Cape Town

Cape Town

I’m back!

It’s been almost a year since my last post. 11 months filled with family, friends, American-ness, grad-school, hip surgery, papers, etc. But now I’m out and about…AGAIN!! This time I am in Cape Town, South Africa.

What brings me here? My dad would say a boy- which is not true! I have an internship for the summer (or winter from the South African perspective). I was just lucky enough to find an internship in the same city as a boy! And BOY am I glad, traveling with someone is so much less stressful than traveling alone!

Unfortunately, we didn’t travel here together… and man that is a LONG trip! My itinerary from Washington DC to Cape Town said 27 hours, but that’s only21 with the time change. I had no idea how long 21 hours was- until I spent that much time on one plane! 4 meals, I saw the sun set, rise and set again from one seat. One missed connection in Johannesburg and finally I arrived! Carey and I had planned to meet in the lobby of our building, but I had no way to communicate to him that I had missed my flight to Cape Town, so poor Carey sat down there for more than an hour hanging out with the security guard. He had gone back up to the apartment before I finally arrived!

Mutual Heights
Apartment

We have a 9th floor loft apartment that has a great view of Table Mountain. It is right downtown. Within a short walking distance to several markets, museums, and most importantly where I will be working! I don’t start my internship until Monday, but I am so excited! I am not going to say where I am working- because hey this is the internet and I don’t know what will happen- it’s probably for the best just to leave it unnamed.

I’ve only been here for 3 days, and a lot of that has been spent trying to fight off weird sleeping patterns. I don’t have many pictures, so I’m stealing some from google to make this post pretty- and to make you jealous of this beautiful city!

I’m going to swim with this guy!

Cartagena

Last week I went to Cartagena, a city on Colombia’s caribbean cost, for vacation. I have no job and no responsibilities in Bogotá, so you might wander a vacation from what? A vacation from the cold polluted mega-city where I have been living for 7 weeks. Laura’s sister got into town and we headed off for our caribbean wonderland.

We stayed at Makako Chill Out Hostel, it was a great hostel with a super nice staff. We arrived in the afternoon and went for a walk around the old city. This part of the city, with its rampart wall still intact, is a UNESCO world heritage site. We walked up on the wall and found a nice bar where we enjoyed mojitos and watched the sunset over the Caribbean Sea.

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Before heading to Cartagena, we had heard about a mud volcano. Rumored to have restorative properties, if you visit this scenic volcano, you can swim and receive massages in the mud. The volcano looks like a giant ant hill with a rickety wooden staircase leading to the top. We made our way up and were surprised to find a tiny little mud pool full of people. I was expecting something much bigger and wider, with room to move around…but no suck luck. We headed in anyways and received what they called massages and we called pat downs. The mud was so thick and the volcano is some 200 meters deep, feeling our extreme buoyancy was fun and weird for everyone in the pool. When we had had enough of the mud, we headed down to the nearby (and quite dirty) lake. In the lake there are women waiting to help wash you off. At first we declined their help, but it quickly became apparent that we needed their help! Overall it was a very fun and interesting experience, but I do not believe in those rumored restorative properties!

During the rest of our trip, we explored the walled city and an old Spanish fortress. We also enjoyed a pool day, despite some rain, at a swanky hotel in the new city- which is covered in huge white sky rises and resembles Miami beach.

After this great trip in the Caribbean, I’ve spent a few last days in Bogotá and now I am headed home. I have enjoyed this last adventure, but I am ready to get home and start the next adventure in my life~ grad school!

Normalcy

I’ve been in Bogotá for about six weeks and everything is starting to seem normal. I know this is just the dissipation of culture shock, but I want to share the things that at first were anything but normal, before I forget them.

1. Transportation.

There are basically three modes of transportation in Bogotá (4 if you include walking- which I do quite often). Cabs are the easiest and the fastest, though not necessarily the safest. At first hailing a cab seemed anything but normal, I’ve never been to New York City, I’ve never hailed a cab before. But now I am used to throwing my hand out further and higher than any tiny Colombian is capable. Taxis are convenient and quick if it’s not rush hour because Bogotá traffic is awful.

