Happy Hour and More Pizza

Last night, some of us girls met at Christy's house to have happy hour while watching the sunset.  Not to be a complete wine snob, but they served Barefoot wine (not the nice bottle I brought), and let's just say that as much as I would've enjoyed opening my bottle, I could barely choke down my glass of wine.  Eh.  The thought of it still sends shivers down my spine.  At least the company was good.  

This makes me want to get a patio set for me.  It's hard to hold a glass of wine on a hammock.  

 Cameras just do not do nature scenes justice.  

We visited this pizza place that's tucked in next to a gas station and doesn't look very appealing from the outside.  Everyone has said something about it, though, and I'm glad we went.  The pizza was good, and the views over the bay and city were beautiful.  

There was a clearer picture of us, but my face was...hmmmm...how shall I put this.....terrifying to look at.  Yes, I am wearing heels.  How was I to know we would walk over a mile to reach this place?  

Interesting Comics

I had to laugh when I saw these comics the kids turned in.  The point was to just draw something that involved negative numbers (in an effort to not only decorate my room but to also allow the artsy kids a chance to shine).  

 This girl spent hours plagiarizing Bill Watterson's work (obviously not understanding the assignment).  I recognized the comic from years of reading Calvin and Hobbes, not to mention that one of the students writing 'land of irony' on her paper caught my attention.  

 From what I've heard, saying 'hell' in middle/high school is no big deal, but this would've been a surprise from my kiddos last year.  (And, no, I do not understand the comic at all.)

Yes, shooting people, smiling about it, and having a dead guy with blood coming out is probably not the most appropriate topic for school, but it made me chuckle since a girl drew it.  

The Stroll

Instead of running today, I decided to explore a bit.  I started off going north, but all I found was a little convenience store and restaurant before the sidewalk ran out.  Heading back toward the normal grocery store I usually frequent, I kept walking past it and ran into all the night life in a crowded intersection of town.  This wasn't a touristy area...at all.  In fact, I would like to return and take pictures, but I'm not sure bringing my camera is a good idea.  I never felt unsafe, but I would prefer to get more of a feel for the place first.  

Anyway, while ambling along, I bought some pears and bananas from a fruit vendor.  The bananas were the least bruised ones I have seen while in Cartagena, and I appreciated the fact that they weren't covered in dirt and that sticky black banana stuff.  I realize this sounds trivial, but having yellow bananas is a treat.  

After checking out a street performer who was wearing a Michael Jacksonesque costume (full of glitter) and dancing, I bought an arepa con queso and a lemonade.  An arepa con queso is this thick, doughy, fried-on-both-sides bread stuffed with cheese and a surprise piece of ham.  It's quite good, but if I eat too many of those, I will have a heart attack.  The lady selling the lemonade squeezed a couple limes into a glass, poured sugar water into it, then ladled her concoction to the brim.  It was so refreshing and delicious!  I realize a walk isn't enough to burn off all those calories, so I just finished a salad because what better way to fight obesity than to eat more?  

On a completely different note, I have now lost two items (that I know of) to the wind.  A couple weeks ago, the cover for my air conditioning unit magically disappeared.  Looking outside today, I noticed that the thick comforter on my bed was missing from the line.  My maid seems to pick the rainy days to come, so nothing was dry last night when I went to bed.  Having learned that sheets and clothes banging against the windows can cause sleeplessness, I took everything but a huge sheet and the comforter down.  The comforter wasn't even blowing in the wind since it was weighed down by its own weight.  Running behind as usual this morning caused me to forget all about the stuff on the line.  It was raining anyway, so I just figured they wouldn't be dry.  Well, that was a mistake.  At this rate, I will be paying a butteau-load of money on replacing all the items I have lost.  

A Bike Ride

After church today, I met up with Christy and Leah to rent some bikes and explore the city.  Sundays are the best because the traffic isn't quite as deathly as on the other days.  

 This is the bay area where all the cruise and cargo ships dock.  

