Day 12

Best of the day: working with J.E.V. on her homework, counting by 5's, counting backwards by 2's, spelling words, and reading.

Worst of the day: not having been to Mr. A's foundation yet!
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Today the alarm clock went off, and I forced myself into waking. Then I reminded myself that I'm in God's hands here in Bogotá, and those two things made life right simple at five in the blessed a.m. And downright joyful. Plus, oatmeal for breakfast? Classic. :)

We took the school van to ECA, and when I got there, teacher's aide duties commenced. Getting the attendance folder from the main office (yes, I get to mark attendance. :) ), supervising the before school goofballing, and making sure Ms. W has what she needs.
Throughout the day, various similar tasks, identical exhaustion at the struggle to make children eat (which I still don't get), and then similar fun conversations with lovely people--teachers and students alike.

After school, I went to the alimentador (feeder bus) stop with the Torres family (a mother teacher aide with three adorable kids), and went along to the transmi with them until my stop at Prado, to tutor J.E.V. That was lovely. I don't know exactly what made the difference, really, between the successful heart-happy feeling of tutoring and the run-down feeling I get mid-day at school...but I loved the time with that dear girl. And her lovely family (they're the J.V. family who invited me to their church).

Then, I made my way home via transmi self-sufficiently, and walking home in time to catch the laughter wafting out the kitchen window from Marv & Judy's skype call with parents. I really enjoy these folks. :)

A chill evening, hopefully to catch some z's pronto.

Look at you, all bilingual without even knowing it. Pronto's Spanish. :)
xox

Day 11

Best of the day: a lovely post-church lunch outing with several families and individuals from the congregation. :)

Worst of the day: wishing I could have made it up the mountain today with Mr. and Mrs. A. But there will be other times. :)
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This cool breeze through the window, playing with my hair as I write, cannot be beat.

Hello, I am Ana Shalom, and I love Bogotá. :)

Since I last wrote, I passed my first day as teacher aide in first grade. I forgot to heat up the kids lunches enough in advance, so I rushed out at the last minute. Learning about soil was so engaging! I was starvingly hungry when I got to my lunch hour, and I very much enjoyed the bandeja paisa (a scrumptious bean soup with some beef and rice), salad, and platano chips. Then I sponsored the school bake sale, buying a cup of yummy vanilla ice cream with oreo crumbles. next it was back to work. I got to see the children practicing their la gata golosa dance for the cultural appreciation day that is coming up. Absolutely adorable, seeing the boys and girls walk up to one another (boys often looking more serious than I have ever seen them before), take hands, and dance towards the imaginary audience together. I helped with the afternoon math activities--a coin counting game, with American coins--and then helped with the get-ready-to-leave hyperactivity. I received several treasured hugs, and quickly prayed for these beautiful students in their respective weekend activities, hoping to see them all again, happy and well, on Monday.
After school, I took a public bus home with K, a Wheaton grad teaching kinder here, and then we met up at Crepes & Waffles with about twenty other teachers of ECA. It was a despedida (goodbye) for MM, the school's gym teacher, who is returning to Canada this week. He will be missed, that's for sure, and he seemed like muy buena gente (good people), the little that I did get to know of him. :)

Saturday morning, I got to sleep in. That was nice! But I am resigned to the fact that I am getting old, and that 8:30 wakeups seem like late enough. Proportional to 5:00, at least! I spent the morning watching an episode of Glee, skyping my family (and through that, watching another TV show with my youngest sister together), skyping an Ecuadorian friend, and doing various Italian grammar studies and exercises online. A well-spent morning, in my book. The afternoon proceeded to be tranquila, with lots of relaxing with Marv & Judy here at the apartment. I needed to refill the energy stores after this past week. Oh, and I got to skype with KW (a bestie from North) last night!

