So... What's Changed?

It's been almost a week since I've returned from Colombia, and as promised, I wanted to write again during "re-entry." Colombia is in my dreams and on my mind for many moments during the day-- as I wrap Colombian Christmas presents, eat snacks I haven't had all year, or drive my car and remember how glad I am not to be sitting in Bogota traffic.

And since I walked off the plane, welcomed by USA Homeland Security, I knew I had changed. My life had changed. I'm different now. "How," you may ask? We'll it's in the little things. I catch myself playing out conversations in my head in Spanish. I am now a coffee snob (Dunkins, I think we should see other people...). I want a small dinner and a big lunch. I was 20 MINUTES LATE meeting Ben for lunch. These things happen sub-consciously and I think, "Oh, how Colombian." These are the habits that you adapt to when living in a new place often seep into your being without knowing it.They only happen when you emerge yourself in a culture for enough time to become a small part of it. Only once you return to your "normal" place that these changes become apparent.

But then there are the bigger changes. These are the things I am still flushing out. The many adventures, experiences, and well... now, memories. My students made me more compassionate. Teaching made me more flexible. Bogota made me more patient. City life made me more independent. Cultural difference made me appreciate diversity in the USA. And being far from home made me thankful for such special loved ones in my life.

I'm happy to be home. I miss Colombia. I am ready for the next adventure. I am saying goodbye to this chapter. I am so glad I had this experience, stuck it out when times were tough, and made this year worth it. I don't know what my next steps will be exactly, but I do know this is only the beginning of my time working with education, public service, and South America. We will see where the road takes me!

As for tonight... I'm going to indulge in some Ben & Jerry's ice cream, snuggle my puppies, and be happy in the place I am at today.

What doesn't fit in a suitcase...

Today is the day I leave Colombia. My flight departs at midnight and I will be back on Beantown soil around 10:30 tomorrow morning. I'm wearing the exact same clothes I flew here in-- green sweater, scarf, and favorite jeans-- and I probably look the same too. But, of course, I'm not coming home the same. I'm taking home many more things than I could ever fit in a suitcase.

For example:

- A Colombian booty. That's right, I'm practically Shakira from behind. New pants shopping is high on the to-do list when I get home.

- An empty bank account. Such is the life of a volunteer, right?

- Arequipe, ajiaco, lulo tea, panela, aguardiente... Don't know what these things are? You'll find out!

- Quite a few more additions to my jewelry, shoe and scarf collections.

- Manicured and Pedicured nails. Things I would not do at home but need to take advantage of while I'm in a country where it costs nine bucks!

- A bigger vocabulary in Spanish, but a suffering English vocabulary! 

- Friendships with Colombians. So many great people have told me I will always have a home to come back to here. And I feel that. I will come back someday and it will feel like a little piece of home again.

- Friendships with fellow WorldTeach volunteers. I feel so lucky to have been a part of such a spectacular group of people. We have now shared a bond that will connect us for a long time.

- Questions. I came here with questions, and I am leaving with many more. But that is the beauty of exploration-- of places and of life. I honestly cannot say what my life will look like in the next year or even the next month. But one thing Colombia has taught me is to be tranquila and just let it happen. So we will see!

- Motivation. Some may also call this "itchy feet." I am so happy to go home and see loved ones, but I know there will be a point in the near future where I will be ready to go again. Go where? I don't know. Not a clue. But traveling is absolutely something that becomes addictive, and there is so much more of the world I want to see. I want to DO and SEE and GO! The Doing, Seeing, and Going is yet to be determined.

- A full heart. I can remember moments this year when I felt pure joy. I can remember moments where I felt absolute sadness and fear. Each tug of my emotions Colombia has put me through has made me a bit stronger and a lot more full of life. Not to mention the gifts my students have given me and the experiences of learning about this beautifully crazy country.


I'm going to write again on the plane tonight and will continue to post in the coming weeks. This chapter of my life is not fully complete, even when my feet hit more familiar land...

Heading "Home"

I just finished our End of Service Conference with WorldTeach and it was a great way to begin my final week in Colombia. Tomorrow I head to my favorite place-- Villa de Leyva. I've said before that it's a beautiful town and I will be with some of my favorite people. Then I return for a few final days in Bogota before my midnight flight on Saturday. End of Service kicked off my own period of reflection on this year and started to prepare me for the process of "going back home." I have some anxiety about the many unknowns in the future and I expect a good deal of reverse culture shock. The process of going home is so much more than a place or even a community I am a part of. Here is a quote WorldTeach shared with us that touches on the important aspects of how a year abroad changes you...


