My Bienvenida

I like Friday nights here. Well, I like them before it gets too late to be going anywhere by myself. Everyone is out doing stuff. Even in my little neighborhood people are shopping, buying food from street vendors, getting their hair cut... things are busy.

I met my TN manager and his LCP out for dinner. I've missed Domino's too much so I wanted to go out for pizza. We went to this restaurant that I don't remember the name of, but they have really good, cheap pizza. If only they had ranch dressing. Blanca, the @Andes LCP, just got back from Brazil, and it was really nice to be able to sit down and talk to her.

Afterwards we met up with a bunch of other @ers in La Zona Rosa, which is a really nice district of the city with tons of restaurants, bars, and clubs. We met for coffee at Juan Valdez, which is the equivalent of Starbucks. We sat there for a while just chatting and then went to a bar/club afterwards, which I also don't remember the name of. There were a lot of people there from @Andes and @Javeriana and there were a lot of reasons to celebrate. My bienvenida, my birthday, one @er just got matched to his TN in Belgium, and another leaves for his TN in China next week... so it was a fun party.

Partying here is definitely different than partying in Madison. Everyone loves dancing, but there are no dance clubs in Madison. The music is all reggaeton, vallenato, merengue, and salsa. I recognized probably two songs. You have to pay a cover charge to get into the bar, and drinks are super expensive unless you buy beer. And they only had two mixed drinks you could choose from unless you ordered something fancy. Instead you order a small bottle of the liquor you want and then you order your mixer, and you pour your drink yourself. Good thing we don't have to tip the bartender.

The next morning there was an @ training day, but I opted to sleep in and just meet Blanca and a couple other @ers out for lunch. I actually do remember the name of the place we went for lunch, it was called Crepes and Waffles, and they definitely have my favorite banana nutella crepes. So I didn't exactly eat lunch, because I wanted my dessert crepe. Afterwards a few of us went to one girl's house to hang out before the soccer game started. Her house was gorgeous. There was crystal on every table, paintings on all the walls, and her room was like two bedrooms combined. A bunch of other people came over later for the Colombia vs. Uruguay soccer game. Colombia lost, 1-0. Soccer is big here, but they don't really compare to Badger game days.

I'm feeling a little more comfortable now that I am meeting more people. It is hard during the week to hang out with people, but it seems like my weekends are going to be pretty full which will always give me something to look forward to.

How do you answer that?

Today one of my fifth graders asked me what pussy meant. I was so taken aback that the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "I don't know." And then he said, "damn it." Oh kids.

First day of school

Overall, not so bad. The school seemed to be in a state of chaos all day, and I wonder if it will be like that every day. But my classes went alright and I think that the kids like me.

School is supposed to start at 7:45, but no one even got off the buses until after 8. Elementary had homeroom scheduled for the first hour and a half, and my 5th graders are kind of a handful. I thought that some of my biggest challenges would be filling a whole classroom period with stuff to do or making my lesson plans. But now I think it might actually be classroom management. These kids are rowdy, and I cannot for the life of me get them to sit down and raise their hand if they have a question. All day they are running up to me and crowding around me shouting, "Miss, Miss, Miss," and refuse to wait until I am done talking to ask me their question. And they are especially rowdy right before lunch. And lunch is a whole blog post in itself. The students are given one hour to eat and play, but there is no system of how to move the lines and kids are running everywhere and pouting when they are told that they can't leave until they finish everything on their tray. (I, not surprisingly, am not one of these teachers.) I really don't even know what to do so I just stand back and watch the madness. There are no bells in the elementary part of the school, which makes it hard for the students to wait until I say it is okay for them to leave the classroom. And I don't know if the kids aren't understanding me or if they are legit not listening, because I have answered the same questions over 20 times.