Sunday morning, I headed out to the autopista bridge to meet up with two of the teachers at ECA. I walked to church with them, trying out a different church today. And I really liked it. It is called Comunidad Cristiana de Puerta Abierta--the Christian Community of Open Doors. The people, the worship songs (two of which were my favorites in Bs As), and the speaker (who, at ECA, is the school nurse), and the community time afterwards...all exactly as I like them. It is a small church, about a hundred in congregation, and so it could quickly feel like a family. I think I may have found my Bogotá church home!
After church, I met and talked with various people, getting to learn many names through my new friend JV, the parent of the first grader I will be tutoring next week. He certainly is on a mission to find me a nice bogotáno to settle down with so I'll stick around. Which, you know, he can feel free to do, from my point of view. :) I love to meet new friends.
Speaking of friends, JV and his wife invited me to lunch with them and some others of the churchgoers. Strategically placed in the young D's car for transport, I got to know the V's daughters and niece and nephew. It was a short ride to Pompelmo, where we ate a tasty lunch. I wish you could have been there! The appetizers were small Colombian empanadas and patacones (twice-fried plantain patties...TASTY), and then came the jugos...orange, lulo, strawberry smoothies, mandarin, and others. Golly, please let this be the place God has in mind for me in the future. South American produce...invincible, incomparable. :) My meal was a chicken breast with creamy mushroom sauce, rice, salad, and french fries. Riquísimo. Others had some crepes, some had beef, some spaghetti, and D had a rice and mix-o-meat-and-seafood dish...which I tried, and loved. JV started off our lunch together by inviting his nephew to ask me whatever question he wanted me to answer. Poor kid, a middle schooler, I'd bet, started with how long had I been here. I answered, "Una semana y media--a week and a half."
JV, not satisfied with such a simple and easy question, told his nephew to ask again. I mean, he said, look how well she answered you that one. (Cue a flurry of compliments on my Spanish.)
So this time he asked:
"Sabías desde niña que algún día querías venir aquí a Colombia?" Did you know ever since you were a little girl that you wanted to come to Colombia someday?
My response? With open face, and a forthcoming explanation, "no."

I then had the opportunity to share with the table my experience in Bogotá last summer. If you haven't had the chance to hear that, I apologize for having deprived you of a big old story in which God let me play a small part. Ask me sometime.

They were, of course, very impressed at how God used this experience to bring about such massive growth and change in Barrio Egipto (a neighborhood) and it's notorious gang community. Also simultaneously struck at the brokenness in their own country, and how that had to happen to visitors--especially a missionary group. But, as I told them in all honesty, that experience of meeting the people of Bogotá in the various organizations we worked with, AND dealing with the initial ugliness and eventual radiant beauty of the Barrio Egipto encounter--these were the things that made me know I'd have to come back here someday. I still think I'm coming back again.

Looking forward to this week, it should be fantastic again. I have school Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thursday there is a no-car day, so the kids have off, and the teachers do professional skills conferences and workshops and some lesson planning. I don't think I am required to attend. So, I might take advantage of my new friend D's offer to tour the city a bit. Also, I can't wait for tutoring Tuesday and Thursday evenings, to get to know J & A more, and their daughters. I am quite content.

AND DADDY GETS HERE ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!! iuuuuuujuuuuuuuuu :D
xox

Day 8

Best of the day: the moment this morning getting off the bus at school when Judy (host mom) smilingly shook her head at me as she walked past. "What?" I asked her. "Your ability to make people happy when you surprise them with your Spanish." :)

Worst part of the day: rain while I was en route to tutoring--meaning sopping, sorry, cold Converse.
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Today as I walked across the bridge of the autopista (main highway), I saw those mountains again, with a sunrise and some clouds, and I got goosebumps and smiles. :)

I helped translate again today, which I love, and so we went through various construction and fix-it tasks in several apartments. Then, it started to rain, and it was time to leave for the Portal del Norte (the closest Transmi stop--UNTIL Saturday, when I believe the Santafé Mall stop opens!).

Arriving with NG to the student's family's apartment a little past five, I listened and leafed through home decor magazines while NG tutored. I'm taking over for her next week, while she's back in the States for some visa paperwork. A, the student's mom, brought us café y galletitas con queso--so generous and sweet! After the tutoring, the parents and NG and I had lovely conversations about Bogotá, our families, our hopes and aspirations... All good stuff.

