Carrie In Colombia

The Time Has Come

2010-05-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost time to move back to Chicago. We have about one month left in Colombia. I have to finish up the school year, pack up my classroom, sell most of my things at home, pack, go to all the doctors one last time, cancel all my utilities, say my goodbyes, and also take care of Joaquin. The last part is easy, he's so much fun and has the cutest little personality that I'm just beginning to discover. Oh, yeah, I also have to find a job. But, back to my little bundle of fun, Joaquin. Cesar and I have been playing peek a boo with him and now he's even initiating the game. Yesterday, he was holding a kleenex box in front of his face, then moving it to the side and cracking up when he saw our faces. It was pretty adorable. He already has two teeth and is crawling like a champ. He even has started dancing when he hears music. Who cares that it was to a Huey Lewis video that was playing on VH1?

Villa de Leyva...back in January

2009-04-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Villa de Leyva is a colonial town about 3 hours north of Bogota. Cesar and I went there on our Christmas/New Year's trip and I never blogged or posted pictures of it, so here they are. It's a beautiful and charming little town where you can find great food and lots of fun things to do and also the largest town square in all of Colombia. This is a picture of Cesar when we were headed up in a taxi to go see a waterfall nearby. We'd already been biking and hiking that day, so we didn't feel bad for a minute hiring a taxi to take us up there. Actually, we'd intended to go on a bus tour, but found that a taxi was about the same price. The taxi driver we hired asked us if his girlfriend could join us, we said that'd be fine, and as we were talking to them (well, Cesar mostly because my Spanish is still lacking) it turned out that the girlfriend used to be a nanny in Chicago. That was the first and probably the only time I'll meet a Colombian who lived in the town we're from.

Here I am at the top of a waterfall. The view looking down was amazing and I remember being pretty scared that I might slip and fall. I also kept having visions of Harrison Ford in The Fugitive jumping down the waterfall to escape Tommy Lee Jones.

This is the town square in Villa de Leyva, well one part of it. It's huge. The whole town has cobblestone streets, which makes for a very charming visit, but is tricky to walk on and even trickier to roll your big suitcase on!

One of the days we were there, we rented bikes (from a group of 12 year olds who were playing video games in their store.) When they decided to pause the game, we were able to rent bikes for about $5.00 for a few hours from them. Of course, they had to adjust the seat heights for us because we are big, tall North Americans. We started biking through the mountainous area where on one side you could look down into a ravine and the other side was a mountain. We rode to an ostrich farm, the ride down the hill was so much fun, we were flying. What we forgot about was that we'd have to ride back up the huge hills afterward. I think we pretty much walked the bikes back up those hills.

At the ostrich farm, this was as close as we'd get, those suckers are monstrous! The guide told us they are attracted to bright colors such as reds and yellows, so I was nervous that it was going to peck at my hair the whole time. It didn't.

The tour guide, another teenager, informed us that it was perfectly okay to pet the ostriches. She was also so kind as to warn us that one swift kick from an angry ostrich could kill a human being. That was reassuring. They are pretty animals though, at least I think so. I love their long eyelashes, which are used for artificial ones sometimes.

More people should come to Colombia

2009-03-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that my parents had a great time here in Colombia. They both said on numerous occasions that it's too bad more people don't visit Colombia, because it's a beautiful country. I think they were really impressed with how kind and hospitable the people are here. They were helped in every way and never made to feel like idiots when they were having translation problems. In Medellin, they got to see the Botero Museum and the Aquarium, as well as take in a movie and do a little shopping. They stayed in a really nice area called El Poblado, where there are a ton of nice restaurants and shops. They flew back to Cali at the end of last week and got to do even more fun things. The night they got in, we went to this famous restaurant in Cali, it's a fusion of Thai and Colombian food and was excellent. The nice part about living here is that you can go to places like that and it's really not a strain on your budget, it's about the equivalent of what you'd pay for bar food in the States.

On Friday, since I had parent-teacher conferences, they were graciously invited to go to a coworkers house for the day. The maid was there to make them lunch and show them around. They took a little hike and went for a swim. I still haven't even been to her house, but it sounds beautiful. That night, we went out for pizza so I could show them how I've sacrificed since moving here. I took them to the place that has the best pizza that I've found, but it's still nowhere near as good as the pizza from Chicago. Yes, I'm a pizza snob.

The next day, we met up with our friend Yenny and went to the Cali zoo. The butterfly house was the day's favorite exhibit, it really is so cool. You walk around an enclosed little garden and there are hundreds of butterflies just flying and dancing around. After that, my coworker Adriana picked us up and took us to her husband's store (he makes jewelry) and we went shopping there. We even got to go upstairs to see where they were making the pieces. Then, we went out for some typical Colombian food for lunch.

That night, we went to my school to see the high school's musical. It was very good, we ran into some other teachers and even a couple of my students who were just thrilled to meet my parents...and shy I think too.

The next day, we were invited by one of my student's parents to thier "finca" which has a literal translation of farm, but really is a cottage weekend getaway house, usually with a farm, a house, a maid, and a pool. We had another typical Colombian lunch and just sat and talked and swam for the day. Another one of my students came with her parents too, so they did get to meet a couple more of my students. It was a very relaxing ending to a 10 day trip. Overall, I think they really got to do and see some unique places and enjoy their time here in Colombia. They kept remarking that it's too bad Colombia has such a bad reputation, because it's a beautiful country! I'd have to agree.

The 'Rents are Here!

2009-03-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have no photographic evidence, but my parents are here, they're safe, they're learning a little Spanish and enjoying themselves. I STILL haven't finished writing about mine and Cesar's adventures, and I would like to finish that story on here, but I'll stray from chronological order in this one to tell you all about my parents' visit, so far. They got in on Friday night. I met them at the airport around 9 p.m. Where the international flights come in, people have to wait outside in this designated area for arrivals. So, I was waiting with about 100 or so other people. They were all waiting with flowers, welcome home signs, and presents. I was waiting with 2 bottles of water and that's about it. I saw my parents through the glass doors, their luggage was being searched by a guard and he was asking them something, and I was cracking up because I knew they had no idea what he was asking or how to respond. When that happens, the guards seem to just let the gringos through, which is good. We came home to my apartment that night, had a little bite to eat, then went to bed since it was pretty late at that point. We got up as early as our bodies would allow, I made some pancakes, and we took a taxi to the bus terminal to leave for Salento, a beautiful little town about 4 hours from here. The guide book compares it to Switzerland and it is just amazingly gorgeous. I wrote about this place in my last couple of blogs, it's the place where I realized I should never be on top of a horse ever again. Anyway, we got to Salento, found a charming little place to stay with connecting rooms and a gorgeous garden in the center of it, right in the heart of Salento. I took them that night to the town center to eat some of the famous trout that is caught in the mountain streams nearby, they loved it. The next day, we took a Jeep to this place called Valle del Cocora, where there are these really tall thin palm trees and a huge park to hike or ride horses in. We opted to hike and had a really beautiful time, it was sunny, not hot, not cold, not buggy, perfect weather for being outside. After that, we had this gourmet lunch for around $20, total, and that included a couple glasses of wine and dessert! It was a great meal at a place called Alegra. Then, I believe we took time to read and nap a bit and later went back out to the shops and walked around and bought gifts for ourselves...and a few others. The place where we were staying you could pay with a credit card, so we said we'd just do that. This information becomes relevant in a second, bear with me. As we went to settle the bill with our hostess, she informed us that just like the day before, her machine wasn't working for the credit card. So, we decided we would just use the ATM (cajero) machine and pay with cash. She told us where it was, which was in the town square, but when we arrived there, it was completely turned off, no lights, out of order. I asked if there was another one nearby and was informed that that was the ONLY one in town. We went back to our hostess to tell her the bad news, wondering what we could leave as a payment...um, a bunch of earrings we'd just bought? Probably not. She knew that my parents were headed to Medellin and that I was coming back to Cali, which meant we were heading to different bus stations the following day. Our very kind hostess, didn't want my parents to have any inconvenience to their big trip, so she offered to come on the bus with me (about an hour away) to Armenia and then I could find a working money machine to pay her. That's what we did. It was just another example of how hospitable and kind the people of Colombia are. My parents took a 5 hour bus ride to Medellin, with the help of a really nice girl who was going to the same bus station as them, so she helped them to buy their tickets and figure out where to go. I just talked to them, they're there, they're safe, they're going to enjoy Medellin for a couple days and then fly back to Cali on Thursday. I'm so happy they're here, they said that it's a shame people are afraid or hesitant to come here, because it's a beautiful place and they're loving their trip so far!

Going Back to Cali

2009-02-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

We came back to Cali from Salento and spent New Years here. We stayed in that night, but we may as well have gone out since the fireworks and loud music literally lasted ALL night long. It's not like you can just close your windows here either (too hot) so we just stood on the balcony in awe. Much to my dismay, there was NO college football to be found on New Year's Day here. A couple days later, we did make a trip to the famous Cali Zoo. It's supposedly the best zoo in all of South America. Cesar and I would both have to agree. It was amazing. You felt like you were just walking through a savanna or a jungle.Would you ever see this in Lincoln Park Zoo?

There is this amazing butterfly house there. Colombia has something like over 10,000 kinds of butterflies, so it was very cool to see so many different kinds in such an enclosed space.

What we both noticed was that the animals were so lively and active. They weren't just all sleeping in the shade looking depressed. This little guy actually was performing for the camera, he loved the attention. In fact, he put his hand on the glass and was tapping it loudly at Cesar, which I took to mean that we should move on. He looked upset. Cesar thought it was hilarious.

