Moral of the story-don't eat ceviche at the beach.

  Barranquilla, Colombia
Friday, November 21, 2008

View of Barranquilla

Not a massive amount to tell this time round. Due to work demands, my last trip away was to Tayrona National Park, but me and Hannah are hoping to sneak a few days in Cartagena next week,and try to be proper culture vultures. Semester has now ended at uni (well most classes,I still have my business class through December),so this now entitles me to a mere 3 hours of class per week plus meetings (so nothing too taxing right now!). I have really enjoyed this semester-I've met some fantastic people and am really looking forward to the next one!But for now I'm enjoying having more free time on my hands to get out and about.
    So all I've been doing up until now is marking exams and going to the occasional weekend soiree, the latest of which was two fabulous Halloween parties and dinner parties at Andrea and Monica's.  And next week I get to attend my very first Thanksgiving dinner,which I'm very excited about. Just the mention of food and I'm there. Apparently we're even trying to find a briscot/briskit/biscuit/whatever the heck that meat is we're supposed to be eating because Monica doesn't eat turkey (honestly,just like Chandler from Friends!) Being from tattie land,I am of course expecting to be put in charge of the potatoes.  Plus it's the only thing I can make without the aid of a cookbook.

Sophisticated dinner party

    The only other semi-interesting thing that has happened recently was my bout of food poisoning.  I suppose it was my fault for getting the Ceviche (a fish dish common in South America) in the first place. But it just looked so good! I was fine that day, but the next one didn't work out so well. High drama ensued as my poor flatmate Pedro had to call the paramedics because he actually thought I was dying I was so ill. So, of course, along comes the ambulance van, the neighbours lined the stairwell, shouting to one another, trying to figure out who was circling the drain, Pedro shouting "Up here!", whispers in the hallway of "It's the foreign girl!". 

The offending prawns

    So up come the paramedics, who take one look at me and start making suggestions about moving me to the hospital, which by that stage I was adamant I was not going to go.  In the end we reached the agreement of one bag of saline and if I didn't improve, then I would have to go to the hospital.  Luckily after a bag and several shots of anti-vomiting stuff I was starting to perk up.  Not before they'd butchered my right hand though. Turns out the needle slipped out of the vein and the solution went into the tissue, bloating my poor hand to three times its normal size so I had a grotesque sort of mitt attached to my right arm. All okay now though, I started eating proper food again today!

Halloween party 1

Ok, gotta go but will write again when I reach Cartagena!