A new home!

View from my balcony...
painted apartment

Hanging by the river...
mountain hike view

One week into my new apartment and it feels great! The smell of fresh paint has dissipated (see pictures) and little by little i’m furnishing this place. So far I have a mattress, a gas stove, a little table, a wooden desk which I bought off a woman for $15 bucks down the street, and a used refrigerator (which is indeed a score, considering its hard to find much second hand or used anything in this part of the world. Colombians seem to like things new..). I’m on the 13th floor and I have a little balcony with a beautiful view of the city, a small herb garden, and just enough room for me to sit outside and drink tea in the morning sunshine.
There is a wonderful market 5 minutes walk from my home full of local fruits, vegetables, cheeses, flowers, good quality meat and fish, and fresh baked bread. Ive been going almost daily and I love to chat with the various shop keepers, who often let me try a piece of cheese gratis, or will stick a bunch of bananas - complimentary - into my bag after purchasing something from their stand. I’ve been having some stomach issues lately - first I thought it was a typical travelers bug, some parasite I picked upfrom eating street food - but the pain has persisted for over a week and its looking more like a case of “gastritis”, an inflammation of the stomach which is spread by a ferocious little bacteria called “Hyperbactor Pylori”. Apparently over half of the population here suffers from this gastritis and everyone seems to know about it (if they don’t have it themselves). A man at the market selling herbs and spices advised me to drink a lot of papaya juice, eat fresh granadilla, and drink calendula tea, which I’ve been doing. He also gave me a bunch of dried manzanilla flowers (camomile) and sent me on my way. Seems to soothe the pain and I certainly prefer this healing technique to antibiotics..

My classes are going well, though I must say its a struggle trying to focus on school when there are so many temptations luring me out of the classroom. Right now there is a jazz festival going on in Medellin as well as a ‘Festival of Books and Culture’ which features different talks, lectures, open mics, and poetry readings each night. I've also become a regular at an amazing live salsa bar Tuesday nights downtown. Yet despite these distractions, I managed to buckle down and crank out my first paper this week. I only hope the professor is able to make it past all the grammatical errors and grasp what I was trying to say!

Aside from academic courses, I’m dancing with a folkloric group once a week and taking a jewelry making class that works with copper, silver, and brass. Its really fun and mostly comprised of retired women. The class is Monday afternoons for 4 hours, much of which is spent sharing stories about the week, gossiping about life, ooing and aahing over each others creative abilities to produce rings, necklaces, earings, and bracelets of elaborate design. We also take a (very necessary of course!) 15 minute break in the middle to sip tinto (black coffee) and eat pastries. It's pretty fantastic.

I’ve been going to weekly Rotary lunches which always feature different guest speakers talking on various topics (health, environment, art, social issues). I'm able to follow the talks much better now than two months ago, when the speeches all seemed so fast and overwhelming. The Rotarians have been so wonderful in helping me get connected and settled. Thursdays, after Rotary meetings, I take the bus an hour outside of Medellin to teach English. The town, "Limonar", is very low income and belongs to a municipal south of Medellin up in the mountains with a spectacular view of the city. Everyone is so welcoming and generous and I’m always greeted with a sandwich or a glass of fresh juice. This is becoming such an important part of my experience here; it’s so fun getting to know the other teachers and the wonderful students. Confirms my belief that education is an ebb and flow relationship in which the teaching and learning is mutual.

On a lighter note, after walking by so many beauty salons each day, today I let myself wander inside one and get my nails painted. I guess the feminine aesthetic here is wearing off on me. Many women go weekly to the peluqueria (granted, it’s only about $8 for a combined pedicure and manicure, so its an understandable investment, considering the experience comes with a foot massage, and access to countless trashy magazines). Beauty and femininity are very deeply valued in Colombia and it seems there’s an almost cultural duty for women to dress nicely, wear make-up, and grow their hair long. (Note: I’m making gross generalizations to which many people don’t belong, but having studied sociology I can’t help but analyze how socialized gender/beauty standards have shaped the culture around physical attractiveness). I don’t always feel super feminine... not sure if its because I’m lacking intense amounts of blush and eye-liner or because I’m about a foot taller than most of the population. The other day a women from the rotary club told me, “Sonya you need to learn how to wear make up” and later, upon looking at my unkempt hands, “the men are not going to be very impressed if you keep your fingernails like that”. While I appreciate her genuine concern for my well being, based on the smeared bright blue eye shadow and hot pink lipstick she wears on the regular, I’m taking the advice with a grain of salt.

My friend Liza from Northamton is coming for two weeks on Thursday! She found a cheap ticket last minute and decided to come on a whim. We’re gonna do some hiking up in the mountains and travel to coffee country. Very much looking forward to having someone from home to share and process this experience with.

Missing Massachusetts right now, especially the beautiful, delicious crispness of a sunny September day. Hope all of you in New England are eating lots of apples and taking time to just enjoy the changing of the seasons.

Oh! and Sh’na Tovah! happy Jewish new year to all :0)

Ran into this group of musicians practicing in the streets of Santa Fe de Antioquia...