We did a lot more in Cali, but I'll post those pictures another time.

And, we're back...

2009-02-17T13:17:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been without the precious internet for over a month now, so that's my excuse for not continuing to blog. It's been super frustrating. We don't really know what the problem was, but let me just say that the internet/phone company called Telmex has a recording when you call that asks you to "hang up, then choose one of the following menu items." That's strange, because when I hang up, there is obviously no menu of options!! So frustrating. Anyway, I need to continue with my Christmas break adventure.

From beautiful Medellin, Cesar and I got on another bus and headed to Armenia. This was about a 6 hour ride, and we took it during the day mostly, so the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. I kept trying to take pictures out the bus window, but none of them really show what it looks like in person of course. We spent the night in Armenia and then the next morning headed to Salento. I'd heard a lot about Salento, I think I was the only new teacher this year to have not visited there yet. It's only about 3 hours from Cali, but I wanted to go with Cesar, which is why I waited. Armenia and Salento are in the Cafeteria, or the coffee region, of Colombia. You definitely feel like you're in the mountains, but you're also still near the Equator, so it's just the most beautiful scenery I've witnessed so far here. The town is so adorable, it has a big town square, where you can find all kinds of artisans selling jewelry, purses, wooden things, and t-shirts. After dark, all these tents are set up in the square, kind of like beer tents everywhere. Oh, and the fish they are famous for serving is the best fish I've ever tasted! During the day, there is a lot to do. There are hiking trails, waterfalls, and lots of horseback riding tours. Across the street from the place we stayed, there were horses. So, we asked if we could come back after lunch and rent two to go see a waterfall. When we got there, the horses were ready, and so was our guide...a 12 year old boy. There were absolutely no instructions given, we just were plopped on there and expected to know what to do. This was a bit of a problem for me, first of all because of the language barrier, and secondly because I'd only been on a horse one other time...and that was a ridiculously scary adventure in the Rocky Mountains in which Johnny's horse kicked mine and my horse was mad and we were on a trail about 3 inches wide on the side of a mountain. Not a good memory. This one seemed to be starting out on the wrong foot as well. No directions. Riding through the streets with cars. A 12 year old guide who doesn't understand me. And, a very adventurous boyfriend who loves horses and wants to go really fast through the mountains. Overall, a very nervewracking experience for me. Basically, our 12 year old guide had to stay right behind my horse because I was too inept to tell it what to do or where to go. I basically turned into this whiny little princess who was about to cry the entire time. I was so glad when it was over! But, as you see in the pictures, it was beautiful up there.

More of Medellin

2009-01-17T05:10:00.000-08:00

There he is, kissing butt again. This was taken inside the Botero museum.

These next ones are all the sculptures that were outside in the plaza.

I have to explain this picture. We were walking around the neighborhood on Christmas morning, making a last stop at the grocery store I think, and we saw a guy dressed up as a clown just moseying down the street. I guess clowns have to work on Christmas in Colombia or something. Or maybe this was his costume to scare all the kids in his family get together? Who knows. It was odd, to say the least.

Just another view of the mountains in Medellin.

This one was taken in the neighborhood close to our hotel, in the plaza of course.

One of the many beautiful churches that Colombia is known for, they seem to be everywhere.

At this point, we're only one-third of the way through our trip, so there's a lot more to come...

Medellin

2009-01-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Cesar, being holy for Christmas.

On the balcony in Medellin. Notice I'm wearing a light sweater, my favorite kind of weather!

Our Christmas tree, located just outside of the hotel.

A view from the balcony.

Cesar, enjoying the view as well.

What can I write about Medellin? Nothing but good things. Cesar put it best when he said he "fell in love with it." The Lonely Planet guidebook, our not so accurate bible throughout the trip, said something about how Medellin may have formerly been known as the infamous home of Pablo Escobar and his regime, but is now one of Colombia's most organized and safe cities. It also said something about how you can look in any direction in Medellin and see a gorgeous view. This was definitely true, both statements. The pictures do not give it justice, it really was just gorgeous. The constant Spring-like, minus the rain, perfect weather didn't hurt either. It was so great to spend Christmas in Medellin with my boyfriend. I'd recommend it as a romantic getaway to anyone.

We stayed in a very affordable hotel suite. We wanted to have access to a refrigerator and kitchen since we knew we'd be there for Christmas and would probably want to cook a meal or two. Cesar is an awesome cook (and I have no interest or knowledge in that arena) so it works out quite well. We stayed in a really nice neighborhood called El Poblado, where there are tons of restaurants and boutiques, and a grocery store down the street that supplied many of our snacks and meals. The best part, though, was our balcony, overlooking the city. We took a million pictures of the view from up there, but none of them are as satisfying as it actually looked.

The other thing that Medellin is famous for is their hometown famous artist, Botero. There is a whole plaza dedicated to his voluptuous sculptures (I'll post pictures of that next time) and there is a museum housing many of his paintings. To get there, we got to hop on a metro train, which was fun. I believe it cost about $0.75 each way. I don't know why, but I get a real thrill out of taking another cities' public transportation, so that was a highlight for me. The people were overall some of the warmest and friendliest people I'd ever encountered in my life. There was a group of ladies standing behind Cesar and I on the metro, listening to us speak in English. They told Cesar (in Spanish) that they wanted to practice, but I think that was our stop, so it didn't actually happen.

We loved Medellin so much that we stayed an extra night, four nights in all. Much to the delight of my lazier side, we spent all of Christmas day watching a marathon of Rock of Love 2. Cesar had never seen the show, so who was I to deny him of such a treat on Christmas?

My Christmas Vacation by Carrie Regan

2009-01-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

Just like that classic back to school essay after the holidays (which I did also assign to my students just today in fact), I thought I would share my travel adventures with my guy Cesar over the holidays. I have to do it in parts because we literally traveled for the whole three weeks that he was here. It was quite the adventure!

We started out in Bogota, Colombia's capital. I couldn't wait to get there, not only because it'd been 5 months since I'd seen Cesar, but also because I love big cities and I'd been missing Chicago a lot. We luckily were able to find each other at the airport, I'd told him to meet me at the El Corral, which is Colombia's equivalent of McDonald's.

We stayed in a neighborhood called Usaquen, which is in the North of the city. We didn't venture too far, as I hadn't researched much to do in Bogota at that point and our neighborhood seemed to have everything we needed, good food and shopping. We were only there for two nights and I knew we'd end the trip back there. The plan was to leave on day two and head to the bus terminal to catch a ride to a town halfway to Medellin, find a place to stay, and then head to Medellin the following day. What I never anticipated was that the bus terminal would be so packed with holiday travelers, that we would have to spend almost an entire day there waiting.

Let me just backtrack a bit and say that in my experience so far in Colombia, you don't have to plan ANYTHING in advance, including travel by bus. You basically just show up to the terminal and there's a bus leaving within the hour to your desired destination. In fact, I'd been told that the ticket sellers will laugh in your face if you even try to book anything as far in advance as a day before. So, with this prior knowledge, I thought it would be perfectly fine to show up mid-morning to catch a bus halfway to Medellin. I was wrong. With lines that rival O'Hare Airport at Thanksgiving, it was a mad rush to try to find even one bus company that wasn't sold out for the day and night headed to Medellin. We quickly realized that we weren't going to be able to stop halfway, as originally planned, and we had to decide if we were going to stick around so that MAYBE we could get on a night bus, or if we should just leave and go find a hotel in Bogota for another night and then get on a bus super early the next morning. The problem was, we had all our luggage with us, we had no place in Bogota to stay, and we didn't necessarily want to spend 9 hours the whole next day on a bus.

So, one guy that worked for one company, told us that he could most likely get us 2 seats on a night bus, but that we'd have to give him a little "tip" and that it wasn't a definite thing. We decided to risk it, which meant spending the next 5 hours or so waiting in a crowded, uncomfortable, metal chair. I think for Cesar this was his first experience with culture shock. You had to pay to go to the bathroom, and the bathrooms were not worth paying for, trust me. You had to bribe people to get on a bus. You had to sit across from huge families of people with their 9 kids and watch them share one meal of chicken and rice. You had to move your wheeled luggage out of the way for the gigantic carts wheeling around giant potato sacks filled with people's belongings. Maybe it was culture shock for me, now that I think about it.

Well, we did get on the night bus to Medellin as sort of promised by the guy. It was supposed to be about an 8 hour trip, give or take. What I didn't exactly expect was that the bus would be going the whole way through the mountains on VERY windy roads. I also didn't know that our driver would be passing cars the entire time, or that when you looked out the window that you would see the abyss of pitch black over the side of the mountain. I also didn't know that the switchbacks would be so severe that it would be next to impossible to sleep. The one good thing was that the seats were very comfortable and there was plenty of leg room. Needless to say, we arrived in Medellin a bit worn out from our day and night of travel. To be continued...

My apartment

2008-12-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Oh, the pink kitchen. It was almost the reason I refused to sign the lease, until I told myself that I don't spend that much time in there anyway, so I guess I could live with it.

This is our living room. Our apartment is two levels with the kitchen, living room, two bedrooms (both Tina's right now, but soon to be mine when we swap after Christmas break) and a bathroom. Oh, and there's a maid's room and another bathroom with just a toilet and sink. These last two rooms aren't really used, we don't have a live-in maid, but most of the apartments here have these rooms in case you do have one.

This is at the top of the stairs. Our little TV room.

These pictures are not in the greatest order, but I have no clue how to change them around. So, we're back downstairs now, this is our kitchen table which is right next to the living room.