School ended at 1:30 instead of 2:45, but of course I didn't find that out until about 12:45. It is really hard to get work done at the school because you have very few free hours. And the students never change their classroom unless they have Art, or PE, or a class along those lines, so I haven't been able to hang up any of the decorations I have made or organize my room the way I want it. I also don't really know where everything is just yet, and what the rules are on printing things and making copies. (I am pretty sure you have to get an ok from a director before you can do any of those things.) Other things that I am still getting used to is that sometimes the students stand up when the teachers enter the classroom. The first time this happened to me I didn't know what they were doing. Also, my school is Catholic, and I think that means we are supposed to pray during the morning. No one has told me exactly what to say or do, so until then I'm just taking attendance.

Today was already better than yesterday. I was able to put nametags on the chairs and put up my schedule and a couple other decorations. I am still not finished, but I am starting to feel a little bit more organized. The students were a little bit more settled today, too. I guess we aren't really starting the curriculum until Monday, so this week is mostly just introductions, easy activities, and games. After today however the week really caught up to me and I had to take a nap that was over 2 hours. I still have work to do tonight for my classes tomorrow, but I feel like I am going to be pretty swamped this weekend. I have to have my syllabus finished with dates by Monday and my lesson plans finished by Wednesday for 1st quarter and as of now I've barely glanced at my books. I'm looking forward to when I have everything planned out ahead of time and I won't have to be doing work every night after school.

I think that if I can get through this, it is going to be super rewarding. After the first two days I can already tell that the students need a lot of English help. Even some of the teachers... When I go into different classrooms I see grammatical errors all over their walls. But the students are really cute. They always give me hugs and wave to me on the bus and want me to sit by them at lunch. One student even told me that I was the happiest "Miss" he's ever seen. Slowly but surely I am learning how to be a teacher and how this country works.

Veintidos

Some observations so far:

The weather. I am not really a fan. Bogotá doesn't have seasons... it's like fall all year round. Except that it rains everyday and you never know when because one second it could be sunny and the next it could be pouring. Or it could be sunny and raining at the same time... I don't really get it. And it's not hot at all. For being super close to the equator, the mountains really decrease the temperature.

Traffic. I'm expecting it to take me a long, long time to get used to it. There really aren't traffic laws, especially once you are off the highway. In my neighborhood you can basically drive on whatever side of the road you want and there are no stop signs. I don't even know what a speed limit sign looks like. Besides no rules, this city is so crowded with traffic whether it's cars or pedestrians. There's a law here that certain days you aren't allowed to drive during rush hour according to your license plate number, and I can't even imagine what it would be like if all the cars were allowed on the roads. And even though the transmilenio is the fastest way to get anywhere, if you take it you better be prepared to get squished.

Creepers. Although my dark brown is already fading, I am really glad I dyed my hair. It is bad enough having blue eyes. I'm not creeped out when other teachers say something since I know them, but it's more of when I'm walking down the street and someone comments on how lindos my ojos are I wish I was wearing sunglasses. Also the people in Colombia are very friendly. Which is great at work and when I'm meeting other AIESECers. But it's not okay when you are on the bus and the guy next to you seems nice and chatty at first but then forgoes his own plans to take the same transmilenio route as you. Another creeper factor is that it is dark here by 6:30pm, which makes it hard to do anything after work. Last night I went to an ICX meeting at 7:30, but it was already dark out and even the security guard was surprised that I was coming home alone, although it was still fairly early.

Culture shock. I am slowly but surely learning the Colombian culture. Today I think I offended one of the other teachers when he offered to carry my books and I said I could handle it. And then yesterday my TN manager told me he thought I was spoiled. I don't think he meant to be offensive, but the last thing I want to do is come off as the spoiled American girl, because I am not. I like to consider myself as an open-minded person, and I like trying new things, and meeting new people, but the new stuff is on overload right now. Adapting to a new country, a new city, new people, and a new job is a lot to take on in one week.

