Nautical Fish Flu

-
A few of my my friends and I were talking about our lack of activity, and were all a little upset. Hence, we formed the Tuesday Party Club. It doesn't sound original, but it's a lot funnier if you know that one of the bar chains here is called Thursday Party. We've decided to meet every Tuesday morning, since we're all afternoon-workers, and do something fun and cultural that occurs before noon, a time when most of us are still dragging ourselves out of bed. Not I, of course, but others.

This week I went with Brittany and Karen (hey, its a new club, and membership is just starting to take off!) to a cafe, where we sat and chatted and drank coffee and tea. Then, in the middle of the cafe, is a raised platform with a pond built into it. Inside are hundreds of little fish. What could this be for, you ask?

Well, you put your feet into it, kinda like you're getting a pedicure, and let the little fishies eat the bacteria off your feet. It's mad, but a common practice here! It took some guts, and then there was lots of giggling. It really tickled! While we were soaking our feet, Brit suddenly wondered, "Hm, is this sanitary? Will we get some disease like Avian Bird Flu?" "No," I said, "But maybe...Nautical....fish...flu?" I'm not sure the woman working here understood the hilarity.




We managed to keep our feet in about ten minutes, and then we got out to have our feet washed and soaked in lavender (for me) oil and peppermint (Brit and Karen). All in all, quite the unusual, but pretty good experience! I'll be sure to keep you updated on the adventures of the Tuesday Party Club.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Afternoon in La Calera

-
Image
One weekend, my friend Corrie asked if I wanted to wander outside of Bogotá for an afternoon. The answer was a resounding YES and we found a bus headed to La Calera for about $1.50. It only took 45 minutes and the drive took us up and above Bogotá, so we had some really picturesque views. The fun, winding roads reminded me of moped-ing in Bali...guess I need a moped now :) Once we arrived in La Calera, a very small town, we wandered through the streets to the main plaza. Since it was a lazy Sunday, there were also many lazy locals taking advantage of the calm. We all lounged in park benches in the plaza and watched the kids play with a ball in the middle. It fairly oozed small town vibe. Corrie, smart gal that she is, picked La Calera for one main reason: the food. We found our way to some food stalls and ordered some picada (I wrote about this dish before from Montserrate ). Even though the idea was the same, it was a slightly different variety. For example, less intestines and m...
Read more

A New Life in Bogota

-
Image
Here we are: my first week in Bogota! It all began with the flight, an easy, 5-hour direct flight from Atlanta. I even had a special guest to keep me company, a bobble head Rosie the Riveter! It was a going-away gift from my friend Sara, who told me it will remind me that YES, I can do it! I love it! I wonder where we will go together.... Now this is where it gets (more) interesting: At Georgia Tech, I had a student from Bogota (Natalia) who initially wanted me to stay with her family when I arrived. I thought that would be a bit much, so I turned it down. However, I did accept a ride from the airport because the plane would be arriving at 10:30pm. It was pretty funny to have Natalia’s mother, father, and older brother waiting for me with a sign that said “Kathleen!” I immediately realized how kind and generous they were, so I was not actually surprised when they just took me home with them. They were pretty much like “No, we’re your family now so you’re staying wi...
Read more

Museums of Shanghai

-
Image
I needed out at some of the museums of Shanghai, so let me give you a little taste of what I learned! The Shanghai Museum was my first stop, and it was phenomenal. First, it was free! Good job, China! Second, it had artifacts from thousands of years of Chinese history. As an American, that's hard to fathom. Imagine walking through galleries full of bronze, sculpture, ancient coins, and calligraphy scrolls. Some of my favorite things included traditional Chinese paintings, which were often scenic views of famous places in China, exquisite jade molded in shapes that ranged from name prints to elaborate dragons, and the ceramics, which included beautiful vases and tea and China sets (go figure). Another cool room was filled with ethnic minority costumes from the past. I thought it was really great that China chose to honor all of the minority groups in this way, especially since China is not well known for treating them equally (ahem, Tibet). I spent about 2 hours here, and I could ...
Read more