We are the champions

Dear Blog,

I think that Queen said it best, "We are the champions!" Now, I know that I had no direct involvement in the Tar Heels´ victory last night, but I will certainly enjoy it. And yes, Blog, I did get to see the Final Four game and the game last night, although it took me some doing. On Saturday, we went to Manizales, a city about an hour and twenty minutes from Juan´s town, but fortunately his aunt gets ESPN, so I was able to watch the Final Four game at her apartment. Yesterday, we had to go to a little hotel about ten minutes up the road to watch the game on Direct TV, but I got to watch it. I watched the game with Juan and his two cousins, and I think they think I am crazy cause I was so into it. Go Heels, 2009 National Champions! Btw, for all the talk of the Big East teams, I would like to note that they were not represented in the title game. Sit on that, Big East.

Let me update you on the goings on in Colombia (please note that there is no "u" in Colombia...this ain´t SC, folks). On Saturday, we went to Manizales, which is a very cute little city in the mountains. Well, everything seems to be in the mountains here, so I guess it´s all relative. I met some more of Juan´s family, including an aunt and several cousins. They are all very nice. Juan and I went with the cousins to the mall and hung out a bit. He took his cousins to dinner, but I opted to stay in the apartment and watch the game on the tube.

On Sunday, we did some site-seeing in Manizales. I took a lot of pictures, but my computer doesn´t get internet down here, so I can´t upload them yet. We ate lunch at Frisby, which is like a fast food fried chicken place. Apparently, Juan has lots of fond memories of Frisby chicken from his childhood. The chicken was good, but the best part is that they give you plastic gloves to eat with so your hands don´t get dirty. Hello? That is brilliant! Why has no one thought of this in the United States?

Yesterday, we went to this little place called Alegrias, which is about ten minutes up the road. We went with two of Juan´s cousins and his aunt...oh, and Monty. It was like a farm, but you can also spend the night there. This is where we discovered Direct TV in Colombia. Anyway, Monty had a blast running around. There were several other animals there, and he got put in his place by all of them. First, it was the dog that set him straight. Monty played with him, but when Monty got too excited, the other dog barked him back to reality. Then, it was a baby horse that let the little booger know who was boss. Monty got a little too close and the horse started neighing and kicking. Luckily, Monty got the point pretty fast and left him alone. Finally, these two little kittens hissed at Monty when he tried to sniff them. They were the size of my hand, but they scared Monty, a so-called hunting hound, away.

We also rode horses yesterday. My horse was very calm, but I only rode it for about ten minutes. I´m not really into riding horses. Plus, Monty kept following me and it was making me nervous. Juan and his cousins went for a long time. When they came back, it looked like a parade of Colombian coffee farmers. Horseback is still a popular form on transportation down here.

Last night, we returned to Alegrias for the game and that was that. Today, we are going to Juan´s family´s farm to watch how they make panela, which is like sugar cane juice. I´ll let you know how it goes when I get back!

Love,
Jenny en el pueblo