Going down the Toilet Bowl

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