 I would like to say that I got a ton of exercise for the hour and a half we were riding, but a snake could've figured out a way to pedal faster.  It was a lot of fun, though, and we stopped at a homemade popsicle place to refresh ourselves. 

 It was a beautiful day.  I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the ocean because the water was torquoise and clean, probably from the rains we had yesterday.  

We watched these guys throw their net into a huge circle and begin to pull it in.  Quite often, I see guys doing this from my apartment.  I'm not sure how many fish they catch each round because the bus always picks me up before they pull the whole net in.  

Once we dropped off the bikes, we headed to Crepes and Waffles to eat a late lunch.  We sat outside in the shade, but as time went on, I was covered in full sun.  Needless to say, one could call me Rudolph now.  

Girly Girl

  I'm a wee bit embarrassed to admit this, but I do believe people may start thinking of me as a girly girl.  Two things happened yesterday that lead me to believe this:
1.  A student asked if I had a lot of clothes.  When I laughed, told her no and asked why, she replied that I still hadn't worn the same thing to school yet.  I know Jill would be proud of me at this moment, but I think I may have over-packed, especially since I probably have another week's worth of clothes before the cycle begins again.  
2.  I went with another girl last night to get a pedicure.  That's normal, right?  I didn't want my heels looking all rough when there's not a good excuse to not have them done (like it's too expensive).  Well, I ended up getting a manicure, too.  To some, this would not be such a big deal, but I haven't had nail polish on my nails for at least ten years, and even now, my fingers feel heavy.  The most disturbing issue is the fact that I'm kind of liking the splash of color.  Plus, I had another friend invite me over to her place today to get my nails done by her lady.  Since I was already getting them done, I told her next time, which means my mani isn't a one-time thing.  Ahhhh!!!  Did I mention that getting both costs just ten bucks?  hehehehehehehehe

  

A Bit of Bragging

   I'm sorry!  I just can't help it!  I must share what I came home to today.  In the future, I will try to limit the food pictures (unless there's something so magnificent/disgusting that I must post it).  

    Last week, my maid tells me that she gets bored cooking just rice and veggies and would love to do the shopping and cook me something with a bit more flavor.  How could I resist?  Well, it was a good call on my part because here are my meals for the next week.  Starting from the left is salad (even has cooked mushrooms and peppers in it), homemade dressing, plantains marinated in who knows what (incredibly sweet and tasty), tender, marinated beef, coconut rice, and of course, a huge Tupperware of fruit.  All of it is absolutely delicious, which is a huge problem because I want to continue eating even after I'm full.  Oh, the problems of my life.  

Isla Cholon

Today, a group of eighteen teachers rented a boat and stopped at various islands throughout the day with the main stop being Isla Cholon.  The water temperature was perfect, and the visibility wasn't too shabby either.  

 When we arrived at Isla Cholon, the beach was packed with boats, and we originally had to swim a bit to reach the shore.  This is an uninhabited island with mostly mangroves covering it, but the locals from nearby villages come to sell jewelry and food.  They had fresh fish and lobster (for a price) they cooked up right there.  

 Our next stop was much quieter and had a nice long stretch of white sand.  The water wasn't quite as clear as there was a lot of debris from trees in it.  Plus, there were biting fish.  Poor Elizabeth had a chunk taken out of her bottom.  Luckily, they avoided me, but I had also gone on a walk with some other girls along the beach so wasn't in the water for quite as long.  

 The way home itself was an adventure.  The tempestuous sea tried at every opportunity to throw us off the ship, but we hung on.  Waves sprayed at us from every angle until we were drenched through and our mouths full of salt water from laughing and screaming so hard.  Thank goodness the drivers seemed to know what they were doing.  

Being rather famished from a tough day of treading water and hanging out on a boat, I decided to try my hand at ordering a pizza.  Let's just say my Spanish is much better in person when the people can see what I'm pantomiming.  I did end up getting some, though, so that's all that really matters.  

That's right: there are two pizzas.  There was a special, and I decided to save money by ordering two.  Now, I know these look halfway large, but believe it or not, they are just personal pizzas.  Small, really small, which is why I devoured them both.  Aaahhhhh......