The transmilenio is a rapid bus transit system that works kind of like a metro. It is fast, and has its own lane, so during rush hour, it might be the best option to get around. The transmilenio seemed scary to me at first. It was confusing and had so many opportunities for me to get lost in this huge city. It is so crowded that the doors work like shovels that cram people inside. It can be so crowded in there that you might feel a hand on your leg and not know if it is your own, maybe your hand is really just touching someone else’s leg. The worst thing about the transmilenio is that people do not know how to ride it. It appears as though Colombians never learned the age-old rule (often learned at elevator doors) let others off before you get on. People stand at the doors, blocking other’s exit from the bus, while trying to pry their way in. This is incredibly frustrating when exiting and entering the bus, and has caused me to miss both buses and exits.

The last form of transportation is collectivo buses. These are tiny little buses that drive all over the city. At first I thought it would be impossible to figure out their circuits and ride one, but eventually we got up the courage to try. There are no bus stops, you can get on or off wherever you want (which requires that you know where you are and where you want to get off). This creates a very jerky ride where the bus speeds up and suddenly stops frequently. I do not like collectivos, mainly because they are tiny and super uncomfortable. Being the giant that I am, I do not fit in them. Literally I cannot stand up in the bus that jerks to a speedy start the second you get on, and I have to crouch to find a seat (if I am lucky enough to find one). Laura has some great pictures on her blog that show how small and crowded these tiny buses are.

2. Street performers

I worked on Pearl St. Mall for 4 years, so street performers seem pretty normal to me. But here they are, of course, different. They wait for a red light, walk to the middle of the street and do their thing. I have seen jugglers, a man who balances his bike on his head, a gymnast who does hand stands, and several other tricks involving spinning balls on noses and the like. After their performance they walk around to all the cars and ask for money. There are also performers who come onto the collectivos. I have seen violinists, a guy who played the recorder (not a flute), and people who hand out candy and ask you to buy it. The best was two brothers who came on the bus and rapped about all the people sitting in the bus- I didn’t understand what they said, but the rap was enjoyable. There are also people who just walk up and down the streets during rush hour selling anything they can to the many drivers and passengers stuck in gridlock.

3. Movie Theaters

I have seen many a movie in my day, in a few different countries, but the theaters here are a little different. There is assigned seating, when you purchase your tickets, you choose your seats from a little diagram of the theater. This was odd at first, being shown to my seat in a movie theater felt odd to say the least, as did being forced to sit next to someone that I would typically try to avoid (such as a lady on her phone who answered her calls during the movie). In the theaters they have sushi bars and cafes. You can even purchase RayBan, stylish 3D glasses with your popcorn.

4. Being Exotic

I don’t know how exotic women do it. I do not find it normal that I am almost constantly stared at, gawked at, looked up and down, or hit on. It is weird, and I will never find it normal.

5. Neighborhoods

In Bogotá, you can be in a nice neighborhood, cross the street and suddenly find yourself in a not so nice area. I was once walking home (alone) and I suddenly found myself on a scary street. The only other people on the street were sleeping, missing some part of a limb, or lighting something on fire- I don’t know that any of them had ever seen a shower. Or a blonde gringa for that matter. I was very uncomfortable and intended to get off this street as fast as I could. But once I crossed the next street I found myself in a neighborhood I now call puppy dog alley. I walked by two or three blocks worth of pet stores, with plenty of puppy dogs in the window. Puppy dogs = security, I started to feel better.

6. Puppy dogs

The puppies here must be taken away from their moms at around 3 days- they are so tiny. It is not uncommon to so a dog the size of your hand on a leash. This dog does not really know how to walk and in my opinion has no business on a leash, it should be with its mom. But they are so CUTE, I love seeing them everywhere!