The Colombian school system. School starts tomorrow and I am far from ready. Yesterday I was feeling much better about my job but today, not so much. Yesterday I received my books and my syllabus and went to a long meeting with the entire English department. We all introduced ourselves and talked about our concerns and everyone there is more than willing to help me with anything I need. Today I realized that the school always acts in a state of indecision and disorder. Everything is so unorganized which is really hard because I like my things organized in a certain way. You never know if you have a meeting to go to, where it is, and then once you go you switch rooms five times and waste an entire hour. Someone will say one thing when they actually mean something else. A lot of teachers still don't have their books and for tomorrow through Friday we won't even be teaching yet. The past three days I have found to be super unproductive and it is nearly impossible for me to get anything done during the school day. I also find it weird for a school to be so unorganized, especially when they call themselves one of the best in the nation. I'm so confused all the time even when my questions are answered in English but I'm hoping for things to fall into place once classes actually start.

Today is a day when I definitely wish I was at home, or at least have something around me that is familiar. There are two things planned for tonight and tomorrow but I have so much work to do that I doubt I will even sleep tonight let alone attend. I'll be able to celebrate this weekend, but I could really go for a night at Amy's.

Inefficiency

Efficiency doesn't really seem to exist in Colombia. Either Colombians are worse at making decisions than I am or I just have yet to figure out their system. Somehow my days end up being 9, 10, or 13 hour days which I have found to be really draining and by the time I get back to my apartment all I want to do is go straight to bed.

Yesterday after sleeping in a little bit, I met Angela's mom and her younger cousin. The four of us went out to lunch and then went shopping in search of navy blue shoes and some things to help me organize my room. Over four hours later we finally finished the shopping trip. We went to two malls and two other stores. It was awful buying shoes that I know I will never enjoy wearing, especially when there were really, really cute ones in every store. At least now I know where to go when I need some retail therapy. Last night I was able to finish unpacking everything and with a couple more additions my room is starting to feel like my own.

Today Sael picked me up and then we went to go meet the other new trainee, Scott, at his apartment. He's actually not that new because he did a 5 month traineeship in Cartagena before coming here, but he started working in Bogotá over a month ago so he is new enough. Scott lives with a bunch of other trainees, and their apartment is always full of people so I got to meet other trainees and other @ers from Andes and Javeriana. It feels good to start expanding my network here and add some more phone numbers to my cell phone.

Sael, Scott, and I went to Sael's house for lunch and met his parents and two sisters. His mom made us this traditional Colombian soup (I am not sure what it is called... something with chicken, potatoes, cream, and then you add rice and avocados) and wore a chef's jacket while cooking and would always serve me first. After lunch we had to cancel our plans to go to a nearby park because it was raining. I have been told that it rains at least once a day here and so I carry my umbrella everywhere I go now. Instead we met up with some other people from the trainee apartment to get coffee and hang out in El Centro.

I feel like I can use the transmilenio by myself now, but I am still uneasy about the regular buses. And although the transmilenio is the fastest way to get around, it still took me over 45 minutes to get home tonight. I feel like I have so much more to write about, but since so much is going on each day I am having a hard time putting my thoughts into words. Or maybe it is the switching back from English to Spanish that is throwing me off.

Tomorrow morning I will meet with the director of the English department to go over my curriculum, get my books and find out more of what is in store for me this year.

Adjusting to the Colombian Way

I'm sitting in my new apartment right now while my roommate, Ángela, and my TN manager, Sael, are discovering the Spanish magnetic poetry I brought. I hate to say that I'm wearing my lame pants on my first Friday night in Bogotá, but I have only gotten 14 hours of sleep the past three nights... I need to unpack because my room is becoming borderline uninhabitable and I desperately need a good night's sleep.

Where to begin...

As of Tuesday afternoon I was planning on changing my flight because I still did not have my visa. I was asking the lady from the consulate in Chicago a ton of questions about when I could pick it up, and caused her to call the office in Colombia. When she finally returned my call she told me that I didn't even have to go to Chicago, but instead could just travel on my passport and go to the Office of Immigration once I arrived. Go figure.

