The Colombian Adventure

In the morning, I took the metrocable from Avecedo to Santo Domingo. I think travelling around in the metro and metrocable across Medellin is the cheapest way to see the city as you would only pay 1900 pesos (USD 0.95) for a roundtrip as long as you don't exit the stations.

As Medellin is a city surrounded by mountains, the houses on the mountains are normally the poorer neighbourhoods. As the metro cable ascends, the high-rise buildings fade away and the roads become much narrower and houses are covered with corrugated tin roofs. 

I got to the end of Line K of the metro cable, which was the Santo Domingo station. There was another line that connects Santo Domingo to Parque Arvi but I wasn't interested in paying for another trip. :p 

On the metro back, I stopped at Universidad where I visited the Botanical Gardens.

Spotted an iguana!

The palm trees garden...

Cacti in the desert garden.

Orchids aaaa....!

For lunch, I went to the In-Situ restaurant situated in the Azaleas patio. It was around 12pm but the restaurant was empty. It's bad enough that I'm Asian (I have not seen any Asians in Medellin yet), and I was the only one seated in the restaurant - the waiters and waitresses kept staring at me. It was really awkward... 

I ordered a glass of lime juice and the pork loin cooked in panela (Colombian gula melaka), mustard and orange juice. It was so yummy, I think it's the best dish I've had in Colombia so far. 

Though it was kinda pricey (36000 pesos in total, approx USD 18), I thought it was worth it and it's about time I treat myself to some yummy good food! :p

I left the botanical gardens about 1pm and headed to Poblado, the wealthiest neighbourhood in Medellin.

After taking the metro, I took a taxi and the taxi driver dropped me off at Parque Poblado. I thought it was a very big park but nope. So I walked to Parque Lleras where it's famous for the restaurants and bars/nightlife in Poblado.

Found a hipster cafe - Cafe Pergamino where I just chilled with a cold brew served in a Mason jar.

From Parque Lleras, I walked all the way to Santafe shopping mall, which is the biggest mall in Medellin. I ended up walking for 30 minutes because I wanted to save the bus/taxi fare haha.

The floral artwork on the ground floor of Santafe. I think it was from the Fiera del las flores a few weeks ago.

The mall is really huge - there are two Crepes and Waffles! I spent a lot of time in Falabella, a departmental store. Clothes here are so cheap! I retained myself from buying anything because I have no more space in my luggage.  However, I bought a Reebok windbreaker that was 50% off because I think I'll need it in Salento and/or Bogota. 

I left the mall around 5pm and decided to return home on a budget. So I took a bus and then the metro back to Estadio from Aguacatala. Bad timing to leave - it was peak hour and it was horrible being packed like sardines in the metro. 

At night, Milena invited me to join Olga (a girl from Bogota living in the house too) and her to watch an African performance at the theatre in Poblado. Although it was in Spanish (the man performing spoke perfect Spanish!), I really enjoyed it as you could tell he was very passionate and proud of where he comes from. Did you know Equatorial Guinea is the only country in Africa where the official language is Spanish?

Today, I woke up at 5am to say goodbye to Nazly, Gustavo, Gustavo and Linda. I cried so much. I am really going to miss them sooo much. I mean, how can you find such a welcoming family like them in Barranquilla? I think I will miss Nazly the most. She treats me like her own daughter - feeds me breakfast, lunch, dinner, washes my clothes, prays for my safety all the time... I already miss the Garrido Beleno family. :'(

Orlando's friend who was supposed to send me to the airport did not show up at the apartment so I took a taxi to the airport instead. My bag was 22kg. Only 1 more kg of space to buy my coffee and arequipe?! How lahhh aiyooo.

While waiting to board my flight, I finally completed the report for Ms Doris and Mr Ramirez. I seriously hope that they will take my feedback into consideration and hopefully they can be better organised in the future.

Goodbye Barranquilla!

Upon landing in Medellin, I was so pleased to walk out of the airport and enjoy the cool and dry weather of Medellin! No wonder they call Medellin the city of eternal spring.

I took a bus from the airport to the city and I wasn't sweating! What a change from taking a bus in Barranquilla...

Check out that view!

