So I am finally getting around to updating and the idea of thinking back over everything that has happened in the last month is extremely overwhelming! But, here it goes! This entry should have been at least four separate entries, but since that didn’t happen, I am going to split this entry into four parts: Washington Wonderings (all about my week back in PA spent getting ready to leave again), La Isla del Encanto (all about my week in Puerto Rico), Bogota Beginnings (all about my first few weeks in Colombia), & Bobby Pins (all about my trip back to PA for a wedding).
Washington Wonderings
My visa process went a little like this: 6 days before I left the states I drove to D.C. My wonderful sister-in-love Lori joined me for this mini road-trip. It started in New Holland with getting documents notarized, then on to Harrisburg to the Secretary of State’s office to get documents apostilled, and then on D.C. to apply for the visa. Well, as it turns out I was mistaken and thought I needed to go to the Colombian Embassy. After waiting in the waiting room for an hour I was taken into an office and the lady started asking me what my work was. When she realized I wasn’t working for the government she had to sadly turn me away. Apparently the secretary must have thought I looked like a government worker or she would have turned me away from the beginning rather than have me wait an hour for the visa office to open. Anyway, it was a really awful feeling, especially after I was told I actually needed to be at the Colombian consulate and it was already closed for the day. But, the lady was super sweet and gave me two bags of Colombian coffee as a way of saying sorry. So, I had to head home empty-handed. The next day, bright and early I headed off once again to D.C., this time alone and this time to the consulate. Walking into the consulate I felt like I had already stepped into Colombia. I waited my turn in line and after my paperwork was quickly glanced over I was told everything was there and to come back Monday for my visa. Well, as it turns out, my flight was on Monday…and I was flying from D.C.! It was a little nerve-racking to do both in one day, but everything worked out perfectly. Me, my sister Steph, and sister-in-law Lori left early for D.C., I picked up my visa with no problem and even had a few hours to hang out before heading to the airport!…Just another lesson in faith and flexibility!
I took a lunch break by the Jefferson Memorial (Washington Monument in background.).
La Isla del Encanto
So that Monday I flew to Puerto Rico to spend a week with Olga and her family before heading on to Colombia. It was a wonderful time of relaxation and a fun way of slowly immerging into the Spanish language and culture. I had a wonderful time getting to know Olga’s family and exploring a little of the island. Highlights included the beautiful Old San Juan and teaching Olga’s family the game Dutch Blitz!
Side note: San Juan wins for the most interesting baño experience ever! I didn’t even have to use the bathroom, but I was encouraged to anyways, just to have the experience! We had to line up outside and wait to be told to enter. I’m not sure how much it cost…somewhere between fifty cents and a dollar. While in line we were given a baby wipe to clean our hands. We were then escorted to our stall, given a piece of toilet paper and told where to place our purses. The lady then proceeded to wait for us to finish and then told us what sink to go to. She turned on the water for us and even squirted soap into our hands and handed us a paper towel. It is a single elderly woman who runs (and apparently owns?) this bathroom and she monitors both the male and female sides. While it sounds like a nice case of pampering, it was really just rather creepy and awkward!
With Olga's family in San Juan, PR.
Bogota Beginnings
Week one in Bogota was spent as a tourist. Olga and I arrived one week before teacher training began, since this was our original plan back before I committed to staying and teaching. We scooted around on public transportation, shopped at the local grocery stores, ate out at some yummy restaurants, visited Olga’s family, and visited some museums and attractions. Highlights include a Saturday touristic train ride through Bogota and some surrounding towns and a visit to the Salt Cathedral. Let me just take a minute now to talk a little about public transportation. Public transportation in Bogota is a wonderful thing, but also quite an experience. You have to be willing to give up your personal bubble. You also have to be able to balance yourself with one hand while holding on to your bag with the other. You also have to understand that pushing is okay and even necessary if you hope to get on and/or off. This is in reference to the Transmilenio (or Transmi for short) which is the main form of transportation. It is like the subway except for that it is above ground and buses rather than trains. The nice thing is that all public transportation is fairly cheap. Other options are buses and taxis, also both rather cheap, but still can be quite the experience.
