Cinco Paises en Una Mesa

El 9 de agosto

One of the most rewarding parts of backpacking throughout another country is having the opportunity to meet so many different people.  Yesterday at Pies Descalzos, I ran into a great girl from Oregon, Patricia. She and her boyfriend, Eric, are currently serving in the Peace Corps.

  

She lives a few blocks from my hostel, and she was kind enough to take the bus with me so I didn't have to pay for yet another taxi. 

After meeting her boyfriend and hanging out at the hostel for a little while, we decided to go out to dinner at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. 

Although tasty, most Colombian food is very mild.  This was by far the most flavorful meal I've had here yet. 

. . .

This morning, a student from the university (Miguel) and I took a trip to El Museo del Caribe. 

Miguel is from Mexico, and he's currently staying at the hostel while he searches for an apartment.

The museum started with a beautiful presentation of works from Gabriel Garcia Marquez through projections on the walls and floor. 

Each floor was dedicated to a different theme, but my favorite two floors were "El Baile" . . .

. . . and "La Lengua."

I found this wall of words hilarious.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people here say "Chevere!" which roughly translates to "Cool!"

. . .

In the afternoon, I headed back to Pies Descalzos for my second day with the kids. 

  

When I walked through the door, I saw so many students wearing their necklaces and bracelets that were donations!  Although the students were, yet again, incredibly rowdy, they managed to learn the rest of a dance, play "La Parada" and "El Gatito Quiere un Esquina," and learn how to play "Freeze Dance."  To conclude, I thought I'd embarrass myself royally and try to keep up with them at "Waka Waka."

For lunch, I had originally planned on eating in the cafeteria, but Consuelo invited me to join her and a few other coworkers at the house of one of the students' grandmother.  After riding in a "carromoto" for about 10 minutes . . .

. . . we arrived at our destination. Not only did I enjoy the company of my new coworkers, . . .

. . .but I also experienced eating "arroz con coco" (rice with coconut), "patacones," (fried mashed plantains) and fish that wouldn't stop staring at me.  

. . .

After dinner tonight, a group from the hostel decided to go out for a beer and hookah.  It's pretty amazing to know that without Spanish, the 5 of us from 5 different countries would not have been able to communicate verbally if it weren't for Spanish. 

A Mexican, Spaniard, Danish, Italian, and American walk into a bar . . .

Until next time . . .

Adios!

~Quique