Picnics, Extensions, Dengue, and goofing around as usual....

Hello my queridos amigos,
I know I´ve been out of the blog world for a while so this entry has a lot of photos and a lot of catching up to do...It´s amazing how much can happen in 2 weeks. As usual....I will use photos to illustrate...

A day of picnics.....

before going back to school Isabella had the idea of celebrating the last few days of vacation with a picnic....or 3....
with only the most wholesome snacks.

- red pop
- jello
- potato chip sandwiches with cheese
- more red pop

Isa and I



chatarra (yeah that´s right....they go all out with their junk food here..)



So I grew long hair for a week and a half ; ) but then I got Dengue and was hot and I cut it off.....





Isa y yo




it´s amazing how quickly your hair grows in warm climate...



gaby in the grass




so one would think....life just can´t get any better with so many picnics..... and they were right.....

and that pride comes before a fall.....I made the mistake of bragging about my health;)

Dengue has a way of making you question....just one more time... why the heck god put mosquitos on this earth.

As a result of a blessed mosquito bite...I felt miserable for a good portion of last week. Fever, pounding headache, zero energy....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue

definition: an illness that makes you feel like you´re going to die but you don´t. It also works as a good way to scare your parents who are already worried about their daughter living in a 3rd world country....

Don´t worry I was well taken care of by a 70 + yr old doctor who spent more time talking about my ¨dutch¨ ancestors left me with some great genes and on friday greeted me by saying

¨ Tú te ves más hermosa que la virgin maria ¨

¨ you look more beautiful than the virgin maria...¨

that same day I was walking down the street and a different, slightly creepy old man told me

¨Tu tienes la cara de santa¨

¨ you have the face of a saint.....¨

perhaps Dengue brought out something really special in me; ) hehe....

*by the way....yes the lack of tact on the part of colombian men....continues to be an adjustment for me. (not that american men necessarily have more tact...they just express things differently)


but moving forward in my story telling...I beat Dengue....got better in about 4 days...and with my added strength somehow my hair just kept getting shorter.

gaby and I...iron women...










Have I mentioned that everyone is named Juan here.....

if I meet a guy in my age group and forget his name...no problem..I can just pick one of the following and I´m probably right
____________________________________________________
I have also included the abbreviated versions..

- Juan Carlos = Juanca
- Juan Pablo = JuanPa
- Juan Fernando= JuanFe
- Juan Felipe= Juancho


On Sunday Tatiana and I hung out with 2 of the many Juanes at a 500 yr old house (very cool) south of Cali in Jamundi... the night was filled with board games, arepas, salsa music and a decent amount of laughter.

Introducing the Colombian version of Nathan Lane...I swear Juan Fernando looks even more like him in person (and sounds like him as well...)

JuanFe y Juancho



Juan Fernando y yo


tati y yo


JuanFernando y yo dancing


Tati y Juan Fernando




On Sunday I returned to Belén to go to church and hang out with some friends...this time I snuck my camera :)

Belén

Valentina y yo


cielo












Valentina, Jhon Paul (Nestor´s children and my adopted niece and nephew) and a dog that lives near their house





Nestor and and his wife Patricia


me, jhon paul, and Valentina



Nestor and Jhon Paul



I have more that I would like to share about Nestor and his family but for now I would like to get the pictures posted so look for updates on my time in Belén in the coming week....probably on the same entry.

I hope that all is well with you.

peace,
Erin