At the end of our first week we received word that our house was ready for us and we could move. We spent the weekend moving and settling in to our place (we had been spending the previous week camped out at an empty apartment belonging to returning teachers who were home in the states for the summer). It has been fun setting up house, but also a learning experience figuring things out, like utility costs and bills and getting needed house repairs made, as we are the first ones from the school to live in the house.
The next week started a few days of new teacher orientation and then more days of whole staff training. Training continued into the next week as well, also including time to work in and set up our classrooms. Throughout this time I was so impressed with everything I was hearing and seeing…the way the school was started, everything it stands for, the way it operates today, the hearts of the people who keep it running! As crazy and scary as this is for me to even say right now, I am already processing the idea of staying another year! It is just so neat to be able to be a part of this place and I know this year will be full of learning…staying a second year will be that much more fruitful!
Aside from school, I am learning to know and love my community in the north of Bogota! I am equally enjoying and appreciating the little and large things: street performers (jugglers…perform in front of your car while stopped at a red light); the beautiful mountains; drinking soda from a glass bottle with a straw (favorites = quartro (citrus) and manzana (apple)); street vendors (anywhere and everywhere selling anything and everything!); so many kinds of fruit; fresh bread; buying everything in a bag (milk, water, yogurt, marmalade, ketchup, pickles...); cheap manicures and pedicures; the unique corner stores and whole-in-the-wall restaurants that make our neighborhood unique; and and even the altitude (which thankfully hasn’t affected me!). Oh, and I felt my first ever Earthquake during the first week of orientation! I almost didn’t even realize it until all the people around me reacted!
The first few weeks in Bogota also held these neat experiences: going to a professional soccer game, visiting the Recycler’s community (this is a ministry that the 9th graders from school will be involved in…the Recyclers go around Bogota with horse-pulled carts and sort trash piles in search of recyclable items. The Recyclers work and live together, sharing supplies and income.), getting to worship with Hillsong London at a local church, and visiting different churches with co-workers and school families.
Another joy has been meeting lots of people, learning to know them, and hearing their stories…and there sure are tons of fascinating people with fascinating stories. Olga and I are a unique combination of American and Colombian and English and Spanish which seems to make people really curious and willing and open to talking with us. It has been so neat! Aside from all the amazing staff, parents, and students of El Camino, my wonderful roomies (Olga and Marianne (kindergarten teacher)), and Olga’s wonderful family who have welcomed me like one of their own, these people have found a special place in my heart and I hope to be able to continue building relationships with them:
Joyce (girl about my age who owns her own pizza shop in our neighborhood)
Lilliana (works in a beauty shop and gave me a manicure—since then I keep running into her while shopping at the shopping center where she works—plan to get my hair cut by her tomorrow)
Sandra (Friend/neighbor of the director of the school. She also did my nails and actually came and did it at my house!—I never got my nails done in the states except for a wedding, but in Colombia nail appearance is very important and men and women alike get regular manis and pedis…it’s dirt cheap and in this case it’s a double blessing…I get my nails done for cheap and in turn provide a source of income to someone who can really use it)
Manuel and Alirio (the two guards who rotate 24-hour shifts and are stationed right in front of our house! They are such a blessing…so kind and so helpful! They always put a smile on my face!)
And I can’t forget about all of you back home! Thank you for your ongoing love, support, and encouragement! I enjoy keeping up with some of you on facebook and others through e-mail (it has been so encouraging to check my e-mail at different times and find unexpected messages from some of you, sending some encouraging words or just checking in). I would also love to skype sometime!
House-covered mountainsides of Bogotá
Bobby Pins
I took a whirlwind trip home to PA in early August to be a part of my good friend from high school, Steph’s wedding. I left my place in Bogota at 5:30am and arrived home in PA 3:30am the following day. That morning I did some quick running around (when people hear you are going to the states, you get all kinds of requests for things that you can’t find in Colombia) before heading to rehearsal and pre-wedding festivities. The next day was the wedding and I left the reception early to get home, repack (only possible with the help of the Thiesen women speed packing team), and leave for NYC for my flight back to Bogota (blessed by the company of my dad, brother, and sister-in-law along for this trip)! I was also really glad for the opportunity to see all my family that night, who were gathered together for my dad’s birthday.
