Adventures of My First Week with Gloria

Adventures of My First Week with Gloria

                I spent last week with Gloria, pastor of La Iglesia Cuarta, Chaplain at El Colegio Americano, and teacher at El Colegio Americano. We had time to relax, catch up on sleep, enjoy each other’s company, visit cities outside of Barranquilla, and spend time with different people.

                        
                   Gloria with one of the thousands of painted trees

                On Tuesday, Gloria, two of her friends, and I ventured to Usiacuri for the first time. Upon arriving, we found out that the town is not made for cars. So, Gloria parked her car and walked to the house of her pastoral visit and her friends and I began walking to different artisan goods shops. I did not know that we were going to be shopping, so I had not exchanged any more money. The wonderful women I was with loaned me money so I could purchase the beautiful handmade goods that I wanted. We walked all throughout the town. We stopped at Julio Florez’s (Julio Florez is a famous Colombian poet who focused on romantic poems) house and museum, but it was closed so we walked around the grounds and took photos. Tuesday was an extremely hot day in the mountains of Colombia, so we stopped for a Colombian sno-cone. We continued our walk to Gloria’s car with our shopping bags, but had to stop and rest in some shade along the way. While we relaxed in the shade, an ambulance drove by. A few minutes later, it drove by again but this time it stopped and the EMT asked if we were okay. We had to laugh because we were sure they asked because I was beat red from the heat and the sun. Alas, we were all okay! After spending time in Usiacuri, we ventured to Pital for another pastoral visit. My first times in Usiacuri and Pital were a wonderful adventure with new friends…and an adventure in which the language spoken was solely Spanish, and my face was bright red!

                           
                                      Catholic Cathedral in Usiacuri

                            
                                  Museum and House of Julio Florez          

                           
               Medicinal water pools that Julio Florez used for health benefits

                                   
                            A man preparing our Colombian sno-cones

                Soccer is one of the most important things in the lives of Colombians. So, when there is a game, it is a holiday! After Tuesday’s game, I celebrated the win with Johana and her husband, Daniel. We walked through the park across from Gloria’s house and I picked up a mango that fell from the tree right as we walked past. Watching the game with my friends from the Presbytery has become a tradition. So, we all watched Saturday's game together, also! I had a great time watching the game with my friends and even found myself cheering almost as loudly as they were! 

                             
                                            Cheering on Colombia!

                                       

                                 

                                       

                           
                       A walk through the park with Johana and Daniel

                My second venture to Usiacuri was with Gloria and her niece, Claudia. Claudia wanted some fun handcrafted gifts like I had bought, so we ventured out to the small town for the second time that week. This time, Julio Florez’s house and museum was not closed so we were able to tour it and learn about Juilo Florez. The museum and garden are two of the most beautiful places I have been to in Colombia. Of course, I also did some more shopping of the handcrafted goods!

                                 
               An employee of Julio Florez's museum reciting a poem of his 

                            
                              The garden at the house of Julio Florez

     

     Gloria in front of the house of Julio Florez

                The weekend consisted of two Colombian weddings. While in attendance of the two Colombian weddings, I learned that dessert is the first food that is served at weddings and that Colombians are the best dancers in the world! I attended church at La Iglesia Septima with Omar and Gina on Sunday and then we ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Barranquilla (nothing compares to La Fiesta, but it is delicious!)

                           
                                            The First Wedding

The second wedding

 

Sofia, the Flower Girl

Omar loves cake!

Mexican restaurant

                I know that this blog post is really late for last week, but I figured better late than never! I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Barranquilla and different people comment on how they can tell my Spanish has gotten better. I just wanted to give an update of last week and hopefully this week I will have more blog posts with less information and more details of specific days! Thank you for your continued support and interest!

