For those of you living in the upper latitudes of the northern hemisphere, I admit I'm a bit envious of your fall season. There is that first smell (and feel) of just slightly colder air that signals summer is waning. The trees change, flowers close up shop, and days become noticeably shorter. That instinctual awareness of what's happening is then confirmed by back-to-school commercials on TV, Labor Day weekend BBQ plans, and for many, the kickoff of the football season and baseball playoffs.
I'm no different, but living in South America I don't have the pleasure of smelling cold, crisp air. It is a constant 83 degrees (28° celsius) here and fluctuates by only two degrees throughout the year. I've had situations where local people forget the word for fall (otoño) because it is an unfamiliar experience. So it probably comes as no surprise that I rely heavily on the school year to mark my change in seasons.
We kicked off our academic year in mid-August and as I sit here I can say I'm fully into my "autumn" season in Maracaibo. I'm thoroughly enjoying my work teaching US History, World History, Psychology, and Theory of Knowledge (a class encompassing epistemology, logic & critical thinking, and metaphysics). I have a good routine and a gym close by. There are a group of guys that play basketball every Saturday, and I've found another group of dudes that play Sunday afternoon softball. At the moment, it is a simple, but rewarding existence.
So I reckon it's time to take a look back at my summer and share a little bit of what I did. With the exception of Taganga, I stayed in Maracaibo all summer. I was hoping to save a bit of money and study Spanish a bit more intently. I wasn't too worried about getting bored as Solanyel and I have a never-ending list of activities to do.
But priorities! Let's get learning. My colleague, friend, and next door neighbor at school is Señor Borges. He is a wonderfully kind man and my Spanish teacher. He offered to serve in my employ as my Spanish instructor. Eventually, we made it a habit to go out for lunch every Friday after class.
Spanish is tough for me. A lot of people said it was going to be easy, but truth be told, I think Mandarin was easier. Spanish has so many conjugations. It seems almost unnecessarily complex. But I'm plugging away, poco a poco.
Mr. Borges isn't just my Spanish teacher, he is also an actor, poet, and producer. This year he put on an intimate and wonderful adaptation of Venezuela's Pablo Garcia Gámez's play Mentiras y Recuerdos. It is about the lives of three women who struggle with the conflict of personal ambitions and traditional gender roles.
It was a really fun show. They had more performances planned, but it was right around the time of the presidential elections, so they had to put it on the shelf.
Last year, I was in Oregon for summer and I missed Solanyel's birthday. This year we got to celebrate big number 28 together. We went bowling with some friends and family then to a nice restaurant. Double chocolate cake.
Ah, she's so lovely. She has a great family and great friends. I'm lucky to be a part of it. This year, I wasn't quite sure what to get her for her birthday gift, then I remembered... chocolate! After doing some searching around, I found a culinary school which was offering a chocolate class a few weeks later. I booked us a spot. Needless to say, she was a natural.
One thing I remember the most is that we all tried really hard not to steal little finger dips of chocolate throughout the class, but at the end we were unable to control ourselves. If someone walked through the door as the class finished, they would've seen 8 grown adults swiping fingers on chocolate-covered bowls and stealing spatulas caked with chocolate. But all's well that ends well. Each participant went home with even shares of the final product. It was delicious.
As I look through my summer photos, I can see that food was clearly a theme. We had pizza night and wine.
She made a pepperoni pesto pizza, and I went with the classic pepperoni mushroom garlic olive pie.
And time for me to burn off some calories. Through some friends of my barber, I got connected to some guys playing softball.
I love softball. I love getting a bunch of old guys out on the field throwing our arms out and pulling leg muscles. I particularly enjoy mistiming a slow pitch and dinking some garbage roller to an infielder.
I'll be playing again this weekend with those guys. The more we play, the more familiar we are with each other. I'm known as "Bryce Harper" or "El Gringo". I'm convinced that our softball games deserve more footage, so I'll do what I can to create a separate post on our games. The guys are loud and LOVE to argue.
After complaining about destroying my rotator cuff from throwing the ball from deep left field to home plate (he was safe by a mile), Solanyel and I found a local guy offering ice baths and breathing exercises. It was incredible.
We started with some deep breathing and meditation, getting familiar with our breath and clearing the mind.
It was a pretty little place for my first time doing an ice bath. I've heard a lot about them, but never had the opportunity to experience one.
And she was totally relaxed. It was almost intimidating.
It was a mind job, that's for sure. It shocks the body and your brain starts screaming at you that something isn't right. At the beginning, the sensation was very similar to pain. I decided to go a bit further with a complete submersion.
When I was under the water, I thought for a moment that this might've been what the victims of the Titanic experienced. It was intense to think about.
After I popped my head back out, I took two breaths and everything felt fine. I was able to look around and chat with everyone. It was strange that the cold no longer affected me like it did before. Once I got out, we were instructed to engage in yoga-esque movements designed to jumpstart circulation in the extremities again.
That afternoon my body felt amazing. I was light as a feather and my breathing was particularly effortless. I recommend an ice bath to anyone and everyone.
And this turns us to the beginning of the end. We kicked off August with a birthday morning with waffles and gifts as I started work the next day.
She woke up at six in the morning to surprise me with this. What a sweetheart. That was followed up by an evening of pickleball, pizza, and beer with friends.
Not to be outdone with the day of chocolate for her birthday, she one-upped me (she keeps saying it isn't a contest) with some really thoughtful gifts. I've been talking about getting a water fountain for my desk in my classroom and she somehow found one. Plus, she picked some of my favorite photos (I don't know how she did it) and made a sweet collage.
And let's wrap this up with some more food! At a recent visit to Solanyel's house, she had me make tostones. She said I was naturally talented and probably the best she's ever seen. A "natural Maracucho" were her words, I think. She definitely didn't say I'm an awkward gringo who has no idea what he's doing.
Thanks for hanging out with me on this tour of my summer! I have a fall trip coming up next month and, if things work out, I'll be back in Colombia diving.
I'll keep you posted.