Colombian Paradise

Done

2010-11-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

We are done with our term in Colombia so there will be no new posts. :)

Going down the Toilet Bowl

2009-10-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

October 7, 2009

Dear Friends,

A Fall Update:

Water Park Fun: Today the five of us went to a local water park. They had added some new huge slides. We named one of them "the toilet bowl" because of the big round bowl in the middle where you spun around several times until you reached the bottom of the bowl and dropped down a hole and shot out the drain into a pool below. Click on our blog to see photos of the water park and more.

Starting a new school year. Our kids are beginning to settle into a new school year, after a summer full of sleeping in, swimming, traveling for a week to an MCC retreat in the beautiful coffee region, hosting Barb’s Mom in Cali, and traveling with Steve’s parents to Cartagena and Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast.

Schools closed for the cold virus. Joel and Ian's school was closed for a week for the common cold...they really panic about that here. They had an epidemiologist come to the school, and since 40% of the kids, including both of ours, had symptoms of colds...runny noses etc, they closed the school with only the day before notice. The school staff spent the week scrubbing the school...and told the parents to bleach their floors at home etc. So the kids went back last Thurs and Friday, and are now off all of this week and the following Monday for tourism week. Most of the kids will be left alone while their parents work...no money or time off for tourism. Anna's school is off for tourism week too...her school is a bit wealthier so maybe some of those kids will get to do something touristy.

Barb’s health talks. In addition to the health classes I give on occasion at local churches, I am going to do some work with the Y as well. They want me to talk with the kids and the Moms about AIDS and nutrition and family planning etc. I am looking forward to it. I am also on a tennis team of sorts and we have a big tournament this weekend in Bogota, which should be really fun. (I pay for this as it is not part of my work…)

Steve’s work with churches. I have been leading a series of conflict resolution classes at two local Mennonite churches as part of a larger congregational planning process. One of the churches has had some deeply entrenched conflict, and we are working at some issues that have been building up for years. Tomorrow my Colombian co-worker and I are leading a mediation session between two leaders of the church. It is very rewarding to be part of this process and see long-festering wounds begin to be addressed and healed. I love being in Cali and am savoring every day.

Joel. Joel is beginning to work on making letters and taking small steps towards reading and writing. We really need to work with him more on perfecting these skills which he will need when before he enters first grade in the US next fall. Joel especially loves jumping curbs on his bike and is now learning to rollerblade. There are a couple of other kids his age in our small apartment complex, and Joel spends his free time with them in constant motion.

Anna. Anna enjoys being one of 13 students in her 8^th grade class. Her school, like Ian and Joel’s, has open walled classrooms in a tropical setting. She studies hard, makes good grades, and sometimes goes to classmate’s houses after school to work on projects, cook, and hang out. Anna is taking piano lessons and goes to a tennis clinic two days a week. She takes pride in her Spanish and especially enjoys correcting her parents.

Ian. This year Ian switched to a Presbyterian school where Joel has been attending. It has a more traditional academic program than the Waldorf school where he was last year. He is taking physics, chemistry, biology, and philosophy just to name a few. He plays volley ball 3 days a week at school. He is going to take advantage of the “tourism week” holiday by volunteering at the YMCA near our house, completing community service hours he needs for his school in the US. He is going to do some sort of computer work, which is his main interest right now. Ian is still counting down the days until our return to the US in June.

YMCA-Colombia. The Y is totally unlike any we have seen in the US. There are no weight rooms, no swimming pool or sauna. The staff and volunteers work with kids who work... very poor kids, as young as 6, who are on street corners selling packs of gum, etc. The kids go to the Y in the mornings, eat breakfast and get help with school work and hear talks about Christian values...and then head off to work on the street after lunch. All seniors in high school in Colombia do 80 hours of community service, so agencies like the YMCA have a steady stream of young, inexperienced volunteers like Ian to coordinate. We were very impressed with the Y’s work and dedication.

