December 28, 2014 – January 3, 2015
This was definitely a celebratory week. Sunday was the Feast
of the Holy Family at Mass and that evening, we had a party for my host mom’s
60th Birthday, which was the following day. Later in the week, I
went to see The Hobbit: Battle of the
Five Armies with a few other volunteers and, of course, the movie was
amazing, especially now that I’ve read the book, The Hobbit.
New Year’s Eve was a day of thanksgiving, with Mass in the
afternoon and a family celebration in the evening. We took family photos (and I
was included, which made me feel very welcome and at home), ate grapes before
midnight, hugged everyone at midnight, and watched neighbors pull suitcases
around the block after midnight – all Colombian New Year’s traditions. Of
course, I threw in one American tradition and jumped in the New Year before
joining in hugging everyone. Then, there was Mass again on New Year’s Day
celebrating Mary, Mother of God…definitely a celebratory week.
- “Plans change – that’s why my calendar is written in
pencil.” Just go with the flow – some things just don’t work out…in fact, in
Peace Corps service, most things don’t work out…and that’s OK.
- Home Center is like the Home Depot/Lowe’s of Colombia. If
you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, I highly recommend starting
there. Mind you, there are many less expensive places to buy “home improvement”
stuff – unfortunately, most of those places are in an off-limits neighborhood
in Santa Marta, so I stick with Home Center. Also, the people at Home Center
are very nice and helpful even when they think it’s odd that a woman wants to
do a home improvement project with wood and hammers and “man” things like that.
- Some Colombian New Year’s Eve traditions: Eat 12 grapes
before midnight, preferably in time with the 12 chimes of a clock – each grape
means something, though what those things are exactly is debated and difficult
to find on the Internet. Right after midnight, pull a suitcase around your
block – good luck for anyone who hopes to travel during the year.
- How to build a window screen: Measure your window several
times to make sure you’ll buy the right supplies. Buy pieces of wood that will
fit on the top and bottom of your window frame. Buy pieces of wood that will
fit on the sides of your window between the top and bottom pieces of your
screen frame. Nail these into the window frame when your host family’s not
home, so the hammering won’t bother them. (Suggestion: Consider asking your
host family first whether or not you can put in a screen, emphasizing that they
do not need to do it for you.) Put pieces of Velcro on the inside of your
screen frame and the opposite pieces around the edge of a piece of plastic or
wire mesh the size of your window. The Velcro may not want to stick to the
mesh, so you can glue it on and put tape sticky-side-down on the opposite side
of the mesh. Attach the Velcro on the mesh to the Velcro on your screen frame.
Nicely done – you have a window screen! Alternatively, you could just nail the
mesh into the wall around your window, which is much easier, but doesn’t look
as nice…
- La brisa loca,
the crazy breeze, is the strong wind that roars through Santa Marta and other
cities starting around December. It tends to cause power outages and gorgeous
temperatures that will have some Colombians wearing jackets and many gringos comfortable and happy.
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