Hail or High Water

Mike has the Christmas carols cranked up so I will relax at the desk and reflect upon the past week. We had a great seven days, with lots of progress on the tasks we have been assigned to do and of course, it was THANKSGIVING! More on that later. I finally broke down and bought a hoody to keep me warm in the house. I didn't realize how chilly it would be in Bogota and I just brought short-sleeved tops to lounge in, but now I'm warm and toasty.

On Tuesday it poured the entire day. We had only taken one umbrella to the office and on the way home (walking), it really started coming down. We had errands to do and by the time we got home we were soaked. I do love walking everywhere though - even in the pouring rain. We bought a little point and shoot camera to replace mine, which disappeared during the first three days here (don't ask). We have our nicer camera, which we take for special occasions, but we don't like to carry it back and forth to the office each day - too heavy and too risky. The bonus of the day was finding an Entenmann's Butter Loaf Cake, fresh strawberries, and a small block of USA cheddar-jack cheese at Carulla, our main grocery store. Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time, as items like these randomly come and go. You need to use the Costco mentality - buy it when you see it, because it probably won't be there when you go back to get it!

Wednesday, on the way to the office, the army troops were out in force with machine guns at their sides. Two or three young men in uniform manned almost every corner. We heard explosions on Tuesday near the university, and were wondering if that was the reason for the military presence, but the locals told us it is a common thing. They said the government likes to make sure the people know who is in control.

Workmen were replacing fiber optic cables along one of streets we use to get to the office. Each of the cable companies own a piece of the action. Large cement slabs, labeled with a company’s name, cover holes in the ground that are filled with cables and wires. The workmen were threading cables through the uncovered holes by hand. A big pile of cable lay in the middle of the sidewalk and one had to tread carefully to avoid being entangled in a tripwire suddenly yanked up to a height of 10" off the ground.

We finally found empanadas for lunch, one of Mike's favorite foods from Chile. Mercedes Zamora, a Chilean sister in our Lake Forest Park Ward, used to make them for us and her’s were delicious. We each ordered one chicken and one beef empanada and, though they weren't quite as good as Mercedes', they did taste yummy.

When we returned to our apartment from work, we checked our email and found an invitation to a 12:30 p.m. Thanksgiving dinner at the CCM (the Missionary Training Center in Bogota). So Thursday we worked for three hours at the office, then took a taxi to the CCM. We arrived early and met Bro. Ospina, the CCM “Gerente” (manager), who took us on a tour of the facility. Our first stop was the kitchen, where three cooks were just taking five turkeys out of the oven. They took one look at Mike and assumed, of course, that he was an expert on American food. They invited him to sample all of their Thanksgiving creations to make sure they tasted just right:) We were later told that they came up with the idea for the menu on their own, without any input from the Dyer’s (the CCM President and his wife). The cooks got a big kick out of Mike's reaction when he tasted, in succession, the turkey, the gravy, and the dressing. It was like one of those TV cooking shows. They even knew about the wishbone.

The CCM is a lovely, neat and clean facility, and houses at least 120 missionaries. This week there were 44 in residence, so it was a good time to invite a group for dinner. At this facility young missionaries headed to Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru go for two 1/2 weeks of training before heading to the respective countries where they will serve. When all the missionaries came into the cafeteria for dinner, it felt like home. We went around to many of the tables, introduced ourselves and chatted with many of them. We found one young man from Tegucigalpa, so that was fun. Four gringas from North Carolina, California, Utah and Kansas were heading to Bolivia and were so excited. They will get the full "camping-in-Sunday-clothes mission experience", a term my niece, Natalie Merrill, coined. She is presently serving in the Guatemala Retahuelu Mission.

Three other couples (other than the Dyer’s) attended the dinner: 1) the Wakefields, who serve as the President and Matron of the Bogota Temple, 2) the Blaines, from Mud Lake, ID, who serve as temple missionaries, and 3) President & Hermana Andelin of our mission. The Wakefield's nephew is Dr. Rod Wells, an obstetrician from Wenatchee, whom we know very well. Being a member of our Church makes the world such a small place! After dinner, we went to the Dyer's apartment (on the second floor of the CCM) and sang Christmas carols - one of their family traditions. Sister Dyer wanted very much to have us participate. If someone had just randomly walked in, it would have seemed a little odd for 8 Americans to be singing Silent Night in Spanish (and some don’t speak\sing fluently), but that is what everyone wanted to do. When in Colombia, do as the Colombians do.

