Musical torture

I´ve been meaning to sort out some photos to post on the blog with a nice email about the beauties of Turbo and Turbeñan life.....

BUT there is something I just have to get out of my system or I will explode into thousands of reggaetonified pieces of atomic dust. Before coming here I was prepared for an small, isolated, remote town and had been warned that in Turbo it is difficult to disconnect because there is a very limited social life outside of the PBI house (plus security issues mean that we can´t travel to certain places at certain times....). However, nobody warned me about the music. Reggaeton. Technosalsa. Dodgy drum and base.

All of the above I can deal with, even in large quantities: these are the sounds emmanating from every single bar, house, shack in Turbo. What I cannot deal with is the VOLUME. Yesterday, yesterday night and all today (still continuing now) our beloved neighbours have been having a kind of "party". They are all sat outside their house in red plastic chairs, drinking Aguila and aguardiante and listening to the above mix of music. Music at an ULTRA HIGH, EAR SPLITTING, BONE- CRACKING VOLUME. It is such that all the doors and windows of our PBI house (as well as the desk upon which this computer rests) are constantly vibrating. It is such that it actually hurts my ears and my chest when I open the front door.

I have had the misfortune to be in the house all day because I am managing the emergency phone and am on-call. So there has been no escape. And it´s so incredibly invasive - there´s no getting away from the noise, no corner of the house that can provide sanctuary. I can´t help thinking that all the people sat next to the speakers (I forgot to mention that our neighbours have errected large speakers outside their house) must be deaf or certainly on their way to being deaf....perhaps that explains in part this aspect of Turbeñan culture. Apparently these neighbours have "interesting" connections (you never know who is who in Turbo) and I can´t help but see this punishing volume of music as some kind of ridiculous display of power, a way to let everyone in the neighbourhood know who´s in control.

All I know is that I´m finding it hard to concentrate on anything or even to know what do to with myself. Plugging in my ipod doesn´t cut out the sound, reading a book is difficult and sleeping isn´t an option.....mmmmmm.......Funny how I´ve never really appreciated how important and wonderful SILENCE is.........................

But I´d like to make it clear that I´m not complaining. I will be a martyr to the cause until the bitter end!!!!!! I´m sure I´ll look back on this in a year´s time as a test of will power. Lets see what my ear drums are really made of.....

Palabra por palabra...

Estoy aprendiendo la forma Colombiana de expresarse! Aqui todo es chévere, como ustedes sabrán, aunque de pronto será un poco dificil explicar toda la vaina a gente que nunca ha estado aqui. ¡Listo?!

Hay en el cielo de Colombia un coleccionista de nubes?

Bogotá.....una contradicción y un caos en todos los sentidos: te levantas por la mañana, por ejemplo, abres la ventana y ves el cielo azul y sientes un soplo de aire calentito en la cara...luego sales a dar un paseo en ropa de verano y dentro de 10 minutes te das cuenta de que el cielo está cubierta con nubes y que una tormenta te va a caer encima....Es así cada día - sol, lluvia, lluvia, sol....

La ciudad en si tiene mucho que ofrecer pero es bastante fea y descuidada con muchísima contaminación. Sin embargo, lo que más me encanta es ver como al final de cada calle hay una vista preciosa de montañas verdes.

El entrenamiento en Bogotá era bastante intensivo pero necesario y tuve la oportunidad de conocer bien el subequipo y tener una vista más general del proyecto.

Comida.....tanta fruta que estoy discubriendo todavía....la pitalla es super rica pero tiene una forma bastante rara: su sabor es una mezcla entre un kiwi y un melón....mmmmm (intentaré descagar una foto).

Lo que más me gustó durante los diez días que estuvimos en Bogotá era una caminata que hicimos por los barrios más pobres de la ciudad. Era como ver el otro lado, o sea, el lado "real" que no se suele experimentar con ojos de turista. Me impactó bastante el hecho de que hay niños que viven en las alcantarillas, completamente endrogados mientras que la mayoría de la gente hace la vista gorda.

