In vallenato, there are three main instruments: the accordion, a drum and a guacharaca (a bumpy stick and a fork-shaped instrument that you rub together to make a scraping sound). A lot of people in Bucaramanga listen to vallenato, typically when you are sitting around eating or chatting with friends or dancing! My favorite song is currently Me llevó a la Luna ("She brought me to the moon").
This week, my friend who works in another city in Colombia visited me. I took her to a smaller town below Bucaramanga called Floridablanca, which is famous for a dessert called obleas (pronounced oh-blay-ahs). It is two circular wafers with blackberries, whipped cream, arequipe and sometimes shredded cheese inside of it. She loved it!
There is a local election coming up next month in Bucaramanga. There are a lot of people handing out pamphlets right now with candidates' information and beliefs, and I have been reading them to learn more about the local politics here. They speak a lot about traffic problems, immigration laws and expanding the water system.
This week, I played some volleyball with my coworkers and their children. We played in a circle and helped the little kids learn how to serve the ball!