US Colombia Base agreement. One issue in the news a lot here is the US-Colombia military base agreement. The US has maintained a military base in Ecuador for surveillance, anti-drug operations, and for launching any kind of military offensive in the region. Ecuador decided not to renew its lease agreement, so the US is looking for a new country in which to base the soldiers and equipment. Colombia is the US biggest military ally in Latin America, and it probably going to host the US operations. However, this has been somewhat controversial and generated a lot of debate here. If Obama and (Colombian President) Uribe were to ask our opinion, we think investing in rural economic development, health services, and education would do more to solve the armed conflict than adding more soldiers and weapons.

The drought. We have had a dry 6 months here, with water being cut off often in most of the city. With the hot climate here, we are especially thankful that our apartment has a large water tank that holds enough water for a week, for those of us on the upper floor. There are some advantages to living on the 4th floor!

Thankful in Cali,

Barb, Steve, Ian, Anna and Joel

Monkeys

2009-08-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

Six Derthicks, ranging in age from 6 to 77, headed out early from our beach hotel in Santa Marta, to the Tayrona National Park on Colombia's northern Caribbean coast. Our plan was to take a short hike to the ocean, and maybe see some monkeys. The jungle was hot and sticky and Tarzan movie-like with vines to swing and tall trees that shaded the trail. At one point, a very loud noise, coming from a rather small insect, echoed through the forest. After hiking 15 minutes, and hearing Joel ask about the monkeys every 30 seconds, I heard the branches above us crack. I looked up and saw a large group of monkeys leaping from tree to tree, swinging on the vines. As we continued on the rather long, short hike, we saw several more groups of monkeys, including the endangered Titis. After a short discussion with Anna on endangered animals and protecting the jungle, we dunked our sweaty bodies in the ocean, ate a great lunch, and then hiked out. What a day! -Barb

cartagena

2009-08-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Cartagena, on the Carribean Coast in the northern part of Colombia. We flew there from Cali with our family and Steve's parents. Cartagena is one of the oldest cities in Colombia. The city was originally surrounded by a large wall and moat, which protected it from invaders. As extra protection, a huge fort, the largest fort in the Americas built by the Spaniards, protected the city. The fort has secret tunels and views from all sides, and it was never taken by invaders. (last photo). Because of the wall and fort, a very large section of the old colonial city remains intact and you can stroll along the streets and get lost in time...

Cartagena Vacation

2009-08-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we left for cartagena with my grandparents. Today we went to the beach, saw tree climbers, still men, tradicional dancers, and amazing break-dancers. I ate pasta with a natural strawberry smoothie. My MCC fried Torin has joined us today and is spending the night. I am writing this from his iPod Touch. Now we are watching the Discovery Channel special on the Amazon. -Ian

Cali Intersection

2009-06-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Giovanny says any big intersection is a microcosm of life in Cali. “You have people in their cars which are like protected bubbles. They are just trying to get from point A to point B without having any contact with the world. Some of the drivers have visited Italy, but have never stepped foot in the impoverished neighborhood a kilometer from their house.”

As the cars and buses pull up to the traffic light, venders begin to approach. There are eight and nine year olds selling ten cent boxes of chewing gum. Women display small cardboard boxes with phone cards and pirated DVD’s.

Dark skinned Colombians from the Pacific coast walk in between the vehicles lifting up avocados, mangoes, and pineapples as high as the bus windows. Ragged teenagers frantically wash windows, hoping to earn a dime before the light changes. Street artists also spring into action, captivating their audience for three minute with everything from juggling machetes to standing motionless as a silver painted statue of liberty. Standing quietly on the side of the intersection there are sometimes families holing up handmade signs that say “desplazados.” This is the term given to the four million Colombians who have been displaced by the armed conflict and who generally seek refuge in the city.