This is a view from my balcony. It's just showing the neighborhood I guess. Behind the trees on the bottom, left corner is a corner store where I can buy a beer, a coke, chips, mayo, a banana, bread, ice cream, etc. Comes in handy when you just need a little snack.

Here's a view of the other side from my balcony. You can see where my balcony and my roommate, Tara's connect. This is also a picture of the house that reminds me of Scarface. My neighborhood is famous for having mafiosos live here, so they have to spend their dirty money somehow and so they do it by building these lavish houses with marble driveways and other unnecessary things. Fun to look at for sure.

This is the view straight down from my balcony. There is a park right there beyond those trees.

A few updated pictures of my classroom

2008-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

Here's the view to the outside. I do love it that it's an open classroom. The fresh air all day makes me feel like I spend a lot of time outdoors. Amazingly, I haven't gotten a sunburn since moving here. So, I guess I'm not spending all that much time outside after all.

There's not much to say about these pictures, just a normal, messy second grade classroom. I thought at the beginning of the year, I'd never learn to get my kids to listen, but they do now. I realized that they didn't really understand anything that I was saying to them the first few weeks of school, their English was that limited. That's all gotten so much better now though. I keep these little charts at their table groups in which there are 20 boxes. I put stars inside the boxes when their whole group is listening and following directions. It's a pretty good motivator that's been working for a few months now. It's pretty funny to see them try to get into their seats with the right notebook open and pencil in hand in a rush, all of them yelling to each other, "Stars! Stars!" Oh, I forgot to mention the bribery part. When they earn all 20 stars, they get to choose a reward such as having a group picnic, computer time, play a game, or bring in a stuffed animal to put on their desk for the day. It's amazing what will motivate a second grader.

Halloween

2008-12-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here we have some of my beautiful students. They really are some of the most gorgeous looking kids I've ever seen. This was Halloween obviously. Here we have a witch, Wonder Woman, and Hannah Montana.

And, here we have a kid who took off his costume (I can't remember what it was), the Scream guy, and a "Star Wars Guy" (his words, not mine.)

Here we have a princess (?) and Spidey. The princess didn't wear her costume to school, but her mom brought it for her at lunch and the nanny/maid helped her put it on at school. Haven't gotten used to that yet.

Here we have a monster, a genie, and another scary monster. All the classes came down to the gym and there was a big stage set up and each class got to walk across the stage while parents stood around the perimeter and snapped pictures.

My two little witches.

A pirate, an inmate, and another Star Wars guy.

Here I am with a few of the kids right before they got all sugared up. I was supposed to be a mime, but the makeup that the art teacher put on me made me look more like a dead person. Oh well. All in the spirit of Halloween. I wish I'd taken a picture of how decorated my classroom was. I had moms bringing in decoration after decoration and I had to spend almost every prep period I had decorating with streamers, fake spider webs, bats, and balloons. It was crazy. I also had to spend quite a bit of time taking it all down the next week. I guess that will be happening again soon for Christmas.

The best story I have from Halloween has to do with the culture of beauty that is so prevalent here. At the "Halloween parade on stage" which was really more of a fashion runway show, I kept seeing some of the fourth and fifth grade girls dressed up in similar costumes. They had on blonde wigs, their mom's high heeled shoes, gaudy jewelry, and big movie star sunglasses, oh yeah, and little mini skirs and tank tops. I think cell phones may have been an accessory as well. I asked a group of them sitting near me what they were, and they all said simulaneously, "we're Sexy!" Oh...how idiotic of me not to know. Like my mom said, it's not really common for kids to dress up as an adjective. But, again, I guess anything goes in Colombia. As long as the girls and women are beautiful, then all is right in the world here.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

This was a view from a bridge at the Coffee Park I visited. One of the great things about living here is that you see every shade of green all the time.

Another great thing is that it is not uncommon at all to see birds of many beautiful colors. This blue one is one of my favorites.

Love birds, more of my favorites.

This is a view from my hotel room of the plantation we were staying on.

This is back at the park, in this section called the Bamboo Forest.

Ah, the pool at our hotel. So relaxing.

For Thanksgiving, we had a long weekend. That's the nice part about working for an International School in Colombia. I get a few of the North American holidays and the Colombian ones as well. So, last weekend, my friend Lisa and I decided to venture out and take a big trip to San Agustin. It's a long bus ride from here, about 12 hours, but we had Thursday through Sunday off and it's supposed to be this really neat place where you can hike and see all of these ancient ruins and statues. Well, a couple days before Thursday, we decided we should probably start planning a bit. One of the biggest differences between life here and life back home is that there really is very little planning that goes on. If you want to go on a bus trip, for example, you just go to the bus station and you catch the next bus, there is no schedule to follow. Then, when you arrive somewhere, you just find a place to stay when you get there, you don't have to call ahead and make reservations, unless you're staying somewhere a little pricier. Well, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving we started hearing from people at work that there were volcanic eruptions recently near San Agustin and that it might be impossible to take a bus there. So, we quickly had to come up with Plan B, which was to go to Armenia, a town in the coffee region, about 3 hours from here. Lisa's boyfriend knows a travel agent who found us an all- inclusive deal to stay in a hotel. (I guess for this trip there was a little bit of planning involved.) We left Thursday morning and took a bus for a few hours. The bus trips are a safe way to travel here and it's a very inexpensive means to get somewhere too. For instance, it costs the equivalent of $10 to take a 3 hour bus trip. It's only $25 to go about 10 hours away. You never know exactlly what you're getting, there could be air conditioning or not. There could be a lot of stops or not. The one thing that seems to remain consistent is that the buses fill up and the seats don't leave a tall gringa much leg room. Oh, and there seems to always be a very violent, dubbed movie playing. This last trip, they were blasting one of the Rambo movies in Spanish. I tried to just sleep, but it was a pretty bumpy ride.

One of the most interesting things happened on the bus ride to Armenia. We were about two hours away and one person had already been dropped off. So, there was one seat open. At the very next stop, a woman, well a young girl who looked about 20 years old, got on the bus with her 4 or 5 year old son and her daughter in hand, who was just a baby. The 4 year old was dragging their bag behind them and the conductor put it into the trunk for them. I kept thinking, "there aren't enough seats, where will they sit?" They got on and the mom took the one empty seat, holding her sleeping daughter. And, a woman siitting in front of her, took the 4 year old onto her lap and he proceeded to fall asleep in her lap...a complete stranger's lap! Who does that? Colombians I guess. I kept wondering if they possibly knew each other somehow, but no, it was obvious they didn't. I also kept thinking that if I were the woman sitting in front of the mom, would I be nice enough to let her kid sit on my lap and take a nap? Hmmm...no, I wouldn't. But, I'm not Colombian. I also tried to imagine being that little boy. Could I have sat in a stranger's lap at the age of four and taken a two hour nap? No. But, I guess I grew up where strangers were scary and bad. It was an interesting cultural difference.

So, the rest of the trip was great. Lisa and I were literally the only guests at the hotel, because nobody else apparently gets off work for Thanksgiving here. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves, the pool to ourselves. It was great. The place was cute, had a bunch of different house-like buildings with wrap-around porches and benches and hammocks hanging outside to lounge in. Our all-inclusive deal also included an excursion, so we went to this place called Parque del Cafe (Coffee Park). We thought it was just a tour of a coffee plantation, which it was, but it was so much more than that. They had hikes to see Indian monuments, a coffee plantation and museum, and even a couple of roller coasters and rides. The bumper cars were fun. All was well until I got the flu, but I will spare you all the details of my bus ride home with a fever. Not so much fun, but I like to focus on the positive here.

An insider's view

2008-11-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

So, here are some pictures of my bedroom. I have the master bedroom and the furniture was all provided by the school. It's not so bad really, the mattress is pretty hard to get used to because it's so hard, but other than that, the stuff they provided is pretty good. As you can see, I have a picture of Chicago's skyline over my bed, I love having it. Thank you Cesar for that!

Here are the windows that lead out to my private balcony. I'll have to take some pictures of my view for the next post. I keep missing the good time when the light is just right.

Here is my insanely huge closet, this is only half of it, the other half has all my hanging clothes and there is plenty of room for all of my shoes, which is just such a nice luxury that I've never had. Notice how everything is folded up so neatly? That is thanks to Patricia, our maid.

This is inside my bathroom, it's apparently a steam room, but unfortunately, it doesn't work. I'm not sure it would be used though if it did work since it's 80+ degrees here everyday.

Here's the rest of my bathroom. My bathroom is one long hallway that starts with the closet, then the steam room, and then this. And, we're on the top floor of our building. So, when I come home from somewhere and I really need to go tinkle, I have to run up four flights of stairs, then another flight within our apartment, then down a long hallway. Always an adventure.

I'll have to post pictures of the rest of my place next time too and of the neighborhood in which I live. I live in what's called Ingenio II and it's known for having very huge, elaborate houses owned by mafiosos. It's also known for decorating at Christmastime like the Griswald's in Christmas Vacation...I can't wait! I saw one already tonight, it's still early November right?

Post Election Day Thoughts

2008-11-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

Just kidding, I fooled you didn't I? I'm not going to write about the election because somebody has already said what I'd like to except much more eloquently. I will relay one story which I find a bit amusing.

