Let's Get Physical: A Week of Belonging

The view from my room.

Last week was a full one, and despite the somewhat bipolar title, has been my favorite so far. Also, given last week's strange post, I've decided to stick to a more narrative approach that is sure to lull you all into deep, deep regret at having opened this post.

I love learning about STD's via PPT

We started last week off with a bang. Or at least, talking about it, since the older kids went to a talk on safe sex on Monday. Chock full of all the classic tips and resources, some of us younger maestros were having quite the time stifling our own giggling at the choice diagrams used while at the same time making sure the kids were taking it seriously. It didn't help that the young woman who gave the talk was quite  nice looking, kept putzing with her hair while she talked, and then invited some students up to take pictures with her afterwards in front of her company's poster - something that seemed to try to market her company more than educate the kids. So much for taking that seriously.
                                                     
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On Wednesday, all of the teachers got some pretty unofficial physicals through our school's nurses office. My appointment consisted of getting my blood pressure tested before standing on a Body Composition Analyzer, the sort of name given to a machine only Bruce Wayne would own. Anyways, after holding on to the handles for several seconds this machine spit out a receipt that told me that my BMI was 22 and body fat % was 10.4%.

My physical receipt. It's like the one from
the grocery store, only after you've eaten
everything you bought there.

How?
Science.
I should add that these and other desired stats seemed to be geared towards South American standards, since practically everyone was told they need to eat a lot more. Picture a strong South American mom telling all her kids to eat, eat, eat! Except instead of an apron, she's wearing scrubs.
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On Thursday, I walked into the teacher's office area to see everyone dressed casually and looking like they were about to leave. It turned out that it was the dia de autoridad, which is the day when the seniors literally take over the school. And I mean totally; teachers, janitors, doormen, and administration, including principal. Apparently it is meant to give them a taste of the real world, as well as give those students who want to teach a real opportunity to do so.

That speedy right wing wearing the white shirt
is probably an OK guy.

So what did we teachers do? Naturally, we got the hell out of there! we had a day of "pedagogical advancement" which involved skits, role playing and discussing effective teaching methods and classroom management. Some of it was boring, but most of it was, dare I say it, sort of fun. We also spent the afternoon playing soccer, so it had its moments. Probably my favorite part was when we were split into groups and given a teaching method to explain to the rest of the faculty, not knowing that it was to be presented in the form of a skit instead of just explaining it. So when other groups start, I see our leader writing in his notebook and we later get up and totally improvise the whole thing. It was hilarious, mostly because everyone knew we were bullshitting just like students would do.

We take to the streets for our games.

But the Thursday fun doesn't end there! We returned to school for a basketball game, which we narrowly lost against a team clad in purple and yellow called the Lakers. Who woulda thought?? Afterwards we were shooting the breeze with the other coaches and lingering faculty, joking that we should grab a beer sometime. They looked at each other, shrugged, and said, "We got a few cars, vamos!" So that's how we ended up at a bar in Colombia for six hours on a weeknight dressed in athletic garb; a bunch of young professionals drinking unprofessionally. It was one of the best evenings had yet here in Bogota, getting to know colleagues outside of the classroom. Some danced and some told jokes, but we all laughed and enjoyed teaching each other curse words in each respective language.
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The next morning was a dia festivo, or festival day, meaning we didn't have classes. We had previously organized with two of the priests at the monastery to travel a few hours to the North to some popular colonial towns. First, we visited Chiquinquira, a town about two hours to the North which indeed does sound like the words chicken and Shakira smashed together. It is notable for its beautiful church and fake horse photo ops like the one seen here.

"Together forever," me, my mini-horse,
and that random dude in the background.

Inside the church of Chiquinquira

Afterwards, we hopped back in the van and headed another hour or two through beautiful mountainsides and traditional farming communities to Villa de Leyva. A real tourist grab, it's an old yet very clean, quaint city with really nice restaurants and parks. It's probably also popular because it feels like you're walking through cobblestone streets of old European cities. What's more is that August is kite month in Colombia (because it's the windiest month of the year + the month commemorating the battle in which Colombia won their independence from Spain), so the church square was filled with couples, families, and lost children following their kites around. All in all, it was a pretty loving atmosphere and everyone was having a good time, especially these little dudes.

 

"Woah, check out my new shoes!!"

Father-son moment

Spanish word of the day: Cometa: looks like comet, actually means kite. Since it is kite month in Colombia, everyone has them and there are at least six flying everyday after work in the park near school. The mountains surrounding the city make for a nice backdrop.

Song in my head lately: Last week my friend Amber introduced me to Shakey Graves, a singer from Austin, TX. His most popular song is Dearly Departed, but I really like the version where it's just him in a bus. 

Thanks for reading.

J.

Kites and cobblestones