I flew out of Chicago to Houston, then Houston to Bogotá. I wasn't able to sleep, but I was momentarily starstruck when I got to sit next to a real, live Olympic athlete on his way home from Beijing. His name is Tyamba and he is from Angola, competes for Angola, but has lived in Bogotá for the past ten years. He's a marathon runner and this was his sixth Olympics. We chatted for a lot of the flight... he showed me pictures from China and all his sweet souvenirs. He told me about how he learned five different languages and how much he loves traveling. He also gave me his phone number and email address and told me to call him if I ever needed anything while I was living here.

My flight arrived Wednesday night around 9, and I was picked up at the airport by Sael, Ángela, and two other AIESECers holding a big "Welcome Liz" sign. We went to the closest mall to get coffee and chat for a bit and then to my apartment. My apartment belongs to Ángela's mom, but her mom doesn't live here. It is a small three bedroom and is still very new... still plastic on the front door and no furniture in the living room. I even get my own bathroom. My roommate is also in AIESEC and very nice but she's pretty shy.

Thursday was a whirlwind of emotions... probably aka culture shock. We left the apartment at 7am to go to the Universidad de los Andes where everyone in my LC goes to school. Getting there took over an hour and a half. We have to take a bus from the apartment to the stop for the Transmilenio, which is their main public transport system. It's basically a gridded bus route, that only the Transmilenio buses are allowed to take. While on the bus, I got to take a good look around and I am having a hard time pointing out what looks safe and what doesn't. My apartment for example is very new and has 24 hour security guards at the front gate. The neighborhood that we are right next too however seems very run down, old, and fairly poor, but the people seem much less sketchy then the neighborhood. I think I need to wait until I feel like I know the area.

The Universidad de los Andes is located in downtown Bogotá and has about 10,000 students. It's a private school and the most expensive in Bogotá. I waited in a common room fairly similar to Lakefront on Langdon, but without the lake, while Sael was in class. I got to meet a couple more AIESECers and then Sael and I took the long trek back to the north of the city to go see the school where I will be working at.

Gimnasio Británico is very different compared to any school that I know. It's a strict private academy from preschool to high school and located in Chía, a wealthier suburb just north of Bogotá. It is actually only about 20 minutes away from where I live. The school has a huge fence around it so you can't even look inside, and to get in you have to go through a gate with a guard. GB is trilingual... Spanish, French, and English. However, the students are only allowed to speak English except when in French class. Spanish is for outside of school only. I met my boss Catalina and she gave me a brief orientation and a tour of the school. I found out that I will be teaching English to 4th and 5th graders.

Yesterday I decided that my job has many ups and downs, and the downs are things that will take a long time to get used to.

Ups: I get my own classroom to decorate and do whatever I want with. There is a special bus that comes to pick up and drop off all the teachers so I don't have to pay for transportation. I get free coffee, breakfast, and lunch.

Downs: Goodbye sweet teacher clothes that I just bought... I have to wear a uniform. And it is probably the FUGLIEST uniform EVER. I was actually pretty upset when I was getting it because it is sooo different from me and I don't feel comfortable wearing it at all. I have to wear long plaid skirts, shirts with shoulder pads, TIGHTS, and navy blue shoes. (I don't know where one would even go to buy navy blue shoes.) Downfall #2 is that the free lunch comes with rules. Rule 1 being you have to clear your tray. (No big deal... I've been doing that since the first grade.) Rule 2 being you have to eat EVERYTHING on your tray. Apparently leaving uneaten food sets a bad example for the kids. This makes me super uncomfortable and I am worried that I won't even be able to take advantage of my free lunch because I will be eating so little so to make sure that I don't take too much. When I was younger my parents never would make me finish all the food on my plate. If I wasn't hungry anymore, then I would stop eating and that would be that. I would dread going to my friend's houses whose moms would make me eat my whole plate... I feel awful when I am forced to eat more when I am already full. Maybe if they took Nutri Sci with Panders then they would know it is actually very unhealthy to eat just to eat after you are already full.