This summer my dear friend Amy came and stayed with me the week before I was moving here. So, in the midst of trying to finish up two grad school classes, pack, get rid of furniture, sell a car, buy last minute stuff, see friends and family one last time, and all the other craziness that goes along with moving so far away...I had my own personal secretary, one who is really good at finding information on the internet. One of the things on my ridiculously long list of Things To Do Before I Move was to find out how to sign up for an absentee ballot in Chicago. What my secretary found for me was that I could either go down to City Hall one more time (I'd been there approximately 9 times the previous week) or just figure it all out after I moved. I decided on the latter, since I really didn't want to wait in any long lines again downtown.

It occured to me about a month and a half ago that I needed to figure this all out so that I could vote this year. I've been preaching to kids for years how we as citizens of the U.S. should not take our right to vote for granted...blah, blah, something about women in other countries not being able to vote, etc. So, you're darn right I was going to figure it out. Instead of grading papers one day at school during my prep time, I devoted the entire break to looking online to see how to do this. I wouldn't have been really worried at all, I've voted absentee before, but that was in another place where sending and receiving mail wasn't a problem.

According to the information I found, I could print out an absentee ballot registration form or I could've turned the same thing in before I left. Well, luckily my friend Stetson was going back to the States for a wedding that weekend, so he mailed a bunch of ballot requests in for all of us who were too lazy to do it before we came here.

About two and a half weeks later, I received the absentee ballot in the mail. I was super excited because I'd heard how unreliable the mail is here and I really didn't want to be a liar after all these years of teaching kids how important it is to vote. I voted and then gave the envelope to my other secretary (don't I sound important?) who is really the lone secretary for the entire elementary school. I asked her if she knew how to mail it to the States and she said she'd talk to the big boss about it.

About a week later, the envelope was returned to me with an apology that they couldn't mail it. This was about a week and a half ago. I quickly asked around and found out that you could mail things to the States from a place near the grocery store I go to a lot. A few of us were in the same boat with our ballots, so we all went there after school and found out that to get them there in time for yesterday, it would cost $70,000 pesos, about $40! We decided to not pay for it, it was just too much money, but then I remembered a parent meeting I'd had a few days before that. The parents told me they were taking their sons to Florida for some medical tests, but the kid in my class told me they were going to Disney World for his birthday. I don't really care which of those stories are true, I just saw a way to get our mail to the States.

I promptly went home and emailed the parents in my awfully broken Spanish and never heard back from them. The student in my class was in school the following Monday and I asked him if his parents had understood my email. He just kind of laughed (I'm assuming because of my horrible Spanish email) and said that he could. I made him repeat to me what he was taking and why it was so important that he not forget. By the way, of course this is the least responsible kid in my class with the messiest desk, cubby, and bookbag. That's why I went with him to his bookbag, made a joke about where he was putting it so he'd remember, and then watched him walk to the bus to make sure...what? was I afraid he'd get abducted or something. Well, I am in Colombia, so maybe my fears weren't SO ridiculous. He made it on the bus and got back to school yesterday. I immediately asked him if he'd remembered to mail our ballots. He again just kind of looked at me and smiled and said yes he had.

I realized yesterday and wrote on my facebook page that I entrusted my absentee ballot to a seven year old on his way to Disney World, and that is a fact. As I was watching the election results come in last night on CNN I was pretty amazed by the technology with the maps and comparing from years past, and especially by the woman they hollogrammed into the studio, Princess Leah style, from Grant Park. I wonder how we can have the ability to do all of that, but why I couldn't just vote online. Ughh, politics.

Art Festival in San Antonio

2008-10-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of a drag queen impersonating and singing karaoke to Celia Cruz.

As I was trying to buy more and more earrings, I kept turning around to find scary, painted men and women on stilts. It was pretty amazing to see them walk through the crowded streets without falling.

This art show was a few weeks ago and I went with some friends on a Saturday night. It was in Cali, just in a different part of the city where I feel like I'm in San Francisco sometimes. The roads are narrow and hilly, the houses are colorful, and the people-watching is some of the best I've seen.

I really do more than just look for pizza and watch TV here

2008-10-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here are my friends Tara and Stetson, enjoying some of the local beer here called Poker and pronounced "po-khair." It tastes to me like Coors Light, which is why I always order it michelada style with lime and salt.
Here's Tina...Stetson has no idea she's behind him.
Tina, Tara, and myself. I think Stetson bought these for us out of pity for the little boys selling them.
This is Pachito, the parrot who was outside our window at the hotel Sunday night. He was Stetson's new best buddy and kept us entertained with the few phrases he knew: "Hola," "quiero cocoa," and "Pachito."
Here's the courtyard in the middle of our hotel. The owners were so nice and the place was just charming as you can see.

A view from the streets of Santa Rosa.

I reread a few sentences of my last few blogs and realized that it may sound like I never do anything here except look for good pizza and TV shows. That's not a very accurate picture of my life here. So, I'm going to include some pictures of what I've been doing. These were all taken last weekend in Santa Rosa, about four hours away, in the coffee region. It was this adorable little town in which they were celebrating their anniversary, so there was a festival in the town square right next to this church. I went with my two roommates, Tina and Tara, and our friend Stetson. All people I teach with at Bolivar. The next day we went up the mountains a little further and swam in the hot springs with two big waterfalls in the background, it was extremely beautiful. I also treated myself to a massage there, which only set me back about 15 dollars...not bad. The whole weekend was very affordable with less than $20 bus rides and hotel stays. The most economical part was buying the multitude of adorable, handmade earrings, which were about a dollar a piece...I have a weakness apparently.

Dia de No Carros

2008-10-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, the mayor of our city pulled off an amazing feat, he enforced a day of no cars. The only vehicles allowed from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. were school buses, taxis, doctor's cars, and bullet proof vehicles. This day of no cars was instituted for environmental reasons, to remind people that they don't have to drive their cars everyday, that they can rely on public transportation. I take a school bus everyday, so I wasn't effected.

I found it very interesting though that some of the students here were freaking out at first because they didn't realize they could take their bullet proof windowed cars. There are kids here that are taken to and from school in heavily guarded modes of transportation. It's all very interesting to me. It doesn't scare me, it doesn't make me nervous. We've been told over and over again that the FARC and other guerrilla groups are not out to kidnap American teachers, they may be out to get family members who have a lot of money though.

After all my complaining about not having the internet at home, we finally got it that same day last week. My own computer seems to be giving me some problems now, but my roommate lets me use hers, so I'm feeling better about that. Still updating my blog from work for some reason, maybe I'm avoiding all the work I have to do today.

Johnny, you were right!

2008-09-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

As much as I hate to admit that my little brother was right, I'm going to have to go ahead and just admit it. Johnny asked me before I left, "aren't you going to miss Iowa football, Cubs baseball, the Bears, and Chicago style pizza?" I remember Natalie, his girlfriend, said in the background, "It's not you going to Colombia, it's her!" I also believe that I replied very smugly, "Oh, Johnny, you just don't get it...giving up those things is easy when you're in a new country, learning a new language, and a new culture." And I also believe that I said I wouldn't miss those things because I'd be having so much fun trying all the new foods and watching all the new sports and TV shows here.

He was right though. I am freaking out because I'm unsure if the channels I have will be broadcasting the right baseball playoff games and I'm wondering every week what is going on with Iowa football. I was able to watch the Bears game this week, but I'm sure that might be the only one since it was a night game. But, what's really getting me, is the lack of good pizza. I can't even explain how much I'm craving something that resembles pizza from the States. I'd even be happy for a little frozen pizza at this point. Which leads to my next story of mistranslated information...

Last Friday night I went home, fought off a nap, and then decided that I didn't want to go out. All I really wanted was a pizza and to watch the presidential debate at home. So, I decided to take a little Spanish test and see if I could order a pizza over the phone. There's a Dominos here, so I thought it'd be the closest thing to normal pizza I could find. By the way, there are little pizza stands everywhere here and I've been trying them all out, but it's just not good pizza. For example, my choices last week were to get Hawaiian or meat, so I chose the meat. I ended up with all kinds of ham, sausage, and what looked like chopped up hot dogs on my pizza! I've found it very difficult to find anything without meat and I prefer veggies. Anyway, it took two and a half hours, but I did finally get my pizza. Basically, they had the wrong address and I wasn't sure how to call back and tell them that they never showed. Plus, I had to figure out if I was even hungry at that point, but I pressed on because I didn't want to fail the test. I'm pretty sure that when I did call back, my broken Spanish sounded something like this: "I called you and the pizza no came." To which the lady handed the phone over and yelled out, "Es la gringa" which means, "it's the gringa." I did get my pizza, and no, it was not very good, and there were many miscommunications with the delivery guy, but I did get pizza, so that is something to be proud of I guess. And, I did watch the debates.

Another fun translation

2008-09-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, supposedly we're supposed to get the internet today, I'm not counting on it though, because if there's one thing that six weeks of waiting for internet in Colombia has taught me, it's to not get my hopes up. I remember learning this lesson in Puerto Rico too, but I'd since forgotten it...I spent too many years in Chicago I guess.

My roommate Tina just called the Telmex guy who we've been dealing with, the one who doesn't seem to know anything and doesn't do his job very well. He's been saying for a week that someone is coming today (by the way we had a choice of either today or November 17th...I thought that was a joke, it wasn't) but Tina just called him and he seemed to not know anything about someone coming to install it today. Ridiculous.

Anyway, other than that ongoing annoyance, things are good here. The weather is still 85 and sunny everyday, which is just fantastic. The mountain views are gorgeous, did I mention that I can see them from my balcony at home? And the Spanish is coming along. I have my good days and my bad days with it, sometimes I'm right on and can understand everything and even think of words I'd like to say in response...and other days I don't understand a word and I can't seem to think of one word I've ever learned in Spanish.