The bus dropped me off at San Diego mall and then I took a taxi to Milena's house (airbnb). Milena wasn't home when I arrived but Doc, her other friend opened the door for me. He's from Scotland! We chatted for a bit and then he showed me around the area before he left for work (he teaches English here). I'm so lucky because the place is really nice and convenient. Only a stone throw's away, is the famous Calle 70, which is full of bars and shops, including a big Exito supermarket. The Estadio metro station is only like a 2 minutes walk away.

There are other rooms in the house being rented out too but I took the cheapest room - yet it's still so spacious!

The chill out area on the second floor of the house. 

After getting some water and food for breakfast at Exito, I had lunch at a restaurant nearby. Wasn't in the mood for soup so I didn't get the Sancocho. Went ahead with the typical Colombian dish - chicken and rice, with a glass of passion fruit juice. Look how big the portion is compared to the ones in Barranquilla! Paisas do eat a lot huh... I paid 9000 pesos (USD 4.50) for this.

Walked to the Estadio metro station after lunch. The view from the station!

I got off at Parque Berrio and it reminds me of Masjid Jamek!

From the station, I walked to Plaza Botero where there were Fernando Botero's sculptures across the plaza. 

A guy who was selling bracelets approached me in the plaza and gave me a welcoming gift to Medellin. It was a string bracelet thingy and he wanted some "tips" for it. I told him I am only a student and I don't work. So I gave him some Daim chocolates and he left. Hahaha I thought that was kinda funny.

Next to Plaza Botero, was the Museo de Antioqoa.

Some pictures about plastic surgery I think. The women in Medellin are known for getting plastic surgery and silicone breasts.

Hopscotch made out of chalk sticks!

In the chamber of love...

The place was quite big - I got lost a few times!

There were a lot of colourful rooms for kids to learn about Botero's art. Here's a picture I took with the interactive camera :D

"Why does Botero paint fat people?"

"I fatten my characters to give them sensuality. I'm not interested in fat people for the sake of fat people."

Fernando Botero was born in Medellin and is probably the most famous artist in Latin America. He is famous for his huge bronze sculptures of  animals and naked people.

His name seemed familiar to me before coming but I don't remember where I've seen in. Perhaps somewhere in Paris?

In the room of Fernando Botero...

On the ground floor was a place showcasing potteries using clay from Colombia, especially from Ibague.

One thing that struck me when I was walking the streets of Medellin, is that there are pharmacies like every single corner of the street and it is always packed with people. I wonder why...

There are also lot of policemen along the streets so I guess it isn't thaaaat dangerous.

I saw a lot of stalls selling Buñuelitos for 500 pesos. I think they have it in Barranquilla too but I was curious to try one.

I think it's like cheese fritters because it tasted a bit salty...

Walked to Plaza Bolivar to see the Cathedral Metropolitano. On the way there, there was a street where there were a lot of stalls selling fake DVDs. But when I took a closer look, all of them were porn DVDs. So odd!!!

I walked back to the metro after the Cathedral because it was about to rain.

I came home, took a nap and that was it. 

At 6am today, I woke up to paste a birthday banner for Linda while she was still asleep. And then, Nazly, Gustavo and Gustavo surprised her with a cake and we sang happy birthday to her. Can't remember what happened after cos I went back to sleep. :p

Went to the hotel to have lunch with Ekin, Marina, Isabelle, Igor and Fady. Funny how we went to the same restaurant where I had my first lunch in Barranquilla! 

Also, remember Joaquin? I broke to news to Ekin as I managed to match Joaquin to host Ekin and Isabelle in his house! I'm really happy for Ekin and Isabelle because they really want to live in a host family. Joaquin is a really nice guy. I'm really happy for all of them. Amazing how connections can bring more people together right? 

While some of the other trainees went to visit Casa del Carnaval with AIESEC, I went to the flea market to get some souvenirs with Fady and Igor. They bought so much and I'm the haggle queen woohoo - helped them save lots of $$$. :p I got a Colombian flag and jersey. (:

I had to leave around 6 to get ready for Linda's birthday party. Since the other trainees were not back yet, I only said goodbye to Fady, Igor, Kati, Lez and Severin. :(

Got ready and we headed to El Punto del Sabor, a pizzeria where Linda had her family and friends for her birthday. It was a small get together and it was nice meeting Gustavo's family again. Linda got seranaded to for quite a long time. :p Didn't take many pictures because I was busy chatting. For a moment, I felt really happy for Linda but at the same time, I was really sad because this would be my last meal with the Garridos. I have enjoyed staying with them and I know I will miss them soo much when I leave. My host brother, Gustavo also told me how grateful he is to have Valeria and I because he thinks we have helped brought his family closer together. Aww <3 

With my host dad, Gustavo! 

