Two stories from the grocery line
1. I’m standing in line with two bananas in my hand. It’s Sunday and we’re going to the beach. I need to break a bill so I’ll have change for the bus. My bikini top peeks out of my tank top. I’m...
View Article“Mul” on the floor
Some days, the words escape my mouth effortlessly. My accent lessens and the rr’s slide off my tongue in rhythm, like gliding across the dance floor in someone’s arms. Reir. Crear. Venir. Cerrar....
View ArticleNo light in the neighborhood
I walked to my house in complete darkness, like I was blindfolded, taking part in a Spanish class activity to practice giving directions. A la derecha, past the church. A la izquierda, at the next...
View ArticleVulgarities
“I’m not going to teach you those,” Jorge said. “But how can we know what the kids are saying if you don’t teach us?” I asked. We were in Spanish class, focusing on Costeño idioms, including the phrase...
View ArticleMy Miró Breakfast
Today my breakfast looked like a Miró painting. There was a brown hot dog on the left side of the plate, two triangular pieces of Costeño cheese in the top center, and a fried ball of dough on the...
View ArticleLiving among the (domesticated) animals of La Boquilla
Along with the roosters, the birds wake me up every morning around 6:30 AM. When they begin to sing, I open my eyes to the soft morning glow sweeping through my bedroom window. They repeat the same...
View ArticleMonks Hitchhike and Nuns Use WhatsApp
From the middle of the winding dirt road, we heard an engine roar in the distance. Bryan, the Canadian, and Sunnim, the Chinese monk from my Korean class, stopped in their tracks. “Was that the bus?”...
View Article#3, Collaging Colombia: feet in the sand at Salgar
[magazine pieces on 3"x5" index card] Salgar, Puerto Colombia, Colombia. November 2013. We sat around a white, plastic umbrella table in front of the sea and buried our feet in the dark brown sand....
View ArticleI Live on the Beach: an update and some goals for the next two years
So long to schedules! The nine-hour days of Peace Corps training have ended, and I’ve entered a period of transition and adjustment. A month ago, I moved to my site, La Boquilla, located on the beach,...
View ArticleChristmas in La Boquilla
The weather may be hot, but that hasn’t stopped Boquilleros from creating Christmas decorations that resemble the environment of their northern neighbors. Styrofoam and paper cup snowmen, CD wreaths,...
View Article2013 in Photos: Goodbye Korea, Hello Colombia, and some stops in between
Maybe it’s the tropical climate, or maybe all the shuffling around, but it’s hard to believe that Christmas is in a few days and we’re nearing the end of 2013. Also, I just realized that I’ve been...
View ArticleCamping in the Caribbean: Tayrona National Park
Taroko, Terelj, and Tayrona. Is it a coincidence that the last three national parks I’ve explored have started with the letter T? Tayrona, however, is located far from the others–outside of Santa Marta...
View ArticleDocumenting my Peace Corps projects
[Hanging out with some of my adult students after class.] When I created this blog in 2011, I intended it to be a travel blog, but over the past few years, it’s merged into a...
View ArticleSo, do you think I… ?
Sweating like usual. “I recently read an article about a guy–I don’t know if he’s from the United States or England–but he invented a lotion that you can use instead of showering,” My co-teacher...
View ArticleFestival de Dulces
Today was the Festival de Dulces. The high school students celebrated by wearing jeans, blasting champeta, and selling goey mango, coconut, papaya and arequipe sweets. When I walked towards the school...
View ArticleHow Exito and my “super-special” students saved the day
Yesterday I led a simple writing workshop with my tenth grade class. “Where did you go during Holy Week?” I prompted. Some students shouted out an answer, and I began making a list on the board....
View ArticleMapping Movement: a week on the coast
A few weeks ago, I took my map obsession to the next level by enrolling in a free MOOC on Coursera titled, Maps and the Geospatial Revolution. In the first week, we discussed why we use maps. I...
View Articlea lesson about pants
As I was sitting across from José, devouring a Mediterranean-style crepe, I shifted in my seat and felt a thin layer of sweat underneath my bare thighs. I was wearing a dress, and the air conditioner...
View ArticleIt rained in La Boquilla.
A couple weekends ago, it poured in La Boquilla. The rain pummeled down in one giant burst that lasted an hour, flooding the main road with a stagnant pool of brown liquid. I had plans to meet my...
View ArticleIntegration vs. Polo Shirts
I hate polo shirts. Polo shirts remind me of soggy french fries floating in dirty dishwater mixed with hamburger grease and crusted hot fudge. They remind me of running around with plastic baskets of...
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