At the security check-point in JFK I set off the metal detectors for the first time ever…the culprit?...33 bobby pins from my wedding up-do! While the pat down that proceeded was rather annoying, I still found the whole situation to be rather amusing (and, I managed to keep that hair-do for the whole 5 hour flight in which I slept and the first day of school that followed!). I arrived in Bogota 7:30am Saturday morning just in time for the first day of school! I arrived to school at 8:45 in time for a teacher meeting at 9am and students’ arrival at 9:30 am (Wonderful parent volunteers from the school gave me rides to and from the airport, making the coming and going a lot less stressful!). I’m so thankful that God had his hands in my plans, schedule, and timing, allowing everything to fit together perfectly and allowing me to stay fairly rested, calm, and collected through it!
Home for a wedding, high school friends Jeneva and Steph (bride).
And now back to Colombia…
The first week of teaching went well. As a first time teacher, I survived by planning and figuring things out day-by-day. I am blessed by a wonderful full-time Colombian aide, Erika! We get along well and she is a hard worker, creative, and wonderful with the kids! She has two daughters who are in 3rd and 5th grade at the school.
This past weekend I had to opportunity to go to Prado, a town about 5 hours from Bogota. I went with several other teachers and we stayed at a place that is owned by a family from the school. They rent it out to us for a very reasonable price. (Our student’s families bless us teachers in so many ways!) Anyway, it is kind of like a camp on an island in the middle of a huge lake. There are several small cabins and a main dining room/hang out area. It was a wonderful time of relaxation and re-energizing and good fellowship with other teachers. We took a 2 hour swim across the lake to another island, went water skiing, went to a waterfall, played games, and ate some good Colombian food!
Prado: Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun), where we stayed.
Monday was a holiday and then Tuesday it was back to school. It is hard to believe we have already completed two weeks of school. I am really enjoying my students and beginning to learn to know them individually (there are 7 boys and 13 girls, 20 in all, 19 of which are native Spanish speakers and 1 native English speaker).
Last week I picked up my Cedula…my Colombian ID card! It felt so good to have it after two long visits to DAS (Department of Administrative Security). It was quite an experience! First, a trip to the lab to get documentation of my blood type (crazy, but I never before knew my blood type!), then paperwork to fill out and copies of documents, then a trip to DAS, then pictures (now this was an experience, two people come rushing out and hold up a blue cloth against the wall of the bus stop shelter thing and take your picture and then run off to develop them and ten minutes and $4 later you have 8, 1inx1in photos, and you only need two…and they aren’t pretty to keep for souvenirs or give out to friends because you can’t smile), then wait in line to turn in the application and $70, then wait for your name to be called, then go to get fingerprinted the old school way and by computer, then wait to get your passport back stamped with your number, then come back in a few days and wait in line again and finally you are the proud owner of a Cedula (that is if they don’t spell your name wrong and you have to get them to redo it, which happened to one of the teachers)!
What’s next?
This week starts the third week of school! I’m also excited for Spanish class and tutoring and my women’s Bible study to start soon! Also, open house and a teacher’s retreat are coming up in September!
Coming Soon to a blog near you: inside peak into my life and work in Bogota…pictures of my house, community, and school!
Praise the Lord for safe travels, good health, providing for all of my needs, the ways He has placed people in my life, and for a successful first two weeks of school!
Prayer Requests:
-Pray for strong, positive relationships to be forming among students and staff at El Camino.
-Pray for the students’ minds and bodies to be ready for learning and growing and for myself and the other teachers to be able to communicate and teach effectively.
-Two of my students have parents recovering from illness and surgery…pray for their recovery and for me to know how to reach out to them.
-Pray that construction at the school will continue to advance…
-Pray for me as I settle into a routine, that I will set limits and evaluate priorities in order to find a good balance between being the best teacher that I can be and also remembering that I need to care for myself and that I am doing everything for the glory of the Lord.
-Pray for Colombia: a car bomb exploded last week in Bogota (several injuries, no deaths), which was believed to be a challenge to the new president, Juan Manuel Santos.
