My Places: Altitud Climbing Center

I spend quite a bit of time at Altitud, a local climbing center.  I have made many friends at this gym who I climb with at the outdoor climbing destinations in the region.  The owners are great friends of mine now and have shown me incredible kindness since my arrival.  They have really made me feel like part of the Altitud family!

Juan Guillermo and Maria Isabel Directors of the climbing school, seen here at the the potluck I hosted in November.  They also put on the annual trail run half marathon that I participated in last fall.  Incredible athletes and remarkable people.

Carlos and Marco: my climbing buddies hanging out in the bouldering cave.

Outside of Altitud :)  I can walk there in about 25 mins. from my house through a lovely little neighborhood.

My Students

These are some of my 6th grade Math students.  I have 70 6th graders, 70 7th graders, and 70 8th graders.  They are in groups of 35 (so much for "Montessori," right?).  I spend 6 academic hours (45 mins each) with 6th graders, 2 hrs with 7th graders, and 1 hour per week with 8th grade.  I still don't know the 8th graders names!  I also spend an hour a week doing a creative movement/intro gymnastics class for the 6 yr. olds here...the highlight of my week!

Our school year follows the calendar year, Jan - Dec.  The students will be off for a week in April, the month of June, a week in October then ~7 weeks between December and January.  I have travel plans worked into these breaks.  My parents will be here for Spring Break, we will go to a southern Colonial town; in June I will be in Ecuador with my sister and friends; I hope to be on the Caribbean Coast in October and Peru in December.  Always planning the next trip!!

Holidays in Medellin

Now that the Holiday Season here and in the States has passed, I figured it's time to provide a glimpse at how Colombians celebrate.  I hosted a potluck around Thanksgiving with new friends, then in December I enjoyed the Legends and Myths Parade downtown-- a great family tradition here in the city.  Medellin is know for it's lights displays, especially those that twirl above the river!  I was highly impressed with  the brilliance of these displays.

Potluck!

Holiday Lights

Parade Floats

The new school year has begun and I will not be with the 3rd graders after all. I will primarily be teaching 6th grade math with a few hours with the 7th and 8th graders as well.  In February my modern dance workshop will begin at the university.  I am excited for the year to get rolling!  Hope your New Year celebrations were great!  Enjoy the photos.

Abuela (Grandma)

I met Magola through a friend here and we immediately hit it off.  Magola is very high-spirited and kind.  She loves music, cooking and learning new recipes.  She insisted I visit her in her awesome old-school kitchen to learn to cook like "Paisas"-- people from this state.  I have been over several times and on my most recent visit we baked my standard vegan chocolate chip cookies with a banana base.  She likes to make me a big lunch that always leaves me stuffed.  Here you can see her veggie-n-rice stuffed peppers, plantain soup, salad from goodies in her garden, home-made fruit tea (strawberry and pineapple), and an "arepa de chocolo"-- a corn-based pancake that is very common in Colombian cuisine.

Suesca

A small town 45 km north of Bogota, Suesca hosts some of South America's best limestone cliffs for sport and traditional styles of rock climbing.  I met Siul, a friend of a Medellín climbing friend, there and he showed me around the rocks.  Enjoy the views, I did!

BOGOTA!

I took advantage of having 6 days off in a row to visit the capital.  11-hour bus rides there and back convinced me to take a flight next time, but seeing the vibrant green landscape, cut through with wild rushing rivers and spotted with precious country towns, made the road trip worth it.  The city was excellent to visit, but too big for me in terms of a place to live.  I went to a theater performance, wandered the museums and sites, and met great people.  I took two days to get to know a small town with big rocks to climb on to the north, Suesca.  And when it was time to head back to Medellín, it felt good to be going "home."  Enjoy the photos!

That's me and Maydei, friend of a friend in Medellín, atop Cerro Montserate with lots of Bogotá down below.  Great public art, like the banana-fishergirl and the tile mosaic above are typical around the city.  I was tempted by the many sweets at the famous "La Puerta Falsa" in the old-town colonial sector.

Cable car up to Montserate to see the best view!

Peanut Butter

I've been going through a bit of peanut butter withdrawal down here.  It's not that it's completely unavailable-- for $8 i can get a mini-jar of PeterPan, I even found a medium jar of Reduced Fat JIF for about the same price-- I'm just not willing to shell out that kind of money, especially if it's not a full-fat product!

Then, I heard a friend of a friend mention "big bags of peanut butter" sold at a place called Makro.  I didn't believe her.  Colombians don't eat the tasty nut-paste, and don't know what to do with it when they see it...why would they sell it in big bags?

My curiosity got the best of me, so I took the 15 minute walk from my apartment to Makro-- best described as the Colombian COSTCO.  And, no kidding, there it was!  Between big bags and jars of jams and fruits was a stack of "big bags of peanut butter"...reasonably priced!!  Ever have a moment that is hugely meaningful and important, but no one around you knows, or cares, or would understand?  That was me, giddy with glee, in the bulk-jam isle.  Looking around with a "Can you believe this!?" expression on my face, eyebrows high, smile stretched... no one cared.  But, no matter...I returned home, squeezed the contents of one of the bags into my JIF jar, dunked a cracker, and congratulated myself for overcoming cultural and culinary differences.  Yum!