This is the first weekend since I moved here that I don't have any obligatory meetings, workshops, or outings. So, I'm really excited about that. I've purposely been noncommital to any planmakers because that's just the way I am and also I am going to relish the time to do whatever it is I want to do this weekend.

There was one cute story from school this week, one that I can recall at the moment. This student came in and we were sitting in a circle in the classroom getting ready to do a community circle activity. Anyway, this kid has trouble remembering to raise his hand and he blurted out (as he was motioning that his stomach was very bloated) that he felt like he was "embarassed." There had been a bake sale that morning and the kids were all sugared up, so he was trying to say that he felt pregnant (embarazado). I had to explain that I've made the opposite mistake of saying I felt "embarazado" when really I meant embarassed. I wonder if there's any way to find the origin of those two words to see if they come from a common one? That would be interesting. Amy, why don't you get right on that, since you're my researcher for statues in Colombia.

Meet the Parents

2008-09-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I had Open House...on a Saturday, but I'll get over that eventually. It was a totally different experience from the Open Houses of Berwyn and Waukegan, Illinois. It was different from Puerto Rico too. First of all, the other teachers had prepared us newbies for ALL the parents to come, which I'm not used to at all. They said it's very unusual for parents to miss Open House, especially the Second Grade Open House, since they are the "new kids" to the Primary wing. I had also been told to get my nails done and dress up a little. I was used to the getting dressed up part, but not the nails. I've never worried about them before, so I was thinking that I really should prepare a more formal presentation and be ready to be scrutinized I guess. What I found that day was a pleasant surprise. I gave my presentation, met everyone, then had a few minutes to stand around and socialize a bit. The energy in the room was great, most of the parents already know each other so they were all chatting. Then, one of the moms asked me so genuinely, "So, Carrie, how are you adjusting so far?" I thought that was the nicest thing to say, in fact it caught me off guard a bit. I told them that I loved everything about Cali so far and that the only hard part was all the bug bites. Then, they just kept asking me questions and it was just so unusual for me. I'm used to parents coming to Open House, not feeling comfortable talking to me, then skipping out as soon as they can. These parents though seemed to want to take me out for a beer and show me around Cali, it was pretty wild. One of my friends Jeremy, who teaches third grade, did get asked to go to lunch with one of the families from Open House afterwards. He and his girlfriend got a tour of Cali, went out to lunch, then were offered manicures and pedicures. They were also offered a free stay at a beach house on an island nearby whenever they'd like! So friendly.

I had my own experience with some parents about a week or two ago. I was invited to one of the girls' houses. She's new this year and the mom wanted to make sure she is making friends, so she invited all the girls to her house for a little after school party on a Friday. I also was invited. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not for me to go, but I decided that I came here to experience Colombia and that maybe this is a part of it. I took a taxi to her house because I played basketball that day after school. The house was a bit hard to find but absolutely beautiful. Very big, very open, and a huge back yard with a pool. The girls were swimming when I got there, so I talked with Paula's mom for awhile. She asked if I wanted some juice and one of her maids (yes, I said one of...she had three total) brought me a glass of juice on a tray. Not used to that! Then, after making perfume and cupcakes with the girls, a couple other moms stopped by and stayed to chat. One of them decided that she would call her driver/maid/nanny (?) to come drop off appetizers and a bottle of wine. So, I found myself drinking wine and talking American politics with three moms of my students. It was fun, but I felt a little out of place, especially when they started talking about how it was so important to do background checks on the people hired to work in the house such as the maids and nannies. We kept being catered to, which was the other strange part for me. Everytime I thought it might be a good time to go home, another glass of wine was poured and more snacks brought to the table. I ended up getting a ride home from one of the moms, which was so nice of her, but still so weird because my student was sitting in the back seat asking me what I was going to do for the rest of the weekend. The whole experience felt a bit bizarre, but also lovely at the same time. It feels nice to know the parents a bit, I'm not used to that as I mentioned.

Goodbye to Larry

2008-09-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the good news is that I was being an idiot before with my TV and I hadn't changed the setting from antenna to cable. Once I did that, I not only discovered that I had 80 channels, but that I don't really have CNN from the States anymore. We get CNN, the British version, as well as CNN the Spanish version. It's been really great, we even have a bunch of channels like Cinemax, FX, Fox, etc. to waste my time watching. We also have ESPN, but it's in Spanish, so it's all soccer, all the time. They did however broadcast the Steelers game the other night, much to the delight of my roommate Tara from Pennsylvania. It was dubbed over in Spanish and pretty entertaining to hear them mispronounce the players' names. Still no internet connection, which is very frustrating when you were planning on using that as a means to communicate with everyone you know. Perhaps by Christmas we'll have that set up. At least I have those 80 channels and my DVD/karaoke machine to keep me busy. In fact, I looked around yesterday for karaoke CDs and I came across mostly salsa and merengue ones, until finally I found a real gem entitled, Rock en Ingles. It has a song by Cinderella on it as well as "Send Me An Angel" from the 80s. I believe my roommates and I are hosting a party for Halloween, so we may just have to break that one out for everyone's listening pleasure.

Other than that, I feel like I've just been working a lot. My days here are kind of longer than I'm used to. Part of the problem is that for some reason my internal alarm clock keeps going off at 4:30 a.m. and I don't have to get up until 5:30 a.m. So, by the time I get home around 4ish, I'm fighting those afternoon naps like you wouldn't believe. So far, I'm winning.

Speaking of 4:30 a.m., I woke up last Saturday morning at that exact time and then was cursing my body, as usual, when all of a sudden I realized that my bed was shaking. It took me a minuted to realize that I had woken up in the midst of an earthquake. Not having experienced the earthquake that supposedly happened in Chicago a few months ago, I had no reference to what one would feel like, other than just reading about them. It only lasted about a minute, then all was calm again. I did confirm the next day with my colleagues (yes, I had to work on Saturday again) that it was in fact an earthquake. I guess I'll need to read up on what to do when there is one, because I'll be honest, my first thought was that it was just a little one and I was hoping it wouldn't last long since I needed my precious sleep. I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly. Good thing it really was only a little one. I guess they're not all that uncommon here.

Oh, Larry, how I've missed you.

2008-09-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

I feel as though I'm caught up with the news, just a little bit though. I found out last night that if I moved the TV upstairs, that we're still getting cable from the last tenant! This is both a good thing and bad thing. The good thing is that we now have 7 channels instead of 2 1/2. The other good thing is that we now get one channel in English, CNN. So, I got to watch Larry King Live last night, and boy was I excited. I've never once watched Larry in the States, but it was nice just to hear about the campaign, even if the whole show was just about Obama's lipstick on a pig comment. The bad thing is the fact that we still have cable means that our cable/internet is still not hooked up!

This was actually a pretty good story this week. So, there's this guy Tom that helped us move in and has lived here for 18 years. He's in charge of helping the new teachers when they move here for the first year, among other things. So, he's been calling this guy from Telmex (the internet/cable provider) every day for the past month, asking him when the other contract from the previous tenant can be cancelled and ours can begin. He's been told every time that it should be another 2-3 days. So, he asked the guy this week if there was any way to make this go a little faster. The guy told him to go talk to the people at the Telmex office across the street. So, after school on Tuesday, Tom, my roommate Tara, and I went to these offices. We walked in and the security guy and lady at the front desk told Tom that we couldn't speak to anyone about our situation, that it was only corporate offices there. The lady was pretty rude, so Tom told her that she should work on her dealings with the public and then turned around and was swearing in English all the way out. That's the way Tom is. He's loud. That's also why Tara and I decided to ask for his help. So, they sent us to this other tiny office in some neighborhood about 10 minutes away. This "office" was off a main street, had bars in front, and a few ladies working inside. No doors, by the way, you have to talk to people through the prison-like bars. So, Tom relayed our story to this lady, who said that nothing like this had ever happened before and that the original guy who signed us up wasn't doing his job. We put the two of them on the phone together to see if they could figure it out because didn't our teachers always tell us that "two heads are better than one?" Well, not in this case. The woman basically put the ball back in the original incompetent guy's hands...and he told us, yes, you guessed it, to wait 2-3 more days. When we asked for her number so that we could call her for the status of our account, she told us that she didn't have a work phone number, even thought there was a phone in plain sight right next to her on her desk. Strange. So, we went back to the original idiot and tried to see if he would tell us something different if perhaps it was in person. Tom, who towers over this man, still only got our standard reply. The best part of the whole debacle was that when Tom asked the guy if he could change one thing on his own Telmex account, the guy was more than willing to help him out. So, he directed Tom over to this phone hooked up to the kiosk and when Tom picked up the receiver, it was unplugged and the guy was scrambling to plug it in. So, the TELmex company seems to have a bit of an issue getting phones hooked up for it's employees, which is probably part of the reason why we still don't have the internet or cable.

I'm not sure what I learned from this, but I just keep hearing what Tom is always saying to the new teachers, "I'm amazed anything in Colombia works."

Although I still don't have the internet or real cable at home, I do have CNN, so that's at least something. Something I never thought I'd be excited about, but still something.