As the light turns from red to yellow to green a few drivers hand a coin out the window as they accelerate amidst the honking and exhaust. The venders slip back under a shade tree as quickly as they appeared, and wait for the light to change again. -Steve

Top Ten Tuesday Plants

2009-05-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

1. Helecho-Fern

2. Azucena-White Lily

3. Mora-Blackberry

4. Pasto-Grass

5. Bellota-Acorn

6. Hierba Buena-Mint

7.hiedra venenosa-Poison Ivy

8. Orchid-Orquídea

9. Girasol-Sunflower

10. Flor de Mayo-May Flower (National Flower of Colombia)Photo at Top

Crepes and Waffles

2009-05-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Every time an MCC worker (or family member) has a birthday, we celebrate together at a fancy ice cream restaurant called Crepes and Waffles.

Celebrating co-worker Tere's birthday in April.

Ian enjoying his vanilla ice cream topped with hazel nuts and hot chocolate sauce.

Joel's favorite part is the umbrella!

Rio Pance Pictures

2009-05-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Rio Pance

2009-05-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Colombia has more holidays than almost any other country. Last Friday, May 1^st, was Labor Day. We decided to take advantage of the holiday by going to a cabin on a river about forty five minutes from Cali.

We all packed our backpacks and headed downstairs (we live on the 4^th floor) to catch the bus. We debated taking a taxi ($9) or the bus ($3). Eventually the bus backers prevailed and we waited on a shady street corner for it to arrive. After 15 minutes the bus came. We got on and were somewhat disappointed to have to stand, except Anna who got a seat. She and Barb were in the front part of the bus and Ian and Joel and Steve were in the back.

At first this was OK but somewhat uncomfortable until more and more people started squeezing onto the bus. The Pance river where we were all headed is THE place to go and cool off on holidays, and there was a literal flood of people squeezing onto our bus until there was absolutely no way to get another body in and still shut the door. The guys in the back of the bus (Steve Ian and Joel) were starting to get nervous as we were doing a kind of horizontal twister game and couldn't even see each other. Miraculously a kind man gave us his seat and we managed to fit Steve, Joel, and all three backpacks into it.

Eventually we arrived at the Pance river and saw people swimming, picnicking, and sitting on big round rocks in the fairly shallow rushing river. The river cuts through the lush green mountains and reminds us somewhat of the Smokey Mountains. We checked into our "cabin" which was really a little concrete row-house inside the water park complex. It cost $28 for five of us to stay at the cabin and have unlimited access to the water park, the thatched huts, play areas, and game room (actually that cost a total of $1 extra for all five of us). The only criticism we had was that they only ran water down the big slides a couple of hours a day in order to save on water (wouldn't the water recirculate anyway?).

Although our visit to the Pance river was a nice change of pace, it also made us appreciate getting back to our own cozy liitle nook in Cali.

Barb's Work

2009-05-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

I (Barb) am teaching a health course to a group of 15 women in a mountain town, the Cumbre, an hour and a half from Cali. The forty hour course is on childhood illness prevention. To keep the group from dozing, each four hour class has lots of activities. I have been going to the Cumbre once a month since November, and spending the night at the pastor's house (Doris is her name) after the late afternoon class. Shockingly early in the morning, 5:30 am, after spending the night last month Doris and I took a great hike and she told me about dreams for her church to help hungry kids in the town. She is hoping that the health information will help her church serve poor kids in the area.
Doris the pastor with view of the Cumbre valley

Showing a poster she made to the group about the signs of an ear infection

An Aids class with youth in Cali

AIDs brochure given to the youth in Sunday school

The youth were very interested

MCC Retreat to Villa de Leiva 3/09

2009-05-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Joel, Steve, Bonnie, and Adrian David

All the MCC volunteers doing the Circle Sit

Ian in 'Wet Cement'

Setting out for Horsback Riding

To see All our pictures from the retreat go to http://picasaweb.google.com/ianderthick/20090311RetreatVillaDeLeiva#

Farm Trip

2009-04-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here are my Picture from my two week farm trip!

Feliz Navidad!

2008-12-25T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hey, Merry Christmas everybody. They have some different Christmas customs here in Colombia. For one, everyone opens presents and eats dinner at midnight on Christmas eve, then they party until the wee hours of the morning. Only my Dad and I were up at midnight and we got invited into a Colombian Apt. by a huge family and recited some Catholic verses and then ate and the kids opened presents. We opened our presents the next day when the whole family was awake.