The best host parents ever. I love Nazly, she's so crazy like my mum. :p

Last but not least, a picture with the beautiful birthday girl who just turned 18!

Tomorrow, I will leave at 6am for the airport to catch my 8.50am flight to Medellin. I'm so excited because part 2 of my Colombian adventure is about to start - travelling alone in Colombia! Hopefully my Spanish will be good enough for me to survive. :p I will meet up with Ekin, Isabelle, Carol, Mico and Ania when they visit Medellin on Saturday. Then on Monday, I will travel alone to Salento in the Coffee Zone (SO EXCITED OHMAGAWDDD). Staying there for 2 nights before I head to Bogota to spend some time there and then catching my flight back to London next Friday. 

Weeeee!

After having my last lunch at home yesterday...

I went to Uninorte to collect my certificate of completion but I ended up waiting 2 hours for Gustavo to arrive! Colombian timing -.- It wasn't that bad I guess since my buddy, Henry showed me around the campus and introduced me to some of his friends. The campus is so huge and it really looks more like a mall to me than a university... They even have a shop for you to shop for clothes...

Also, I learned that mechanical engineering students speak really good english because they have classes in english! I said goodbye to Henry; I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since he picked me up on my first day here in Barranquilla! I will miss him sooo much. He is seriously the best buddy ever. If I need anything, he is always there and I know I can count on him. No doubt he is the nicest Colombian guy I have ever met here. 

Well, after waiting for Gustavo for 2 hours, I finally saw him and he gave me my certificate. And he spelled Warwick wrongly! :( Couldn't be bothered to change it because I was in a hurry to collect my reimbursements from CUA. So I left.

Got my money and stopped by the English Club to say goodbye for the last time.

Dilson, one of my students who speaks really good English and is so lovely as he always goes out of class to call more students to join our English Club.

Went home and guess what? Henry drove all the way to my house to pass me some Colombian goodies. He knows how much I love coffee and arequipe heheh. Seriously the best buddy or what?! <3 I also tried Bocadillo, which is a sweet made out of guavas. Gustavo, my host brother told me they eat it with cheese here. Such a weird combination but I can understand why they like it with cheese after trying the both together.

Headed to the hotel to say goodbye to Iva and also to some of the other trainees that I probably won't see again... :(

Roberto - such a funny Italian guy who hates people although he is studying medicine. Doesn't he look like Messi?

Iva - the first person whom I shared a bed with here in Barranquilla. She's soo nice, I wanna go to Prague and visit her! 

With Manoel!

and with Julia!

I didn't go out on Friday night because I was helping Gustavo (my host dad) with some statistics homework that he had. Think I missed out a lot because Valeria told me the party at the hotel was very fun. I think everyone got thrown in to the pool. Haha, anyway, I was so tired because I had a night class to teach that lasted until 9pm. It was also my last time teaching with Mr Jose Diaz.

Sorry, I know I haven't been updating my blog here for a while. Gonna try and write about them all...

On Friday, Valeria, Major, Melinda and I went to Casa del Carnaval. Finally!  I've been wanting to visit this place for so long but our plans always seem to be cancelled every time we wanna go. Anyway, it isn't a very big place but it was nice to learn more about the carnival...

Outside around the house was free but to go in an air-conditioned room which was the museum, we had to pay 3000 pesos. We had a tour guide too that tried his best to explain about the carnival in english.

Inside the museum, we sat down to watch a short video about the carnival where there were pictures and videos of the carnival from years ago. Although it is difficult to date back to when the carnival began, it hasn't changed at all. We learned that the carnival is of Spanish, African and the indigenous Indians influence.

These are some of the masks of African animals, to commemorate the creativity of the artisans.