A link to civilization

2008-08-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I decided I'd had enough of not being connected to the outside world from home, and my roommate Tara and I went to the superstore here, La 14, and bought a TV, a TV stand, and a DVD player. This story gets a little more interesting I promise. The idea was to buy these items, go upstairs to meet some friends for dinner, then get a mani/pedi, which only costs $15 by the way. The way electronics work here is you tell the salesperson what you would like, they take it out of the box, plug it in to make sure that it works, and then they repackage it all. As they were testing the TV, I decided we probably needed a DVD player as well, so the saleslady told me all about this one that was on sale. I decided to go for it, not really looking at the box, even though I hadn't entirely understood all the bells and whistles that were explained to me. As they were testing the DVD player, they also took out of the box two microphones. So, I guess I just bought a DVD/karaoke machine! Bonus. I haven't hooked it up yet, but it was another language barrier moment that was awesome. So, we left our purchases downstairs and went to meet up for dinner. Tara and I decided to split what we thought was a salad/appetizer/fried plantain thing that we saw the chef making. What we didn't realized when we got the food, was that it was a plate with a piece of lettuce on the bottom, deceiving tomatoes around the sides, and plantains on the top. The inside was a monstrous pile of different kinds of meat. So, it was essentially a meat salad of some sort. It was good, but way too much for even 2 of us. The best part is that, we had also ordered 2 pinchos de pollo, which I thought was just chicken on a skewer. The waitress then brought out the pincho de pollo, another side salad, and a potato...for each of us. It was the most food I've ever ordered, ever. The waitress brought it out, struggled to find room on the table for all of it, then must have looked at our horrified faces, then said to us, "para llevar?" which means "to go?" Of course we said "si." So, now we had a huge bag of more meat with us, but we decided to get our nails done anyway. This all seemed like a great idea at the time. I basically felt like I had to do it last night, because we have the second grade Open House with the parents tomorrow morning (yes, a Saturday) and I'd heard that the parents are kind of into making sure you're well-groomed, that it's a bit more important here than what I'm used to. So, after getting my nails done, I took the bag of leftover meat, went back downstairs, paid for our TV, TV stand, and DVD/karaoke machine and left to hop in a cab home. The next part is just ridiculous. The TV of course did not fit in the trunk or the back of the cab, so we decided to take it out of the box. The only problem was, we had just gotten our nails done and they didn't have those little dryers, so they were still wet, mine were at least. Luckily, everyone around us came to help out, the cab driver, another cab driver, the workers at La 14, and even someone just passing by. I told my roommate that I felt like such a princess, having everyone do all of this for us...untape the box, take out the TV, unpack it, take off the plastic, break down the box, load it all into the cab, etc. It was pretty ridiculous. I'd love to know what these helpful people were all thinking about Tara and I. So, tonight I'll be setting up all my new stuff, although it's not that exciting because we STILL don't have the internet or cable or any real link to civilization at home. That's why I'm writing you all from work right now. Way to use my time wisely, I know.

Plastic Surgery

2008-08-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

In Cali, plastic surgery is a part of life apparently. There are many, many women walking around with huge knockers and even butt implants, ala J. Lo, although supposedly hers is real. There is also this nose I keep seeing everywhere, it's a cute nose, but it goes up a little on the end, kind of like Nicole Kidman's I think. There is also a very strange attitude about it all, well, strange to me. It's completely normal and even a status symbol of some sort. It's very common to see taped up boobs, even with the high school kids here I've heard. It's also very normal to see a taped nose. Yesterday, one of my second grade girls took a sticker from her notebook, and put it on her nose, like it was taped up after a nose job. It was a bit shocking, but I guess it's just part of life here. I don't think I'll be getting any plastic surgery while I'm here, but I may get my teeth whitened. I've heard that getting lasik on the eyes is cheaper here too than in the States, so maybe I'll look into that.

My first weekend out

2008-08-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

As I finally felt better and was able to socialize this weekend, I realized that I love Colombia so far! Friday after school was the annual "we're finished with the first week of school" staff party, which was supposed to be at our boss' house (on campus), but since it rained a lot, it was moved to the cafeteria. There was free beer, appetizers, and very loud music. It was fun, but also kind of strange to be drinking where your students were eating lunch a couple hours beforehand. After that, some of us went to this teacher's apartment, Mac is his name. We continued to drink and hang out. The girls ended up dancing in the living room to Madonna songs while the guys sat outside and drank together. It was all very middle school of us. Then, since we had skipped dinner, Mac who has lived here for 6 years I think, took us to this place to eat called Segundo's. It's basically a big huge grill and you can order whatever kind of meat you want, I had baby beef, it was delicious. I'm glad I'm not a vegetarian, it would be next to impossible to eat here. (Bethie, if you're reading this, you would hate it.)

Saturday, during the day, the parent association here, invited all the new teachers to a place called Nirvana. It's about an hour drive, north of Cali, and it's a huge environmental haven, where we went on a 2 1/2 hour hike up a mountain, in awe of all the cool looking trees, flowers, and plants. We saw some animals too, some horses, a caterpillar as big as my foot, and some really cool rainforest looking birds. It was really beautiful, I took a bunch of pictures, that I'll have to add later.

Saturday night I went salsa dancing for the first time here. I remember learning the basic steps in Puerto Rico, but it seems that it's just like my Spanish ability...if you don't use it, you lose it. Luckily, I didn't dance, there was a band, so it was more of just watching the band perform and watching other people dance. It was a really fun atmosphere though, oh yeah, and the place was called Blues Brothers, which was odd. There were murals of John Belushi on the walls and other pictures up of B.B. King and I can't remember who else. It made me feel like I was in the States again, but just listening to salsa music.

Yesterday, I didn't do much of anything, slept in and then went grocery shopping. Part of our pay is given to us with these food coupons that we can use at the grocery store for anything, food, TVs, or you can even use them at certain restaurants. They make me feel like I have food stamps, I don't really understand the whole concept of them, they're just like cash, so why do they use them? I haven't figured it out yet. The only problem is that if you use the big amount coupons, the cashier can't give you cash back, so I had about $4 in change owed to me, and had to buy about 2 packs of gum and 4 packs of Halls to try to reach the exact amount.

The kids at school have calmed down quite a bit. I think I forgot to mention that the first couple hours I had 2 boys who every time we lined up, were punching each other in the balls. I talked to them very sternly and basically told them that they could really get hurt doing that (not to mention give up the chance of having kids someday...I didn't mention that part), but every time I turned around, they were at it again. Well, so far so good today, no ball punchers, and they're even getting the hang of listening to their teacher! I guess I'm making progress. Hope you're all doing well.

The First Week of School

2008-08-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm finally feeling a little bit better. I still have a nasty cough, but the antibiotics the doctor prescribed seemed to have taken care of the flu-like symptoms. It was not a very fun weekend (the last one). I tried to just sleep it off, it didn't work. I had no energy to do anything, which is really a challenge when you don't have a television, or the internet to keep your mind occupied. I have nothing against reading of course, but even that started to get a bit old, because that was my only option. So, it's good to be feeling normal again.

The second graders started school this Wednesday, and boy was it different than I expected. First of all, let me say that they are quite possibly the most beautiful children I've ever seen. But, they also have the least amount of listening skills and just school training in general that I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with. I've never taught this age before, and what really made me nervous about it all was not if I could teach them, because I knew I could, but if I could train them. I didn't realize that I would have to literally train them how to sit down at a desk! I had to do that yesterday. I didn't realize that they wouldn't know when it was appropriate or not to speak in class. I feel like I'm teaching giant preschoolers sometimes.

It seems that anything goes as far as talking. I'm still getting used to this cultural difference of speaking (really loudly) whenever they want to, no matter who else is already speaking. It sounds silly, and I didn't believe it myself, but I was definitely warned about this by, well, everyone. I kept thinking, "how bad can it be? They're just kids, like anywhere else?" But, where do you start when it's a cultural difference to talk over people and it's a class difference to talk over teachers, who may be seen as equivalent to the nanny at home? I'm figuring it out at this point (day three with the kids), but I think that this year is going to take every inch of patience that I have left after ten years of teaching.

I don't mean to sound complainy though, I'm actually enjoying the challenge, it's just very different.

Now, let me tell you all about the parents because this was really different for me as well. The parents all dropped off their children the first day and then were invited to stay for a quick assembly for all of the primary grades. The parents of my students greeted me with kisses on the cheek, hugs, offers to help with bulletin boards, and their cell phone numbers. I had a grandmother give me her cell phone number just in case I want her to come in and help with any photography, since that's a hobby of hers. It was amazing really, the amount of parent involvement right from day one. The only down side was that they didn't leave! I think some parents were lurking around the school all day, just waiting to catch a glimpse of their kid somehow. I think I was interrupted in my classroom about 20 times, all before lunch, all for unnecessary, unimportant reasons. It's hard to keep control of a bunch of noisy second graders, when parents just wander into the room throughout the day to say hi. But, that seems to have subsided since the first day.

What else is going on, so I had a really bad bug day yesterday. We had a cockroach in our kitchen in the morning, so I had to Raid it to death, sorry little buddy. I didn't really feel bad, though, I must be honest. It was upside down, stuck on its back, which made me wonder, how does a cockroach get stuck like that? Was it running across the floor too fast and all of a sudden it did a running flip, but never made it all the way around? Then, I got to school, removed a pocket chart hanging on a bulletin board, which revealed the biggest spider I've ever seen...as big as my hand. That's right, take a look at your hand and imagine a big black, hairy spider, with cool little yellow stripes. Not ugly to look at, but not fun when it's right next to the calendar which you have to use in 20 minutes with a bunch of kids. So, I went to get Marco, the only male on the second grade team, and he was about to get it into a cup and put it outside, when it crawled behind the bulletin board! For all I know, it's still there. Calendar time yesterday and today was the fastest I've ever done it, about 2 minutes long. I'm sure it's more afraid of me than I am of it, but still, that thing was huge! Then, I had lunch duty which I specifically wore long pants for, but my poor, uncovered feet got eaten so badly by all the tiny grass bugs here. My legs and feet are so bad right now that I'm embarrassed to wear skirts or shorts. I took pictures last night, so as soon as I get the internet at home and can upload those, I'll show you how much the bugs here are in love with me.