 

Practice in the City

Since arriving in Bogotá, I kept hearing about how native English speakers can get paid to speak English at a cafe in the city…Sweet. Luckily, our American roommate is very well-connected in the English teaching arena of Bogotá, and he connected us with the directors of Practica en la ciudad. It is a company that approaches language learning in a different way. Its students do not go to classes, but instead have conversations with native speakers. For all of those people who say I cannot speak English (there is a lot of you out there…) boo yah- I’ve now worked by speaking English (and was paid), for Practica three times!

The first Saturday Laura and I met with the directors and learned about the program. We were also both featured in promotional videos about the program. If you are lucky, when you click on the above link, you will see me and Laura saying great things about the company! It was fun and funny to watch us try to memorize a script and say it quickly before forgetting it. Laura and I are now both seeking acting jobs, so if you are a casting director, please click on the above link!

We came back the next week for the real thing. The real thing is 5 hours of speaking English with Colombians. It is really cool, I learned a ton about Colombia and really enjoyed meeting all the people that I met. That being said, it is exhausting! At the end of it, Laura and I decided to go out to dinner and mime to each other instead of speaking (of course this didn’t work, it would be hard to actually shut the two of us up).

The next day, Laura and I did a different program that the company offers. We walk around Bogotá with Colombians speaking English all day! We figured this was a great opportunity to be tourists, we haven’t done that yet and have been a little reluctant. We had to leave our apartment at 730 am to get across town to meet everyone. Of course it was raining, no it was not raining, it was pouring- I believe cats and dogs is the expression… so basically really great weather for walking around in!

We walked around the historical part of the city and had the three Colombian guys explain to us what all the famous buildings were. It was a little tricky with everyone huddled under their umbrellas, but we managed. We visited the museum of Cuervo, a writer not the tequila, and the military museum. The military museum was really cool because one of the Colombians that we were with was in the military and explained everything to us!

I haven't mentioned yet, that in Colombia I am a giant. Please notice the proximity of the ceiling to my head!

We went out to lunch at a typical Colombian restaurant. Everyone made fun of Laura and I for not being able to finish our food- the portions are just too big! We walked around some more and the rain started to slow. We made our way to a cafe and enjoyed coffee (I had hot chocolate!) while we talked about Halloween, Vegas, siblings, teaching, road trips, Denver, and just about everything else. The sun finally came out and we headed to the flea market and the park. Overall it was a great day, but 8 hours of walking and talking is exhausting!!

When we all said goodbye, Laura and I tiredly searched the streets for pizza, beer, and milkshakes. We could not get the beer, because it is banned on voting days, and it was indeed a voting day. But we did find pizza and chocolate milkshakes, which comforted our sore throats, aching feet and bellies!

It was a great weekend of work, and I am happy to have gotten a little (I mean rather small) income!

Spanish School

For the last two weeks I have been taking intensive Spanish classes at the Nueva Lengua school in Bogotá. It has been a pretty intense, fun, and exhausting (and is the reason why I haven’t written much lately). It started on a cloudy Monday morning, Laura escorted me because I was unsure about my ability to make it to the school on the transmilenio (rapid bus transit system in Bogotá). We both felt like she was my mother dropping me off for my first day of school! (Just for the record, I only necessitated this treatment the first day, after that I was able to get to school alone…boy did I grow up fast!)

Upon arrival, the Spanish started, there was no more English… I was a little worried. Since deciding to come to Bogotá, I have been using Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish, but I hadn’t learned enough to feel comfortable when people spoke Spanish to me, unless of course I could respond in English or French (which is never really an option, very few people who are not French speak French better than they speak English). So off I went to take my placement test, giving Laura a timid wave goodbye.

The teacher encouraged me not to guess and only answer the questions I knew. This prompted me to consider the definition of guessing… I would answer the questions I knew, but I didn’t really know how or why I knew the answer…I just did. I could see what was in the past tense, and using my knowledge of French grammar, knocked out the test. Apparently I did well, I was in an intermediate class full of students who had been taking Spanish intensively, at this school, for a few months and some people who had taken a few years in college.

