The Lion's Den

A welcome party

Monday, June 23, 2003 7:20 PM - Bogotá

I just returned form a huge party that my sister organized. The party was held at the school I attended as a kid, the Bertrand Russell [1]. The party was huge, with some 85 people invited and some 95 people attending. It was a mixture welcome back to Colombia for me, and birthday party for Nicolas.

All the family was there... and I mean ALL the family. We did a round of remembering who is who before the party which was good, but honestly once I was there I was able to recognize and remember pretty much everyone. I got to see my aunts and uncles, my first cousins and since most of them have since married and had kids a whole slew of second cousins that I had never met. There were also friends, including my best friend from my childhood Catalina who has grown up to be a delightful young woman and has three beautiful kids.

The party was an asado[2]. They had the school auditorium totally decorated. The school kids had made signs welcoming me back and wishing Nicolas a happy birthday. They also had one of the schoolteachers there shooting video from the entrance through to the last goodbye. They served Augardiente[3] as well as beer and pop. The menu consisted of papa asada[4], papa criolla[5], steak, guacamole salad, chorizo[6] and plantain stuffed with cheese. all quite delicious. The party was a huge success.

Earlier in the day we dropped by the house of Himelda's mother[7]. The house is a grand old Bogotá house with a huge private residence in the back, a beautiful patio and a travel business in the front with enough room for some 10 employees, a private office and two meeting rooms. As we made our way through the private entrance towards the front I started to hear louder and louder a grand concert with chorus that at first sounded like Tchaikovsky but turned out to be Vivaldi. Coming into the private office I was very impressed to see Himelda's mom working on a top of the line full screen iBook while classical music roared out of an impressive sound system playing off a laser disc. The concert was in the main plaza in Vienna and had moments where the sub-woofer shook the house. I did some research for a new computer for Himelda after which we sat down for a tinto[8] some homemade cookies and great classical music. We could not stay long though since we had to get to the party.

1 = The Bertrand Russell co-founded by my father and my aunt. My aunt has always been principal of the school and my father used to teach there.

2 = An asado is a sort of a barbeque with meat cooked over a spit.

3 = Aguardiendte is the liquor that most people drink around here. It is terribly strong; I believe in the US it would be considered moonshine. I cannot stand the stuff myself.

4 = Boiled potatoes served with salt stuck to them. I have never figured out how they get the salt to stick.

5 = Little golden deep fried potatoes. A favorite dish of mine.

6 = Grilled spicy sausage.

7 = Himelda is my father's second wife and someone I very much like.

8 = A sort of Colombian espresso, very strong and usually served in a tiny cup.