Mid-service Conference and Bogota

Joy and I at lunch in Bogota

Well we are through half the year now and it is time to look back and reflect on everything that we have achieved and overcome.  A few weeks ago it was time to regroup with some of the other volunteers.  Dale and I took a 30 minute flight to Colombia’s capital, Bogota, where we met with the other 17 interior volunteers.  The bus buzzed with stories of all of our adventures as we drove to Fusa, Bogota’s neighboring town.  We settled into our cabin-like “resort” that was equipped with a pool, bar, restaurant and a game room.  We spent the whole weekend catching up and swapping stories and comparing schools and placements.  It was refreshing to hear how everyone is working through similar struggles and interesting to hear how everyone’s experiences have been so different from one another.  Having the support from other volunteers and the field staff is a very important part of this experience and it was great to take the time out of our busy lives to be with one another.

  Luckily, after the conference was over Dale and I did not have to go right back to Medellin so we stayed with Dave and MR, another WorldTeach married couple, for a couple more days.  We drank wine, ate pizza, and played cards and I was so happy to have a family game night with the other volunteers!  We also had a chance to do some sightseeing before I became ill, perhaps a travel bug, and I had to call my evening short. This trip was the first time that we really had a chance to see the city and it was a great city to be in.  Bogota is like Medellin’s opposite and it is very interesting to see the differences of the two biggest cities both of which are so close to one another.  Some differences that I noticed is that Medellin is sunny and Bogota is rainy, Medellin is cookie cutter and very modern looking while Bogota’s buildings look historic with a lot of character, Medellin is a big city that feels small but Bogota is a big city that feels very big.   Both cities have good and bad attributes but I am very happy to be living in Medellin.

Fiestas and Ending the Semester

Colombians love to celebrate! We had the opportunity to go to a great fiesta thrown by the school for Teacher's Day.  We were invited to the party only a few days before the event; which is more advanced notice then usual.  We were told that we MUST cancel our classes for this big event, because of coarse a party is much more important then teaching any class (just one example in the difference of priorities.)

We arrived on time to Uniminuto, which of was way too early, to be greeted by 3 buses ready to shuttle the teachers to the restaurant where we would be for the rest of the evening.  As we jumped into the bus to wait for the rest of the teachers to arrive we received an envelope of tickets; one ticket said rum and one ticket said food.  I thought how nice it was to include a drink for everyone with their meal.  To my surprise I found out that the ticket was not for one drink but for a bottle; Colombians sure know how to party.  Needless to say everyone had a great time; drinking, dancing, and eating.  

Later as I was thinking about this great night;  I thought how strange it was to have such a party.  I know that in the States the schools that are struggling would cut such an extravagant party first or at least cut back.  Perhaps we didn't need to have 3 buses or a whole bottle of liquor or such large portions of food, etc.  Whereas I enjoyed the party I can't help thinking that maybe if they had cut back then they could afford to put the money towards what I would consider more important things; the school is certainly lacking in more then one area.  Maybe this is yet another difference in our cultures (can't say that I didn't enjoy it!) 

 We are now at the end of the semester and it seems like we just started yesterday.  It was difficult to say goodbye to the classes that I loved teaching but it is also very exciting to know that I can start all over again with new groups of students next semester.  All the students were so thankful to have been OUR students and they showed their appreciation in many different ways but one class went above and beyond my expectations.  After I gave my very difficult final exam to my Friday night class they returned to the classroom to surprise me with a giant cake that read "Tank you teacher." They presented me with gifts and as we all enjoyed the cake they played a slide show of Virginia with Metallica music, perfect.  Although I may have stumbled through my first semester of teaching it was very nice to see that they appreciated my hard work.
Now for a great two month vacation!