"The problem is the word home. It suggests a place and a life all set up and waiting for us; all we have to do is move in. But home isn't merely  a place we inhabit; it's a lifestyle we construct (wherever we go), a pattern of routines, habits and behaviors associated with certain people, places and objects, all confined to a limited area or neighborhood. We can certainly construct a home back in our own culture-- just as we did abroad-- but there will not be one waiting for us when we arrive. And this is true even if you move back into the same house you lives in before you went overseas. In other words no one goes home; rather, we return to our native country and, in due course, we create a new home."

-- Craig Storti, The Art of Crossing Cultures

My final lesson to my students

Well, that's it. My final day of classes. I ended each section with personal notes to each of my students and I read them "Oh, The Places You'll Go" by the one and only Dr. Suess. It was an emotional day for me and for many of my students. They are all between fourteen and sixteen years old, and sometimes at that age, life is really hard. Being their teacher was sometimes really hard. But I want to leave them with this final lesson...and I know a lot of you read this :)


The ten most important things I hope you learned from me this year:

10. Cultural exchange is really cool. People that are different from you are sometimes really cool too. Difference and diversity are beautiful things.

9. The "TH" sound means you have to stick your tongue out! It's not the same as "T"! And the "V" and the "B" are Vvvvery different sounds too.

8. Take care of yourself: your body, your mind, and your emotions. Eat vegetables!

7. The only things worth spending lots of money on are education and TRAVEL. Explore your world. There is so much to do, so much to eat, and so much to understand.

6. It is good to push yourself. Get outside your comfort zone. "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." It can be good to do things that scare you. (Like an oral presentation in English in front of the class or whatever.)

5. There is an "S" at the end of verbs in present tense third person. I walk, you walk,  she walks!" And please remember there is a difference between HE and SHE.

4. American English is better than British English. Hehe. No, I'm kidding!... but really...

3. Education is the most important gift you will ever receive. The best way to show you are thankful for it is to continue it. Find something you are passionate about and learn everything you can.

2. You speak English. Repeat. "I speak English." Yes, you do. You just had a full year of English class with a native speaker. And you can read this sentence. And you can understand at least 25% of what I say... YOU SPEAK ENGLISH! Have confidence in your talents, your English, and your SELF.

1. YOU ARE LOVED! By me and by a lot of other people too. As your teacher, I care about you and I care about your education. I want you to succeed. And most of all, if you think I helped you, I want you to go help someone else now. We call this "making a difference," and it means to change someone's life for the better.   I ask each of you to be a positive influence in the world.


Now go, on your own, out into the world... take with you a little more English, an open mind, and a lot more love.

Election Night in Colombia: "Look Colombians! Not all Americans look like me!" and other thoughts about diversity.

Well, now that the election is over, I can finally return to New Hampshire without the brainwashing of TV ads and robo-calls. It's weird watching such important events for my country from overseas (you may remember my Olympics post!), and it certainly gives you a different perspective on things. So here is my reflection, for whatever it's worth, watching the election from abroad.

First, if you didn't watch the President's victory speech, you should. It was not Democratic or liberal or political; it was presidential.

Second: One thing that I realized after living abroad, and actually miss about the states, is just what exactly having a diverse country means. Sure there are many differences between Colombians. But in the United State, for better or worse, it is relatively normal to have people around you that don't look like you, talk like you, or or especially think like you.

I like having Obama as my president while I live abroad, because I am constantly asked if everyone in America looks like me. Ummm, hello? Obama finally embodies this notion that, as he stated last night, "What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth"


All day today and yesterday the election has come up frequently and randomly. Everyone wants to know who I voted for, how I voted, and if I like Obama. Here are some examples of the conversations I had:

Student: "I like Obama! Who is that other guy?"

Student: "Ohh teacher, Romney is from Boston! He wins your home?"

Student: "I like Obama because he's black."
Me: "Why does that matter?"
Student: "Well, because he's different. Someone new." 

Student: "Romney is the typical, imperialist type of person that you had so many presidents like him."
Me: "And Obama isn't?"
Student: "No, because he uses communication. He acts like a partner."

Whether you think about this when you go to the polls or not, the rest of the world is watching us on election night. When I asked my students whether the US election was important to Colombia, they all unequivocally said YES!

Read this from Thomas Friedman's Op-Ed today:

"Many in the next generation of America know climate change is real, and they want to see something done to mitigate it. Many in the next generation of America will be of Hispanic origin and insist on humane immigration reform that gives a practical legal pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants...  Many in the next generation of America see gays and lesbians in their families, workplaces and Army barracks, and they don’t want to deny them the marriage rights held by others." 

I still can't believe that in 2012 we are discussing things like equal pay for women and men and the rights of rape victims. I can't believe it's not a given that whoever your family is and whoever you love doesn't define who you are and cannot justify discrimination.