Joel got a great used bike for Christmas from his friend David because David was getting a new one. We fixed it up for the equivalent of 4 bucks. Joel claimed he needed training wheels but tried the bike without them. He is a super fast learner and can now ride and then turn 180 degrees. I was jump-start pushing him and he rode back and forth about 50 times. When it got late and my mom said that was the last one, he finished and then kept saying "one more time." It took a crying fit to pull him away from the bike but now he is happily playing with his new Hot Wheels set.

Later in the afternoon we went to the first day of the Cali fair, where there were people dancing salsa, a parade, and most of Cali dressed up in tight jeans and new outfits. Tomorrow we leave for Ecuador to meet my grandparents and see the sights for two weeks so I might not write. -Ian

Yellow Belt

2008-12-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

As most of you don't know, I am taking karate. There is a great little karate place about 300 ft. from our Apt. It is 3 days a week, 6:30 to 7:30 and lots of fun. We have a great teacher and I've been training for about 3 months now. We count and learn the names of lots of moves in Japanese. Sometimes I have to ask if its Japanese or Spanish. :)

Last Friday was the big test to advance to yellow belt. I was very nervous the whole time, especially when the teacher asked a little kid next to him if I had passed after the test. The kid waited, and then kindly said yes. Then we watched the impressive yellow, blue, and green belts perform. I was then given a certificate, and of course, the belt.

About 3 days ago our family + 2 other women, went to a cool lights festival. There were still people, people on stilts, amazing light, and incredible food(corn grilled and painted with butter, meat sticks that melt in your mouth, and even some Cotton Candy). Even though it started to rain later on we still had a great time.

Joel has taken up tennis! That's right, Joel is now a tennis player. He practices twice a week at our club, which takes 5 min. to walk to. He really enjoys it and has a huge smile on his face when he plays. I don't know if it will last but he for now he is our little tennis star.

Noche de las Velas

2008-12-21T20:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry about my lateness but this is pretty interesting. The night of the 7th of Dec. was the Day of the Candles. Almost all of Catholic Colombia does it. We celebrated it with our whole Apt. complex. The idea is to light a path for the virgin Mary, and its a lot of fun too. All the kids, there was an 18 yr. old doing it too, were making wax balls from the candles. I asked a kid next to me why everyone was doing it and he said it was kinda like a souvenir to remember that special day. We melted the wax from the candles and while it was hot molded it into a ball. When all the candles were gone we made a mini fire, but it was accidentally put out by some beer to make it flame up. :)

There was Christmasy music playing and we all stayed out kinda late. Anyway it was lots of fun and I made a good sized ball that happened to be bigger than Anna's, but not as big as some of them. (Photos Below)

La Noche de Las Velas (Steve)

2008-12-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

Colombians had told us for weeks that December was one long celebration: "It all begins on December 7, 'la noche de las velas.' That's when everyone lights candles for the virgin. They light the way for her journey to Bethlehem."

We had forgotten about the celebration until around 8:00 that evening when we heard music coming from downstairs. We decided to make an appearance just to be polite. I did not expect too much. Then I saw the glow of dozens of candles illuminating the faces of my neighbors: children grouped around a circle of candles laughing, teenagers full of life, parents and grandparents chatting intently. It felt like we had gone back in time, perhaps to some Colombian village full of extended families and their traditions.

As I adjusted my eyes to the scene I chose a group of kids to sit beside. I saw that they were tilting up candles to drip wax onto the brick sidewalk. Then they were molding the wax into a ball and rolling it around like a snowball that gets bigger and bigger. I looked around and noticed most of the kids and some teenagers were doing the same thing. The biggest wax balls were the size of their fists. Pretty soon I pulled out my camera to take pictures. The candlelight made everyone look so beautiful.