I think that the thing that I am most nervous about is that I am feeling very overwhelmed with my job and not at all qualified. I'm not teaching conversational English night classes... I am a real teacher in a real school. This in itself is really scary and it worries me a lot that I have no experience whatsoever and have only two more days to prepare everything until the students come.

My nerves calmed down a little bit after today though. Today was my first official day as Ms. Elisabet. I met a lot of the other teachers and everyone is super nice and super generous which already makes me feel a lot more comfortable. When I arrived, people already knew who I was because most teachers started over a week ago and I was only one of the few missing. I always received nice welcomes from these people. Just like at home, no one can pronounce my last name. A lot of the teachers thought I was German and some others thought I was British. And for some reason, I cannot get anyone to call me Liz. I tried, and it's a lost cause. Ms. Liz has such a nice ring to it, but oh well.

Today was the second day that the parents and kids come with all of their materials and the teachers have to check them off to make sure they have everything that they need. I happen to be the homeroom teacher for 5D, which means I am in charge of 23 kids and dealing with their parents. Since I was not here yesterday, one of the French teachers did my work for me. Today he helped me the entire time which was super nice and made things so much easier. I know that this job is going to be very difficult for me, but I feel really good about how today went which definitely reassures me for what lies ahead. I still hate the uniforms.

I've learned so much about Colombia in the past two days and I can already feel my Spanish improving. But I am so relieved that tomorrow I finally get to sleep in.

Hopefully 5 days and counting

My flight to Colombia is in five days but I still don't have my visa. I won't find out until Monday morning which day I will actually be able to go to the Consulate in Chicago to pick it up. So I'm crossing my fingers that they get it Monday. Or Tuesday. I am surprisingly unstressed by the close call situation; my dad however, is not. But there is nothing I can do about it except wait and see.

Despite the fact that I may be forced to stay in Cedarburg a few extra days, my weekend of festivities has already started on a good note.

After an unsuccessful shopping trip last night with my mom, I ventured to a different mall and came out with a great assortment of what I've deemed to be teacher clothes. And as I was exiting through Macy's I found that the Fossil wallet which I've had my eye on all summer was finally marked down 40%! Score. Then, the woman behind the counter who had helped me check out told me how great my hair color was. AND, she didn't even know that I had just gotten it colored. I told her that she made my day.

Shopping basically consumed my entire day, because once my parents got home from work we went grocery shopping to get food for my grad party. Party food is probably my favorite kind of food. I can't help but binge on the glorious assortment. Not only do I love eating it, but I also love putting it all together... picking out which types of cheese I want, arranging dessert trays and veggie trays, and so on.

Tonight I Skyped with my TN manager so we could figure out my visa stuff, but we only chatted about that for five minutes. Talking with him has made me so excited to go. He spoke in English while I spoke in Spanish... which was very good practice for me. He thought that I had lived in a Spanish-speaking country before, but I am almost positive that he was just trying to make me feel better about my poor grammar skills. I also found out my living situation today which was very exciting! I will be living in an apartment with one other girl, also in AIESEC, with my own bedroom and bathroom, internet access, all for less than half of what I paid in Madison. (Although 438 was the Promised Land...) I think living in a trainee apartment would have been a lot of fun, but I am looking forward to living with an AIESECer who is from Colombia. (This goes back to those visualize your ideal traineeship coach sessions, and I would always do pros/cons of living with a host family vs. other trainees vs. local @ers, but decided that local @ers would be best for me. So I am happy that this is how it is working out so far.)

I still have a good amount of things to get done before I leave, but probably my biggest obstacle is packing. I'm not worried about packing too much (I learned my lesson last summer), but I'm struggling with the fact that it's not just a vacation, it's that I'm actually moving. I suppose if I can't get my visa on time, I will just have a few extra days to carefully think about what I can and can't live without.