Diversity is what makes our country exceptional, and tolerance is what makes our country great. No matter what your political party may be, I hope my generation continues to appreciate the value that people with "differences" have in our communities and our lives.

I hope in the future (not so far away), when my generation grows out of the "youth vote" and looks back on this time, we can all say we were on the right side of history. Not because we did or did not vote for Obama, but because we saw intolerance and decided to change things, by voting.

The playlist to my year

Every period of one's life comes with certain songs that trigger special memories and associations. This year in Colombia has been no exception. It's quite the mix of Colombian and American tunes, but each song will forever be one of my Colombian songs.


The sing-a-long on the bus song:  Luis Enrique "Yo No Se Mañana"
(Also my favorite Colombian love song)

The song everyone is singing in the bars and you can't understand the words:
Michel Teló "Ai Se Eu Te Pego"
(Spoiler alert: no one knows the words because they're Portuguese!)

The song to remind you what your students think of you:
Carlos Vives "Carito"
(The answer is they all have crushes on us)

The song that becomes a sensation in the States and nobody gets here UNTIL NOW and also describes a typical Friday night:  Carly Rae Jepson "Call Me Maybe"

The song to sum up Colombians' obsession with 80s music and desire to learn new dance moves wherever and whenever:   Michael Jackson "Thriller"

The song we here at our favorite bar as we get free drinks and life becomes complete:
Justin Timberlake (Featuring Nelly) "Girlfriend"

I swear I cannot make this up, every bar without fail plays songs from the past three decades. I have no complaints.

There's also an odd amount of show tunes in the public transit system (I've heard Mamma Mia more than I can count)

And finally, The song that echos throughout the city each day at 6am and 6pm. One of the most beautiful National Anthems in the world. (Don't take my word for it, there was a study!)

Himno Nacional de Colombia!
(There may or may not be a video of me singing the first verse of this on Student Day... I may or may not know all the words...)

Wills and Won'ts

As of today I have exactly 35 days left here in Bogota. This past week it's started to really hit me that things are coming to a close. I have only 13 classroom teaching days left, and I know that is going to fly by. As I cram as much as possible into the teenagers' reluctant brains, I've been thinking about what I will miss most (and least) about this year. Here's a working list...

1.  Will miss- my students, most of them, when they do their work and care about learning and speak          English.
     Won't miss- grading, making worksheets, lesson planning, teenage too-cool-for-school-ness.

2. Will miss- rocking my lab coat every day.  
     Won't miss- all my ugly clothes here. Most of which I am leaving behind.

3.  Will miss- practicing Spanish
      Won't miss- struggling to express myself in Spanish

4. Will miss- cafe con leche
     Won't miss- disgusting coffee at my school and when Juan Valdez doesn't open until 9ish on a Sunday!

5.  Will miss- The awesome albeit crazy Transmilenio and generally great access to public transportation.
      Won't miss- the super bad pollution and general traffic chaos.

6.  Will miss- So many fruits! Feijoa,lulo, mora, maracuya, guava, guanabana...
     Won't miss- PAPAYA! Disgusting feet fruit sneaking its way into fruit salads and silently terrorizing fruit eaters everywhere.

7.  Will miss- Cheap veggies! Freshest and tasty non-GMO tomatoes and lettuce and so many yummy things.
      Won't miss- walking by dead pigs in storefronts and general displays of dead animals.

8.  Will miss- Arepas, empanadas, and the plethora of street food.
      Won't miss- rice and potatoes at the same meal and constant carb overload

9.  Will miss- no humidity and no bugs at a comfortable 9,000 feet above sea level.
      Won't miss- the lack of seasons. I miss fall and snow and even sometimes heat.

10. Will miss- walking to buy groceries and city living with things right on the block.
       Won't miss- threats of street crime and sticking out wherever I go

11.  Will miss- Villa de Leyva! By far my favorite place in Colombia. And all of my opportunities to travel.
        Won't miss- I actually really like all of the places I've been and will miss them all...

12. Will miss- Simon Bolivar Park. The Central Park of Bogota.
       Won't miss- rain crashing our picnics

13. Will miss- Colombian music and dance parties. Especially Vallenato music.
        Won't miss- The dance parties in my house all night when I'm trying to snooze.

14.  Will miss- Ridiculously cheap haircuts and manicures.
        Won't miss- The risk of getting way too many layers or losing skin during a pedicure.

15. Will miss- Colombians' happiness, sharing, sensitive feelings, and love of having fun.
       Won't miss- General disorganization little "AHHH" moments of frustration living in a new culture.


Yea, I'm going to miss a lot. And even the things I won't miss I may look back on fondly after some time. (Except for the dead animals in the windows and the papaya. I'm really over that...)

Colombian flag on a street in Villa de Leyva