I am very tired, and ready for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I start as solo full-on teacher aid in first grade for Friday and next week, while NG's away. Getting to know those beautiful kids better, and learning about the education process at the same time, is just fantastic.

Chau chau and blessings. xox

Tired and content: Day 7

Best of today: being told by a Colombian: "You're not a gringa." (in the senses of 1. my dark hair, and the paler skin common in Bogotá, and 2. for my Spanish pronunciation and vocabulary) :D

Worst of today: admitting defeat.
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This morning arrived way too fast. Rrrrahhhhhhhhrghhh.

At school today, I jumped around again. I joined the Elementary students for chapel, where we sang and played fruit of the Spirit jeopardy (bet you didn't see that one coming! It was great). Then I worked with the 1st graders a bit, and then supervised snacktime and recess. Today the children were truly struggling with obedience and respect of their teacher and us, the teacher aids. It was so out of character for what I've seen (and what the teacher says has been this semester's norm) so far. Discouraging. I hope to see growth and maturity in them in the coming weeks...
I then proceeded into odd-jobs mode. Someone needed copies, and this sheet to be cut into this many sections. The playground constructors (from the Illinois team)  needed some translating. The first graders had social studies to do, and that involved some writing, drawing and gluing, so I milled around the little desks with NG (friend, teacher's aid, from the States) with assistance.
Lunchtime with the teachers is always fun. One of the high points of the day, to be sure. I love the mix of Spanish and English I hear and take part in. Today NG and I were talking with and about some Colombians our age who've graduated from ECA and who we've both kind of gotten to know a bit (her more than I), and it was so exciting to put the pieces together from my mission trip to now. Plus I have a promised dance night with them! :)
The fourth graders had their trip to the library to check out books and return them, so I assisted in reminding them of library protocol--and we were read aloud (by my host mother) a wonderful book called Moosestache! By the way, the view from the library takes my breath away every single time. You're looking up straight into the mountains and the sweeping fog, or blue sky (depending on the time of day), and it's incredible. I might read more just to be in there!
After that came the hard part of the day. I had been assigned to J, a 4th grader in need of extra math help. I had glimpsed that on my daily schedule early on in the day, and had no idea how it was going to go down.

Now, I know 4th grade math is not calculus. It's not trig, it's not geometry...it's not even algebra. However, my weakness being math, how was I going to explain concepts I had to just memorize and not understand? And how badly I want to be able to help this girl--to be helpful to the school and for the teachers, but ultimately to J. Her (missionary) family's moved around so much that she has fallen behind, and I want so badly to be helpful, knowing just what being behind can be like.

But, as God humblingly showed me today, I cannot do it all. This was the first task I've been assigned that I realized I will not be able to fulfill adequately.

Defeat. Failure, feels like. I talked to the 4th grade teacher, and then together we talked to the principal to have a mutual understanding and figure this out. They were extremely gracious. The principal (SJ) was even showing me how this is what the body of Christ does. She explained in terms of not wanting the "hands" of the body to act as "feet"; they can, sure, but why not let the "feet" do the footwork. I felt a relief as I realized nobody expects me to be able to do everything perfectly. And, heck, even if they did, God never has and never will--and he faithfully brings me to my humbling place and makes me feel comfortingly small in his arms again.

Plus, he created Colombian hot chocolate. He really must love us, right? :) xox

Big brother and other grand reunions: Day 6

Bests of the day: Translating the entire day for a group from Illinois who came down to do repairs and construction around the school and the teachers' houses. The weather today--sunny and warm and blue sky with a few Toy Story wallpaper clouds. Being with amigos Colombianos. Finally, the moment in the Transmilenio (bus system here--gigantic and sprawling) station when I first caught sight of Felo.

Worsts of the day: Having to watch someone struggle towards understanding/accepting that this is not a time-oriented culture, but an events-oriented culture. The stress of taking the Transmilenio the first time, alone, while it was getting dark, and the rain starting to come. And wet socks.

