Fake Chipotle

There are no shortage of shopping malls here in Bogota.  Like any good shopping mall has in the U.S., food courts grace the top floor of the malls here in Bogota as well.

I took my try at a food court the other weekend along with a friend who had heard of "Sipote."  Does the name sound familiar?  Perhaps the name rings close to the beloved Chipotle of the U.S.?

Not only are these two food chains' names similar but the whole concept is, too.  On the picture of the menu above you can see Chipotle's equivalent step-by-step ordering process on Sipote's menu save the translation into Spanish.  It's all the same down to the extra charge for guacamole.  C'mon Colombia - avocados are a whole lot cheaper here.

After chowing down, though the taste of my burrito wasn't quite as delicious as Chipotle's, I thought there absolutely had to be some affiliation between Chipotle and Sipote.  No way would Chipotle owner Steve Ells allow for Sipote to exist without his legal consent.

Steve enjoying his poser burrito bowl.

Upon numerous Google searches later, I found no such connection.  One restaurant review blog I ran across was even so bold as to write that the owners of the restaurant group who started Sipote "nos sporendan con su nuevo concepto SIPOTE" (surprise us with their new concept of Sipote).  Feel free to prove me wrong (which is quite possible because at this point my google search stamina wore out), but I am pretty sure that Steve Ells' 1993 launch of Chipotle precursors the opening of Sipote's four stores in Bogota.

So Mr. Ells, in true American style, I think you should sue Sipotle, take over, and improve the wanna-be taste of Sipote's burritos.

Valentine's Day in September

Today in Colombia is Valentine's Day or, in Spanish, Día del Amor y la Amistad. I highly prefer the latter title as it's literally translated into "Day of Love AND Friendship."  It's a much more inclusive name and not-so-depressing for the singletons.

Coincidentally, yesterday I administered a spelling test from an american-published resource that had a fill-in-the blank question that looked like this:

Keesha ___________ valentines in the month of ______________  .

This sentenced was followed by another fill-in-the blank question that looked like this:

His birthday is in __________________  .

This week's words followed the short 'e' pattern and included the words sent, February, and September.  Quick 3rd-grade quiz for you:  Using the words sent, February, and September, fill in the blanks in the sentences above not using a word more than once.  As an love-sick or love-lacking American would do, you would probably fill in the blanks as such:

Keesah     sent        valentines in the months of      February        .

His birthday is in     September      .

Did you pass?

Upon checking my students' tests, I was quickly appalled by how many students were mixing up the months of February and September.  I circled their wrong answers with green pen and marked '-1' with some satisfaction...

...that is until the fourth test when I realized how culturally IGNORANT I was being.  My realization hit me like a ton of bricks: VALENTINE'S DAY IS IN SEPTEMBER IN COLOMBIA!  DUH!  I had to return to the three tests I had graded prior and humbly write 'OK' in place of my '-1' like this:

What a coincidence that the spelling words February and September fell in the same test.  Happy Día del Amor y la Amistad from Colombia!

Eating Aloe

My senior year of college I developed a pretty severe case of acute bronchitis (I know that's an oxymoron) that resulted in bruised ribs, being benched from the Ultimate Frisbee team for several weeks, and a sleepless roommate who had to listen to my coughing night after night (you're the best Heather!).  Though I long since healed from that specific happenstance of bronchitis, I have had occasional sightings of less-severe cases of bronchitis.  Every time I develop a cough, it resembles the phlegmy cough that characterizes bronchitis.

Unfortunately, this past week I have developed the phlegmy cough once again.  While many chalk up my cough to my being exposed to the germs of generally grossness of elementary school kids as a first year teacher, others blame my cough on the pollution of Bogota.  Each explanation seems perfectly reasonable to me.  FIrst year teachers DISEASE.  And while Bogota, among offering many cultural and entertainment attraction, also offers you very polluted air.

Questionable though the cause of my cough, the remedy does not seem to puzzle anyone here.  My co-workers suggested at least three natural remedies, and yesterday, I was summoned enough courage to try one:

The Aloe Leaf

I bought the aloe leaf at the local supermarket.  No one batted an eye at my 1.5 ft. long "sabina" leaf except for the one American visitor on a business trip happening to buy hair ties.  From behind me in line she asked "Now, what are you going to do with that?"  To which I replied with feigned confidence "Eat it."  She wished me good luck and I was on my way.

Having no idea how to eat this leaf, I went of course immediately to the trusty internet.  Up popped this page in my search results.  Thank-you Ruth Marlene Friesen from Saskatchewan, Canada for your terrific photographic instructions.  I always knew I liked Canadians (that's for you, Lowes).

Now, through photos of my own, I would like to share with you my aloe-eating experience.

Yesterday, I first cut the aloe leaf into a nice portion (as on the right).  Then, slit the aloe sideways to open the center where I found the ooey-gooey goodness (grossness).

I then proceeded to scrape a spoonful of the aloe and shove it in my mouth like a champ.  This was no small endeavor, as the consistency reminded me of my old dog Cody's slobber right after taking a huge drink from his water bowl.