Class started, I was so intimidated, I had never taken a Spanish class before and all the other students were talking…in Spanish. But then I started to realize that I actually understood what was going on and what people were saying! Hey maybe I should be in this level! I had class with people from France, Switzerland, and the states- which was great for me, whenever I was unsure about a Spanish word, I could say either an English or a French word in a Spanish accent and someone would understand me!

I struggled through lots of grammar exercises. After the first week, we had a test on the past tense. My teacher wanted to talk to me after the test… she said she was surprised because I have a good understanding of which tense to use (which is usually the hardest part for students) but I didn’t know how to conjugate verbs…especially irregular verbs (which, for the record, I hate and just want them to become regular for me!).  So I’m lacking a few of the basics, but I decided to stay at this level.

By the end of the second week, I was able to give a presentation about micro-breweries in Spanish…pretty cool. I am surprised by how much I learned and how much I can understand around me… if people talk slow and enunciate! The school is a great place to meet people and learn about Colombia. I met a bunch of great people who have given us great advice about living here and getting jobs (which Laura has done!)

The school also offers cultural activities all over Bogotá. I did not participate in most, but one really cool thing that I was able to do was go to a salt mine north of Bogotá. After classes one day the school took us (Laura, me, and 5 other students) to the village of Nemocón where a cool salt mine is located. We had a tour of the mine (which I could understand maybe half of…), and wandered around in amazement. The mine has huge salt deposits that grow about a centimeter a year (yup I understood that part of the tour!), a chapel, and lots of fun information on Colombia’s history. My favorite part was the salty water pools that have perfect reflections of the cavernous walls. It created an optical illusion that made the pools look like canyons in the ground. After wandering around the mine, and enduring a long photo shoot in the never-ending quest to take a good picture of me and Laura, (we have problems: in our 6 year-long friendship we might have 7 good pictures), we walked around the colorful town of Nemocón.

Overall Spanish school was a great experience, but I am glad to have a break from waking up at 6, long hours of classes, and homework!

Here is a slide show from the mine and the town of Nemocón. There were lots of blue lights in the mine and the pictures that kind of look like snow are really just salt!

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A Blonde in Bogotá

So this just in… I’m blonde. Being blonde in Bogotá is like being a zoo animal, only you are a rare creature worth gawking at. I should clarify myself here… in Bogotá, Laura is blonde, and for those of you who don’t know Laura she is nothing but a brunette. Now, in a city of 9 million, there are several other blondes, but most of them are Bogotá blonde, like Laura’s blonde which is really just a light brunette. There are other blondes like me, but it is clear that they, like me, are not from here. After being in Kourou, I thought I would be accustomed to standing out… but it is different here. I’m sure it is because there are so many more people here, but there is almost always someone staring! It is not all that uncommon for people to say ‘wow’ or a long drawn out ‘hi’ on the street. Though one thing that I appreciate is the little kids. They stare in astonishment with wide open, adorable little eyes that just melt me. I imagine that when they pull on their parents sleeves they say ‘look mom, look…her hair…’

So needless to say, we both have died our hair black in an attempt to fit in! Just kidding- that’s just us supporting our CU Buffs! I’m slowly getting used to being something to look at! Sorry this post has very little to do with our fun in Bogotá- which I will write about soon! Also check out Laura’s blog for more info on our daily adventures!

Living like Queens

So my parents are super amazingly awesome!! As a side effect of this awesomeness (and I think fear of their only daughter coming to a big scary place like Colombia) they gave us their hotel reward points and put us up in the Embassy Suites for three nights! It was an amazing couple of days where Laura and I lived like Queens. The Embassy Suites Rosales is in the luxurious Zona G district of Bogotá, and is super nice. We enjoyed a free made-to-order breakfast every morning and a complimentary happy hour every evening!

Our suite had a sitting room, a bar, a huge nicely lit bathroom, two large flat screen tvs, and our bedroom with two incredibly comfortable double beds! We instantly claimed the territory by throwing our clothes all over the place, moving the furniture (to create a yoga space), and spreading our makeup and toiletries all over the bathroom! It’s amazing how easy it is for us to get back into our old routines from back in the golden days when we lived together.