All's well, gracias a Dios! xox

Hot Cocoa: Day 5

Best of the day: When J, one of the first graders, asked why I hadn't been with his class all day long. After only two days in their class, and a different schedule today, I was already missed. :)

Worst of the day: Being too tired to chase children one minute longer after school today.
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Another early morning today, getting to both the breakfast table and the bus stop on time. When I arrived at school, the elementary principal at ECA gave me a new and revised schedule for today: second graders, and a little time with the preschoolers.

I spent the morning doing teacher aide duties--filling water bottles, checking in attendance, checking homework planners, making copies, and meandering through the room during spelling time. I took the second graders to gym, and then the first graders to snacktime. That is like herding unhungry cats (and yet it's somehow fun). When do children switch to enjoy eating, rather than having it be a chore before playtime? I don't even remember "finish your food" as a command from guardians. Weird. :)

Then I helped with reading and math time in second grade, and then with their lunchtime. After that, I had a nice lunchtime chat with P, fellow gapper and former GEBC youth grouper. When naptime was over in preschool I helped get their backpacks ready to go home. They are precious!

After school, I helped supervise the kids of teachers, until it started raining. Then we all went inside, and I helped the first grade teacher get craft ready for tomorrow. It turned into me sharing my amazing-ankle-adventure story with both her and her primary teacher aid, both of whom have become my friends. It's amazing that I forget the amazing power of God's story of my own life sometimes. Wonderful refresher today. :)

Since then, it's been dinner, conversation, an episode of the Office, and dessert hot cocoa with host parents until bedtime. What a lovely Monday.

A walk in the park: Day 4

Best of the day: Sitting in the apartment-side park reading in the afternoon sun.

Worst of the day: The moment when the rain came and pushed me inside.
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Today I went to church with a few of the ECA teachers, to a church that uses the school's auditorium. It's called "Vida Bogotá". WHAT a LOVELY thing to be back in Spanish church services again! We sang several songs that I knew, and the sermon was well-delivered, and I very much enjoyed the whole thing. After the service, I spoke with a couple ECA folks, and talked with R, a student who had visited Glen Ellyn Bible Church a few months back. We talked for a short while--it's just so nice to reconnect where I never was sure I could here. :)

I rode home on the bus with the ladies, and had lunch at their apartment. Tasty pasta. Then I went back to the apartment I am staying in for the afternoon. I went and figured out how to get into the park right next to our apartment, and then spent an hour or so just sitting on the bench, reading in the sun, and listening to the gritas (shouts) of the kids on the fútbol pitch. It was nice. Soon, though, the weather changed (as in Bogotá it is wont to do), and I got cold and was beginning to get soggy.

I was able to skype with family after that, and then welcomed Marv & Judy (my hosts) home from their weekend trip to "hot country". I got slightly less envious when I saw all of poor Judy's vicious bug bites...

I'm about to start a full week, and am very excited at the prospects it holds. I might serve as translator some of the days for a work team that has come down from somewhere in Illinois. How cool is that?

Sending love. xoxo

Frogger: Day 3

Best of today: Adventuring to Usaquen with M & M (two ECA teachers).

Worst of today: Waking up from a grand old nap.
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Today I woke up at the apartment of my new young teacher friends, and had a lovely breakfast of oatmeal and pan (bread). Then I finally got to go to the ATM in the mall to get Colombian pesos, so that I am at least somewhat not depending on everyone else to fund my activities and eating. :)

After lunch, M and M and I left the apartment to head to the neighborhood of Bogota called Usaquen. This is a colonial style area, with a lovely architected mall, an artesan market in the square, nice parks, and great restaurants. We also got  ice cream at Crepes & Waffles. Life is mostly complete. (I chose maracuya flavor--a tangy scrumptious fruit.)

When it was time to head home, I was the one who waved down the bus. We got on, and drove down the septima (seventh street), and, well, rode the bus all the way to the station. Apparently we'd missed the memo that it wasn't exactly going where we needed it to. Hence "adventuring"! All we had to do was walk a few blocks more than we had expected to. Dios nos protegio. God kept us safe.

