So you know those moments when you look around and you think, "I can't believe this is my life"?  I'm had a few of those lately.  The most recent being today.  I'm sitting here in my apartment watching the Green Bay Packer game.  At first glance, it feels like I could be sitting anywhere in the United States, except for two things.  First, the game commentary is in Spanish.  Second, I look out my window to the expansive city of Bogota with all their lights on.  It's beautiful.  (I tried to get a picture, but it doesn't really do it justice...guess you'll have to come visit to see for yourself, hint, hint)  I guess it still feels a little surreal to be here and call this city home.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I've been thinking more about home lately.  We're getting ready to start our 5th week of school here, but everyone at home is just getting started.  It just feels strange to know that life at home is continuing without me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a blast and there is no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to come here.  It just feels strange.  

Now on to something a little less sappy...I love living in the city!  The biggest place I've ever lived is Weston, WI (and we all know that's nothing to brag about).  Going from Weston to Bogota, which has about 8 million people has certainly been a change, but it's great.  There is always something to do here!  For example, yesterday a few of us went to a jazz festival, I'm going to go see the opera La Boheme, and I've gotten tickets to two concerts including Lady Gaga!  

It's not all perfect here, however.  There is a dog who constantly barks like crazy next to my building.  I just now figured out how to use my bank account and I've been here for a month and a half.  Services aren't always reliable.  But I think that the positives far outweigh the negatives.  The people here have been super friendly and helpful, even though I don't really speak Spanish.  There is always something to do, and usually someone to go with you.  It's pretty easy to get around the city using public transportation and taxis (except sometimes during traffic.)

Zipaquira

Things here in Bogota are definitely in full swing now.  We're about to being our second week with kids.  Fortunately both last week and this week are only four days because of holidays so we get to ease ourselves back into the school routine.  Classes have been going really well.  My schedule is amazing!  I have the kids for 55 minutes at a time.  We do a six day rotating specials schedule, which definitely has some pros and cons.  I really like it because it means I won't miss the same classes every time there is a holiday on a Monday (which is a lot here).  The downside is that there are some classes  that I won't see every week.  I think I'm going to end up liking it.  It will just take some getting used to.

Yesterday a bunch of us went to Zipaquira to visit the Salt Cathedral there.  It was a lot of fun!  Zipaquira is a nice little town to the north of Bogota.  We got there with just enough time to visit the Salt Cathedral.  You can also take a tour of the mine and I would like to explore the town a little more.  (Hint, hint...come visit so I have another reason to go back!)  The Cathedral is basically a series of crosses inside the salt mine.  It felt a little like going into a crypt, but at the same time had a sort of calming effect.  

3 Weeks!

I can't believe that I've been here for 3 weeks!  So much has happened that if feels like I've been here for 3 months!  A lot of you have been asking about my classroom so here it is...

It is amazing what can happen in a week!  Last Monday when I walked into my classroom for the first time, this is what I found.  Keep in mind that the kids were scheduled to come in just over a week.

The carpet was torn up, instruments were everywhere and it smelled like paint fumes.

Tuesday was a holiday (Bogota's birthday) so I didn't go back to school until Wednesday.  Here is what was waiting for me then.

In just two days, they had taken out the risers and put down the carpet. 

Throughout the next few days, workers at CNG moved furniture for me, fixed parts of the wall that were coming apart and put a second coat of paint on the walls.  They officially finished most of the work by Sunday afternoon.  I spent all day Monday painting, cleaning and organizing.  Finally by Monday evening, here's what I ended up with.  Just in time for the first day of school on Tuesday!

I suppose it´s about time for another blog.  We´ve been very busy these last few days.  Everything about Colombia has been wonderful so far!  The people are all very friendly and the food is great!  Still no internet at home, but hopefully soon.

On Sunday, we got picked up early and left Bogota for a small town called Villa de Leyva, which is about 4 hours north of Bogota.  It was a beautiful little artisan town.  While we were there, we got a chance to relax a little bit and meet the Colombian new teachers who will be teaching at CNG this year too.  We had a few meetings about the history of CNG and the culture of Colombia.  We also had our first official meeting with our building principals.  At night there was some dancing (yes, I did a little dancing) and they had a seminar for us where they showed us a whole bunch of fruits and vegetables from Colombia.  They gave us information about how to cook with them and we got to taste most of them.  My favorite of course was the mango, but there were lots of other kinds that I had never seen or heard of before.

Yesterday after we got back from Villa de Leyva, I met my friend Daniela for dinner.  She is from Bogota, but we met in Kenya.  It was so nice to see her again.  She is a student not too far from where I live, so we met when she was done with class.   This weekend we might go to some sort of food festival in the city center.

Hi everyone!  I just thought I´d take a few minutes and write my first official blog from Colombia!  I arrived here yesterday at about 9:30.  From there it has been a worldwind!  Officials from the school met us at the airport and helped take us (there are 36 new international teachers) and all of our luggage to the hotel where we ate a very late dinner and went to sleep.  This morning we were picked up at the hotel and taken to Colegio Nueva Granada, which is where I´ll be spending my days for the next two or more years.  At CNG we filled out a bunch of paperwork and got cell phones.  Then they took us to our new apartments.  My apartment is a small 2 bedroom with 2 bathrooms.  It also has a small living room and a kitchen.  Overall it is very nice.  It has wood floors and what I´m assuming is a fireplace.  I´ll keep you posted on that one.  I will put pictures up as soon as I can.  Tomorrow we´re off to get our Colombia ID cards and do a little shopping.

This is why Riverside staff is the best!

I know that this really has nothing to do with Colombia, but I wanted to share anyway.

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my blog that I will be keeping during my travels in South America.  I leave for Colombia on July 24 and will post much more once I get there.  I will be posting pictures and videos once I get to my new city.

The school I will be teaching at is called Colegio Nueva Granada and you can visit their website here.  I will be teaching 3rd-5th grade music there.