You're in a hairy...

It’s a lovely summer night but something is not right. It is 7:30 and it’s been dark for over an hour!! My initial response might be, “WTF mate”, but my mother has assured me that that isn’t a phrase a young lady should be using. Therefore, I shall not use it…but let’s be real, I just did. Love you mom and you won’t see it again. As a Michigander I tend to equate warm weather to long days…you’re not in Kansa *cough cough* Michigan any more Leannie. Sheesh. This darkness makes me want to curl up, read some free kindle books, and pass out. The long day behind me aids in that desire as well.

That long day behind me I just referred to was also an incredible day. Principal James picked me up from my apartment (I might have inserted my address there, but my sister would have gone crazy..love you Elise) and we headed out to see the school. It is an incredible place. My writings won’t do it justice, so I’m not going to try (or maybe my brain is on overload and I’m just not up for the challenge?). Let’s just say all the classes/corridors are open to the outdoors, we are surrounded by greenery and farms, and the school’s ecopark is fantastic. Biology teacher haven! YES! I feel like I escape city life – what a blessing. The first half of the day we passed locked in a board room going over different policies. It was a lot, but mostly beneficial.  The” we” here includes myself, the 4 other new teachers, Luisa (aka superwoman), and the curriculum coordinator Orlando. 

Anyways, the biggest thing I came out of there with is that I love listening to Colombians speak English. Ha! My favorite was when Orlando was explaining something and said, “blah blah blah…you’re in a hairy…blah blah blah” Ha! I think he was trying to use the idiom “in a hairy situation” but missed the last word.  I silently chuckled and looked around the room. It didn’t seem anyone else found it comical – heck, I thought it was great. What a wonderful man though and apart from that blunder his English is near perfect. I guess he organizes the staff volleyball league too – we will be friends. More on that to come later.

After the morning there we had lunch and toured the school. Did I mention that it is gorgeous? We met several people, of whom I don’t remember many names, but they all extended a warm welcome to us.  After the tour Luisa took 2 other teachers (Stephen and Laura) and me down town to get our “cedula”. This will be my ID card while in Colombia. Luisa was our mother hen and we were chicklets  (biology disclosure, I do know they're just called "chicks"...but I like chicklets better tonight) following her around from location to location and doing what we were told. An extremely complicated process for a foreigner becomes easy when a local, who has helped over 20 teachers do it in the past, takes control.

Although the Red Cross gave me a sweet card with my blood type on it, Colombia didn’t accept that so they had my finger pricked again to verify. It was legit. The nurse squeezed some of my blood on a slide and then someone else looked at it right there and told me I was A+ (mind you, not read “A plus” but “A positive”…we aren’t working in the school system anymore). What do you know, that’s exactly what I was told in the US. Good thing my blood type hasn’t changed? From there we went and got passport style pictures. In my introduction letter it told me to bring 7, yes SEVEN of my own pictures (at the grand ‘ol price of $45). Good thing I didn’t and was being rebellious because I don’t even need 1 of my own – Luisa had it taken care of. At the end of this all we went to the immigration building. Sadly, we were running too late and by the time we got there (4:50) they wouldn’t accept our documents. Again, Superwoman took care of it and we will return tomorrow.

From there I was dropped off at my apartment. I’m still not certain how to get there, but tomorrow I’ve committed to walking around my neighborhood to get my bearings. I should probably go to the store too, as my diet has been…interesting…since I’ve been here. I’m sure that will be an experience in itself. I’ll relive that for you all another day. 

I've exhausted of writing for now, so until next time…don’t find yourself in a hairy!