Typically Isabel

I found the purse shortly after writing the previous blog. This is something that often happens to me after the initial panic. I´m the Queen of losing and (sometimes) finding things. As the Colombians would say, all is chévere ahorita.....

Why am I always losing important things?

It has taken me a loooooong time to even think about writing in this blog! My life in Colombia so far has been hectic.....the 10 days of training in Bogotá have been a complete whirlwind and I suddently find myself here in Turbo, thrown in at the deep end with work and reading up to my eyeballs!!!!! There is no such thing as a "day off" with PBI....the work really is 24/7....but I´m a dedicated brigadista, so no probs....!!!!

Anyway, after two days here in Turbo, I´ve managed to lose my purse with all important documents inside that are needed for accompaniments. I have to say that I feel like a big ninkenpoop for not having been more careful with my purse. I know it´s not the end of the world but here in Colombia it takes so long to get basic things done, especially when they are related to official documents. Oh dear....Well, on the upside, it is better to get the "losing bug" at the beginning rather than at a crucial moment in a few months time when it will be more difficult to sort out all the paper work. And from now on I´m going to have my money belt firmly attached to my tummy.

More news and photos soooon!

A week to go...

Exactly a week to go before I fly out to Bogota.....ahhhh!!! I have last minute things to buy, people to say goodbye to, packing to think about and my visa is hanging in the balance! I've had quite a few complications with the whole visa application and although they seem to have been ironed out, I am still not sure exactly when the visa will be ready to collect...Anyway, I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed. I'm going to stop procrastinating now and get on with downloading music onto my ipod so that I have enough music for the year!

Solo me queda una semana en Inglaterra....ayyyyy! Tengo que comprar unas cositas, despedirme de la gente, hacer la maleta y todavia no se si me daran la visa! Tuve dificultades en cuanto a mi aplicacion en el consulado y aunque parece que se arreglo todo, no se cuando estara lista para coger! De todos modos estoy cruzando los dedos....a ver.....Ahora me toca poner musica en el ipod....

Why PBI?

I found out about PBI about two years ago when I heard a former volunteer speak about her experiences at a Human Rights conference. It was the first time that I actually thought, "YES! This is the kind of work I've been looking for, this is exactly what I want to do!". So I embarked upon the lengthy application process which involved intensive interviews, several months of study and a week's training in Spain. And I made it! I'm flying out to Bogota in just over a week...

I was attracted not only by PBI's core values (non-violence, non-interference, non-partisanship) but by the fact that they have not been compromised during the organisation's 25 years of experience in conflict zones across the globe. I was also extremely interested in PBI's unique method of decision-making, based on "consensus" which seemed like an antidote to my recent and disappointing experience of hierarchical management at a UK-based charity. Although I am aware that it is extremely difficult and time-consuming to arrive at a consensus, I believe that the process of sharing the burdensome responsibility of decision-making in often stressful situations while maximising each individual's expertise and personal experience more than compensates for this perceived weakness.

Por que PBI?
Hace dos anhos conoci a PBI durante una conferencia sobre los derechos humanos cuando un ex voluntario comparto sus experiencias con la organizacion en Colombia. Era la primera vez que habia pensado, "Si!!! Esto es precisamente lo que quiero hacer yo!". Entonces empeze el largo proceso de seleccion atraves de entrevistas, estudios y una semana de formacion en Espanha. Y lo consegui! Dentro de una semana me voy a Bogota!

Me llamaron la atencion los principios basicos de PBI (no-injerencia; no violencia; no partidismo) sobre todo porque se los habia mantenido durante 25 anhos de trabajo en zonas de conflicto atraves del mundo. Tambien me intereso mucho el metodo de "concenso" o "horizontalidad" para tomar decisiones porque asi todo el mundo esta comprometido en el proceso (muy importante cuando hay situaciones dificiles) y se aprovecha de la sabiduria/experiencia de cada individuo. Me imagino que no es siempre facil llegar a un acuerdo, sin embargo me parece muy importante valorar las relaciones y el proceso tanto como el resultado.