Again, I feel like I sound like I'm complaining. It's all just very different and I like to keep track of the funny and the annoying parts, so that I can remember it all. I will end on a much more positive note though and tell you that I successfully deposited a check into my new bank account yesterday, which is no small feat here. I'll be more specific next time, I have to get back to my job.

Pictures of School

2008-08-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

One of the main fareways to get around campus. These symbols were donated awhile back to represent all the entities who work together to make the school run like the parents, teachers, administrators, community, etc.

Here's the front of my classroom. It looks more like a classroom now that I've been putting up beautiful bulletin boards.
This is the side view of my classroom. As you can see, the fresh air will be abundant.
This is the back of my classroom.

These flowers outline the administrators offices.
Yes, I'm teaching second grade...it should be very interesting.

Here's one of the many walkways leading to the various parts of the campus at school.
This is the huge mango tree steps away from where I teach and also where I will wait for the bus to take me home each day.

2 down, 9 to go

2008-08-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's pretty common to get sick when you move to another country. I was told not to drink the water, but I think that the virus I have (nothing major, just feeling achey and have a low fever) was due to one of my favorite things about Colombia...the kiss hello. As the newbies we've met so many new teachers everyday and it's customary to kiss hello,an air kiss, but still that's a lot of handshakes and kisses in the last few days. It's hard to get comfortable when the weather is so warm here. Walking around with a 100 degree temperature when it's 87ish outside is not so pleasant after all. Oh well, at least I'm getting fresh air everyday. Coming soon, I'll post some pictures of my classroom which only has three walls! I have a beautiful view of trees and mountains outside everday. This is quite an improvement from teaching ESL in the dungeon last year, no windows, no fresh air. I'm all about extremes I guess.

I'm the second out of 11 new teachers to get sick. This guy Rob had a bacterial infection and missed yesterday at work. He's back though. I asked him what he did, and he said his wife called Tom, our new teacher guide that helped us shop and find apartments, and he called the pharmacy, ordered an antibiotic, then the pharmacy delivered it to their apartment! I almost wish I was really sick so that I could experience that, I'm so impressed with the health care here so far. Speaking of health care, we have a doctor on campus at school. So, I just popped down to his office a few minutes ago and he's the one who diagnosed me and took my temperature. I had to have him convert my temperature from Celcius to Farenheit, well, because I must have missed that day in math. He was funny, he downloaded it and put it on his desktop. I guess he may be expecting a few more of us new guys in his office in the near future.

Finally, a few pictures

2008-08-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

An extremely old, old church.

If I recall correctly, this is Simon Bolivar, although at this point in the city tour I was feeling like a tourist and I guess I started to take pictures but not really listen to our guide, which is Tom from school, who tells you things that are half true anyway. There's a story behind the pointing, something about pointing toward the big, giant Jesus to blame him for something...that's all I got.

Here's a group picture in front of El Cristo Rey (the big, giant Jesus) I'll bet you can find me with the palest whitest legs of the entire group can't you? From the left, it's Scott, Tara (roommate), Kate and Jeremy, Lyndi and Rob, Caleb and Angie, Ben and Laura Elena, and myself.

Here's a view of Cali from up in the mountains. I couldn't tell you where I live, except to the South, which would be to the right side of the picture if you're directionally challenged like me.

Here's an upclose picture of him, it's really pretty when it's lit up at night and you look toward the mountain range to the West.

2008-08-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from our city tour last week. We were headed up a mountain to see the big, giant Jesus statue. (Cristo Rey)

The bug situation

2008-08-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have been mentioning all the great things about Colombia so far, but I feel the need to mention one slight problem, which I dealt with in Puerto Rico, but had blocked out of my memory I guess...the bugs. Right now, I have about 10 mosquito bites on each leg, mostly at the ankle and knee. I scratched one so much yesterday that it bled, ew. I have been using my Deep Woods Off with Deet religiously, but it doesn't seem to keep them away. I think I'm getting the majority of them at school. Although last night, I kept waking up to a mosquito buzzing in my ear! Not only that, because I can get used to it, but the spiders and cucarachas are prevalent too. Yesterday, I was pulling out a textbook from the closet at school and a cockroach ran out. I guess they fly here like they did in PR. This one only ran away, hasn't gotten it's wings yet. But, on the upside, there is a place called Monkey Island here where I can swing in a hammock all day and hang with the monkeys! Haven't been there of course, but as soon as I go, I'll let you all know of course.

What else, we tried to get internet for our computers at home last night, but when we went to sign up they told us that the guy who lived there before cancelled his but the paperwork never went through. This seems to be a recurring problem here...things take FOREVER!

Ok, well I'm off to another new teacher meeting. Thanks for the comments! Oh, and Amy, I checked for Don Q Limon yesterday and they didn't have it. I'll keep looking though.

I have a home now.

2008-08-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

I live in this neighborhood called El Ingenio, it's nice, there is a basketball court right next door and this mansion of a house that looks like it may have belonged to Scarface at some point. Down the street there is a bakery, a pizza place, and a burger place. Oh yeah, and right across the street is a place to get my nails done, it costs approximately $7.00 to get a manicure and pedicure here! I'm looking forward to my new life of luxury. We also had our maid come this morning and she will be doing all our laundry from the past 2 weeks of living out of suitcases, making copies of keys for us, cooking dinner, and oh yes, cleaning! I don't understand what it's like to have someone do all that for me, in fact, it felt really weird when Tina, my roommate who has lived here for a year already, asked Patricia, the maid, to do all that today! We left her money of course, but still, it seems obnoxious to have someone do things for me that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself. I'm pretty sure I can get used to it though. Oh, and just so I don't sound like a completely spoiled American, we do continue to pay her over the summer months and we also pay for her insurance.

I woke up this morning to the sound of birds chirping and a sunrise which gave me a view of the mountains to the east here, which you can't normally see very often. They are usually blocked by clouds. It was divine. I was too engrossed to grab my camera unfortunately, but hopefully there will be many mornings like today.

I've been working in my classroom and attending meetings all day today. It seems pretty laid back here as far as teaching goes. I have a really fun second grade team. Two teacher, Marco and Kate, are both from Canada. Then, Anita is from Medellin. Everyone here is so friendly and nice and willing to help out, it seems like it'll be a fun atmosphere to teach in. Oh, and did I mention that I will only have 17 students this year? That seems like half a class to me, so I'm really looking forward to that.

After school, I'm going to the equivalent of a Walmart (minus all the lawsuits) called La 14 (La Catorce) where I can buy things for my bathroom, kitchen, room, etc. I'm hoping to get my internet at home set up soon also, possibly this week. I've been told that when Colombians say this week, it can mean any week in the next month or so. Needless to say, I'm not exactly counting on it. I still don't have a working cell phone or hot water at my apartment, but how can I complain when all my clothes will be clean when I get home?

I´m homeless!

2008-08-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, supposedly, I move into my new new apartment after work today. The awesome place with the bar turned out to be not so awesome when 2 of the bathrooms flooded and the place reaked of mold, enough to give me a headache. So, luckily, we got out of the lease and we found another place on Saturday. Our new friend Regan (that´s her first name) let us stay in her extra room this weekend, us being myself and Tara, my new roommate and friend. So, all my stuff is just sitting on a school bus parked here at school. It´s pretty much been a nightmare, but at least we found a place. It´s really huge, still 4 bedrooms, this one has 3 full bathrooms and lots of space, 2 floors. The only problem I can tell is that the kitchen is my least favorite color in the world, pink. Good thing I don´t really cook.

Saturday night I went out for the first time here. We went to this place called El Faro, an open air bar blasting rock en ingles y en español. They were playing a little Guns N Roses and a little Manu Chau, it was a perfect escape from the nightmare we had finding a new apartment all day. They have this drink here, that taste like Ouzo to me, called Augardiente (firewater), it´s terrible. But, Regan ordered an entire bottle of it Saturday night and the group just kept doing shots. I don´t do so well with shots so I only had 2 or 3, but apparently that was our initiation that night.

I started setting up my classroom today. Things are a bit scarce, but I´m pretty resourceful and everyone is so helpful and warm, it doesn´t seem so bad.

I´m supposed to be getting my boxes this week that I shipped down, I hope so because all my school stuff is in those. I also need the clothes and shoes that I shipped. We are supposedly getting our cell phones working by tomorrow, I hope so because I´ve felt pretty out of touch lately.

I've been here for exactly a week

2008-08-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's only been a week. I'm starting to feel like this hotel Radisson is my home. In fact, when I was just walking through the lobby, the same exact song was playing as when I arrived at pretty much this same time last Thursday night...Aerosmith, that one from that Summer blockbuster movie I never saw. We've all been making fun of the music from the lobby, the other day it was Culture Club and then I heard a Huey Lewis and the News hit. Some of the 23 year olds I'm working with don't even know these songs. That's when I feel old.

