Ibague Week two (yes sometime last year!)

The neighbourhood's christmas lights.

For our last weekend in Ibague we happily enjoyed chilling out and catching up on emails and Spanish. We did manage to venture out on Saturday with Berenice, William and Carolina (Berenice who runs the centre and her two kids). Having failed to find a bowling alley, and having spent some time watching all the locals play a game that involved clay and gun powder, and then we settled for a slap up meal in a fried chicken joint! Seemingly the place where a lot of families spend their Saturday night as it was buzzing. Possibly not the healthiest meal we have ever consumed but surprisingly good.

A very attractive mannequin in an Ibague shop window!

We made our first proper Spanish mistakes, well turns out I have been making the same mistake for some time. In order to avoid asking for coke in a bar I have been trying to order a ‘ron y cola’ for my entire time in latin America and without success. This weekend we finally figured out why. I have been asking for a ‘rum and bum’. Oh dear. That explains a lot.

So, to make me feel better I am sure, Gio followed suit and said to Berenice ‘Necesitamos pegarte para la cena anoche’ – feeling quite pleased with ourselves we were confused by the look on her face. Until she asked why we need to punch her for the dinner last night!

Towards the end of the week Berenice and Lina (the teacher at the centre) took us for a walk down the river to see where most of the kids lived. Although we had an idea about their homes it didn’t make it any easier to see. We visited the home of the gorgeous Vanessa – she and her two sisters and brother live with their mum (who is 8 months pregnant) in one room which serves as kitchen/bedroom/everything. Corregated iron roof, tarpaulin walls, dirt floor, five people in a bunk bed and a single bed with a baby to come. Yet the kids are always smiling, proud to show you their rooms and the toys they have. As was the case for every family whose homes we saw.

The adorable Vanessa:

The second visit we made was to a set of homes further up the river that were balanced precariously a bit higher up. The house/room we visited had bamboo floors and nothing else underneath and we walked very gingerly thinking they weren’t made for our weight! This time six people and one double bed with some sort of fold out mattress, a gas stove top and a fridge that wasn’t actually plugged in. We felt rubbish that we had been moaning about the cold showers and bunk beds back at the house. The visits also made it clearer why the kids love coming to the centre each day.

The week was filled with the usual eating far too much, Nury seemed to pick up on our enthusiasm for food and gave us more and more tasters throughout the week. Friday we ate the most, including a new favourite food discovery. Chop up plantain, deep fry it, smash it flat with a stone, fry again – and serve with a freshly made omelette on the top. We had 4 each...

Some one else enjoying the omlette:

Friday crept up on us, as did the time to start saying farewells. We were both taken aback by how lovely our final afternoon with the kids was. There was a farewell presentation and kids stood up and sang a couple of little songs that meant they will miss us – apparently! They had all made us cards, and we were given t shirts and had a giant group photo. After only two weeks at the centre it was really lovely to feel like we had made any kind of impact on everyone and there were a fair amount of tears with the goodbyes (mostly mine admittedly).

Xiomara and Marina:

And so we finish our first volunteering experience, it’s with a giant dose of perspective, some marked improvement in our Spanish (maybe not with any style but we can communicate at last), and two very round bellies!