Friday is here and Maria and I will have an assembly with the 11th graders. We are all set with our PowerPoints, but no, there are different plans. They want to ask us some questions in English. So after we briefly introduce ourselves, the questions begin. They want to know how U.S. students choose colleges, our policy on harassment in our schools, and what we feel about Hillary and Donald Trump! Actually, Colombians ask us this last question a lot! No surprise, because The Democratic Convention is being televised right now. I watch it nightly in Spanish! Then they announce they have a surprise for us. We are taken downstairs to watch a traditional dance with traditional musical instruments, performed by 11th grade students. It is outstanding! I speak with their adult choreographers afterwards. They explain this Cumbia is a representation of their culture: indigenous instrument ( looks like a recorder), African drums, and Spanish costumed dancers. I finally get it: these traditional dances combine elements of all of the cultures who formed Colombia. I speak with my host Ana later and she says that is why kids from age 2 can be seen swaying to the music- this is their identity and how they pass it from generation to generation. We don't have anything like this in the U.S.
Next we return to The Centro Cultural Colombo Americano school to discuss and share educational issues with a small group of local English as a Second Language teachers. We find we have so much in common like being overscheduled, difficult students, and overbearing parents. Our differences include the lack of technology and resources in some Colombian classrooms. We exchange email addresses and Facebook contacts. Some of these teachers have already established contact with me since this meeting.
Lunchtime, and we are dining at Cucayo, a local restaurant specializing in Caribbean food and music. I open the door to a live salsa band playing and videos on the walls featuring salsa groups from the past- including footage of Joe Arroyo!! Wow!! The atmosphere is a loud party, nothing unusual for Barranquilla. I order an appetizer called matrimonio: a marriage of 3 different bollos made of yuca (yucca), mazorca ( corn), and limpio ( white rice) with queso criollo, also known as queso costano, or coastal cheese. It's an appetizer, and I can't even finish it!
The serious business starts now! Shopping in the handicrafts markets for friends and family. This was the hottest day for me in Barranquilla so far, and walking into those stalls without air conditioning was rough. But, I did manage to find some lovely items!
Dinner with Maria and I am burned out of Spanish. I have spoken it for one week, pretty much non stop wherever I go. I tell her at dinner that we are speaking in English. Suddenly I feel better and I make a commitment to return to Spanish tomorrow and for the rest of my time here. It's okay to take a break sometimes.