There are different kinds of dances available in the carnival; depending on its origins, they have their own music and costumes. For example, Congo, Marimonda, Farota, Monocuco, Garabato etc. The las Farotas dance are men dancing in women costumes. This is to signify during the Spanish colonisation, there were a lot of local women being sexual assaulted by the men. So, the local men would dress up as women and when they got near to the Spanish men, they would attack them. As for the Marimonda dance, they have masks with long noses, making fun of the upper social class.

There was also an interactive camera where you can match the costumes and take a picture!

The carnival is normally celebrated for a month before the actual carnival, especially here in Barranquilla. There is no fixed date for the carnival but it is always 40 days before Easter. Next year, it'll be on February 14-17! How I wish I could be here to witness it...

After the museum, we walked to Portal Del Prado to have lunch since it was  only a few blocks away. 

I had Chinese food! Lol. It was alright but full of MSG. I was so thirsty after!

We went to a photo booth and took pictures - it was so fun! After that, we went to find a shop to make copies of the pictures so that everyone could have a copy.

Sorry it took me so long to write this post! I've been so busy the past few days... Anyway, since Monday was a holiday, we made our way to La Guajira from Barranquilla at 6am. Major, Melinda, Derek, Valeria and I took a bus to Santa Marta. We then stopped at the BuenaVista mall in Santa Marta for some food before taking a private van to CuatroVia in Uribia. Getting to La Guajira is tricky as public transportation isn't available there. When we got out of the van at "CuatroVia", we were told we needed to take a car to the town in order for us to get to Cabo de La Vela (where we were heading to). I doubt the van driver dropped us off at CuatroVia. It was so odd because as soon as we got off the van, there was already a car waiting for us to take us to the town and he was charging us another 8000 pesos per person. The van driver must have made a deal with a contact in Uribia...

The car driver seemed like he knew everyone on the road, honking and flashing at every car that passed us. He was also trying to call his friend to take us to Cabo de La Vela, while driving on the wrong side of the road! When we got to Uribia, we transferred to a jeep that was brought us to Cabo de La Vela via the desert. 

Shared the jeep with 3 American girls. The jeep also broke down halfway in the desert. I mean, what else could go wrong right?

The jeep was actually delivering supplies to the Wayuu villages (indigenous indians) in the desert. Pitstop to drop some drinks off at the house and we took a pee in some bushes!

After 10 hours of travelling, we made it to Cabo de la Vela! It was just a village with a main "road" and huts on both sides of the road. The place lacked of tourists, all the huts were hostels and restaurants but I think they were just houses for the natives to live in. Although we practically had the whole beach to ourselves; but to be honest, we were really disappointed with the beach because it looked so different from the pictures we saw on the internet. 

We stayed at a "hostel" at the end of the road. It wasn't really a hostel as it was a hut with only 2 rooms and 2 beds. I opted for the bed since I wasn't feeling very well while the others rented hammocks. The rest went swimming but shortly after they dipped themselves in the sea, a guy came around and said we can't swim in the sea. In the end, we just sat in the hammocks watching the sunset and some guys wake boarding in the sea. 

There were other beaches nearby too but it's another hour of travelling and paying for guides to take us there. We were so tired that we just didn't want to move. 

Since we didn't eat lunch, we were starving for food so we went out looking for dinner. There were restaurants that were open along the village but it was really odd walking in because it was as if they didn't want to serve us food! Anyway, we found a restaurant and the lady told us she could cook us a chicken meal. So we waited; not knowing that she had to make a call for the meat to be delivered to her restaurant before she can start cooking!

There were also lots of military soldiers roaming the place. We didn't have a good feeling of the safety at Cabo de la Vela. For example, when we arrived around 4pm, there were a group of men drinking and dancing with loud music outside our hostel. Upon returning from dinner at 9pm, they were still drinking and the smell of alcohol was so strong. I was so terrified of sleeping alone in the bed that I changed to sleep in a hammock with the rest. Who knows what will the drunk men do at night right?!

We just wanted to leave the place so we woke up really early the next morning to leave. Before leaving the hostel, we wanted to pay for our hammocks but there was no one to be found. We actually left without paying!

We were searching for a guy to bring us back to Uribia but in the end we jumped into the same jeep that brought us to Cabo de la Vela as it stopped by one of the restaurants in the morning. Since we got on at a restaurant which was at the beginning of the street, the jeep drove towards to the end of the street delivering the rest of the supplies and even made a stop at our hostel. This time, the lady was there and came running to us asking if we have paid. It was so funny because we were so scared she might do something to do us that we quickly took out our money and paid her.

