City Tour

We had a full yet relaxing weekend of a city tour and outdoor activities!

First, our school took us on a city tour of Cali.  It felt like we we already went on one when we were apartment hunting, but this one took us to some more difficult to get to places.  It was fun to venture into new parts of our city!  Honestly, Cali isn't an amazingly historic or beautiful city like Cartegena or Medellin (so I've heard...), but Aaron and I are determined to find it's gems.

The highlight was going up to Cristo Rey which is very reminiscent of the Christ the Redeemer statue which hovers over Rio in Brazil.  It's over 25 meters tall and gazes down at the city from the top of the "Hill of the Crystals" which got it's name from the amount of quartz found in that area.

My mother's future vehicle. 

Wax palms in the center of Cali. 

The "founder" of Cali pointing towards the ocean. 

Cristo Rey--Cali's bodyguard. 

Colombian bird house. 

Found this gem at our lunch stop. 

In other news, Aaron had his first mountain bike race today!  It went really well and the guys he rode with already asked him to be on their team for another one in October.  He's really excited about becoming part of the Colombian biking community, and it's definitely inspiring him to learn Spanish.  All he keeps saying is how much he wants to be able to communicate with the other riders he has met.  

Aaron and Wojciech (10th grade chemistry teacher)
 riding up to the mountain town of Pance last Saturday.

As for me, I've been trying to get back into running.  I've been running home from school a few days a week and took advantage of the Ciclovia today.  Every Sunday the city of Cali blocks off long sections of roads in the city so cyclists, runners, and walkers can use them freely.  It's a fantastic way to explore the city!

I've also been trying to eat as much fresh fruit as possible here.  The fruit is fantastic and cheap!  I honestly think I could solely live on avocados and fruit (maybe with some plantain chips thrown in).  Here's one of my new favorites: granadilla.

Crack open the shell and slurp out the "snot" in the middle--yum!

Tranquilo

"¡Tranquilo!" the older woman in our building encouraged me after we attempted small talk, and I mentioned how I need to practice my Spanish. 

"¡Tranquilo!" a fellow teacher assured me when I realized the copy man wasn't going to have my copies done in time for class.

'¡Tranquilo!" a friend reminded Aaron when he panicked about being 10 minutes late to their place (ever since high school marching band the poor guy can NEVER be late).

This word embodies Colombia.  In Spanish it literally means "quiet, calm, peaceful."  Essentially, people here don't sweat the small stuff.  It's a very Bob Marleyesque way to live your life... "don't worry, about a thing...cause every little thing is going to be alright."  It translates into their values here as well.  Family is at the forefront of their lives and making time to connect with those closest to you and enjoying life is priority (Colombia has the most public holidays of any country in the world--I think it's around 18 or 19).  If you think about the history and the greater issues that Colombians have faced (war, poverty, negativity towards their country from the rest of the world), it makes sense for them to have a word like this.  No matter how bad it gets, why worry anyway?  What good is that going to do?

I can't help but think about how we don't really have a word like this in English.  Sometimes I tell my students and myself to "chill" or "relax" but those words don't have the same connotation as tranquilo.  Those are more about calming down and controlling our emotions while tranquilo seems to be more about letting them go. 

This word has been at the forefront of my own positive self-talk lately with the stress of planning for a new grade/class, learning Spanish, and discovering the quirks of Colombian living.  I think we could all use a little more tranquilo in our lives.