A different kind of home

Hi friends,

I told you I wouldn't be good at keeping up a blog, but I persist.  :)
I'm now approaching the month mark of being in Cartagena.  Each week there is something else that makes it feel just a little more like home.  I'll explain a few of seemingly insignificant "events" that have made our apartment and life in general feel like a place I'll be for awhile...

1- Soft lighting!
When Lindsey and I moved in, our apartment was FULL of those horrible florescent-like energy-saving lightbulbs.  There are few things in life that I hate more than harsh lighting.  I've been on a constant search for soft lightbulbs (luz caliente) that fit all of our sockets.  We've finally arrived a good place, and I don't dread nighttime when I have to turn the lights on.  Ah, home.  :)

2- Work
I finished my first full week with students.  I love, love, love them.  I finally got "that" class, which doesn't mean the "special" one like it did the last 5 years of teaching.  They're good, sweet, and hard-working and their accents make me smile.  I love being called Miss (which actually comes out as "Meeees...").  I realize that I'm still in the honeymoon stage and that things change, but it's fun.  My alarm clocks (yes, I set two) do sound at 5:30, so vacation is long gone...  Home.

3- Cooking
We have some spices in the cupboard, condiments in the fridge, and a semi-fully stocked kitchen.  I like to cook and I like more to cook for others.  I've gotten to do both.

4- Down time
I've had more time to sit and relax and have the space to do it.  We got some softer pillows for our couch and converted our extra bedroom into a sitting room of sorts.  If you come visit, you can sleep there (there's a bed), but I call it the "skype-room" for now.  I even rearranged our living room (Mom, you should be proud) and set up our tv/dvd player.  I could stay here for awhile...


But then there are things that make me realize that I'm in a different place...

1- Showers
I don't really love to take time to shower that often in the states...  if I'm not dirty or greasy, I don't shower.  That is out of the question here.  I'm am ALWAYS either sweaty, greasy, or wet.  I even sometimes shower twice in a day (gasp!).  It's ridiculous.

2- Beer
I don't really like beer in the states...  Here, it's everywhere.  It's cheap and cold and everywhere.  I drink way more beer than I ever thought I would and even enjoy it.  That's not to say that the beer actually tastes any better...  the opposite might be true.  We even did happy hour sitting on the wall around the old city drinking beer....  And there's no nursing a beer either.  It goes from cold, to cool, to lukewarm, do downright steamy in 5 minutes flat.  Different.

3- Prep time
A lot of it...like 2-3 hours a day.  If I'm not a good teacher this year, there's no hope for me.


There's a bit of an update!  I love that it's Saturday today.  I have some serious plans to catch up on rest, with maybe a little work thrown in.  I love to hear from you....  comment, email, or skype.  I'm on skype often in the evenings, so sign in once in awhile.  My username is michelle.burkle.

Un abrazo.

One week down

Hello friends,
We've got one week down and many more to go.  :)  I feel like I've said this a million times, but it feels like I've been here for months.  Cartagena feels just a little bit more like home everyday.  The first few days definitely felt like I was on vacation and I should be counting down the days until I would need to get back on an airplane and go back to the "real" world.
I mean, really, the real world couldn't be living on the Caribbean, right?!  I hope the day never comes that I look out my new living room window and don't appreciate the view.
Could the real world really mean that a staff retreat is going to an island for a weekend?  The majority of last week was spent finding an apartment, getting settled, going to the grocery store and mall, and beginning the process of finding my favorite places to eat.  Friday we left for an island called Barú where Playa Blanca is located (if you're familiar with the area...) for a staff "retreat".  I put retreat in quotation marks because the staff retreat I've known in the past consists of endless hours in a windowless room around a conference table.  This place was gorgeous!  Most time was spent in a beachy hut sort of thing sharing about our lives, thoughts, feelings, expectations, fears... you name it.  =)  We ended the weekend with a flashmob of some rewritten Black Eyed Peas dedicated to our director and principals for SUCH a warm welcome.  Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1zmrR-aV4E if you feel so inclined.
I would write more, but I'm am SO tired.  This moving this is exhausting.

My New Home

The recurring thought going through my head since arriving in Cartagena yesterday afternoon is "I can't believe I'm LIVING here...".  Sure, I knew that it might take some adjusting and knew that it would take some time for it all to sink in that this is my new home, but it might take longer than expected.  I mean, seriously, this place is gorgeous.  And, sure, I've been here before...I should know exactly what I'm getting into, but I look around at the sand, waves, water, palm trees, beautiful buildings and wonder where the heck I am...  Don't worry, I'm not complaining, it's just a little ridiculous.

Today was the first full day in the city and was spent doing mostly logistical things like blood work, insurance, cell phones, and a city bus tour.  This evening we had dinner (hello, coconut rice and giant avocados!) around the rooftop pool on top of our director's apartment building.  I'll try to attach a picture of the view.  The fact that it gets dark here at 6:30 made 8:00 feel like 11:30, so it will be easy to turn in early.
Tomorrow is a day full of apartment searching and hopefully choosing...  the hotel is super comfortable with hot showers (I'll miss those...), but I'm very much looking forward to some space to make my own.  Can't wait to share those pictures when I have them to share!

Abrazos,
Michelle

It's finally time!

It's time!  The end of July is finally here when I get to actually board that plane heading south.  The days and months since the UNI fair in February crept by at times and flew by at other times.  It was a wonderful summer of spending quality time with people that I love, and I look forward to telling you all about what it looks like and feels like to LIVE in Colombia.

