Putting out and other fun things.

It seems that everyone here is putting out pretty hard. In a trying-to-get-by sort of way. When we take the combi (little busses) to and from school, there are always people weaving through the traffic trying to sell stuff. Anything. Newspapers, drinks, food, trinkets, books. And this is crazy traffic. If you're not paying attention, you'll probably get run over. If I get the courage, maybe I'll get my camera out one day and take a picture.
The second night, we went to a Jazz club in miraflores, which felt really sophisticated. We listened to this guy play guitar and this really beautiful lady sing some really beautiful songs- including some Frank Sinatra, the duet between Aladin and Jasmine, and what I'm pretty sure is Mary Magdalin's song from Jesus Chirst Superstar. yep. Jesus Christ Superstar.
Last night, I went to a Shaman with a friend from Madison and a Colombian girl who was living in the same house as her (who told us about it). It is a very complicated picture to create using only words because it was so... not like you would imagine. It was a simple, dingy room with American music playing on the radio in the backround. The guy, Carlos, was dressed in Jeans and a dirty button-up shirt and an old vest. The whole time he was very informal and easy-going, taking calls during the whole time, but this wasn't a problem. There was this alter-like thing, which was a table and the wall behind it, filled with cross, crucifixes, Buddhas, jewels, figurines of other dieties, and a bunch of other stuff. We did a lot of stuff that I don't really feel like explaining because I'm not quite sure how without taking way too long. The long and the short is, he knew exactly what the two biggest things on my mind were, and he knew for the others that had gone (The other girls had been there the day before). Then he shared stories and proverbs and other very wise things he had to say with us to help us focus and think and resolve our conflicts. We chewed coca leaves the whole time, took little drinks of some type of alcohol, and smoked a lot of pure tobacco. I had a lot to think about after. It was all very surreal, since most of you probably know that I have a lot of trouble believing in a higher power right now.
The school is beautiful, my classes will be hard, and life will be exciting, I'm sure of it. I can't wait for it to be sunny again....