Today I tried something different (after researching the healing powers of avocado) and made a honey, aloe, avocado, milk smoothie.  This consistency of the smoothie made the aloe go down much, much easier.

Did it work?  The cough is still here, but less (placebo effect?).  The phlegm is still here (borderline TMI?).  But I still have faith that after a few more smoothies, the aloe and avocado will kick in.  I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I had no idea of the plethora of natural remedies out there for absolutely everything.  Watch out, I might come back as an herbal healer ;)

Ode to the U.S.A.

Today, I miss America.

There is an ease about living in your native country: the culture, the language, and the simple routines are all so automatic.

On the flip slide, there is an ease in the form of excitement about living in a new country: the culture, the language, and the simple routines this time are all so novel, interesting, and thought-provoking.  I'd say over 90% of the time I appreciate the newness.  I love how Colombia forces me to reevaluate what I value and take for granted.  I love being introduced to new cuisine.  I love how the Spanish keeps my mind constantly turning and awake because only with full attention do I understand and speak Spanish.

But sometimes, that less than 10% of the time, I miss the familiarity of home, of friends and family, and the cheap(er) price and variety of ice cream.

The Bachelorette Pad

Who wants to see my digs?

The school found the apartment for me, and upon my arrival the apartment was furnished and ready to go, minus the gas.  After one day of a shower in 50 degree water, the gas turned on.  Now for the tour:
I live on the third floor.  I climb the stairs everyday.  I am proud at my kick to laziness by taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  It justifies me sitting two hours on the couch watching streaming-internet TV shows post-stair climb.  Once I climb the stairs, I come to my door:

Upon opening the door, I see my dining area straight ahead with the laundry room (complete with washer and old-school dryer, aka. drying rack) and half-bath on the right:

To the right, I see my living area and kitchen:

Then, straight ahead is a glass wall that looks right into my bedroom.  This strange element of my apartment allows the light from the only window to the outside to spread into the rest of my apartment.  It also lets my across-the-hall neighbors see their eyeful into my sleeping kingdom as straight across I have windows into the hallway.  I have since solved the problem.  More on that later.  Here's the bedroom, bathroom and closet:

My bedroom has a walk-in closet fit for a king (I have nowhere near enough clothes to fill it up) and a bathroom complete with a shower.

Come visit any time!

Post title courtesy of my current reality TV guilty-pleasure: The Bachelor Pad.

PRETZELS

My day has been made.  I had a sighting followed by a buying of Snyders Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces.  I love them, to say the least (I may or may not finish the bag by licking my fingers clean of its honey mustardy-goodness).


One 16 oz. bag of Rold Gold's pretzels costs $6.00 in the nearby supermarket.  Over a 100% mark-up due to importation taxes.  But these babies are only marked up $0.30-ish from its price in dollars.


As long as I have my pretzels, I can live without the American specialties of White Cheddar Cheeze-Its and Cheddar Blasted Goldfish.

High Altitudes

Bogota is located 8,600 ft. above sea level.  I have been affected in the following ways:

Owen Wilson's not-so-dry nose

Nose - The first two weeks I had a chronic dry nose.  What's the big deal - IT HURT TO BREATHE.  Have you ever laid awake at night for hours because every time you took a breath through your nose it felt like ice?  So instead you switch to breathing through your mouth but then your mouth gets so dry its uncomfortable?  That leads me to my next challenge:


Thirst - Also upon my arrive I was in a constant state of thirst.  Something about less oxygen in the air means you get less oxygen into your body so your through is dry...maybe I'm making that up.  All I know is that for some reason 8,600 ft. has forced me into drinking that fabled necessary eight glasses of water a day.

Lower (Aka. No) Stamina - The stairs are difficult.  The treadmill at the gym OWNS me.  Why?  The high altitude of course.  I am enjoying that I can completely blame my inability to run two miles without stopping on the high altitude.  My inability is in no way related to the two months of summer I spent sitting on the couch and watching crappy-but-addictive reality TV shows.

Cooking - This I have researched (the following information is courtesy of the great United States Department of Agriculture).  The USDA informed me that starting at the altitude of 3,000 ft., food takes longer to cook because water boils at a lower temperature.  WHO KNEW?  I guess I did...I just didn't realize that my 10th grade chemistry course would actually be useful to reference when living in Colombia.  All I know is that when cooking onions at home it took 3459786 minutes fewer for them to reach the soft consistency I love than it did when cooking my onions for dinner as pictured below:

How high have you been?

Start of Something New

Hello!

I hope to keep all of you updated on my teaching endeavors and cultural encounters while I am living in Colombia.  I have based this blog around a theme (at the sake of being corny) of "foreign encounters."  What might be a foreign encounter?  For the purpose of this blog,  a foreign encounter is an experience that draws my attention, that seems "not normal" to me, and ultimately causes me to reevaluate what I consider normalcy.  Man, how many times can you write "foreign encounter" in one paragraph?

Look for the posts to come!

P.S.  This blog posts' title was inspired by High School Musical: