A life in Colombia
It would be an understatement to say that, as I walked to school the next day, I had no idea how things were going to unfold. Joss advised me to take my laptop – “If there’s no-one to help, you can always find a quiet corner,” she advised – which seemed eminently sensible. But I […]
MorePeople 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 […]
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Banana Skin Flip Flops 