many ways, including their level of chattiness (coupled with natural Colombian gregariousness). This is comfortably familiar; so much in my life has changed but middle schoolers remain the same, here they just speak in heavily-accented English.
They are generally
adorable, as 6th graders tend to be. There are many Isabellas and Nathalias; I have a Maria of
the Sea and a Maria of the Sky; multiple Juans, and Jorges, but all my behavior
problems are named Felipe. They have had nurses and nannies from birth and are
much less independent than American kids of the same age. Patience and Advil
are required; even when the kids are quiet the block walls and metal chairs on tile
floors echo horrendously. It is unbelievable to me that there haven’t been more
complaints in previous years. Several of us have nagged enough about this noise
issue that we are supposed to be getting tennis balls from China to put on the
bottoms of desks and chairs. The
ship hasn’t come in yet…
My school is
Colegio Jorge Washington, COJOWA for short. Yes, acronyms abound here as well. The school’s mission is lofty: to
produce bilingual, ethical leaders, and to reach the highest level of
accreditation possible for an American school in South America. Meetings and
paperwork are still a big part of my work life. But this is more than made up
for by the fact that I have 21 students in each of my core classes (3 science
and 1 math) so my workload is considerably less than what I’m used to. My elective class is Digital Photography,
which is a fun break from academics. The campus is located several miles outside the
city proper, on a green plain inland from the coast, and is a lovely place
maintained by a veritable army of landscapers and cleaning crews.
Beautiful campus flowers |
I ride the teacher bus
from my neighborhood to the school. I load the bus at 6:30 to avoid the actual
6:15 stop behind my apartment building; I’d rather spend the time walking to a
later stop. Sadly, it is a 40 minute ride from hell. It feels like driving with
a 15-year-old learning how to operate stick shift; the gears grind, the brakes
slam, and I won’t even mention the traffic (which I’m told is nothing compared
to say, Bogota’).
I arrive nauseated to work everyday; thankfully it goes away
quickly and I’ve only thrown up twice so far. The city planners are going to
build a bypass road so traffic can avoid the bottlenecks that occur in the
neighborhood of Crespo, in the form of a tunnel that will go under the sea. I will be long gone before it becomes part of the bus ride! Bocagrande from a high rise in Castillogrande where I had a meeting recently. Amazing views. |
I live on a small peninsula that includes the neighborhoods of Bocagrande, Castillogrande, and El Laquito. My edificio, Mar Adentro, is in Bocagrande, a touristy area that is a cross between Waikiki and the Las Vegas Strip, with a uniquely Latin American flare. I live across from the ocean side, the breakwaters and lack of complete sidewalks makes for some very loopy walks!
The bay side of
Castillogrande, full of very upscale edificios, is only a few blocks away and
has a nice path that is usually crowded with walkers, joggers, and the
ubiquitous nannies and their charges (many are students at our school) on
rollerblades and in strollers. The only time it is not packed is Sunday
afternoon, so that is when I go there, trying to walk down different streets
each time, reveling in the lack of traffic noise. It’s almost peaceful.
Bay path on a quiet Sunday |
My favorite banyan tree |
Sunglass vendor... I wasn't buying. |
The maids often walk the dogs. |
There are some great
things about the area… stores are close, and I can and do walk everywhere,
people are friendly and helpful, especially my building porteros, who speak
very slowly for me; it is a very safe city as well. My apartment is comfy and a
nice refuge from the crowds. I am struck daily by how different it is to reside in a foreign country, rather than
just visit one. Definitely a big change, but I am adjusting and finding my
groove. The pictures (click on one to view in slide show mode) will continue the story of my new life. Until next time, aloha.
My favorite grocery store, Carulla. I will randomly find Safeway brands here, as well as things like Chex Mix. |
Too much glass and traffic to buy a bike. But I can rent a cruiser on a quiet Sunday afternoon. |
The beach across the street. The vendors set up and rent the tents every day, rain or shine. |
The hawkers are constant... food (ceviche, mango), drink (no open container laws), souvenirs, and the most persistent, the massage ladies, with their little buckets of green goo. |
The view from my pool deck, it can be blissful up here, with only pelicans and soaring tropicbirds for company. And the sound of music from the beach below. |
Bay side beach... |
That bocagrande picture is gorgeous! I know a Nathalia as well, she's sissy's age and her family is originally from Brazil! Great head of hair on that kid too, let me tell you! Thanks for keeping us up to date with your blog and with all the pretty pictures, I'm gonna write you a letter tonight!! Have fun xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteFascinating!!! I love that you get to teach photography! You'd be good at that! I spent forever reading each and every comment on the pictures. Very, very interesting. I find it very interesting when you said it is very different living in a foreign country vs. vacationing in one. I bet!!! The bus ride sounds horrible! Ugh! I do bad on our DCSD school buses. Doing the RnRoll marathon in two weeks. Sad that you won't be there to cheer me on at the big hill at mile 25. :( Miss you! Lori King
ReplyDeleteFrom Lane- Linda , thank you for sharing these beautiful pics and wonderful writing about your experiences & perspective. I was thinking of you this afternoon while riding up Carbon Hill in Bear Creek park. Miss you
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