Conference, Apartment, and Rain

Wow, sorry blog followers, it's been awhile since I last wrote. A lot has happened in the past week, but I will try to keep this as short as possible (emphasis on the word try).

So Friday and Saturday we had the conference. I got to see some pretty cool technology in Orthotics and Prosthetics and practice my Spanish. Friday evening, Guadalupe (one of Katie's roommates and employee at Gilete) took Tina, John, and me to "el centro" (downtown) for a little shopping. They talked me into getting my ears pierced! Apparently, on Fridays, many of the streets downtown are closed and street performers come out and try to make a little money. This particular Friday there was also a cultural parade, which was really cool. There were groups of people in traditional dress dancing and/or playing instruments.

Friday night, a whole bunch of people from Gilete and the "gringos" who were in Bogotá for the conference went to a nice restaurant for dinner and conversations. I spoke with Eric, one of the speakers from America, who is in a wheelchair, and he told me a lot about the adjustments, both internal and external, after suffering an injury that requires a wheelchair.

Saturday after the conference, John and I walked to a church near our hotel. We were told that mass was at 7:30pm, but apparently that was incorrect, because we walked in during the homily and there was also a small wedding going on. It was a really beautiful church. After, we walked back to the hotel through a bunch of vendor tents. Then Tina took us out to eat at a nearby restaurant.

Sunday there was some crazy thunder and lightning. I did some laundry in the hotel sink and packed my bags because I had to check out Monday.

Monday I went to Gilete with all my stuff, then Katie took me to look at an apartment. It's within walking distance from Gilete and there are plenty of shops nearby so that I can get anything I need. It's about $400/month for a studio. I have a bathroom, kitchen, closet, 2 tables, 2 nightstands, 4 chairs, and a queen bed, plus tv and internet. The kitchen has cooking stuff and dishes, so all i need to provide is the food. I have the place for a month, and then I can decide if I want to rent for another few weeks until I leave (there will be about 3 weeks left at that point) or if I want to travel or stay in a hostel.

Yesterday I helped out in the shop. This was definitely a challenge because Guadalupe is the only one who works in the shop who speaks English, and she was gone for half the day. So I was taking instructions in Spanish about putting together a prosthetic leg, making molds, and various other tasks in the shop. It really wasn't too bad because we all used a lot of impromptu sign language. Everyone was really patient with me and I learned a lot.

Today I observed two fittings for children. I had mixed feelings - on the one hand, it's hard to see kids who can't just run around and be carefree, but on the other hand, it's great that they are getting quality treatment early. I left work early to get the fridge in my apartment fixed (it turns out that there is a thing inside that had to be turned on) - also a slight challenge to communicate.

My Spanish is slowly improving and the people at Gilete are very good at repeating themselves or rephrasing things when I don't understand. Katie and Guadalupe are trying to speak to me only in Spanish so I can learn more quickly.

When it rains in Bogotá, is pours....no, really. It's technically winter here, which is the rainy season. I'm pretty sure it's rained at least once every day since I arrived, often several times per day. I'm not complaining too much, though, because the average temp is in the 60s, and from where I'm from, that's pretty awesome for winter.