Michael Myers

I finished my first semester of teaching last week. Much like everything that has happened to me in the last year, teaching wasn’t something I was aware I would be doing until a few days before the first day of class. The head of the langauge institute called me on Friday and told me they needed someone to teach their level 6 English course starting Monday. I wasn’t required to say yes, but I did because I knew it would be an experience that would better me as a person. I’m very glad I made that decision.

I did not go to school to become a teacher, I have no certifications or experience of any kind, and yet my first teaching job was at a university (one of the best in the city). I remember walking to class on my first day thinking, “How in the hell am I going to do this?” I did get a degree in English, and I consider myself good with words, but I don’t remember all the rules of English grammar. It’s a completely different thing to know something and know how to explain it. I found myself studying as much if not more than my students. I also had to focus hard on using correct English. If I used yall when speaking consistently, I would see the word yall in their papers. While this would have been funny, it would not have been good for them in the future.

I was also faced with the difficult task of what to do with students you catch cheating. It wasn’t so long ago that I was in Spanish class, and while I won’t go into detail about those times I’ll just say I have sympathy for students who feel like they need to have a cheat sheet to pass a test. For the most part though, my students became my friends and I only had to stand firm a few times throughout the semester.

I’ll admit, this post is more for me than you. This blog is somewhat of a journal for me and I want to remember this experience. If I could pull some type of life lesson out of all of this it would be… 

choose your words carefully around people who look up to you

This Saturday I saw H’Sao play, an amazing band from Chad. The guys in H’Sao could only speak English and French, and I got to play translator at a salsa bar we went to the night before. I surprised myself and later got a chance to rap in front of a few of them. I was as entertained as I was educated from their concert. I like to go to shows just to get ideas of things to do in my set. I usually film a few songs and turn it into a blog if it’s worth sharing, which I would have been doing now if I hadn’t been robbed later that night.

Ten friends and I decided to make it a quiet night and get some pizza, a few beers, and relax in a park outside of Buenavista (a shopping mall). We sat in a picnic area, had a car playing music, and were enjoying the heat lightning that has filled the sky for the last week or so. At about 11 pm two cops drove up to us on motorcycles and asked us to turn the music down. About 20 minutes later three men came out of the shadows with guns, telling us all to be quiet and give them everything we had.

The first thing my mind went to was training I had received in Washington before coming here. I put my hands on my head and looked at the floor. Often robbers are more prone to hurt you if you are looking at their face, and reaching into your pockets to give them things could be interpreted as reaching for a weapon. Another cool thing I learned was how to book a hotel room in a “lets blow us up some Americans” area of the world. It’s best to get a room in the back of the hotel on the 6^th floor. Bombers usually attack the front of buildings, and a standard fire truck latter can reach up to the sixth floor.

They stole my wallet, blackberry, and flip camera, but were nice enough to drop my keys on the way out. This was the first time anyone has ever pointed a gun at me and it was a very interesting feeling. I wasn’t scared that they would shoot; I was more focused on what I needed to do to make sure they wouldn’t.

The most messed up part of all this is that my friends are fairly sure the police that came twenty minutes before the robbery called the thugs to come rob us. Ten minutes after the three men drove away with my friend’s car the same two cops showed up on the motorcycle, and they didn’t look so concerned. Apparently the police system in Barranquilla is very corrupt, but I think there’s a little of that everywhere. I’m just glad I popped my getting robbed cherry without anyone getting hurt.

Here is a video of H’Sao I found on youtube, since I couldn’t make one myself:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9Vt_KiKPU&feature=related]

Last weekend started out pretty quiet. I was working with Julian in the studio until about 10 pm on Friday, so we decided to stay in and save up for Saturday. Then I got a call from Diego.

An hour later I was being dropped off at a bus station where my friends were waiting to head out to a house party in Puerto Colombia, a beach town outside of the city. We packed into the back of a cab (four guys, a guitar, a bass, and a box drum) and headed out there. The party was at a really big/old house about 100 yards from the beach. The dance floor inside the house was the closest to a rave party I’ve even been to. The music was up-tempo and everyone was moving. In the spirit of living in the moment I turned off my phone and never asked for the time. That’s one thing I realize we put more importance to than most people here. We always want to know whats next, have a plan, and stick to it. So I’m not exactly sure when we set up and played a set, but we did. Later in the night the party moved onto the beach, where everyone circled around us and we played until one by one everyone left. We continued to play until the sun broke over the horizon, and then laid back and went to sleep on the sand.

I woke up the next morning when the tide came up and hit me in the face. I sat up and looked around for my friends. Diego was close by, hugging his bass with his head in the sand. Albert was curled up in a ball on the porch of a beach front store. My guess is the water hit him earlier than it did me and he made his way to safer grounds. But it took me a while to find Jean. I finally found him passed out on top of a table. We all got up, walked to the road, and caught a ride back into town. Here is the only picture I took all night:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW4HlE5UOR8]

This weekend my friends and I had two shows, both of which were at pizza restaurants. They were also both followed by after parties and impromptu shows in a park where people that were walking by, or walking home, joined in the crowd. These always last until the sun comes up. I woke up on Sunday and went to a beach right outside of town called Puerto Colombia. When I got there I stumbled upon a reggaeton video being filmed and did a little filming of my own. I’d say I wish I could relive this weekend over and over, but I’m too excited for next weekend to do so. What’s happening? I have no clue… but I’m sure it will involve singing, salsa dancing, making friends and laughing at jokes and stories I don’t fully understand.

If you haven’t yet joined the Addictive Nature facebook band page please do so: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Addictive-Nature/111638225522127?ref=ts

Our album (SMOOTHIE) is really coming together and will be released in June. Until then we will be releasing promo videos and leaking songs on this page, so please click the “like” button— if you feel that way.  More than anything, we are just trying to reestablish our following, see who is still listening. Thanks in advance!

I’m writing to tell you about a new diet plan I have invented. It only cost .75 USD and is guaranteed to help you lose 10 pounds before summer. Your perfect beach body is just three steps away:

1. Go out on any street in Barranquilla

2. Eat a beef empanada at 2 am from a man selling them on the side of the road. You want to wait until 2 so you can get the last one he has and build up a good appetite to put it down quick.

3. Go home and get some sleep. The next morning the real magic begins.

While this is very effective I don’t suggest it to anyone. Last week was pretty rough! Sorry I have been slacking on the blogs recently. Let me give you a quick recap of what I’ve been up to. Last night I played in a plaza downtown at a music festival with my friends. We were the last group to play and we killed it! Had the people dancing, jumping around, and throwing flowers at us. My friends told me I was the first gringo to ever perform in the plaza. It was a very sketchy part of Barranquilla, an area they told me to never go by myself. Before we played we walked to get a beer from a stand, a short 3 minute walk that was filled with a strange paranoia. Don’t want to sound like a ignorant gringo here… but it looked very 3rd world ish. The performance was without a doubt one of the most fun 15 minute shows I have ever had. Thanks to my combo!

The day before we performed in a store in Buenavista, the largest mall in Barranquilla. It was my second in-store performance and I had a lot of fun. My friends here, just like Flex Mathews did in DC, have been bringing me everywhere they play and letting me perform with them. I’m very blessed to have met such great and talented people in my life.

Other than that I’m just living, trying to improve my Spanish, planning some trips to see different parts of the country, and thanking God for my health and the opportunities he has provided me. Well with exception to tonight… I have a 102.6 fever and there is a mariachi band playing in my living room. Got to love Colombia!