If you know me, you know that Colombia is one of my favorite places.  It has succeeded in winning me over both times that I've been there, and I apparently just can't get enough.  A handful of experiences creates long lists of expectations, so I also hope to share with you as those expectations are met, exceeded, fallen short of, blown out of the water, and completely torn to shreds.
As I sit here writing this just having finished fitting my life into 4 bags and thinking about the things I've chosen to pack into those bags, here are a few things that I am expecting...

1.  I packed 4 swimsuits...  I fully expect some quality beach/pool/sun time.

2.  I packed 1 pair of jeans and 1 sweater...  stay away winter.

3.  I packed many pairs of sandals...  I expect many cheap pedicures.

4.  I packed a bag full of ENGLISH children's books...  I can't wait to meet my new little, English-learning kiddos.

5.  I packed a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat...  I expect and hope that I meet cool people who love to camp!

Trust me, I packed so much more than that, I fully expect that I've forgotten and overlooked something...

Hasta pronto, amigos.  :)

Beach, heat, salt water... I´ve arrived. :)

Something about being next to large bodies of salt water is healthy... I´m not sure why that´s so incredibly true. It does nothing for my consistency in blogging, so I´ll be brief. We took a bus from Medellín to Cartagena, spent a few days in Cartagena, and we´re now in Taganga. Medellín was comfortable and relaxed; Cartagena is totally and completely culturally different. It is loud and vibrant. Everything about it is pushy, but it´s gorgeous. The soft lights illuminate the city and make it magical. We took a boat to a beach with amazing water and sand, and couldn´t nearly stay as long as we wanted before jumping back on the boat. Starving for good beach time, we´ve made it to Taganga where we have a perfectly lovely room with a balcony and hammock overlooking the beach. Time slowed down and it´s as if days of the week no longer exist....love it! I finished my scuba diving certification yesterday after 2 days and 4 dives. I´m already looking forward to the next time I get to go under...

Today will promise some time laying and reading on the beach and tomorrow we leave to La Guajira, which is the northern and easternmost peninsula of Colombia that extends toward Venezuela. It´s rumored to be virtually untouched desert and coastline that rivals most landscapes in South America. Since it´s more difficult to get to, we´ll go with a tour agency and 5 other travelers--one, Candice, who did the scuba course with me.

I promise more detail in my next post! :)

Hasta la próxima.

Well, it feels like I´ve started a new chapter in the trip since my last post. A new country could be part of that, as could time with Myriam´s family, and a new travel companion! We arrived in Medellín last Friday morning, spent the weekend in Medellín, and few days in the coffee zone, and are back in Medellín for a very brief stint before we finally make it to the coast. :)
I have loved spending time in Medellín, and have found it to be the most liveable cities we´ve been in so far. I enjoy playing this game with myself of where it would be most fun to live...ha. It´s a bigger city of around 2 million people; it feels modern and clean; public transportation is easy; and the people have been so friendly and warm. People from Medellín will tell you that they really are happier than others in the world...it might be true. It surely helped to be spending time with my friend and coworker, Myriam and her family. She grew up in Medellín and now lives and works in the twin cities. Her family has been a breath of fresh air after weeks of spending time in hostels and with other travelers. They have been welcoming, hospitable, and more.

One highlight was visiting a farm that Myriam and her brother have bought and are slowly developing outside of the city. They are steadily wiping out the weeds and brush on the farm to plant so many amazing and (exotic) plants to eventually sell....avocados, bananas, coffee, passion fruit, oranges, guayaba, limones... It´s a gorgeous area and it was fun to see the excitement and potential they felt in it all. And oh how I would enjoy some of those trees in our front yard. Wouldn´t that be incredible?!

We also spent a couple of days in Salento, which is a small town 6 hours south of Medellín with easy access to Cocora (a nature reserve) and several coffee farms that you can tour. We decided to enjoy Cocora by way of a horse ride...fun, but I´ve had my fill of horses for the year. The coffee farm tour was sweet...a small farm where we learned plenty about how coffee goes from seed to grocery store.

Ali and I have one more day in Medellín, and we´ll get on an overnight bus this evening for Cartagena. It´s time to repack...jeans and long sleeved shirts on the bottom, tank tops and skirts on the top!

Chava

It´s clear that we´re in another country. It´s amazing how much a border can change life... food, language (accent, words, formality...), landscape, facial features, height, prices. I do like Colombia a great deal, so it´s fun to be here again. There´s plenty to tell since the last post, but I´ll stick to one tidbit...

Chava

We´re currently in Villa de Leyva, which is a small get-away town north of Bogotá, Colombia. It´s gorgeous! I really could handle summering here every year :) Yesterday while sitting on a bench near the city´s center, a large, chubby, black dog came to sit next to me and try to make friends. His tail wagged and it was like I was an old friend he hadn´t seen in years. Understand that there are stray dogs everywhere, and they generally look for food and flinch away you get too close. They´re not loyal creatures. This black dog, on the other hand, is the most loyal dog I´ve ever met. He faithfully followed Erin and I through the town of Villa de Leyva all day yesterday...into stores, through the line at the supermarket, sitting next to us on the church´s stairs, and he even sat in the doorway of the restaurant where we ate dinner making others walk around him. When we left to horse back ride for a couple hours he quickly found us upon our return. Each time that we manage to lose him, he finds us again with tail wagging. When we finally retired to our hostel last night, he followed us all the way to the entrance while we had to keep him from coming in with our feet. Saddest scene ever... He is no ordinary stray dog. We never gave him food and haven´t even pet him. I keep calling it a he, but we´ve decided that she´s a she...her name is Chava. If you ever come to Villa de Leyva, look for her, but don´t get too close. It´s bound to end in a painful separation...


We´re off to Medellin this evening where we will meet up with friend Myriam who´s in Medellin for the summer and Ali who will fly in Friday evening!

Chao.