Happy One-month-aversary

It's officially one month since my arrival to Colombia! A lot has happened, including the unpleasant food poisoning rite of passage that I'm still getting over (salmonella, anybody?), and it's taken much longer than I wanted to really get settled in, but I'm moving along. It's been a month of adjustment, of slight disbelief that I'm here, of missing the people I've left behind, of reacquainting myself with my family, this city, this country, even just starting to think and speak fluidly in Spanish. I've dealt with a few personal battles that will hopefully lay the groundwork for stronger relationships, and especially for a wonderful visit from Cammie to Colombia in December. 

I've also felt a bit stuck on my personal project-- perhaps 'cause I've been working on the more urgent task I've been assigned through Volunteers Colombia. Part of me thinks I'm really afraid-- of it working out, of it not working out. But this is what it means to take a risk, to work for something you believe in, to try something new. I received an email on the exact 1 month anniversary of my arrival that lifted me up: it was an article related to the work I'm trying to do, of people invested in similar things, and I know that I'm headed in the right direction, that my idea is good and within the realm of possibility. (Thanks Val!) It's time to get moving on it. 

My first dive into my social enterprise was the much anticipated Es El Momento webinar I gave in partnership with Univision and College Week Live (thank you Prof. Reimers), and through which I talked about the College Application process in Spanish. That prompted me to create another blog (for all of you who say I haven't been blogging) for Spanish Language college information. It's www.lleguealcollege.com, and look, it even has a Twitter #lleguealcollege handle. It IS in Spanish, so sorry for the non-Spanish speakers, but I'm sure we all know some spanish speaking kid/parent in need of some college guidance-- (pass it along!). Next, I've been brainstorming with my dad on an action plan for interviewing potential customer segments, and we're getting going on targeting and talking to 30 different people about the project. And last, but perhaps most importantly, I had my first foundation meeting today (!) and it was a wonderful start to a long-term conversation. I'm VERY excited.

On a non-work level, it's also been a blast. I spent an evening watching Ensalsate, a musical production revolving around colombian Salsa dancing. The show, which featured international salsa champions from Cali (the city in Colombia), portrayed the growth of Salsa from its early roots to new fusion and innovations. And like any Salsa Caleña, (Cali is known as the capital of Salsa for a very particular form of dancing), tons of crazy footwork.

Salsa in Colombia is all about the fast footwork, less about pirouettes and turns, but still about amazing the viewer-- and having fun. Just to give you an idea, the taste for Salsa in Cali is such that stories say that when slow salsa songs got to the city, the only way to get citizens to be interested in dancing them was to speed them up to almost twice their regular speed. It really is all about being fast and doing footwork that is just insane.  Check it out:

I'd gotten a personal taste of this type of dancing less than a week beforehand (one of the trainers of the couple that most recently won an international dancing competition happens to give open classes at a place called Sandunguera) and danced salsa for 2 hours nonstop. It was HARD, but altogether fun and altogether exhausting. The absolute best part of the Ensalsate show was the piece below. Prepare for fast Salsa.... on STILTS. (Skip to about a minute into the video, the point when you can actually see their feet... I was too enthralled to actually be a good camerographer.)

A little bit after that, I went to an indoor pool with my cousins and their kids (I told you I'd be talking about them again!) and aside from being asked to leave the pool for wearing board shorts (don't get me started, it all worked out in the end), I had an awesome time reliving some childhood experiences and playing like a little kid. Aren't they cute? :D

Juanpis and his mama

Lupita in pre-fight, i mean pre-swim, gear

I'm also gearing up for a Nike Run Bogotá 10K this coming weekend, so I've started taking advantage of the weekly Sunday Ciclovía, a massive network of streets throughout the ENTIRE  city of Bogotá (not just a small portion) closed to traffic and open for bikers, rollerbladers, runners, dog-walkers and basically anyone. 

They also have great (sanitary) food stands along the way- so this past Sunday I helped myself to some yummy treats (but stayed away from others that I couldn't have due to my stomach problems, i.e. Salpicon, a medley of fruits that involves banana, watermelon, papaya, and anything you can think of chopped up and soaked in a mixture of orange, watermelon and mandarin juice to eat and enjoy as a healthy refreshment (see pictures at the end). Sooo yummy.

And yesterday I attempted to go to one of the largest parks in Bogota, el Parque Simón Bolivar, but it was closed due to one of the many free concerts offered throughout the year, this time it was Hip Hop Al Parque. Instead, we decided to walk around the nearby Virgilio Barco library, below! Note, the concept of libraries is relatively new to Colombia. These infrastructures have been built only in the last 5-10 years, a new network of lending libraries just like those we see in the U.S.. So this massive library is really cool, beautifully designed and kind of a big deal. It's cool to see :).

Waterfalls at the Library

Sunset through the trees

Flowers in the water

And finally, this week, after receiving the princess treatment from my Aunt and Uncle in the northern part of Bogotá, I'm moving into a new place-- wish me luck with the new adjustment!

Well, that's all the catching up. As a month-aversary present, I leave you all with some mouth-watering pictures of the awesome food I've been enjoying :D. Enjoy!

Nutty and delicious Colombian corn

Fresh mandarin juice at the Ciclovia

Salpicon with Sour-Sop topping

An "Aromática," basically a hot yerbabuena tea with fresh fruit- delish

Fried plantain and yucca strips 

Granadilla fruit, eaten much like a pomegranate. Delish.

Sobrebarriga (a specific type of flank steak) and Veal with gelatin sauce...

Candied papayuela fruit and cuajada (colombian plain cheese)