Navidad en Colombia

En Colombia el árbol de Navidad es el mismo de aquí. Excepto, las decoraciones.

Colombian tree is decorated with lights, baskets of candy, ribbons, fabric dolls and homemade ornaments.

Tradiciones en Colombia son relacionadas a la religión católica. En diciembre tiene una ceremonia en honor de la Virgen (Mary). En la noche del siete de diciembre, families light scores of candles and use them to outline streets, sidewalks, and parks so that entire cities are illuminated.

El ocho de diciembre celebran la Concepción Imaculada, during which more prayers and candles are offered to the Virgin Mary.

En el diez y seis de diciembre decoran los árboles de navidad con la Novena, which en Colombia involves a nine-day prayer ritual with a rosary in anticipation of Christmas day. During this time of celebration of Christ's birth, groups of families and friends, often encompassing an entire village or neighborhood, will gather together each night to pray.
Villancicos, better known as Christmas carols, are also sung around the nativity scene that plays a significant part of Colombia's Christmas celebrations.

Most Colombians attend Midnight Mass on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) before returning home for dinner.

Qué comes por Navidad en tu casa

The Christmas meal often includes a special chicken soup called Ajiaco, homemade breads, fritters, roast port and natilla, a corn-based dessert.

Dónde pone Papa Noel tus regalos

Presents are brought by "El Niño Jesus" to the foot of children's beds by the next morning, and after a relaxing day spent with family, the Christmas season is complete.

Compras en San Juan

San Juan tiene la isla's best range de tiendas, but no es a free port, so you won't find bargains en electronicos y perfumes. You can, however, find precios excelentes en china, crystal, ropa, y joya. Compras for local crafts can also be gratifying: you'll run across mucho that's tacky, but you can also find tesoros, y en muchos casos you can watch the artisans at work. Itemas populares incluyen santos (small carved figures of saints or religious scenes), hand-rolled cigars, handmade mundillo lace de Aguadilla, vejigantes (colorful masks used during Carnival and local festivals) de Loíza y Ponce, y fancy men's camisas called guayaberas.

En Old San Juan—especialmente en Calles Fortaleza y Cristo—you can find everything de camiseta emporiums to selective crafts tiendas, librerías, art galleries, boutiques de joyas, y even tiendas that specialize in made-to-order Panama hats. Calle Cristo es lined with factory-outlet tiendas, incluyendo Coach y Ralph Lauren. ¿Qué productos tiene Coach?

Con muchas tiendas selling luxury items y designer fashions, the shopping spirit en San Juan neighborhood de Condado es reminiscent de that en Miami. Avenida Ashford es considered the heart de San Juan's fashion district, y clyou'll find plenty of high-end tiendas de ropa here.

¿Dónde está el distrito de fashion en los Estados Unidos?

Panamá

Panamá está sur de Costa Rica. La capital es la Ciudad de Panamá.

Yo fui (went) al Archipiélago de las Perlas.

Son un grupo de 100 islas en el lado Pacífico de Panamá en el Gulfo de Panamá.
Son muy muy muy bonitas.

Entonces yo fui al Parque Nacional Volcán Barú.

Tiene el único volcán en Panamá.

Tiene muchos animales.

Tiene el quetzal, un pájaro de muchos colores.

Hay pumas...

tapires...

y conjeos pintados.

Y yo fui al área de las Kunas (son indios). El área es Comarca de Kuna Yala.

Tienen la costa del Caribe a Colombia.

También, tienen las 400 islas en el Archipiélago de San Blás.

Finalmente, fui a la provincia de Darién en el sur de Panamá.

Es muy bonito pero peligro (dangerous) a causa de la guerra (war) de las guerillas en Colombia; afecta este área en Panamá.

También, personas malas están destruyendo (destroying)

las selvas y bosques en esta región.

Yo voy de compras (shopping) próximo (next).

¿Adónde debo ir en Puerto Rico para tiendas buenas?

(Where should I go...)

Comments due on this post by 23 de noviembre.

¡Costa Rica es rica!

Yo volé (flew) a Costa Rica. Es muy bonita.

Costa Rica es el tamaño (size) de Virginia Oeste en los Estados Unidos.

¿Dónde está Costa Rica?

Es 200 millas en el parte más grande.

Tiene muchos balnearios (resorts) en Costa Rica. Aquí es uno.

Aquí es muy cuarto (room).

Está en la playa del Caribe.

¡Es magnifico!

Costa Rica tiene 60 volcanes dormido (dormant) y 7 activos.

Este es un puente a uno de muchos parques nacionales en Costa Rica.

En los parque hay(there are) muchos saltos de agua.

Son muy bonitos.

Hay selvas tropicales y muchas montañas en Costa Rica.

Hay 4 cordilleras. Son parte de las montañas de los Andes.

Hay 7 ríos grandes en Costa Rica.

El capital de Costa Rica es San José.

Es una ciudad grande y moderna.

Estoy viajando (I am traveling) en la América Central por 9 semanas (weeks). ¿Adónde debo ir próximo? (Where should I go next?)

cafe tacuba

Este es el Café Tacuba en el Centro Histórico de México, D. F. Yo comí (ate) en este café.

Es muy bonita.

Tiene arches...

brightly colored tiles and handmade furniture...

stained glass windows...

y comida buena.

Puedes (You can) ordenar tamales.

o chiles rellenos...

o enchiladas.

What would you order out of the three??

What would you say are the top 3 typical American foods to order at a café?

Bebidas de México

Español II go here from now on.

There are four bebidas traditionales en México. La primera es champurrado, or Mexico's version of hot chocolate. See how it is made here.



Also, there is Jamaica flower tea. Check it out.

Número tres es pulque.

y finalmente atole.

Mi favorito. Which would you like to try and why??

Kids just wanna have fun!

While I have been here I have noticed something about the kids and what they do. One thing that I find very interesting is that kids in small towns tend to hang out around the plaza a lot. Girls in one group walking and talking clockwise around the plaza and boys in another group walking the other direction. If a girl holds a boy's eye contact for a length of time, the boy sends someone else over to talk to him. Very strange. Is that how you pick up a boy or girl?? Through another person?

In the towns, boys and girls can only go out with each other if they have a chaperone; usually an older sibling who eventually wanders off about mid date. I wonder if they tell the parents that they left them alone??

In the cities, the kids do a lot of things like we do here. They go to amusement parks, like 6 Flags in México, D.F.

They text each other and chat on the internet.

They hang out at cafés.

Or they hang out near the plaza downtown, too. Usually in groups.

They also go clubbing. Remember there is no legal drinking age in México so kids can go out and have a good time. They go to clubs or discotecas to hang out and dance. I mean they dance. Not like here, where there is music playing and people stand around the edges of the dance floor until the night is almost over and then they dance. I mean they dance the whole time!!

Do you like to dance? Would you go to a discoteca? The music is extremely loud and it is very crowded. Not my thing, but I thought that you would be interested.

A couple of other interesting facts that I discovered. Kids living in the Yucatan will take trips to Cuba for fun since it isn't that far away. We can't do that here. Trips to Cuba are off limits.

Also, watch out for those boys. They have a weird way of thinking about girls. See, they will get a novia, girlfriend, and they will guard her honor, treasure her and care for her. They get very jealous of other guys being around her. But at the same time that they are dating this "good" girl they are still chasing and persuing other girls at the discoteca, over the phone or on the internet.

What do you think of that??