Into the light...

It has been a great first week in Colombia for me. This weekend wewent to the museum in downtown Medellin. Fernando Botero is oneColombia's famous artists and he has donated many paintings (about adozen rooms worth) and about 20 bigger than life sculptures to themuseum. He is well known for sculptures and paintings of people andanimals and things that are rotund, for lack of a better word. Fatworks but there is an unnatural squatness to the figures. Like whenyou configure a photo to fit across your screen and everyone's legsget shorter and their bodies wider. In his figures the faces areunusually small as well. We were not allowed to take photos insideand it was pouring rain out in the plaza where the sculptures were soI cannot share. You will either have to use your imagination orgoogle him to see what I am talking about. In addition to donating hisown works, he has donated his whole collection to the museum. Thesewere more interesting to me as there were a wide variety of styles inhis collection.

Downtown Medellin is crazy crowded and I am convinced that if I couldbe comfortable driving in this town, I could drive anywhere. I haveno plans to get comfortable driving here! Our time downtown was cutshort because the skies decided to open up and wash the cityextensively!

Medellin is also known for the lights at Christmas. The publicutilities sponsor a christmas light display that is impressive to saythe least. ( I posted the pictures on facebook using my iPhone and theFB app, but have not yet figured out how to move the pictures into myblog with my current technology set up. I have my iPhone, a cameraand the use of borrowed computers. If anyone has a simple explanationI am open to learning. ) Anyhow the lights were incredible. They areset up along the river and they put the disney electric light paradeto shame. In addition there are several water features that areup-lit (?) by lights in the ground that change colors. The effect israinbow colored fountains that are designed to run through with achance of staying dry or not. I managed to stay mostly dry. Spanningthe river are pipes with about 10 fountains per pipe (going every tenfeet for about 1/2 a mile) and colored lights in these as well. Thewater is captured and recycled as the river water is too polluted tobe used. It is simply indescribable really. In downtown there aremore lights in the town center but we did not go there as Medellin hadjust won the futbol championships and we decided to escape the hordesthat would soon be descending. Apparently a common form of celebrationis "flour bombing" which is exactly what you are thinking so peopleand the streets are covered in flour.

Tonight, I am making dinner for the family who has taken me in sokindly as tomorrow I will move to an apartment with a woman who seemsvery nice but speaks no English. I have learned a lot of spanish thisweek from direct and indirect objects to the past preterite tense butI have not practiced much. The time is now, apparently and while I ama little apprehensive I am also happy for the opportunity as she seemswilling to help me stutter through my sentences! I also want toreiterate that learning spanish from Claudia has been the mostpositive experience I could imagine. If you should decide to come toColombia to learn Spanish-and why wouldn't you want to?- I recommendtime with her. It is affordable and she is fabulous!

It is the shortest day of the year and while I am really enjoyingbeing here I have to admit that there is something special about thisday when it is dark at 4 pm. I simply love knowing that we are nowmoving into the light. I love that we "went to the lights last night"and tomorrow we begin to return to the light. I am happy to be here inSouth America for this day because this trip is about self discoveryand finding new ways to bring light into our world. What anappropriate time to be here.

in joy my friends...aly