Despite having been in Colombia for over 3.5 months now, I continue to have new and varied experiences on an extremely regular basis. In this my last week here in Bogotá I have already had two, the first of which was attending my first 'Novena de Navidad' celebration. Not being Catholic, I had never even heard of this religious tradition celebrated each year on the run up to Christmas, but I can certainly vouch for the maraca shaking, scotch drinking and panecook eating at the one that I went to last night.
My second new and varied experience this week was causing a three year old girl from the orphanage to have a nosebleed at the swing-park (although technically, it wasn´t my fault). Having already kicked a football with some of the niños, thrown a ball with some of the niñas, and got mud all over my trousers assisting both niños and niñas swing across the monkey bars by their hands (whilst unbeknown to me, they supported their muddy shoes on my legs), I had wandered over to the 'sube baja' (see-saw) for a breather. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Within seconds of sitting down, the muscles in the side of my head were bulging out and my face was a deep shade of purple, as I struggled in vain against gravity and the six niños that had appeared out of nowhere on the other side of the 'sube baja'.
Exhausted within minutes, I slid off my side of the see-saw to find somewhere else to sit down and relax, causing an immediate outcry from the six niños on the other side. Within seconds, one of the older boys had switched over to take my side of the see-saw. Within a few more seconds, the same older boy had decided to make the see-saw ride a more exciting experience for everyone, by jumping off when his side was at the bottom. To cut a short story shorter, the other side of the see-saw (the side with five younger niños dangling in mid-air) plummeted to the ground, and one of the niñas (a three year old girl), fell off and face-planted on the concrete.
The flow of blood from her nostrils was immediate, as was the flow of screams from her mouth. Eyes widened. Mouths hung open. As the concerned nanas that work in the orphanage huddled around the young victim to appease her cries, the cries of innocence from the adult extranjero that had recently been seen sitting on the other side of the see-saw were somehow lost, partly because of his lack of fluent Spanish, and partly because the older boy who he was wanting to point the finger of blame at, had already disappeared.
Never again will I go near a see-saw in a foreign country.
