Hey all!!
Well, it´s about time I write some new news. What`s new?? Hmm, ufff, well keeping plenty busy with classes, preparing the samba coreography in my dance class, pulling out my hair trying to organize students to do the sqauredance presentation, which in the talent show tomorrow. Man, will I be relieved when that`s over!! I think it`ll be great in the end, me playing banjo and a friend on fiddle and 8 dancers. I definetely am looking forward to a relaxing weeked. The plan: to go to the hot springs with Milena and some other friends and to a winery, both in a nearby town.
But let`s talk about this last weekend- action packed!! I went to Bogotá with the principal motive of meeting up with and playing tunes with the group of celtic music called Espiritu Celta, based in Bogotá. I arrived Saturday afternoon at the Irish Pub in the Zona- T, an upscale restaurant anbd commercial area. The pub is beautiful, old wood, antique Guiness adds, good dark beer, what one might hope for in an Irish pub. But it was packed and they had us play over in a cramped corner and iffy sound competing with loud revelers. But we played some good tunes, I sang a few, and the group is great. They have a bagpiper, a bodhran, an excellent fiddler, and guitarrist. Really top knotch and know their stuff- and all just Colombians who like Irish music. Go figure!! Anyway, that night I stayed with Magda, my friend who was in Columbia last year with Centro Latino. She lives with her brothers and sisters in an awesome flat on the 18th floor with a great view of downtown Bogotá. The morning I went with her family to Palo Quemado, a huuuuuuge covered market with literally every tropical fruit, vegetable, sauce, meat, cheese, spice, whatever you can imagine. They made me try everything, from cocunuts to maracuya, a crazy mango-watermelon hybrid, fresh soft cheese, etc. etc. We got back to the house stuffed with fruits and much more, but then straight to a Pacific-style restaurant where against my protests they served me a huge plate of sauteed fish, rice with coconut (sooooo good), salad, soup, and juice made of a fruit called borojó, which tastes kind of like apple cider with cinnamon. Everything was delicious it was hard to stand up afterward. Then what? To a huge festival of culture with music, artesans, and of course, more food and drinks to try. I met up with another big tall plae ETA friend, and the two of us where quite the spectacle with people asking for photos with us, including some really sweet middle aged women that barely came up to our belly buttons. So we tried chicha (fermented corn), sabajon de feijoa (a creamy licour), and other things i can`t recall. Walking around help, but still, serious stomach trauma. And an uncomfortable feeling being so overnourished and then driving through neighborhoods and passing bone-thin prostitutes and beggars with amputated arms. Thus is Bogotá- all the extreme class contrasts together.
That night was another session with Espiritu Celta, this time in another Irish Pub in another neighborhood with much more room and all the fans present. What a night!! It was fantastic!! Playing songs with the fans dancing and singing along. All accented by tasty micro-brew porter. I caught a bus back to Tunja by 9 and arrived late, exhausted, and satisfied.
And that`s all the news that`s fit to print. Below I added a silly picture with Milena (far left) and a friend at a part a couple weeks ago. Love yall!!
Well, it´s about time I write some new news. What`s new?? Hmm, ufff, well keeping plenty busy with classes, preparing the samba coreography in my dance class, pulling out my hair trying to organize students to do the sqauredance presentation, which in the talent show tomorrow. Man, will I be relieved when that`s over!! I think it`ll be great in the end, me playing banjo and a friend on fiddle and 8 dancers. I definetely am looking forward to a relaxing weeked. The plan: to go to the hot springs with Milena and some other friends and to a winery, both in a nearby town.
But let`s talk about this last weekend- action packed!! I went to Bogotá with the principal motive of meeting up with and playing tunes with the group of celtic music called Espiritu Celta, based in Bogotá. I arrived Saturday afternoon at the Irish Pub in the Zona- T, an upscale restaurant anbd commercial area. The pub is beautiful, old wood, antique Guiness adds, good dark beer, what one might hope for in an Irish pub. But it was packed and they had us play over in a cramped corner and iffy sound competing with loud revelers. But we played some good tunes, I sang a few, and the group is great. They have a bagpiper, a bodhran, an excellent fiddler, and guitarrist. Really top knotch and know their stuff- and all just Colombians who like Irish music. Go figure!! Anyway, that night I stayed with Magda, my friend who was in Columbia last year with Centro Latino. She lives with her brothers and sisters in an awesome flat on the 18th floor with a great view of downtown Bogotá. The morning I went with her family to Palo Quemado, a huuuuuuge covered market with literally every tropical fruit, vegetable, sauce, meat, cheese, spice, whatever you can imagine. They made me try everything, from cocunuts to maracuya, a crazy mango-watermelon hybrid, fresh soft cheese, etc. etc. We got back to the house stuffed with fruits and much more, but then straight to a Pacific-style restaurant where against my protests they served me a huge plate of sauteed fish, rice with coconut (sooooo good), salad, soup, and juice made of a fruit called borojó, which tastes kind of like apple cider with cinnamon. Everything was delicious it was hard to stand up afterward. Then what? To a huge festival of culture with music, artesans, and of course, more food and drinks to try. I met up with another big tall plae ETA friend, and the two of us where quite the spectacle with people asking for photos with us, including some really sweet middle aged women that barely came up to our belly buttons. So we tried chicha (fermented corn), sabajon de feijoa (a creamy licour), and other things i can`t recall. Walking around help, but still, serious stomach trauma. And an uncomfortable feeling being so overnourished and then driving through neighborhoods and passing bone-thin prostitutes and beggars with amputated arms. Thus is Bogotá- all the extreme class contrasts together.
That night was another session with Espiritu Celta, this time in another Irish Pub in another neighborhood with much more room and all the fans present. What a night!! It was fantastic!! Playing songs with the fans dancing and singing along. All accented by tasty micro-brew porter. I caught a bus back to Tunja by 9 and arrived late, exhausted, and satisfied.
And that`s all the news that`s fit to print. Below I added a silly picture with Milena (far left) and a friend at a part a couple weeks ago. Love yall!!
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