To cross the pedestrian bridge over the autopista (major highway), M taught me to play Frogger by imagining the bridge was the road, and running in mad fits and spurts to avoid the cars. The colombianos already look at us Americans funny as we pass--why not take advantage of that attention and live without shame and with lots of added fun for a moment? Locas.

This is the part where we took naps. I borrowed a princess blanket. :)  Then it was basically time to snack a bit, and head to the movie night with more teachers from the school. We watched "The Emperor's New Groove", and enjoyed it immensely. These are really cool young folks, we're talking. I like being in their midst a lot.

I am very much looking forward to a church service in Spanish tomorrow! chau chau xox

AJIACO: Day 2

Information on my blog structure. In case thou hast forgotten. I will do "best and worst" of each day first, followed by longer descriptions. Read whichever you're up to/able!


Best of today: Really feeling the beginnings of entering into the community of El Camino Academy, by finding the ways and the motivation to connect with the kids and staff alike.

...and of yesterday: When S--a 4th grader at ECA--recognized me from the one day of  summer school my mission team led in June. I told his class the Bible story of Samuel, for twenty minutes, and yet made enough of an impression on his memory to be recognizable. :) God's cool.

Worst of today: The leftover travel exhaustion that hit me with pink cheeks right after a fantastic lunch.

...and of yesterday: Feeling a bit out of place. But, you've already seen today's best and therefore know the improvement! :)
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This morning was an eeeearly morning, preparing for school with my host parents (he the high school principal, she the head librarian), enjoying a breakfast that included the Colombian equivalent of dulce de leche--arequipe--and walking out front to catch a ride with one of ECA's Spanish teachers.

Upon arriving at school, I took part in supervision duty: monitoring the elementary school kids before school. At first I was unsure of whether they would accept a newcomer to their games and laughter, but I quickly found an in, feigning ticklishness and finding myself besieged with new tickle monster friends. Pretty soon things got gigglishly crazy, and I had to think of some way to wratchet it down a notch. So, I started asking the children, "Letter or number?" One by one, depending on their response, I drew a number or a letter on their back with my finger, challenging them to identify what I'd drawn. They loved it! They crowded around to watch each kid's back while I was drawing, and prided themselves almost to bursting when they could tell exactly what I'd written. I made fast friends.

Throughout the day, I worked with the first graders again--I'm getting to know names and tasks and agendas. As the teacher aide N I am learning under has been doing for months, I'll be filling water bottles, setting out snacks, leading lines to gym and recess, warming up lunches, encouraging/finagling children to eat more, surprising kids with my Spanish, and helping in classroom studies and activities. I really enjoy the busyness and the order, and for how I will get to spin a little individuality in how I relate to the class. Today, for instance, in an effort to encourage more finishing of lunches, I brought back the letter/number drawing game--in exchange for two bites of ajiaco (FANTASTIC Colombian potato soup), a sip of juice, or a bite of salad. It was fun for all!

Recess times are precious. Especially today's post-lunch recess, where the boys recruited me to soccer field monitor duty...a post which, due to uneven numbers of the niños, rapidly switched to "team member". I scored a rocking goal that shocked the world and impressed them all. Win. :)

Then this evening, since school, has been relaxing. Dinner, internet time, and headed soon to sleep over at some new friends'. Blessings from Bogotá! xox

Happily surrounded by mountains once again: (counting by complete days) Day 1

I have at last made it back to the Colombian lands I find I have so much missed. :)

The travel day yesterday was nice, and it sure was a treat to have the 6-hour flight instead of the Bs As 10ish. When I arrived at the airport, the immigrations line moved quickly enough, and then baggage claim was perfectly efficient--hurrah for only one checked bag, and for having it make it all the way! Then at customs, the lady in front of me in line was so darling.
This little old lady was holding the customs form in hand, and it was blank. She asked me if I had a pen, and if I could help her fill it out. The poor dear: the letters were too small for her to read. All I had to do was read aloud the requested information for each box, and wait patiently while she filled it in. When we had finished, and had let about a dozen folks pass us by in line, she turned in her paper and made it through, with profuse thanks and "God bless you"s. I made it through customs shortly thereafter, and walked out to meet with Mrs. A.

