The best part though, was when a local group of musicians made a surprise appearance with a group of traditional dancers. These dancers were AMAZING. The footwork that is the trademark of these dances is really astounding- the men (boys really; they looked like they were about 15) STOMP really REALLY loudly- and they are wearing these thin little moccasin-like shoes, not even tap shoes or anything, so I imagine their feet hurt pretty bad after a night of dancing. At the end (I know it's a long video, but stick it out- it's worth it) these two little toddlers come out doing the dance, and it is just about the most adorable thing ever. The little boy is probably 3, and he is throwing his whole body into the stomping and holding his hat just like the older boys. That was a great treat to watch. The musicians were wonderful too- they stayed after and played several encores of what I imagine are traditional Colombian folk songs. All of the Colombian musicians knew the lyrics and sang along- it wounded really fun and I wished that I knew the lyrics too, or at least what they were saying. I could pick up a few of the words, but not too much.
After the recital and surprise encore (which started at 8:30 and went to about 11:15) I was POOPED and headed to bed, but the musicians were still at it. They played music and danced in the recital hall for a while, then went on to party in the rooms. I have never felt older. Hhahaha. Seriously though, maybe it's because I'm working all day on development and marketing and other logistical things with my work, but I am absolutely drained by the time I can finally head back to my room. The last thing I want to do is get all rowdy and party all night. I'm glad they are having a good time though- this is a very special experience for them, and they are making friendships and connections that they might have for the rest of their lives, and are inspiring each other to become better musicians, leaders, and people in general.
I've been trying to take less pictures of my food (it looks like that's all I've taken pictures of so far on my Picasa album) and more pictures of the area, so hopefully you all can get a better idea of where I'm staying with my next upload.
I can't believe how quickly this week has come and gone, but I also worry about how long the rest of the trip is going to be. I'm on day 12 of 52. 40 days to go!! wow. That's a lot.
Ok, so for today, it was a pretty uneventful day as far as crazy awesome surprise dancers showing up to rock my socks off, but is was a busy day and I got a lot done. Actually there was a pretty cool part where at dinner a cello ensemble got together and performed Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." It was pretty rad and I got a video of part of it, which I will upload soon. I will be sure to link Hilma's fiancè Ryan to it, because he is crazy about Metallica. I am trying to upload the dancers video right now, but the internet here is pretty weak and right now YouTube is telling me that there are 1,306 minutes remaining for the upload... so these other videos might have to wait for another day.
Meanwhile, check out this awesome picture of me that YOA's photographer Ana Delgado took. She is a wonderful photographer and I swear I have never seen an actual candid picture of myself where I don't look weird. Ana is uploading pics that she is taking of the tour here. You should check it out- she's got talent, yo.
Here's another cute one she took of me with conductor Juan Felipe Molano's little daughter. She is a little cutie and was sharing her rocks with me.
I'll upload that video of the traditional Villavicencio dancers tomorrow. Right now the estimated time has gone up to 1,552 minutes, so this may take a long long time...
Good night all- tomorrow is Friday! Woo!
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