I was struck by how all of us – Ian, Anna, Joel, and Barb – seemed to be captivated by the candles. Joel was lighting and dripping candles like everyone else and, after a brief hesitation, I decided to let him continue. How badly could you burn yourself with a candle, I wondered. Ian and Anna seemed to have a little competition going over the wax (it was everywhere, so why did they have to be competing for the same drippings?) and over who could make the biggest ball.

Barb was lighting a candle inside one of the many bags lined up along the sidewalk. I remembered as a kid we did this once or twice for parties at our house and we called them Japanese lanterns. Our paper bags were brown, but these were pastel colored and had a picture of the Virgin Mary that glowed when the candle was lit. Barb accidentally caught her bag on fire, engulfing Mary in flames. I put my camera down and helped her blow it out. I looked around but no one seemed to notice.

I saw everyone around me, including my three kids, smiling and happy and I thought about how this was one of those brief moments when the world seems perfect.

-Steve

2008-12-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Santa Doing the Salsa

2008-12-19T07:00:00.001-08:00

Hey Family and Friends, I am incorporating specific blog entries from my parents, and this was written by Mom.

We hosted the manger scene last night, outside by our apartment pool at 7:30 pm. I was happy that we did not have to dress up as Biblical characters. I had to read something about Mary and Joseph with some ancient Spanish tenses...I was told I did OK and that it is hard for Colombians too...so why do they read that stuff? There were some prayers and readings shared by about 10 people of all ages. Our neighbor and I worked together earlier in the day on the pasta salad...enough for about 80 people. (2 carrots, a cup of peas, lots of mayo, and about 90 lbs of pasta). They don't do a lot of vegetables here. Dessert was pineapple jello that Steve made very sad faces eating, so I did not try it. After people had eaten, everyone sat around and talked until about 9 pm. We are enjoying the warm weather and think that it helps make Cali people very social as they spend a lot of time outside.

Of note, the Santa in the mall was dancing. He was huge and automated and appeared to be doing a slow salsa dance. I am not sure how you were supposed to get a photo with him swaying like that but people were in line to try.

-Barbara

The Novenas

2008-12-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Countdown

2008-12-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

This week was mainly a countdown until Christmas Vacation. There was no school Monday,which was spent doing H.W. I had put off. On Wednesday I finished my 3D clay sculpture. Thursday was a half day as usual and was spent studying like crazy for my big Social Studies Test. Friday,the last day,was a half day also. The first two hours were spent taking a history test over Cuba, Russia, and Nicaragua and a Geography test over all the capitals of Europe and Asia + all the Mountain Ranges and Peninsulas. I got an Acceptable on the Geo. test and Good on the history test, but It wasn't good enough because I have to go back to school on Tue. to make up the test because apparently Acceptable is Unacceptable.

After the test we watched a Christmas Play. Then it was time to find out who our secret friends were. About 3 weeks ago we all drew a name out of a hat and gave that person candy every other day, and at the end give a big present. I drew my S.S. teacher... I gave her some candy on occasion and on Fri. we all shared who we got. There was a special way of discovering our secret friend. We put the presents in the middle, and then one person would get up and describe their secret friend. I was slightly nervous. Miguel went up and described me and gave me a big box of nerds, some runts, and some gobstoppers. Then I went up and said 'my secret friend is a women,(all the teachers perk up) she is very smart. (My SS teacher steps forward), and I gave her the gift. I think she liked it. Then we ate pizza and Soda; and before I knew it, it was time to go. I said bye and Feliz Navidad to everyone and got on the bus for home.

On Sat. I mainly relaxed and we went to the Tennis club and swam/hottubed and got hot empanadas with amazing sauces on the way back. Down at our pool they have a huge manger scene with a little river, sheep, and even some chickens (but that's a whole post, believe me). Last night Joel slept in my room and this morning we went to church.

Mountain Climbing

2008-12-07T16:09:00.001-08:00

This week was a crescendo. I kept getting more and more energy. On Friday I went to Amadeo's Birthday party at his Finca. We went straight from school by bus. I brought a big pillow (everyone thought that was funny). We set up the tents on the porch. It was Me, Ivan, Juancho, Miguel Angel, Kevin, and Amadeo(and his little brother). After setting up the tents we ate a bit and then watched a movie. The next morning at about 7:00am after breakfast we began our memorable hike up the mountain.