Friday we finished posting 60 Colombian jobs on the lds jobs website. Bro. Gomez (a local employee of the Church and our immediate supervisor) has so many things on his plate right now, that we are helping him get caught up. The day began gray and cloudy, and soon after arriving at the office, the clouds burst open and it rained HARD for a long time. It was so cold that the rain turned to "granizo", which is hail. “Granizada” is a hailstorm. We watched out the windows as people scurried for cover. Just over the mountains about 2 hours to the east is one of the largest tropical forests in the world and the source of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers, and we are watching a hailstorm!

Saturday I woke up with muscle spasms in my back, which did not feel good. I cleaned the apartment as best I could, moving slowing, while Mike went out for a haircut and grocery shopping. I cooked our first real dinner since coming (sandwiches don't count as a real meal). It felt a little more like home, sitting at our dining room table eating familiar comfort food. After cleaning up the kitchen, we snuggled in bed and watched "National Treasure 2" (some prior couple had left a stack of movies in the apartment) – senior couples are allowed to watch movies.

My back did not improve much overnight, but on Sunday morning the last thing I wanted to do was sit at home. I love going to church, so we walked slowly and I sat carefully. One of the brothers mentioned he had a pinched nerve and the doctor had given him some muscle relaxants, so I asked him for the name of the medication. On the way home from church (walking), we passed a "farmacia". Mike thought my condition was “an ox in the mire”, so we went in and asked for the medication, Metocarbamol (Robaxin in the states). It cost $4.66 for 20 tablets. By the way, they did not ask for a prescription.

Two families from church invited us for dinner - one for today and one for next Sunday. We passed on the one today because of my back, but will get together after Christmas. All the embassy people go home to the States for Christmas. A new, young couple attended today. They just arrived in Bogota, as the husband is the director of an on-line English school here. They won't be going home for Christmas, so maybe we can have them over.

Monday, Monday - the beginning of a new week. Walked to work in the rain and Mike barely got into the building. He's been having trouble with the turnstiles accepting his fingerprint. Even though the same guards are at the turnstiles and see him go in and out several times each day, they refuse to let him go around or duck under when he has trouble with the sensors. So I went through and waited on the other side for two or three minutes while he tried to get his finger to work. The first turnstile didn't work, but when Mike changed to another, the arrow turned green after 30 seconds or so and he passed through. However, his backpack caught on the bar of the turnstile and it clicked shut. The guards were all trying to help him get it free, while other workers leaving for the day passed through on both sides. After a short struggle, he popped out the other side. I think I heard the word "estupido" escape from his lips, but I didn't know if he was referring to himself, his backpack, the turnstiles, or life in general. (Smile) Our office got a new keypad on the main door and I hate to say it, but it's a fingerprint pad. Everyone in the office took turns entering their fingerprints. We'll hope Mike has better luck with this sensor.

After work, we hurried home to meet the father of our "dueña" or landlady. A few things need fixing and he was very accommodating, saying he would get a new window in one bathroom, a new toilet in another, a new shower door, new kitchen sink pipes and repair the lock on the balcony door so it can be opened. It is a lovely space with flowers and plants, and we would like to sit out there on sunny days.

The biggest challenge of the day was trying to find a place to watch the Seahawks game. It is not going to be our usual practice to watch MNF, in fact this will probably be the only time we make the effort, but it was New Orleans-Seattle in a key match up and Mike has been going through major sports withdrawal. He read online that the Bogota Beer Company was showing it (two blocks from our building), but we thought it wouldn't look right for missionaries to be in the local bar. (Smile) So we walked seven blocks to a Hilton Hotel, hoping they would be showing the game and they were! It didn't start until 8:30 p.m., so we went to eat at TGIFriday's (last time eating there - we like the local food better). We then returned to the hotel and watched the first half of the game (as we were on foot, we didn’t want to be on the streets past 10:00 p.m.) By chance, several other Americans showed up to watch the game with their laptops (for you Anderton fantasy players, they were following their fantasy players). They turned out to be members of the rock band, Incubus, who are in the midst of a Latin American tour (Mexico City, Panama City, Bogota, Lima, and Santiago). We checked them out on the internet and it seems they are quite well-known. We followed the second half on the internet. Awesome game, Seahawks, you make us proud!

Factoid for the Week

The currency in Colombia is the peso, and the exchange rate is around 1930 to $1. The bills we most commonly use are 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000. It is a little weird giving the store clerk a 50,000 peso bill, but then you realize it's only about $25.

Have a great week and chao from Colombia,

Elder and Hermana Anderton

CCM Cooks

CCM Hermanas

Thanksgiving Dinner

Indian Chicken Curry = Comfort Food