We spent our days wondering around the Candelaria (the historical district) and the Zona Rosa (an extravagant shopping district), and enjoying the ciclovia! The ciclovia happens in Bogotá every Sunday, half of the cities streets shut down for cyclists, runners, walkers, roller-bladers, you name it! We ate dinner out at some really nice restaurants that to Colombian standards are quite expensive, but considering the delicious food and drink we had, it really wasn’t all that expensive. My favorite dinner was at a restaurant called La Despensa, I had a local beer, organic roasted chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce with potatoes and tomatoes, and some Malbec… all for about $20!

Even though I said several times that I wanted to continue with this lifestyle and just move into the Embassy Suites, we had to go back to reality. Reality was that we didn’t have a place to stay. Laura had been working all week on finding us an apartment (I am useless without the ability to read or respond to ads!), and on Sunday afternoon we were starting to feel very worried about leaving the Embassy Suites to become homeless the next day.

Luckily, Laura had connected with a Colombian guy and after a long walk, a cell phone mishap, asking several people for directions, and many phone calls saying we still don’t know where we are… we finally found Filipe and his awesome apartment. It is a three-story, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment where Laura and I share a bedroom for about $350 a month (so $175 each- so much cheaper than Boulder!). We have Colombian, German, and American housemates. Moving in was a breeze and we are already enjoying our large room where the only decoration is a rainbow painting (for those of you who know Laura you know how perfect that is) and a 72 inch flat screen tv- and yes we have cable!

We’ve left the luxury, but we might still find a way to live like queens!

The size of the ‘stash is directly related to the size of the cash

We arrived in Bogotá and it is amazing! Laura and I were both very nervous to get here, both because of its scary reputation and the reality of coming to a new, huge, and unknown place. I was particularly nervous about getting a taxi. I had heard from several different sources that it is very important to get in the right taxi line so as not to get robbed or kidnapped upon entering the city. I was also very nervous about my lack of Spanish speaking skills, thankfully I have Laura to hold my hand in such a big foreign place.

Our first obstacle was customs. We went together despite neither being related nor being in the same household. When they asked Laura how long we would be staying she said 3 months- they looked at us with shock. What for, Laura explained that I was here for tourism and she wanted to look for a job. Their shock did not leave their faces “A job here?”, they asked her what she did in the states, when she said she was a manager, their shock only seemed to intensify. I didn’t understand all of the conversation, but I understood their facial expressions, why would these two American girls be coming here for so long? Then they explained that we only have the right to be in the country for 60 days. They gave us some more information and let us go on our way. It looks like I might not be staying quite as long as I had intended….

The next hurdle was the taxi. I was looking and looking for signs or information on the registered taxis that we were supposed to take. Afraid to walk out into the masses with too much luggage to carry. But it was easy, there is a sign above the exit that says taxi and if you go out the door to the right, people are there pushing your luggage cart and asking you where you are going. They print out a ticket so that you know exactly how much you have to pay in advance, this also ensures that you arrive in the right location. One US dollar is roughly 2,000 Colombian Pesos, so when the guy that helped us get the taxi asked for a tip, I accidentally gave him $10 or 20,000 COP also roughly the price of our 20 minute long cab ride…ooops.

Our taxi took us to a hostel, we had heard some disconcerting news about recent hostel robberies in the Candelaria district where most popular hostels are, so we searched for one in a different area. We were not to sure about it, but upon arriving we fell in love. It is a beautiful hostel called La Pinta . We have our own double room (which is necessary because we have so much stuff between the two of us!), and a shared, very nice and clean, bathroom. The hostel has free breakfast and internet along with two tv rooms and a garden. We are very happy with the hostel, its security, and its location!

Once we got into our room, we started to actually relax and let all that nervousness go! Upon inspecting our colorful money, I noticed that each bill has a man on it. The higher the amount of money, the larger this man’s mustache is (hence the title of this blog post). We laughed for a long time releasing all the pent up fear and anxiety. There is a great area just north of the hostel called Zona G, that has tons of restaurants. We have eaten up there every night so far, and have yet to be disappointed!

During the day we explore the city, finding more and more things that we like. I have only been here for two days and I already love it! I went through some major culture shock yesterday, but after doing the math, Laura and I decided that was due to the fact that Bogotá is 50,000 times bigger than Kourou!

Our first taxi driver could not pronounce my name, but instead called me Kahtay!! what a successful and apparently useful nickname! Later in the day, a man on the street looked at me and exclaimed “Oh my God!!!!! Welcome to Colombia” in English. Laura thought this was hilarious! Apparently, I still look like an outsider! I am so excited to be on a new and exciting journey with my best friend! And dear family, do not worry we will be very safe!

Paramaribo Done Right

I’ve been to Paramaribo several times, but I have rarely stayed more than 15 hours because I am always in transit. For my last visit, I decided to stay for a few days, and enjoy the city. I love Paramaribo, and I really wanted to benefit from its greatness before headed off into the unknown world of Colombia. This time I was also lucky enough to have Laura with me!

We stayed at the Eco Resort Inn which was a great place. Romain recommended it to me because it is not very expensive, it is in the center of town, it has free breakfast, and you can enjoy all the benefits of a resort down the street. And enjoy we did! After a long day of travel by hitch-hiking, pirogue, and collective taxis, we enjoyed our nice air-conditioned hotel room! We found a nice place down the street to go out to dinner and returned exhausted to the hotel room. We spent the first day lounging in a poolside cabana, enjoying our lasts days of extreme heat and sunshine before heading to Bogotá.

The next day we went to the large and exciting central market and had massages at the resort- not too shabby! We then went out to dinner at this great and highly-recommended Thai restaurant called the Garden of Eden. Delicious and Amazing! The restaurant was somewhat faraway from our hotel, but well worth the taxi ride. It is immaculately decorated and has a great atmosphere. We sat in the garden where we were unfortunately heavily bombarded with mosquitos. Despite the mosquitos, it was an amazing experience. Laura and I ordered the same chicken curry dish, but the waiter encouraged us to branch out and try two things. Thankfully we listened to his advice, the curry was way too spicy for me, and I loved my chicken stir-fry with onions, cashews, and pineapple! Overall it was a great experience and I recommend this restaurant to anyone who might find themselves in Paramaribo!

The next morning we had to take a bus to the airport at 2am! We flew to Curaçao, where we had a long layover. We then, safely, made it to Bogotá! It was a relatively easy day of travel despite the $150 I had to pay in excess baggage fees! Now we are in a great hostel in northern Bogotá- but that’s for another post.

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are always hard. But I have found this week, or maybe I should call it this round of goodbyes particularly hard. My time in French Guiana is up, my contract is over and I am outta here! It is amazing how fast seven months can go by. In the past seven months, I have had some of the most memorable moments of my life. From the most terrifying moments to some of the most magical, this has been an amazing experience. I saw and did some amazing things like hike and sleep in the jungle, watch rocket launches, travel to remote places, and teach. But some of the most amazing experiences came from personal growth- in the past seven months I have done so much that I would have never dreamed myself capable. From moving to an unknown and scary place, to attempting to teach a rowdy class of young boys, to hosting fun and popular parties, to telling jerky men off in a different language, to successfully sleeping in the jungle, to creating an awesome life in a foreign place, to asking someone out on a date (ok it was a in text, I’m not that gutsy!), to making a world-wide network of amazing friends! And that has been the hardest goodbye – to this great experience and these great people. Here are a few pictures from the going away party we had last week!

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It is hard to say goodbye to so many great people and experiences, but I have a whole new adventure to say hello to- I’m on my way to COLOMBIA  (not the district of, or the university, but the country). Laura and I are currently in Paramaribo for a short stop before we head to Bogotá, later this week. I will be there for three months and I have no idea what I am going to do there, but I am sure it will be quite the adventure! Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be worth blogging about!