So, I just went to my first movie in Colombia, at a Cine Colombia. When you buy your tickets, which are only 10,000 pesos, which is about $5, you pick your seats from a chart. You can pay a little extra for first class tickets, which we did, because why not. But, I'm not sure what the difference is between first class and not first class. There were a few other differences at the theater. There is this "wall of pop." The wall has a coke machine, then a pepsi machine, then a coke, then a pepsi, and so on for the entire wall. The either/or business of the states apparently doesn't apply here. There are all kinds of different pops here too, like manzana (apple) flavored and other fruit flavored sodas. Here I go, talking up the fruit again. It's just so good here. I can get an avocado for like 30 cents here, I believe they were up to about $3.00 right before I left. They're huge too. We haven't been grocery shopping yet, but I'm so excited to go this weekend. This should be my last night at the Radisson, tomorrow I have to go to school and meet with safety guys and then hopefully sign up for internet and cell phones. After that, more shopping for stuff we need for our apartments. I think we get to move in tomorrow, as long as all the paperwork is finished. It'll be weird to have my own room again. Looking forward to it though. Also, I get to meet the third roommate, Tina, tomorrow. Tara and I have been sharing a hotel room since Miami (last Tuesday), so we've gotten to know each other pretty quickly. Miss everyone at home, hope you're all well.

Wednesday, August 6th

2008-08-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I went out to eat some dinner at this place called Checkers, which is kind of the equivalent of a Chili's or a typical chain restaurant, but without a bloomin' onion. I was surprised though at the massive portions we've been served so far. I could split every meal three ways it seems. Anyway, I ordered a water and then the guy said, "Con glass, or sin glass" which I thought was weird that he was asking me if I wanted a glass and also weird that he was using English words. I said that I wanted one. He brought back my bottle of water and glass and I poured it and was talking to Tara, my new roommate, and was completely surprised when I tasted it...it was agua con gas, not glass. I had ordered a mineral water. Oops, I guess I'll just keep making these language mistakes until I become more fluent. I also had not a clue the other day when the maid knocked on our hotel room door around 4:30 p.m. She said something really fast and all I heard was cortinas (curtains). I thought maybe something was wrong with them, so I asked her to slow down please and repeat it, but she just smiled and said the same thing very quickly. I still only heard cortinas. So, I smiled and said, "sure." She then came in and closed the curtains for us, put candies on our beds, and checked to see if we had enough towels. It's all a learning experience so far.

Today we went to school and met with our principals and he gave us the low down on what we need to know for school. Then, we met with insurance people and I'm so happy to know that I will be paying nothing for my insurance each month except any copay and that I am insured both here and internationally. I also have the option to get emergency service in which you just call an ambulance and the doctor will come to you and give you what you need. It only costs a copay amount for that by the way, which is SO different from the health care I'm used to! Next, Tom, our tour guide, took us to the bank so we could sign a bunch of papers to open up savings accounts. He told us that you're not allowed to use cell phones in the bank because they used to have guys that would watch someone take a big amount out of their accounts and then would call their buddy down the street who would then rob you. Stories like that are a bit unsettling, but again, I think that if you are smart about it all, then it's all okay.

Tara, Tina, and I move into our place on Friday. Tomorrow, we get to go shopping all day for things our apartments might need. Tara wants a hammock for our patio and I want to make sure we have bar stools for our bar that's in the living room. I guess I'll have to buy sheets too since I shipped mine and my boxes aren't here yet. Perhaps I should buy some plates and silverware too.

I don't know what day it is anymore

2008-08-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

It's all been such a whirlwind so far. This morning was the first time all summer that I've gotten to sleep in, which is pretty sad for a teacher. It was great, but I still have homework to finish my masters looming over my head, so I didn't really sleep in that long. Again, I'm procrastinating on starting that. I thought I'd write here a bit, then head down to the breakfast offered at this hotel, which is pretty amazing. The fruit here is so good, each day at breakfast I try a new juice. Yesterday it was papaya juice, the day before that, lulo juice (not sure what that comes from yet). The day before that, I believe I had a blackberry juice that I've since forgotten how to say in Spanish. Today, six of the new teachers had to go to DAS, where I went yesterday. All you have to bring to DAS is your passport, but silly me yesterday earned herself a really bad reputation. Let me backtrack just a bit...

I woke up yesterday at 5:30 a.m. so I'd have time to shower, eat breakfast, and be down at Jaime's bus by 6:15. As I went down the elevator, two of the other teachers going to DAS looked like they had all of their important documents with them, so I ran back up to the room and grabbed all the folders I have with those. I looked in my purse and saw that I had my new green passport cover which my dear friend Luma recently gave me. About half way to DAS, which is about an hour away to the north, I looked inside that green cover and realized that my passport was not actually in it. I immediately told the other two teachers I was with who calmed me down and then I told Jaime, the bus driver who has been helping us all week to find apartments. He called someone from the school to let him know, then he pulled over to the side of the road and used a cell phone of a guy who sells minutes here. These guys are everywhere and it seems that they are the human equivalent of a pay phone. Luckily, my roommate Tara was still in the room (asleep of course) when I called the hotel and she was able to find my passport and take it to the front desk, where Julian from school picked it up, and delivered it to me at DAS. So, I basically brought every single important paper I own to DAS, except for the only one I needed, my passport. Lesson learned. Jaime will never forget me now. I'm glad I'm making the first impression of being pretty much a complete airhead. My excuse is a severe lack of sleep in the last 6 months of my life. Not a good one, I know.

Today I get to work on that infamous homework, go try a new juice for breakfast, then head over to this guy Tom's house. Tom's been with us since we arrived, he's originally from Iowa, but has lived here in Cali for 18 years. He's extremely sarcastic and completely fun and helpful. He's shown us every available apartment in what we are calling the gringo triangle of safety part of town and has taken us all around trying to get us acclimated to the city. Today, we are going to his house for lunch and a juice workshop, as well as to talk about cultural norms. I love this kind of stuff, so I'm very excited. Plus, it's nice to have a morning to myself, not sitting on a bus looking at apartments. All the new teachers decided yesterday on where they're going to live, so we're finally finished with that.

My third day in Colombia

2008-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm procrastinating right now. I should be doing my grad school homework and I plan to do that in just a few minutes, but first I wanted to share what happened today. The bus picked us all up around 9am and today we took a tour of the whole city. Jaime drove us to the top of the mountain range here, which reminded me a lot of what it's like to drive in Puerto Rico...you basically just barrel up or down the road that's only big enough for one vehicle and hope that nobody is doing the same thing going the other way. There is big huge Jesus statue here too, smaller than the one in Brazil, but still quite large. As soon as I have time to add pictures, I'll be sure to show you. It had lights strung all over it so that at night we can still all see it. We drove around and saw the downtown area which is quite beautiful and hilly. It reminded me of San Francisco and Old San Juan, two of my favorite cities. We drove by the zoo which was apparently modeled after the San Diego zoo, so that's sure to be a field trip coming soon. We also stopped at several old churches and statues. The traffic is pretty crazy so far, I can't imagine driving here. We've been able to take a big school bus everywhere and we've been fine as far as safety goes. Many of the new teachers here seem really concerned with that whole issue, but to me, it seems just as safe so far as living in Chicago. Apparently the only people who get kidnapped are ones whose families are connected, if you know what I mean. I'm just a poor teacher, so I only have to worry about petty street crime, which I'm already used to coming from living in a big city. We went to lunch at a really nice place where we had traditional Colombian food, sancocho. They brought soup with yucca in it, and then I thought I was finished, but they brought out a HUGE chicken breast with tostones, rice, and salad. It was entirely too much food for one person, but I'm glad I tried it. Everyone in the restaurant and really all over the city was staring at the big group of gringos walking around together all day. It kind of got old feeling like a tourist, but I guess that I'll learn to deal with it. It's hard not to compare everything to Puerto Rico, but since that's really my only latin american reference, I'll just go ahead and keep doing that. The food seems pretty similar, lots of fried things...empanadas, tostones, and these things called arepas, which don't have a whole lot of taste, but are good nonetheless, kind of like a piece of corn bread.

So, supposedly, the drama with finding apartments has ended. We've seen a million of them, and some people wanted the same ones and kept changing their minds, so it's been weird and overwhelming for some. Luckily, my new roommate Tara is really laid back about it all like I am, so that's a relief. It doesn't look like there will be a repeat of an Alissa situation from Puerto Rico. Lots of the new teachers want to live together, I think they are concerned with safety. But if it were up to me, I'd much prefer to live somewhere with just my two roommates, so we'll see what happens. The apartment that we're taking has a little bar area, four bedrooms, and three bathrooms. Oh, and it also has two balconies and these really charming stained glass windows. It's in a really nice neighborhood and is very close to school and to a gym, grocery store, and mall. I'm excited about it. We'll hopefully be moving in next week, perhaps by Tuesday. I have to go to this place called DAS tomorrow to get all the rest of the paperwork needed to be here, we have to get these ID cards which we need to carry around with us all the time.

Off to work on that paper...

My first 48 hours

2008-08-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! So, I've been in Colombia for a couple of days now and I'm loving it already. Right now I'm staying at the Radisson hotel, so life is easy. The hotel is basically the same as any one you'd find in the states, there's a pool, business center, continental breakfast. The biggest difference is that the coffee and fruit they serve in the mornings is so amazingly good I can't even begin to describe it. The coffee is strong and delicious and always around. The fruit and fruit juice is so fresh and they have all kinds of new fruits I've never seen nor heard about. It's all very fun to try. I was told not to drink the water, but so far, I haven't had any problems whatsoever. That's about all I have to report today, I have very limited time for internet access and very busy days getting accustomed to everything. The past 2 days have been all about apartment hunting, but I think my roommate and I found one today that we really liked. It has 2 really nice balconies and 4 bedrooms and is a whole lot cheaper than anything I could afford in the states. I'm really excited to move in.