February 15 – February 21
¡Feliz Carnaval!
Happy Mardi Gras! I was very lucky to be able to go to Barranquilla for this
year’s Carnaval celebration. I stayed with one of our volunteer couples and
they are definitely some of the sweetest people I know – I appreciate them and
all the volunteers who open their homes to other volunteers at the drop of a
hat. I joined a volunteer for one of the parades on Sunday and then went to the
Parada de Fantasia myself on Monday
when another volunteer couldn’t go and said I could have her ticket. There were
extravagantly colorful, tropical bird-like costumes and beautiful dances, good
music and lots of espuma.
I got back to Santa Marta just in time for the Misa de ceniza on Ash Wednesday. After
all that craziness, it’s nice to calm down and just think about God…that’s
probably part of why people go crazy for Carnaval – by the time you’re done
celebrating, you’re definitely ready for Lent!
- Barranquilla supposedly has the 2nd largest and
most extravagant Carnaval celebration in the world, right after Río de Janeiro.
Obviously, then, it’s worth going to Barranquilla for at least one of your
Carnavales in Colombia. The 5+ day celebration is crazy and you’ll be very
tired of crowds and waiting and espuma
and being tired by the end of it, but it’s definitely worth it to see all the
beautiful parades, take in the vibrant culture, and just celebrate being alive!
- Cumbia is a traditional type of dance in Colombia. In
fact, if someone asked me to mention a few things that were extremely
Colombian, cumbia would definitely be one of the first things to come to mind.
The dancing is beautiful and difficult to describe other than that it looks
like the dancers in each pair are courting one another – there’s lots of bowing
and following one another around whatever happens to be the stage. The steps
are based mostly on a drumbeat, which also may explain part of why so many
people here have such an excellent sense of rhythm!
- Espuma is foam
sprayed out of a can. Imagine silly string, only foam comes out of the can,
instead of string. Most of the foam for sale is white, which is good, since all
the colored ones stain. That said, do not wear nice clothes during Carnaval
(unless you’re in a parade and have a pretty costume). In fact, plan for your
clothes to be possibly destroyed or, at least, damaged during Carnaval. I’m not
saying it’s going to happen for sure, but better safe than foamed,
cornstarched, and everything-elsed, right?
- As I’ve mentioned before, the Peace Corps office has just about
everything. The medical office can give you free replacements for the stuff in
your medical kit. People in the office know the answers to almost all your
questions or can direct you to someone who knows if they don’t. All the forms
you’ll ever need are just outside the volunteer lounge and the lounge itself
contains a hundred useful things – computers with Internet, a media computer, a
mini library for pleasure reading and reference materials, a set of shelves
devoted to free school supplies, more free volunteer-donated stuff under a
table, volunteer mailboxes in a file cabinet, free printing (within reason),
etc. And it just feels nice to be there – people know who you are and that what
you’re doing is important and you always see someone you know…it’s a nice
place…
- If you have the opportunity, try to learn how stuff works in
your house and even your school if you’re lucky enough to be friends with
someone who knows. Specifically, learn how the water in your house (and school,
if you can) works. A lot of the time, machines shut themselves off when water
is not available and, when water becomes available, someone needs to turn them
back on. It’s nice when you can be the person who knows how to do that, so you
don’t need to wait a long time for someone else. Yay, self-sufficiency!
- When you’re sick, drink water – lots and lots
of water.
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