How exhilarating to be back in Spanish again! I could not express how I've missed it. :) Plus, it's so exciting to be here in Bogotá, and looking ahead at all the fun times that await me in the short two months I'll spend here. I can guarantee you one thing right now: two months will not be enough. We'll see what I end up doing about that!

Last night I got to my host family's home, and met them and did some unpacking. Very excited, I almost couldn't sleep. But in the end I slept, sure enough. Travel sure takes it outta ya.

This morning, Mr. A. picked me up to take me to the school for the day. This is a private bilingual school, and I received my assignment: working as a teacher's aide in the 1st grade classroom. Now, these first graders are quite possibly the cutest and the biggest handfuls I have ever seen. And it's not the first time I've met the kids! I met them last summer, and recognized several of the faces today. That was really fun for me. I love the sense of continuity with this segment of my Gap Year--Colombia Adventures, volume II, one could say.

Anyhow, I spent the day shadowing the teacher's aide in the 1st grade room, and getting to know what duties will be like. It was fun. Then a good lunch break with various conversations--with Mrs. A. and her parents (visiting here for a while from Glen Ellyn), with W (one of campus' security guards), and P (one of the members of the team with which I previously came to Bogotá--we are both on gap years, and we both ended up here for some overlapping time!). Then back to some afternoon math and reading with the kids.

After the locura (craziness) of getting children into their respective buses or cars to get home, I joined some of the women staff in a Bible study, before coming home via school van shuttle service with my host parents. We went grocery shopping--as I jealously eyed the fresh produce and bread, another hard factor NOT to miss about Colombia!--and then came home for a pancake dinner and good conversations. As we'll be up early again for school tomorrow, I think we're all turning in now.

I am so thankful to be exactly where I am right now. And I can't wait to see big brother FeLo and the other Colombian friends I met while in Argentina. :)

Don't get snowed in tomorrow!

Who's up for round two?

How lovely it has been to be home! Quite strange not to have any particular activities, other than spending time with friends, but refreshing time at home. It's a blessing to have a family like mine, and a blessing to know all of the friends I did and did not have the chance to see during my holiday rest at home. Thanks, all. :)

Tomorrow I embark on part two of the Gap Year Journey, with a 7-hour flight path to Bogotá, Colombia.
I could not be more ready! The bags are packed--significantly downsized from the Buenos Aires trip--and I have remembered all of the things I forgot last time. At least, probably. :)

I am thrilled to be going back to Bogotá. Back, you ask? You mean to tell me, you crazy chick, you, that you previously have set foot on Colombian soil?

Yes, I have. It was lovely there. And the whole time there, I knew I just had to return.

If you haven't had the chance to hear the amazing story of a Bogotá summer mission trip in 2011 in which I took part, DO ask sometime. God worked in marvelously big ways through a group of about twenty teens and our leaders. This is the way I connected to the opportunities God has situated for me in Bogotá.

I met and worked alongside with some missionaries who run a private bilingual school and an inner-city ministry, and often network with churches and individuals from the Glen Ellyn/Wheaton area. When I sent Mrs. A. an email, she was very willing to set up a position for me as an elementary aid at the school. On some afternoons, I will also be at the ministry foundation. So I'll get a variety of experiences.

Things I'm looking forward to immensely:
    - (hopefully) seeing the same children we met and made friends with on our trip last summer
    - discovering Spanish in an educational context (versus the business context, seen in Argentina)
    - living with a missionary couple that teaches at the school; not alone!
    - meeting up with the Colombian friends I made in Argentina--the way the world gets simultaneously bigger and smaller all the time never ceases to fascinate me
    - flying. I straight up enjoy flying.
    - AJIACO, FRUTA, AREPAS, CHOCOLATE, CAFÉ... oops, overzealous Spanish there, sorry!      Translation: a potato soup typical of Bogotá, the fruit, the yummy cornbread-ish pancacke-ish bread side to everything, and chocolate and coffee.

Suffice it to say that I await this voyage eagerly. Even with a head cold.

¡Siempre Dios es fiel! Forever God is faithful!