Help!

The air in my classroom isn't working. It's so hot....I'm melting....

More Easter

While I was writing that last post I heard a brass band start up outside the window. I hadn't even realized that a couple hundred people had gathered outside the church.
I've been watching for about twenty minutes, hanging way out of the window to get the best view. Don't worry I hooked the hammock around my waist to make sure I wouldn't fall.
I really have no idea, but here's what I think I see:
Two statues, each one carried by ten people swaying back and forth. The statues are about 50 feet apart, and moving toward each other. One looks, for sure, like a grown Jesus, the second is facing away from me so I have no idea what it is, but it could be a baby Jesus because it's small. While the people carry the statues together two alter boys stand in the middle swinging incense. When the statues meet the people in the crowd go crazy and the priest rushes out to bless the now joined statues.
Now people are milling around the statues and dancing.

Easter Two

I forgot this:
Our maid came in as usual on Friday and when I asked her why all of the stores and restaurants were closed she told me that Good Friday is the holiest day of the year, bigger than Easter Sunday. I kept apologizing, "I'm so sorry, you should go home, I'm sure you want to be with your family." And then I offered our excuse for making her come into work on the holiest day of the year, "We didn't know, we're not Catholic."
"That's OK," she said, "at least you're not Roman."

Easter

Ho hum, everything is closed for Easter. Brad and I weren't really prepared for this, all the restaurants are closed and we didn't make it to the grocery store on time. Last night we had peanut butter and crackers for dinner. Thanks for smuggling the peanut butter to us Mom!

We're bored too, but it helps that the church is holding a non-stop worship session outside of our window. Last night we saw a procession with brass horns, a cross and Jesus in a tomb.

I guess this goes on until Tuesday. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm almost excited to go back to school, never a boring moment there!

Camera Curse

As you may know our first camera broke shortly after we arrived in Barranquilla. We waited until we got home to ship it to Canon for repairs but since Canon needed three weeks for repairs we bought a camera for the meantime, which was stolen.
Then, Canon shipped a refurbished camera to Brad's parents who gave it to my parents, who hand carried it with them to us in Barranquilla. We were pretty excited to get a new camera until we realized that the dumb thing doesn't even turn on. They sent us a camera that doesn't even turn on!
But it was OK because Adam and Ang had a camera and we could still take pictures of the family vacation. And we got some pretty excellent shots: one of Dad wrapped up like a mummy on the beach, the whole family eating chuzos, a Barranquilla donkey cart...BUT when Adam went to take a picture of himself lying in the hammock he realized that the memory card had completely crapped out and we weren't able to rescue the pictures that were already on it.
So now the camera that doesn't even turn on is being shipped back to Canon, which will send another camera back to Brad's parents, who will ship it down to us, but that process could take months, months and months and months...
It's taken me this long to realize it, but either Brad or I or both have been cursed and we will never experience camera satisfaction again.

Straw Family Vacation

Mas contentos que cachacos en playa.


Speaking of the fish Dad says, "This is just like Canada. Only hotter."


Here are some lyrics to the songs they played for us:
"I went looking for one woman, but God gave me two."
"I bring my woman endless amounts of love. But all she wants to do is fight."
"Que viva las mujeres! Because they're the ones that make us work."
Now you know why Brad is smiling.


This lady made us watermelon juice to go with our rum, but at some points in the day Mom forwent the watermelon juice for rum straight up. "I never drink rum," she says. "But this is just so smooth."


Both Brad and Adam got pedicures. The next day they were digging in the sand with their feet, seeing who could dig the biggest hole and Dad yells, "Hey! You boys are gonna ruin your pedicures!"


The owner of the cigar store is giving the boys a history of the shop, "Bill Clinton has been here three times. He likes cigars, you know."
"Yeah," says Adam. "We heard."


Dad says, "I felt bad about not taking that rum shot that he gave me."
"Don't worry," says Brad. "I took it for you."


"We're just sitting here enjoying our awesomeness."


Mom says, " I read that it's a sin to leave Cartagena without taking a horse-drawn carriage ride."
"Adam's allergic to horses," says Angela.
"I'm afraid of horses."
"Fine!" Says Mom, as she throws her hands up in the air, looking to the sky, probably asking God why she was given such a totally dorky family.

Proof of Life

The Straws have arrived!

He puts happy all over the world

I admire...

More from my students:

I admire my grandpa because he came to Colombia with no money and with his own sweat he has succed and won lots of money. He came when he was 17 he allways did his best. He did not have a university to study, but although he came realy poor he did his best. Know he lives like a king. A king of kings.

I admire Shakira because she is a very good, kind, smart and beautiful girl. She has a lot of songs, they are very fun. She made a lot of concerts and they are very fun. One time she tried to save money to help the poor people not to be hungry and be not washed (take a bath). She is very kind.

I admire Homer Simpson because he is very funny and very famous. I like his shows and his shows are so funny that I could stay all day watching them. He puts happy all over the world.

And from the suckups:

I admire a wonderful women called Sarah Straw. I admire Ms. Straw because after all, she is a really good teacher and my class is very loud and talkative. Ms. Straw deals with us. She understands us and doesn't loose her patience very often. She explains to us when we don't understand. She's most of the time very happy and vivacious. She has many ways of teaching us things and teaches us in fun way's.

I admire Mrs. Straw. She always is happy and lauighing. Every day we come to class she has a smile in her face. She always make us happy with jokes. She is always helping us and explaining what we don't understand. I also admire Mrs. Straw because she has a lot of patient even though my class is talkative and loud. She never freaks out. Most of the times she never loses her patient, she understand us and never yell at us. She deals with us daily and every day she has the same will to come teach us.

uh oh

The students are all in a tizzy about this:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/index.html

"Ah, missis. Chavez is mad at us, and he's going to bomb us, and they're going to bomb the bridge between Cartangena and Santa Marta and it's going to be here, and they're going to bomb the Barranquilla airport and the school is going to shut down..."