Newsletter 2
Warm greetings from Colombia! (wink! wink!)
It’s not that warm here, but I can’t help thinking that most of you by now have a foot of snow on the ground and are facing temperatures under 0. For us in Bogota, the sun is finally starting to be more present, and in the last few days I’ve had the chance to witness some spectaculars sunsets.
It seems that unintentionally my work has been taking a slow pace recently. Not that it made me stressed, but as my plans are always changing here, you do get to enjoy more the everyday life. So instead of working on the writing for the conflict guide I’m designing, I got to spend a week in Cachipay with the Plenert family in mid-November. It was also an occasion for me to go to La Mesa (about 1 hour from their place) to meet the school principal, teachers and kids of where I’ll be teaching in January. It was a great time let me tell you! The school has about 1 class for each level (kindergarten to grade 11) so it makes for big classes. I couldn’t really tell if the kids were in class or in recreation b/c their teaching style is a little different from our. In any case, it sounds like a great place and the teachers were really happy to know there would be another gringa (north American) coming to help out next school year. The kids have so much energy, that my only concern is that I might enjoy a little too much of their company, and as my friend Annemarie says, I might be burnt or dead quite a few times during my stay!!!
Back to Cachipay, I was staying at the finca (farm) with the Plenerts, and I ended up overcoming one of my fear: bug squashing! Every night I was inspecting my bedroom to find spiders and bugs and… SQUASH THEM! I thought “better squashed than sleeping with me”. I became quite good at it until God reminded me that he wasn’t done with me. I had to face a horn bug! I included a picture so you see I’m not joking! I can proudly say that I squashed one, without it splashing bug juice on the wall! By the end of my week I deserved a bug squashing certificate, but the Plenerts did not have any left…
Another interesting thing I did lately was to visit a salt cathedral a little north of Bogota. It’s a salt mine into which they have carved a cathedral and the stations of Jesus’ life. You could even lick the walls to taste! Again, I did that with the Plenerts, and I couldn’t help laughing when we realized it reminded us of the Mines of Moria! There were four huge stone pillars underground in the cathedral, representing the four evangelists, and they actually have masses down there.
Finally, please keep me in your prayers so that I won't feel too homesick during Xmas and also for the conflict resolution workshops I'm about to give (probably in early January). Pray that people will keep an open mind and that they will feel free to participate and open up for an honest exchange.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all,
Mylene
It’s not that warm here, but I can’t help thinking that most of you by now have a foot of snow on the ground and are facing temperatures under 0. For us in Bogota, the sun is finally starting to be more present, and in the last few days I’ve had the chance to witness some spectaculars sunsets.
It seems that unintentionally my work has been taking a slow pace recently. Not that it made me stressed, but as my plans are always changing here, you do get to enjoy more the everyday life. So instead of working on the writing for the conflict guide I’m designing, I got to spend a week in Cachipay with the Plenert family in mid-November. It was also an occasion for me to go to La Mesa (about 1 hour from their place) to meet the school principal, teachers and kids of where I’ll be teaching in January. It was a great time let me tell you! The school has about 1 class for each level (kindergarten to grade 11) so it makes for big classes. I couldn’t really tell if the kids were in class or in recreation b/c their teaching style is a little different from our. In any case, it sounds like a great place and the teachers were really happy to know there would be another gringa (north American) coming to help out next school year. The kids have so much energy, that my only concern is that I might enjoy a little too much of their company, and as my friend Annemarie says, I might be burnt or dead quite a few times during my stay!!!
Back to Cachipay, I was staying at the finca (farm) with the Plenerts, and I ended up overcoming one of my fear: bug squashing! Every night I was inspecting my bedroom to find spiders and bugs and… SQUASH THEM! I thought “better squashed than sleeping with me”. I became quite good at it until God reminded me that he wasn’t done with me. I had to face a horn bug! I included a picture so you see I’m not joking! I can proudly say that I squashed one, without it splashing bug juice on the wall! By the end of my week I deserved a bug squashing certificate, but the Plenerts did not have any left…
Another interesting thing I did lately was to visit a salt cathedral a little north of Bogota. It’s a salt mine into which they have carved a cathedral and the stations of Jesus’ life. You could even lick the walls to taste! Again, I did that with the Plenerts, and I couldn’t help laughing when we realized it reminded us of the Mines of Moria! There were four huge stone pillars underground in the cathedral, representing the four evangelists, and they actually have masses down there.
Finally, please keep me in your prayers so that I won't feel too homesick during Xmas and also for the conflict resolution workshops I'm about to give (probably in early January). Pray that people will keep an open mind and that they will feel free to participate and open up for an honest exchange.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all,
Mylene
posted by Mylene @ 1:08 PM
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