Almost two weeks after arriving in Colombia, I’ve had my first few days of total immersion. This is what I wanted: To be surrounded by Spanish and by Latin American culture. Now I’ve got it, and it’s both exciting and draining.
As much as I love being around other languages and cultures, I’m finding that adjusting to life abroad is harder than I expected. Unlike other times I’ve traveled, I’m truly “alone” in this: the only gringa in my home, university, and community thus far [with the exception of Maureen, the other Fulbrighter in Barranquilla who is assigned to a different university]. It’s exciting to hear and speak Spanish all day…but I’m finding that I also feel isolated. Though I can communicate well in Spanish, most of my conversations are neither the superficial chatter of daily life (think about how much of nothing we talk about with the person sitting beside us, in line, etc.) nor the deeper, “real” issues. Beyond spoken language, I wonder how many non-verbal faux pas I commit each day. But even though I can’t picture it now, I know the day will come soon enough when I can communicate more easily, get around the city, a have somewhat of a routine.
Soon after arriving home from Bogotá last Friday, I met up with a friend (of a friend) who I have been communicating with online as I’ve been preparing to come to Barranquilla. Her name is Eileen, and she’s one of the student leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ at UA (my university). She invited me to spend the night at her house on Friday night and to join her mom and friends on a trip to Cartagena on Saturday and Sunday. Let’s just say that this past weekend was a dive right into the heart of Colombian culture. After meeting at the mall, Eileen, her sister, friend and I took the bus to her house, which turned out to be about 45 minutes outside of the city. Flying down the highway in a crowded bus, I took in the scene around me: a little old man with a wad of bills in his hand shouts “Raise your hand if you haven’t paid yet!” (talk about using the honor system).The interior of the bus is decked out in gaudy, fringed red curtains, blinking lights, decals of Jesus and a nude silhouette. Vallenato music pours out of the radio. When the money-taker calls out “Palmarito!” our group gets off the bus and crosses the pitch-dark road to Eileen’s house. A five-minute walk from the beach, the little house where Eileen and her mom live consists of one large room with a corner dedicated to the kitchen, a bathroom, and a porch with two big hammocks. Eileen had told me that her house has been like a hostal lately, with many friends staying there. I joined the group, making 10 of us stretched out on beds and mattresses in the one room. That night we had dinner at about 10:30, played UNO, and went to bed [typical of Colombian hospitality, I was given the best bed].
On Saturday morning, Ginette (Eileen’s mom), Christian (an Ecuadorian friend staying with them) and I caught a bus to Cartagena. An hour later, we arrived at the apartment of Ginette’s cousin, who lives in the perfect location: across the street from the beach and a few blocks from the historic walled city. On Saturday we saw the key tourist sites: the walled city dating back to the colonial period, San Felipe fortress, the Inquisition Museum, the house of Rafael Nuñez (a Colombian president during the 19th century). In the late afternoon we went for a swim in the Caribbean and watched the sun set (it’s dark by 6:30 here—we’re near the equator). After dinner we ventured out again. The old city was lit up, and horse carriages filled the streets. On Sunday, after walking through Manga (another historic neighborhood) and strolling on the beach, we caught a bus back to Barranquilla.
This week I’ve gotten thrown right into life at a Colombian public university. On Monday morning I came to campus to figure out my responsibilities as an ETA. I met with the registrar to create my schedule and observed a class taught by my tutor (mentor), Henry Granfield (he’s Colombian…with a name like that, I was expecting a Brit). Turns out I’m not really going to be an ETA (English Teaching Assistant) but rather a full-fledged profesora, teaching university-level courses on my own! In addition to teaching two courses (one is 4 hours a week, the other is 6 hours per week), I’m offering two English Clubs each week in order to give students (from any major) an opportunity to practice communication informally. I’m also taking a course on Spanish Phonetics & Phonology. It meets Wednesday mornings from 6:30-9:30. I’m writing this blog as I sit here at 8:35 and the professor hasn’t arrived yet…
Yesterday I taught my first class: a language and culture class for 8th semester English majors (it takes 10 semesters to complete a degree here). I really enjoyed the class yesterday. There were ten students (I’m sure there will be more over time, but things start gradually here). As I didn’t have the textbook yet (or even know what it was…neither did the students!) we did some introductory activities. During my final semester at Lee, I took a course called Capstone that all foreign language majors take. One of the books we read is called The Gift of the Stranger and it explores the idea of using a foreign language to serve and bless other people, whether we are the “stranger” abroad or are in our home country with “strangers” among us. I was thrilled to be able to incorporate this topic that was very influential for me last year in my advanced class yesterday. After having students list on the board all the reasons they could think of for studying a language (to improve their resume, to network, to talk to people from another country, to study abroad, etc.) I had them decide and make note of who benefited from each of those reasons. We discovered that most of our motivations for studying a language are self-centered, whether it’s to advance a career or be more well-rounded. As I shared with the students, it isn’t wrong to desire those results of speaking another language, but there is another side of the coin: speaking a foreign language is a great tool for serving and blessing other people. I had them think about this quote by Calvin Seerfield, describing the message we can convey by learning a foreign language, “I want to meet you, to connect and communicate with you; I want to hear your voice; I want to know what it is like to be you in your culture…To learn a different language is an act of love.” It seemed to be an eye-opener for them to view language from this perspective. For homework last night I had them write a response to what we talked about, and I’m looking forward to reading their thoughts.
Thanks for bearing with me with this long blog. It’s been a full few days, but I’m hoping that now that I’m done with orientation and beginning my job here at Uniatlántico, I’ll begin to feel a little more settled and get into the “groove.”
