Cartagena… top travel destination in Colombia and my hometown for the 24 months. No big deal; look it up folks; read it and weep. But no matter what, be excited to visit me! I am back in Barranquilla after my four day site visit until I officially move to Cartagena in mid-January. WOOHOOOO!
The link below shows various settings and peoples of Cartagena. The students who are using sign language (there is a large amount of deaf students at my school, although none take English class) and wearing red and white striped shirts (their uniform) are from my school:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLhxJVn9AM4&feature=related
In our group of 22, nine volunteers will remain in Barranquilla, six will go to Santa Marta, and seven of us to Cartagena (pictured below with a counterpart from each school). In placing volunteers, Peace Corps accounted for friendships in the group and some good friends going with me. The three males going to Cartagena are placed in “semi-urban” sites; two are in smaller towns on the outskirts of the city and one is on an island off the coast. The remaining four girls will be living it up in various neighborhoods throughout the city.
The best way to describe my Cartagena homestay would be “The Golden Girls: Colombian Style”. I will be living with my three abuelas, two of which are in their 80’s, the other in her 60s. The Peace Corps response volunteer living there now is totally positive about her experience. My new grandmas have 60+ years of cooking experience under their belts, are super sweet and adorable, speak no English, and finally are very hands-off in terms of giving me full-independence, letting me stay out however late and generally doing whatever I want... what’s not to love. Two sisters live next door, and various other uncles, sisters, and brothers live on the street; from what I gather I’m basically related to the entire neighborhood. We have three dogs and two cats, although it’s actually really sad because the dogs are attached to chains no more than four feet long and never able to roam around. The house is large with a big front and back patios, big sitting area, 3 bathrooms, and 6 bedrooms. Somehow I have the largest bedroom, complete with my own bathroom. The joke that Colombia is the “Posh Corps” experience seems to be holding true compared the otherwise mud-hut and pooping-in-a-hole stereotype. Although I have found myself wanting a more “roughing-it” experience at times, on second thought, I can live with a flushable toilet for two years. That being said, I will not get consistent internet, there is no hot water, I am not in a wealthy neighborhood (it is a 25 minutes bus ride from the posh/expensive tourist areas; 80% of the population of Cartagena lives in poverty according to a coworker), most of my students come from the lowest socioeconomic stratums, my school has limited resources (a library the size of a large closet, for example), I will not be getting paid very much (to say the least), and it’s going to be hot as hell come summer with no air-conditioning. I am happy that I am living and working where I’ve been placed; these challenges are maybe the most exciting part of this experience as I did not join the Peace Corps to live the lifestyle that I left in the US. Meanwhile, if I do want gorgeous beaches, stellar coffee or white people in general, I can hop from my barrio to mini-Miami in less than half an hour.
My neighborhood is in a great location. I live right off of a main road, and so all buses pass by my house. A mall and two huge supermarkets are two minutes walking distance away. It is safe and my homestay is about 8 houses away from my school where there are security guards on-duty 24 hours a day.
The best part about my school (pictured below) is unquestionably the teachers. Everybody is cheerful, talkative, and excited to have me. My school is the largest one where Peace Corps is sending a volunteer. A total of more than 4,500 students pass through daily, although this accounts for 3 jornadas (students and teachers go to school in one of the 3 sessions: in the morning, afternoon or evening). I also have the largest amount of English teachers to work with, or nine secondary teachers. Running out of things to do should not be an issue.
And finally, Jairo...
He is my main counterpart and my closest thing to a boss. He works as an English teacher both at my school and at the University of Cartagena and speaks fluently from living for five years in England. He is organized, knowledgeable and surprisingly on-time despite his Colombian background. He also is one of the most charismatic people I’ve met and impeccably embodies the “work hard, play hard” motto. Dancer, drinker and talker, he seems to know everyone in Cartagena and loves to go out when not working. He took Monica and me on a tour du Cartagena both in the day and nighttime and made a point to show us the two sides of the city: one of white tourists, weathy Colombians and skyscrapers and the other of displaced people living in cardboard boxes and in trash. We saw only part of what is the historic central/walled city area and spectacular coastline. I will most definitely not be bored amongst the museums, historic buildings (Cartagena was the main slave trade city of the Caribbean and a major Spanish colonial city), theatre, festivals, carnivals, parades and other activities.
In Peace Corps official jargon, these are the three main goals of my “Teaching English for Livelihoods” program:
Goal 1: English Technical Training (co-teaching/planning, workshop development for English teachers, English material and curriculum development)
Goal 2: English learning through extracurricular activities (English language training for non-English teachers or community members, supplementary English activities and initiatives for youth)
Goal 3: Support community initiatives within the field of education and youth development (life skills development through community based projects--does not need to be in English and can range from HIV prevention, to youth development, to economic development projects, to environmental awareness…)