Doesn't this picture look like it's mocking us for not paying and leaving the hostel? Haha

The Wayuu ladies selling handicrafts along the streets...

It's a real dessert with cacti! 

When we got to Urivia, we tried looking for indigenous souvenirs to buy but it was really difficult trying to avoid the men offering to drive us to xxx. Even when Valeria was conversing in Spanish, she had to yell at the men before they left us alone. 

Finally, we took a car to Manaure, where we saw the large salt mines along the Carribean coast. 

Not sure if the factory was still running but it looked abandoned to me since the metal were already rusting...

The whole place was so white that it looked like snow, even though it was scorching hot!

We took the same car back to Urivia to catch a ride to Riohacha that will eventually bring us back to Santa Marta.

Took a 4x4 and the guy was nice enough to bring us to the marina in Riohacha where there were a lot of vendors selling souvenirs. I think the beach at Riohacha was probably better than Cabo de la Vela too!

Took a private van from the bus terminal in Riohacha for Santa Marta. In the 3-hour ride, we got stopped by the police twice! The first time, everyone in the van got called out to have our identification checked. Since La Guajira is really close to the Venezuelan border, there are often a lot of illegal immigrants coming into Colombia. I didn't have my passport with me as I only carried the copy of it - this led to the policemen stopping us for the second time, extorting to bring us to the police station or something. Nothing happened as I acted like I didn't know Spanish so I just returned back to the van haha.

Eventually, we made it to Santa Marta although the van driver lied to us (again) when he promised to drop us off at El Rodadero but he didn't. Didn't really care as we were just glad we were out of La Guajira! 

We rented an apartment by El Rodadero, close to the place where I stayed the last time I was in El Rodadero. Checked-in, took our dreaded showers (we didn't shower at Cabo de la Vela at all - toilet facilities were really bad), had dinner and took a stroll by the beach at night. 

The next morning, I left first with Derek by taking the morning bus since I was working in the afternoon and the others did not.

What an adventure travelling to La Guajira! Definitely think I've seen the worst of Colombia. Another first and last time activity to do in Colombia. 

Forgot to post this picture yesterday - I met Janella at the supermarket in Unico. It was really nice to see her again. Wonder who is she hosting now...

Anyway, today the Asians (Major, Melinda, Derek, Caro, Mico and I) and Valeria headed to El Totumo - the mud volcano that is on the way to Cartagena. It was a bit tricky going there as there were no direct buses but we managed to get the MarSol bus (that was going to Cartagena) to drop us off at El Totumo for a reduced bus ticket price.

We paid 5000 pesos to go in and it was actually just a small hill with steps going up. The volcano looked much bigger in pictures.

From the top, it was just a hole filled with mud and there were staircases on both sides to go down and up.

Since we arrived pretty early in the morning (like before 10am) there weren't many people in it yet. 

It was really chaotic once you're in the mud hole because everyone is just shouting and screaming, but no one hears you from above. Likewise when you're above the hole. The mud was really slimy and dense. I couldn't feel the bottom of the hole but it was so dense that I was hardly moving and floating around. We were actually only in there like for 5-10 minutes before we got out. Moments after the girls went in, so many people showed up and there wasn't much space above the hole. So we kinda got chased out. There was this guy who was squeezing mud off bodies before we climbed the stairs. Valeria and I told him not to touch us as we'll do it ourselves but I think he got really angry at us. 

Okay so apparently the mud makes your skin, hair and face really smooth but nahhh, not my hair! When we came up of the hole, it was so breezy that the mud were just flying off from my swimsuit, it almost looked like I had flying poop hahahah.

We were told that we are supposed to wash ourselves at the beach nearby so we had to carry our bags down the staircase and get to the beach. (Yeah, mud all over our bags... :/) The beach wasn't really a beach, it looked more like a mud lake to me. As usual, there were ladies trying to help you wash your bodies but with a hefty price tag. 

After washing ourselves, we headed to one of the little huts and ate an arepa con huevo (arepa stuffed with egg). The lady at the shop was very nice to let us change into our clothes in her kitchen. 