I started off fresh after my shower but I made one grave mistake. I wore shorts instead of pants...
If this were a normal hike that wouldn't matter but this was a hardcore colombian mountain hike. We started off climbing/crawling up a half-dry river. There were tons of briars and close calls wear I almost fell in the creek. Then we got to the path and and kept hiking until we got to a steep hill. It was great. :) After about 2 hours we arrived at as far as we could go without trespassing on private property. It was a cool flat rock with a amazing view of the mountains. We admired the view, drank some H20 and began our descent. It was faster going down but slightly more dangerous.

When we got to the creek on a particularly steep part I almost fell in.* Then when we were on the home stretch I was running and to slow down put my hands out to a tree to slow down when Juancho yelled noooooooooooooo. I saved myself just in time, it was a tree with spikes all over it! (pic?) Well we finally made it back alive but with our respective scratches. It felt great to take a shower and wash all the dirt off.

Then we ate a great spaghetti lunch and relaxed. After about an hour of relaxing we decided to play kick the can (my idea). We played for about 2 hours. It was brilliant. I could run so fast I was only caught about twice. It felt great to have energy. We'll see if I still have it next week.
Well we said goodbye and Me and Juancho got picked up by his parents to go to his house. We played Age of Mythology the Titans on his pc vs other pc right next to it. We went to sleep late and I got up at about ll:00am. We watched another movie after breakfast and then we went out for pizza lunch. It was a grande 1/2 campesino and 1/2 Hawaiian. Then we headed for our Apt.

I said thanks and went up to our apt. Right now fireworks are going off and dad is getting super exited with his camera. Well Anna is bugging me to watch a movie now so chao until next week. -Ian

Thermal Baths

2008-12-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Last Weekend, from Friday to Monday I went with my family to the thermal bathes, 1.5 hours from Bogota. The bus ride up was very memorable, the view was great but what made it most memorable was the car sickness. We had a good, if fast driver and the roads were the curviest I've been on in my life. I think nearly everyone almost threw up if they didn't take the undizzy pills.

But the Thermal Baths, once we got there were great. There were big baths, small baths, warm baths, hot baths(and when I say bath I mean pool) and even a bubbling bath. They're only fault was that they kinda stunk. The hotel room had AC, TV, Hot water, and big beds; all the luxuries we've gotten used to living without. We came back to Bogota on Mon. and a dude took me and Anna around Bogota. We went to the Botanical Garden, which had almost every kind of tree or plant imaginable, McDonalds, which we hadn't eaten at for about 5 months(we each got a cool Madagscar 2 happy meal :) plus extras) Then we went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D! It was great! Then I began reading The Lord of the Rings and we sadly returned home to wake up for school at 5:30am(something no teenager should have to do) and get on with life.

Nuevo Blog

2008-11-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hey! I'm going to attempt a week by week blog. So here goes!

This week was for the most part normal. I went to school and learned the finer points of sewing, watched biography of Fidel Castro, and in math we went over the Pythagorean theorem ( which I learned in 6th grade). No school on Fri; It was grades. Grades here are different. Best is E=Exelente, MB=Muy Bien, B=Bien, A=Acceptable, and I=Insuficiente. I got mostly MB. I have been feeling very tired lately so I got blood taken. One time it was very painful (got stabbed 7 times), and one time it was very easy. They think I got parasites so I'm taking parasite medicine.

Today we went to a school festival. Lots of yummy food(empanadas, chocolate covered strawberries, drinks, etc.), BINGO, and games. It was OK but I felt tired most of the time. Joel had lots of fun playing with his friend and riding a small horse with him.

Right now there is an apt. party going on. We're eating hamburgers, coke, mini soccer. It is only Nov. 22 but our apt. is already decked out for christmas. We are hosting the poolside manger scene in December. ;) Time for another burger...