12 Days of... The USA

12 days and counting until I depart for Colombia. In the midst of wrapping, visiting friends, and snuggling with my puppies I've been getting more information about what to expect with my upcoming adventure. 

Today, I found out my school placement! In Bogota, I will be teaching English to grade 6th - 11th at Colegio El Minuto de Dios. This roughly translates as "God's minute" or "Minute of God" school. If you want to test your Spanish skills, you can check out the website. All the information I have received has been in Spanish, so it's been fun to get used to that. What I've learned so far is that (perhaps you could guess) it is a Catholic school run by priests for a diverse group of students from around Bogota. Also, since I can translate numbers pretty well ;) I see that my hours of teaching will be from 6:16am- 1:30pm. woof. That will take some getting used to, but I suppose I am a morning person. 


More is still to come about my host family and other details important to my new everyday life. Here in NH, I've been spending lots of time with my adult ESL students after class. These guys love to dance and eat (hence why we are friends) so I was invited to two lunches at a local yummy Mexican restaurant. We had a yankee swap yesterday and next week we are moving the party to Amelia's house so we have more space to dance. Quite a few of my new friends are Colombian, so it's been great to practice my Spanish with them and learn some Colombian idioms. First priority is learning my favorite snack food in espanol- which is apparently very popular in Bogota- Maiz pira which means POPCORN! I can probably survive without the peanut butter and goldfish if I get a steady diet of popcorn regularly.

My new friends at "La Carreta"

Yankee Swapping- Carlos (from Bogota) snagging the vase from Jing.

Now I'm off to finish up the traditional Bailey red velvet cake and make stuffed mushrooms for dinner tonight. Feliz Navidad!

Two Weeks Notice

Big things are happening with just two weeks left in the USA. My passport just came back with a shiny new Colombian visa inside. Yesterday I visited with my dear friend Matt and caught up with my fellow WorldTeach volunteer Natalie. I've also been running errands and making sure everything is squared away for the year. Packing is a pain because A) I am very bad at it and B) airlines have obnoxious limitations that make no sense. I was pretty excited to put to good use my massive bright-red-Hawaiian-flower-print LLBean duffle bag circa 2001. But alas, due to about 3 inches, I'll have to bring my boring, boxy suitcase instead. 

I've almost reached my fundraising goal. My last total was $1,745 out of $2,000. This is a huge help, and I really appreciate all those that donated big and small. 

The big news from this week has been the conclusion of my volunteer teaching in two ESL classrooms. After my last day in middle school tomorrow, I will post about all that I have learned through this experience. All I can say now is that I hope my students in Colombia will be even half as cool and inspiring as my students here (which no doubt they will be)! Hopefully in the next few days I will find out more about the school and grade I will be at in Bogota. 

In two weeks I'll be kissing goodbye to icy New England and saying hola to my new life in the Andes!

Viva Bogota!

Less than three weeks to go and I am so relieved to know I will be living in the capital city of Bogota! There are a handful of options for placements and my only request was to be in the interior of the country (as opposed to the hot, tropical coast). This is how WorldTeach describes Bogota for us:

Bogotá is located near the center of Colombia in the Andes mountains. It is the capital and largest city in Colombia with a diverse mix of people and a population of  nearly 8 million – the size of New York City.  Colombians from Bogotá are known to be very lively, friendly, and on-the-go. The economic disparity of Colombia is easily viewed in Bogotá, a city that has wealthy neighborhoods with upscale shopping malls and eateries to extremely impoverished areas and everything in between. The weather in Bogotá varies a lot, from cold jacket weather to t-shirt and jeans weather. It can be compared to the spring or fall in the northern U.S. with cooler rainy days or warmer sunny days depending on the season. 

The big city between the mountains.

 This isn't completely unfamiliar to me since I visited Bogota for ten days during the summer of 2010. My strongest memory was probably of how COLD it was in August. So I won't be shy about packing my sweaters and other typical Vermont styles I rock so well. This also means that I get a head start on the whole adjustment thing since I have fabulous Mayis and Natalia (friends from my Washington Semester Program) so close by!

Maria and me with Bogota in the background. It's cold and foggy- Just like VT!

I still don't know what school or grade I will be with yet and will hopefully find this out next week. I'm loving my volunteer classrooms so much that it will be hard to say goodbye to my students here next week. 

It's finally starting to set in now that my city in confirmed and I've started to chat with my fellow volunteers. Also dear friends,  start planning your vacation now! Jet Blue even flies there! : )

Teaching Preparation Part 1

  Colombia is now 40 days away! Now that the holiday season has officially started, my nerves and excitement have been kicked into high gear. I've been slowly starting to gather things together to bring and shop for the items that won't be as available in country. The main preparation I have undertaken this fall has been volunteering in two ESL (English as a second language) classrooms. This is a requirement of WorldTeach volunteers that want to become TESOL (Teachers of ESL) certified. Volunteering has also been a great way to get into the spirit of teaching and readying my mind for my new job.

  On Tuesday mornings I volunteer at the Manchester Adult Learning Center. There are about 25 students, all from very diverse backgrounds, in the advanced level class. Each class focuses on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. I've enjoyed observing the different teaching styles and curriculum of the fabulous teacher, Chris, but of course the students are my favorite part.

  This Tuesday was the Thanksgiving party which gives students the opportunity to learn about American culture in an authentic way.

Here is everyone enjoying dinner (three classes together).

 I've built some great relationships with the students, especially a few of the students from Colombia! Mache, Alba, Esteban, and Dalia have all given me some insights on what to expect during my year. Many of them are from different cities, so I've added to my list some new places to visit while I am there. It's so great to be able to learn from my students as much as they learn English from me. A few times I've tried to pick up on their Spanish and practice my own listening skills. They are always entertained when the roles are reversed and they are the ones teaching me. 

(From left to right) Alba, Mache, and me with Patricia who is from El Salvador

  I've also made some great friends from countries like Japan, China, and Lebanon. Volunteering in this classroom makes me appreciate the value we get from having friends from different cultures and communities. We can learn so much from each other when we both open our hearts and minds to new people and ideas.

  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel to a new part of the world and I'm grateful for all the support I've received from everyone! Muchas Gracias!

Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my blog! On January 4th I will be traveling to Colombia and teaching English for a year. I am so excited and hope to keep this blog as up to date as possible about all my adventures. Just to get in the hang of it, I will post a few pre-departure updates as well.

First off, if you were directed here by my donation page... THANK YOU so much for donating! And if you would like to donate Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support WorldTeach!

Second, I would like to explain the title of my blog. One of my goals during my year will be to become fluent in Spanish, and this is our first test. "Ella baila" means "She dances." Baila or Bailar (to dance) is my favorite Spanish word. This is because Bailar is just 2 letters away from being my last name Bailey, and how wonderful is it that my name almost means dance?! Way cooler than its original British roots. And also, anyone that knows me should know that I love to dance. Colombia is known for its fantastic music and dancing, so I hope this serves as a sort of symbol for my year of going outside my comfort zone.

Check back often as I hope to receive my site placement soon and will fill you in more on my preparations! Thanks!