Girl Power and Site Assignment

The adventure continues here in Colombia and I thought I would start this blog entry by describing two situations that a pair of girls encountered here in Barranquilla.  During the first six weeks here in Colombia we have had tons of security training and in the multi-hour sessions it is often easy to doze off and day dream about more pleasant things (Going to the beach, eating American food, and what it would be like to be able to dance like a Colombian).  However, the sessions have helped at least two girls already as there have been two attempted drive-by theft attempts (not the kind with a gun).  So the drive-by attempt is quite popular I hear and is executed by men on motorcycles and occasionally accomplices.  The first attempt happened one early morning as my friend was out for an early stroll (if you want to exercise it better be in the morning because exercising in the heat of the afternoon or the darkness of night is just asking for trouble), she suddenly felt someone grab at her purse and she quickly pulled it back before the men on the motorcycle could snatch it.....Peace Corps women 1 Colombian thieves 0.  

The next attempt consisted of another female volunteer and two thieves.  We had just got back from the beach and almost all of us went directly home.  However, one girl decided to do some vegetable shopping in the market.  After she had purchased some fresh eggplant a man approached her and asked her the time (this man was the accomplice).  As she was distracted by this question another man on a motorcycle came by and tried to grab her purse.  However she had other ideas and swung her bag of eggplant at the man, much like deranged elderly woman are portrayed on television these days, hitting him repeatedly until the bag broke and the eggplant flew to the dirty sidewalk.  The two men fled and the volunteer was able to pick up her eggplant and later use them to make, from what I hear, an amazing eggplant parm later that weekend......Peace Corps women 2 Colombian thieves 0.  Thus, so far half of the attempted thefts against women have been fended off by vegetables..... Moral of the story: those thieves better reconsider next time they see a gringa with a bag of produce! 

New News:  On Thanksgiving day we were told where we will be working for the next two years.  I was pretty sure I was going to be staying in Barranquilla as I had my site visit here, but in true Peace Corps style I was tossed a curve ball.  I was told I will be in a small town outside of Cartagena called La Boquilla.  This little fishing village is surrounded by an ocean on one side and a lagoon on the other.  I don't really know much more about the area than that, but I am going to visit La Boquilla on Tuesday for the week and am very excited.  My next post will contain pictures of the site visit!

-A famous musical group from Colombia, Bomba Esterio, taped a music video in La Boquilla so I hope this link provides you all with some more insight into where I will be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-vDLf7cmf0