¿Que?

So, the next time I go to Colombia, I'll let you know if anything comes of this...

I <3 Pance

Pronounced Pawn-say ;-)


It is an Ecoparque river, about 30 minutes by car from Cali. You can sun on boulders and rocks (we don't have rocks like that here in FL) and bathe in the icy cold current and cascades, all the while surrounded by hills and trees. The view of mountains to the north doesn't hurt, either.

Alejandra has pictures on her cell phone... When she sends them to me, I will show you. Pance rocks.

2 planes, 12 police dogs, and 1 pat-down later...

I made it home!

I can't even tell you how nice it is to settle back into my own space, with my own way of doing things.

Just so you know, things did get more difficult after the last time I posted here, but the stories are so crazy and sad, I don't think I'll even bother talking about it! At least not right now. I'm stuck on everything beautiful, right now.


we found a street party one night



...with traditional dancers





my son walking around a pool in Jamundi, Colombia




this is a mountain road in the morning



There is so much I could say, so many pictures, so many AWESOME memories and things to talk about that this is just to wrong format for the job.


Ok, I am going to go hang out with my roommate now.

apparently I DO need to make myself scarcer

How do YOU handle it when someone tells you you are fat(ish)?

Well, in our culture (and I´m including you because I blindly assume you are American, haven´t slightest clue who reads this blog) it´s very personal, and rude to bring something like that up, unless you are inquiring after someone´s actual health and wellbeing, right?

I mean, I can bitch to my friends about my BMI, but unsolicited (negative) comments about my appearance... Ay!

We can assume it´s a cultural difference.


My general formula for wellbeing is to work out, feel great, and eat what I want, within reason (I drink beer, eat dessert, etc... in balance with really healthy stuff). I broke the habit of stress eating last year. I picked it back up at my grandma´s house two weeks ago, right around the same time my grandma said I should get lipo.

So, anyways, my sexy Barbie-doll aunt, yes, the mother of two sporty teenage boys, who doesn´t eat much because she has special pills to combat hunger is watching me very closely, breakfast and lunch (no dinner, or alcohol, served in this house).

What is this; fat camp? sigh.
I want my gym. I want my hamster. I want a mixed drink, and bad.

what we´ve been doing

I took the kiddos to see Wall E last night. It made me tear up, and we had some really interesting discussions about it. Since there isn´t much speaking in the movie at all, I don´t think the kids missed anything due to the language barrier. Besides, they are now accustomed to watching cartoons in spanish, anyways.

They still don´t speak much at all. Other than the basics; hola, ciao, buenos dias, buenas noches, chocolate.

I like taking them out by myself. I can pretend to be a local when no one is acting like a tour guide. Of course, when people actually take me for a local and I have no clue, my ruse is up, lol.

We´ve done lot of things... storytime at the library, El Museo De Oro (Gold Museum), la Merced (Cali´s oldest church), the Cali Zoo, the nice malls. My first week here, I also went to an outdoor market (without them, @ abuela´s request), and that was really really cool. They should have been there.

There is a circus in town right now, but you know how I feel about circus´s... I´m more interested in joining the PETA protesters and buying an arepa outside the circus than I am in going to see the show.

For today, I am thinking about heading to La Galleria again, where you can find traditional stuff. We still need to go to San Antonio (another historic distric) and to La Parque de la Cañe (Park of the Sugar Cane... it´s a water park with slides and everything), and I want to see the sugar cane processing museum, but I have no idea where it is.

the weekend... and today, too

We headed out to my Tia Lyda´s house, on the southern side of Cali, on Saturday for a breath of fresh air.

Sure, she´s a little high strung too, but since she lives with her two teenage sons, a yellow dog (Quido!!!), and her live in maid, Docia, there is less tension when a stray hair falls off someones head, lol. And I cannot even tell you how unlike my normal everyday life it is to come downstairs in the morning and see coffee waiting for me (and the way I like it, too), hot chocolate for the kids, and arepas... all ready to be thankfully devoured.

Today, Docia even helped me to get lunch stains out of Con´s nicest white Guayabera shirt. I must have looked out of my leauge and lost because the spot was awful. Left to my own devices, I know the shirt would have ended up practically useless, but she made that shirt come out like brand new.

And there´s a sweet pool in this condo complex, and a sauna and play area, too. Lots of sun, too.

In direct, beautiful, timely contrast to this life of (middle class) luxury, the kids and I took a nice long walk today, past this gated condo complex, and the other complexes just like it, past the neighborhood bakery (which we found on our first walk in this area). We found a little playground surrounded by a tall chain link fence and topped with a dollop of barbed wire. There were holes cut in the fence for some reason, and the gates were wide open. A man slept on a bench with a rag on his head.

The kids and I enjoyed the (somewhat broken) merry-go-rounds and swings, but discovered that old fashioned see-saws are all but useless unless you are the EXACT same weight as your playmate. I decided it was time for Cora to do some of her school work in her fun BrainQuest workbook, and right around that time, a woman and her four kids appeared. I let Cora go run around with the kids, but one of those four children spied the workbook.

They ended up surrounding me, asking for translations for things they knew, and testing their English prounounciation on us. The oldest boy (8 yo) lovingly stroked the pages, remarking over and over agian ¨Tan lindo, tan lindo...¨ (how pretty, how pretty).

The boy ended up taking out a piece of paper and copying english words out of the book, to study later. His mother told me she hopes he ends up with a real career, because he´s very interested in school. Their father rode by, as he worked, attempting to sell ice cream from a bicycle (only about 40 american cents for a sundae in a cup), and all the children waved.

more pics...

We are going out to some farm today, where we have cousins, and to go swimming etc.

Here's some pictures before I run out the door...

a Rumbiar!

from Friday night-

Victoria, my cousin, took me out with another American-Colombiana and a Colombian guy friend (Leo?). We went to La Casa de la Cerbeza (The House of Beer), where we ordered and finished off a bottle of aguardiente, lol. It's a liqour that tastes like anise or almonds or something... I am not sure, because I started at home with red wine (and do I EVER drink red wine? no, never) and then a beer at a soccer game before we went out dancing.


Yeah, and my ears are ringing (loudly) and I'm pretty drunk. Oh, but the MUSIC. Mmmmm.

By American standards, I sometimes tend to think I'm a pretty good dancer, but I was put to shame. Well, that's my interpretation, anyways, but you know me. I think she was just trying to be nice. Leo did give me a proper salsa lesson or two, and I had fun, as always!

I will add that Calienos don't really appear to drive any different after a whole bottle of liqour, it's pretty much the same thing... Or everyone gets really drunk during the daytime, too.

Also interesting to note- in dance clubs here, at the end of the night, they send a server around with a tray of little plastic cups. I assumed it was more shots of something venomous but my cousin said it was cups of hot soup. Mentiras! I said to Vicky. But, yes, it was in fact chicken soup with lots of cilantro, and a freshly made one at that.

no fuimos a las marchas...

(we did not go march)... instead we stayed at home. Was there any news coverage of the marches back in the States? Thousands of people took to the streets in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Letica, and even Paris to protest FARC holding people captive. Indios Amazonas sang some traditional songs and President Uribe gave a moving speech while Shakira was up on the stage, holding hands with him. It was a very emotional event that we followed on the television (my abuela is too old for marchas, and I was busy with the kids.

Anyways, the 20th of July is one of the 2 days Colombians celebrate independence (Aug 7th is the other), so when we woke up there were banderas (flags) hung from the balconies and a big meal already in the works.




Anyways, it was a BEAUTIFUL Dia de Independencia.

vuelta a casa

Oh, what can I say except that I love Colombia. Last night after we were picked up at the airport, we settled into our new home, etc I thought of a few things I thought might be of interest to you-

The drivers are totally scary. Oh wow. Very scary. There are motorcyclists everywhere and people just dip around each other, cars and cyclists both. There are some lines on the roads and some lights, but no one seems to notice them, anyways.

There was a salsa concert going on a few blocks away from our house, and I kid you not the energized music filtered in- through the hills of Cali- to my bedroom ALL NIGHT LONG. I LOVE it. I actually feel like I belong. Que raro, no?

Also, this is a gorgeous 7 bd- 4 bth house, and there is no warm or hot water, no joke.

Anyways, lots to get done still with unpacking and I am itching to get out and take a walk... blog at you later, I am sure.

weekend warrior?? um, no.

Ahhh. The most taxing thing I've had to do yet today was try and remember my paypal password so I could pay for this rediculously cheap dress that I won (99 cents). Cute, huh? Hope it doesn't end up being really awful.

It's going on the trip with me, to the land of perfect weather and waterfalls and salsa dancing. I hear Colombia is exceedingly sexy and style-concious, and I'm suiting up, oh yessiree. Well, sort of.

How much tattoo to keep covered while I'm out and about there has also been on my mind. My abuelita's really cool, but I don't want to embarrass them, so I'll try to bring a flexible wardrobe.


Anyways. The kids are at a birthday party with Harry now. I should probably go be productive... I have some stuff I need to be doing, now that it's well into the afternoon. I don't really believe in getting up and out of the house early. Especially not on the weekends, if it can be helped.

Clearly, Friday was a fluke. Although I felt like I had been let into some secret society where McDonalds really does serve breakfast items (like they say on the radio!), it caught up with me. I don't know if I'm ready to trade in my owlish ways yet.

Besides, McDonalds gives always me a bad stomach ache.

My plan for the day:

The gym. I skipped W/Th/F because of work, so that's probably why I was depressed yesterday. I get silly-happy from all those endorphins.

Sewing? That one is a maybe. The other new dress, the one I'm making, is about half way finished.

Do laundry (I have coins already, and that's half the battle).

Buy some groceries.