First Time...Underwater Photography

First Time...Underwater Photography
        
        I am going to write a blog tomorrow about my week with Gloria. But, I want to share the photographs from my holiday at La Playa del Muerto with Jairo, Jairo's family, and Jair. Playa Del Muerto is located near Santa Marta and is the most tranquil, beautiful beach I have ever visited. We drove to a beach on a bumpy road and then took a small boat to La Playa Del Muerto. Upon arriving, we hung our beach supplies on a tree, made our campsite for the day, and began to build sandcastles and snorkel around the coral in the sea. My holiday at the beach was beyond amazing. As I taught Jair and Jairo to say, "This is the life!"

En el Carro

     We woke up early in the morning so we could be at the beach all day. I was planning on sleeping in the car, but instead I observed the towns we passed alongside the road. Jairo told me interesting information about each town and I was able to see what life outside of the city looks like.

The Beautiful View

Jairo and His Family

Boat Ride to the Beach

Our Home for the Day

Jair with Sofia's Sandcastle

I've always wanted to be a mermaid!

Time to Snorkel!

Presbyterians Go Snorkeling!

I am proud of my photography skills with this photo.

School of Fish

Heading to the bottom to find some treasures of the sea!

Representing Colombia!

I found a fish-snake!

  

There were fish of every size and color!

A long day at the beach led to a siesta on a tree. 

      I spent my holiday with one of my many Colombian families. I experienced a different world, outside of the busy city. We relaxed with no technology and lots of laughter. La Playa Del Muerto treated me well! I am sure some of you are wondering how my Spanish is coming along...I speak more Spanish each day. The people I spend the most time with tell me that my Spanish has vastly improved. Speaking a new language is challenging and there are numerous funny mistakes that are made throughout the day. My new friends want me to practice English with them, so I speak in Spanish and they speak in English. Our days are consumed with two languages and constant laughter! Until next time...hasta manana. 

First Time I'm Considered Colombian

          If you know me, you know I love to be tan. I got some sun in Charlotte before coming to Colombia so that, #1, I would not get sun burned every day in the hot Barranquilla sun, and #2, so I could hopefully fit in as a Colombian and not a tourist.  Much to my dismay, people always know I am not a natural-born Colombian (my Colombian friends say it is because I have blue eyes and wear tourist shoes...Sperrys and Keens). I even bought a Colombia soccer jersey, got my fingernails done in Colombia colors, and wear Colombia accessories! I do not look like the Barranquilleros, but I do love their country and their people close to the way they do. The people who spot me out as a tourist do not realize that even though I am not a natural-born Colombian, I am a Colombian for many reasons. Two of those are because of my love for the people of this country, specifically Barranquilla, and because of my Colombian spirit during soccer games!

Colombian pride in one of my new homes

German y Yo

Una Fiesta

        I am also a Colombian because I have many new families in Colombia. Everytime I meet a new person or family I find myself saying, "I like them so much or me gusta..." Each day I meet someone new and am delighted to be in their presence. Last week I spent time at the office of the Presbytery of Barranquilla. I was able to meet every person that walked in the door and sit-in on top-secret meetings (just kidding about the top secret part, but they were muy chevere!) I even got an official "Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia" notebook. I have a family at the office of the Presbytery of Colombia, which makes me Colombian.

Jair, Assistant Secretary of the Presbytery

German, Jairo, and Diego in a meeting

         I had the privilege of meeting the members of my sister church, La Iglesia Cuarta, at the end of the week and moved in with their pastor, Gloria for the week. I spent one day with a family from the church and attended a barbecue at La Iglesia Cuarta on Saturday evening. I worshipped with them on Sunday and was able to engage in conversations about peace and how Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia can involve themselves in learning about peace and how to achieve some sort of peace in this country, in this city, and in our world. I spent Sunday afternoon with a young adult from the congregation and her family. We were able to get to know each other and even watch the USA soccer game! I am a Colombian because of my connections with the people of Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia.

Barbecue with La Iglesia Cuarta

Jair and Angela, Young Adults in the Presbytery

The Osio Family