A life in Colombia
People are usually reasonably easy to read, aren’t they? If they dislike you, disapprove of you or generally feel unable to tolerate you, they’ll give themselves away. It might be a comment or a gesture, but it will be there. Similarly, if they like you, well, that’s normally pretty obvious too. I have no idea […]
MoreIt first happened in Spanish class. “Do you have a boyfriend in South America?” my teacher asked, innocently enough. “No,” I replied. But it was Spanish class, so I elaborated. “Men here are too short,” I smiled politely. “Noooooo,” my teacher responded, mouth agape. She then spent the next 15 minutes listing all of her […]
MoreSome days, I know, I never really grew up. I still suffer from childlike excitement. The kind where you catch your breath and clap, then laugh and try not to look too sheepish. There are moments when I want to simultaneously laugh and cry and remain mute, my head shaking. I know I look serious. […]
MoreThe whole thing was so utterly ungainly. There I sat, legs splayed and groaning in agony as the 19-year-old boy opposite me chuckled softly to himself. Perhaps I should explain. Today was only my second day on the Galapagos island of San Cristobal and already I appear to be a treasured member of the Tae […]
MoreThe entire purpose of my three-month stay on the Galapagos is to assist with the teaching of the finer points of the mother tongue. Simple enough, you would think, for someone who has spoken a form of English for years. Except my new school, Pedro Pablo, had slightly different ideas. Monika (another one) teaches the four-year-olds […]
MoreWe were soon decamping at San Cristobal airport in the company of our Galapagos co-ordinator, Paulina. She hailed a cab. “When you get a cab round here you don’t need to give a street,” she advised. “Just say the name of the family. Everyone knows everyone.” There was a slight pause. “It’s a small island,” […]
MoreSome joker decided that the morning after the night before was the ideal time for an 8am sight seeing departure. (I can’t remember who it was – it may have been me – but needless to say we didn’t quite depart at 8am. We had to have our coffee and pancakes first.) Eventually we made […]
MoreI hate saying goodbye but sometimes, a little pampering can soften the blow. And our last weekend in Quito was great. Yes, it was a little bit girlie – maybe a little bit vain – but it was ultimately a very fitting goodbye. Our festivities began on Friday. Once we’d got out of school (I […]
MoreThere may have been a night out on Wednesday. Cocktails may have been consumed. Drinking games may have been played. The hours may have evaporated until Bryony and I ended up in a cab, unable to stop laughing even as we crept into Ruth’s flat. I may have walked into a chair on my way […]
MorePrison gates must look the same all over the world. Tall, steel and fitted with one of those imposing sliding grills. I was the first out of the taxi. I tapped hesitantly on the grill. “Hola,” I called quietly. The grill slid back and an Ecuadorian eye observed the four gringos standing on the pavement. We squinted back at him through […]
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Banana Skin Flip Flops 