I knew what I was signing up for before coming to the volcano and I have to say it was definitely an experience but this would be the first and last time I'll do it. Thinking about it, it was actually really disgusting as you don't know how many hundred people soak themselves in the pool of mud everyday and I doubt the mud gets changed anyway. Do you know they even sold the same mud at the bottom of the volcano?

Heading back to Barranquilla was even trickier than getting to the volcano. There were no buses passing through El Totumo so we had to take a mototaxi to the nearest village where the Berlinas and MarSol buses pass. When we got there, they were selling us tickets but only full-price tickets from Cartagena to Barranquilla. We were really lucky because there was another bus called Moviliza-T who offered us 12000 pesos instead of 15000 pesos to Barranquilla. 

For the rest of the day, Valeria and I headed home for a nice shower and proceeded to Unico to shop. For dinner, we went out with Nazly, Gustavo and Linda to a pizzeria. It was the first time we had dinner outside with the Garridos! 

Tomorrow is a holiday because it's a Catholic holiday, I think it's San Jose's birthday?

For the AIESEC volunteers here, our last week in Barranquilla is supposed to be a free week to travel before we leave. Since Valeria, Melinda and Major are leaving this week, they have stopped working last week and are making plans to travel to La Guajira. It is the dessert on the north-east side of Barranquilla, bordering Venezuela, where the Wayuus, the indigenous Indians stay. I want to travel with them too but I'm having a bit of problems with my schedule. Since I arrived the same time as them, I should have ended my project on the same time too. However, I am leaving Barranquilla the week after so technically my last week is next week. Nazly is telling me to just travel to La Guajira and she's telling me she can even get me a fake MC for 3000 pesos! I just have to choose what disease I want. LOL. Sounds a bit like Malaysia...

Gotta sort this out with Mr Ramirez and Ms Doris but I think I'll most likely travel with the bunch. Feeling really guilty but I'll offer to work on my last week here. 

After work last night, Valeria and I went out for dinner with my buddy, Henry and his sister, Kathya! They brought us to Cucayo, a local place where the interior was really colourful and they had, not to mention, loud Cumbia music playing. Cumbia music originates from African music and is basically music you hear in the Barranquillan Carnivals.

These are sweet arepas, with star anise in them. I love them! They taste like the sweet kinda yao char guai. :D

My dinner - fried fish served with salad of the day, plantain, coconut rice and avocado. So yum! I was really hungry too; so I finished everything! Hehehe.

For yesterday's English Club session, we brought our students to Olympica, the supermarket near the university. The 7 trainees paired up with a student each to go around each aisle and introduce the items in the supermarket to the students in English. Diane and I had a really great time as she taught me about the local fruits and vegetables in Colombia that I have never seen before! She even bought me an arepa after. :p

Too bad we came back to the university only to find some angry students who were waiting for us and didn't know that we were in the supermarket. We felt really bad but to be honest, I don't think it was something that we could have avoided. First off, our schedules are so messed up that even the students don't know where the classroom of the English Club is. Second, since the attendance for the English Club is voluntary, we don't know who comes and who doesn't. -.-

After class, Valeria and I went to the hotel to say goodbye to Stephanie and Momo as they are going back to Peru and China respectively today. Even though I only taught briefly with them before they transferred to a primary school to teach, I'm gonna miss them because I always see them at the hotel! Momo is so funny - she's really direct and speaks her mind. Have to travel to Sichuan to visit her and improve my Mandarin!

We then headed to Denisse and Caro's house for some light dinner, which was just pizza and some chips. After singing a birthday song for Caro and cutting her vanilla, chocolate and arequipe (yum!!!) cake, Andres (Caro and Denisse's host) was very nice to drive us to Cantagallo, a karaoke place in Barranquilla where we met the other trainees. No one really sang because we all just wanted to dance hahah. We got bored of Cantagallo, and as usual, we headed to Frogg. 

Another amazing night out with the girls. 

Went to say goodbye to Noemi in the morning yesterday before she left for the airport.

I didn't know Guilherme was leaving yesterday too! :((

Can't believe one by one, everyone will be leaving Barranquilla. Can you believe that this is my 5th week here in Colombia?! Time really flies! It's really sad. I don't feel like leaving.... :(  For yesterday's class, we thought Level 1 English to a group of 20 Law students. I think the class went really well! They were really well behaved and so eager to learn. Unfortunately, I was told that Mr Ramirez changed our schedules again. And he canceled our English Club night classes! Our only productive class! I felt so bad for the students because they came up to me after my last class with Mr Joseph, asking me where the English Club is. The students are so eager to learn but because of some unorganised administrative staff they have in the university, we cannot conduct any classes. Welcome to the universities in Colombia.  Mr Joseph suggested that I come with him to the universidad barrio, the night classes he gives to the poor kids that cannot afford to come to university. I really wanted to do it but I missed the van as I wasted so much time just trying to settle our schedules again. This is really ridiculous. 

Anyway, since we didn't have any classes, I followed the other trainees to Buena Vista for some Juan Valdez, followed by a ranting session of our classes. After dinner at home with Nazly, instead of heading to the Bourbon Pub with the other trainees, Valeria and I headed to get some fruteria with Manoel. We took a taxi to Fruteria Sandy only to find out that it was closed. In the end, we paid like 14000 pesos for a taxi and ended up at another fruteria only a few blocks away from where we stayed. Hahaha. A fruteria is a place where there are basically a lot of fruits - either like a fruit salad with ice cream or fruit juices. It was a really good night as we really enjoyed talking to Manoel. 

Today, we're hunting for a cake because it's Caro's birthday tomorrow! 

Yesterday was my first day being Mr Joseph Darby's teaching assistant! For the first class between 8am-11am, we thought a class of 9 who were supposed to be Level 3 students. They were not exactly Level 3 because I could tell they were struggling to understand the text in the books. I don't know what can we do to help them! Sounds exactly like what Teach For Malaysia Fellows go through when their students are like 14-15 year olds but can't even spell their ABCs. In fact, we did sing the ABC song in class yesterday when some of the students went to photocopy pages of the book. 

After lunch, we had another English class for Level 2 students but it was a big class. Like over 30 of them. It was so difficult to control the class because they came strolling into the class whenever they like and they're really loud. Mr Joseph and I had to split the class into smaller groups to share the textbooks and I think that made the situation a little better. Towards the end of the class, there was a girl who just walked in to the class to kiss a boy and left! I looked at Mr Joseph and he was staring back at me in disbelief. After the class, he told me he didn't want to get mean with the students but he was really angry. I could understand how he felt because the students were really disrespectful despite being old enough (17 year olds) to be mature in class. 

In a way, maybe the class wasn't at its worst because they saw me and was eager to ask me questions, but in English. Some of the more enthusiastic students from the second class also told me they wanted to attend the English Club sessions with me after. Hope the rest of the students will come back for classes next week and Mr Joseph and I can come up with a solution for the class.

Monday is my busiest day because I am supposed to be working from 8am-8pm. In the evening, I have English club sessions with the students and then with the administrative staff. Unfortunately, the problem of no available classrooms for our English Club has not been solved. So although we can find an empty classroom to be in, our students don't know the classroom! We also don't know who is coming and who isn't. 

We didn't conduct the night class with the administrative staff because they had other classes to attend last night so we left early. At least they told us so that we know. Oh, and we collected our money for lunch and transport. Yay! Actually, I just walk to work everyday and I have lunch at home so the extra money received is just gonna be saved for travelling hehehe. 

At night, we just had a mini gathering for Noemi since she's leaving for Puerto Rico today. Noemi is like a mummy to all of us trainees, especially to those that stayed in the hotel. She's so loveable and friendly! I remember she was one of the first trainees I met on my first day here in Barranquilla - at the cinema in Buena Vista! I'm gonna miss her loads. :'(

After our class on Friday, we went bicycling around the city of Barranquilla with our students. It was soooo fun! We cycled from the shop where we rented our bicycles to BuenaVista. That's like 2.5 hours of cycling! My saddle was so hard and uncomfortable, causing pain and discomfort to my *ahem*. It was really tiring, but I feel really fit now! Cycling at night around the city is relatively safe in Barranquilla as cars do stop for cyclists; well also because a group of 30 cyclists normally just hoard the roads hahaha. Bicycling at night was by far one of the most enjoyable activities I've done in Barranquilla.

Anyway, the Global Village was organised really poorly. They told all the trainees to be at Plaza La Paz at 1pm but all of us ended up waiting until 5pm for the tents and tables to be set up. Thank goodness there was a mall, Portal Del Prado for us trainees to chill first aka Juan Valdez time. 

But as soon as the event started, many people came by my booth! I think I had a sore throat trying to explain about Malaysia. This time, I learned how to ration the kuih dadar and kuih kodok. They only can taste it after listening to me blabber about Malaysia in Spanish and asking me a question. Hahaha.

Maria Teresa, whom I met at the Global Village was really nice to sit by my booth to help me with setting up and translating. Well, one of the people that came by my booth told me I had the best Spanish explaining about my culture compared the other trainees. So I guess I didn't depend too much on Maria Teresa... yay for being independent? :D

With Kati from Chile and Milene from Peru!

Guilherme from Brazil - the first trainee that I met when I came to Barranquilla!

Made a new friend, Manoel from Senegal who is here in Barranquilla working (something to do with network communications) for a year. He told me he had experienced the Barranquilla Carnival this year and will do so again next year before he leaves. So jealous!

Ania from Poland! (:

Monica, Miss Chihuahua from Mexico! Can't believe Saturday was the last day I saw her. She is so fun to be with! Super crazy hahaha.

Lovely lady, Johanna who drew a portrait of me at the booth!

Ekin from Turkey who just arrived in Barranquilla. She brought Turkish Delight and Baklava. Even though her booth was only next to mine, I didn't get to have them because they were finished. OHMAGAWD CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MY BAKLAVA!! :((

That was actually how busy I am...  Since I was the only Malaysian there, I couldn't really leave my booth to visit the other booths. It was really nice explaining about Malaysia to the people but I really wanted the chance to visit the other countries. :( By the time the people were gone, all the trainees were in the middle of the plaza dancing so their booths were empty too. Oh well. I joined in but it was really difficult trying to dance in my kebaya! Plus, I was sweating like crrrrraaaayyyyyzeeee!

Got home and ended up waiting for more than an hour for Nazly because no one was home to open the door for us. :( In Colombia, it is usual for host families to not give keys to trainees.

After freshening up, we headed to the Drinking Village which was like a goodbye party to all the OC Army trainees. It was quite ridiculous since the people from AIESEC charged us entrance fees and expensive drinks when the party was held in an AIESEC girl's house. Anyway, I think we had a lot of fun because we drank so much of Aguardiente and we were so happy. Okay maybe only a while for me because I got so sleepy after. But Valeria was kinda high so I had to make sure we got back safely together. 

So I did not teach yesterday because again, my schedule was not complete as I did not have the venue of my classes. It's so difficult to contact Ms Doris and Mr Ramirez (another teacher who is organising our schedules) because they are so unresponsive to our messages and calls! 

Anyway, we gave up trying contacting them and went to meet them in person in the afternoon at their office. Didn't get my schedule, but at least I got to meet Mr Joseph Darby! He isn't British; he's from New Jersey and has been in Colombia for quite some time now. I like that he stresses on the ESA teaching method (Engage, Study and Activate), which basically mean that his classes are very interactive! When he asked us how do we sing our ABC song, he told us we've been singing it the wrong way and then he started rapping and beatboxing to his own version of the ABC song! He's such a funny person, think I'm gonna have lots of fun teaching with him.

Another unproductive day but oh well, I had fun watching like 4 episodes of Arrow hehe. And look! My host mum, Nazly was teaching me how to dance at night. Hahaha so embarrassing because I can't move my hips like she does! 

Oh yeah Valeria went to the hospital and went through like tonnes of injections and an x-ray. The bill came up to over 2 million pesos. 0.0 She didn't pay for it since it was covered under her insurance but actually she just had some phlegm in her lungs and a normal flu... 

Since Valeria and my host mum were in the hospital waiting for 5 hours, I had to wait at the hotel with the other trainees because no one was home to open the door for me. Homeless child.... :'(

Nothing much happened today since Ms Doris did not give us our schedule. She only told us quite late that we had to meet at the Cosmos building at 5pm today to discuss our schedule.

Looks like I'll be a teaching assistant to Mr Joseph Darby, a British professor teaching English at the university! My schedule is a bit weird because I have long breaks in between but that's fine since I know I'll find things to do anyway.

Gotta sleep early tonight because I start teaching at 6am tomorrow!