Twelve.
The number of days we sing about each year at Christmastime. But, if I'm being honest here, I'm not really concerned about that anymore.Christmas has come and gone. And I have gone and come. Ha. What a sentence. What I mean is I have left Colombia and have come back. I've been back for 12 days now. Nearly two weeks and my readjustment period is coming to a close. This time around it's been a little bumpier and has lingered a little longer. The things I had become accustomed to here pre-vacation kind of just smacked me in the face all over again. And I laugh. Oh Colombia. How I love to dawdle in my gringa-ness all over again.
A voice of reason has minimal influence here. I've been reminded of that several times. For example, I could easily see this happening: Steve and I go out to a sandwich place for lunch. The special is a ham and cheese sandwich for $6,900. I ask for mine without cheese. When I get my bill it's for $8,500. Confused, I ask the cashier about the special. "No, that's for the ham and cheese." Yes, I understand that. I ordered that but didn't want cheese. "Well that's a ham sandwich, so it's $8,500." We go back and forth, I give up, pay and leave. I guess taking cheese off costs more than putting it on. There are many things like this that just don't make sense. But in all forms of lack of reason it's easy to shrug it off and remember: Oh yeah, I live in Colombia. That seems a good way to close a paragraph, but I want to add one more tidbit: the "because yes." When challenged with a "why?" my kiddos frequently respond, "Because yes." Ha! Of course that's excellent reasoning. The nonsense reverberates through the youth as well.
Along this line, being back has taken a toll on my English. I spend approximately 5 hours a day hanging out with teenagers who don't speak English well. It rubs off on me after a while. Running into class as the bell rang, one student slipped into another persons seat. The poor victim was left without a chair and they both knew they'd get a tardy. I quizzically looked at the offender, "You can't steal him the seat and expect not to get a tardy." Steal him the seat? Wow Leanne. And that just scratches the surface.
Another wow: While being home I forgot how incredible my staff members are. The first day being back at school we all showered each other with hugs, kisses, and lots of Spanglish chit-chat. This is followed by playful jest and messing around during meetings. This comradery at work is what keeps me going.
What else keeps me going? My lovely kitty-cat who is just a little quirkier than I remember. I talk to her. She keeps me company. We've developed quite a relationship. She's weird though. Allow me to expound. My parents have taught me a heck of a lot about life. One that's pretty high up on that list is drying off before getting out of the shower (thank you Scott!). So I turn the shower off, open the door, grab my towel, and in saunters Ami. I dangle the towel in front of her a few times and she bats at it. Kinda cute. Then she proceeds to bite it and play tug of war with me. If I give her any slack she'll go ahead and just carry the towel into the bedroom like it's her stuffed animal or something. This happens frequently. Kitten, you are weird. Perhaps weirder than when I left you a month ago. But it makes me smile.
More readjustment. Hearing Spanish everywhere. I was chilling at a cafe sipping coffee and overheard the couple sitting next to me speaking in Spanish. "Woah! Spanish, I wonder what they're saying....o wait. You're back in Spanish land." The brain is slowly switching back to living in this place.
I suppose I could go on and on. Things are just much more different than I remembered them ever being since arriving. Not that it's bad. It's kind of fun re-experiencing Colombia. I'll leave it at that for now. Why? You might ask. Because yes.
...and I'm a tired pumpkin ready for some shut-eye. This teaching thing is a lot harder than I remember too!
The number of days we sing about each year at Christmastime. But, if I'm being honest here, I'm not really concerned about that anymore.Christmas has come and gone. And I have gone and come. Ha. What a sentence. What I mean is I have left Colombia and have come back. I've been back for 12 days now. Nearly two weeks and my readjustment period is coming to a close. This time around it's been a little bumpier and has lingered a little longer. The things I had become accustomed to here pre-vacation kind of just smacked me in the face all over again. And I laugh. Oh Colombia. How I love to dawdle in my gringa-ness all over again.
A voice of reason has minimal influence here. I've been reminded of that several times. For example, I could easily see this happening: Steve and I go out to a sandwich place for lunch. The special is a ham and cheese sandwich for $6,900. I ask for mine without cheese. When I get my bill it's for $8,500. Confused, I ask the cashier about the special. "No, that's for the ham and cheese." Yes, I understand that. I ordered that but didn't want cheese. "Well that's a ham sandwich, so it's $8,500." We go back and forth, I give up, pay and leave. I guess taking cheese off costs more than putting it on. There are many things like this that just don't make sense. But in all forms of lack of reason it's easy to shrug it off and remember: Oh yeah, I live in Colombia. That seems a good way to close a paragraph, but I want to add one more tidbit: the "because yes." When challenged with a "why?" my kiddos frequently respond, "Because yes." Ha! Of course that's excellent reasoning. The nonsense reverberates through the youth as well.
Along this line, being back has taken a toll on my English. I spend approximately 5 hours a day hanging out with teenagers who don't speak English well. It rubs off on me after a while. Running into class as the bell rang, one student slipped into another persons seat. The poor victim was left without a chair and they both knew they'd get a tardy. I quizzically looked at the offender, "You can't steal him the seat and expect not to get a tardy." Steal him the seat? Wow Leanne. And that just scratches the surface.
Another wow: While being home I forgot how incredible my staff members are. The first day being back at school we all showered each other with hugs, kisses, and lots of Spanglish chit-chat. This is followed by playful jest and messing around during meetings. This comradery at work is what keeps me going.
What else keeps me going? My lovely kitty-cat who is just a little quirkier than I remember. I talk to her. She keeps me company. We've developed quite a relationship. She's weird though. Allow me to expound. My parents have taught me a heck of a lot about life. One that's pretty high up on that list is drying off before getting out of the shower (thank you Scott!). So I turn the shower off, open the door, grab my towel, and in saunters Ami. I dangle the towel in front of her a few times and she bats at it. Kinda cute. Then she proceeds to bite it and play tug of war with me. If I give her any slack she'll go ahead and just carry the towel into the bedroom like it's her stuffed animal or something. This happens frequently. Kitten, you are weird. Perhaps weirder than when I left you a month ago. But it makes me smile.
More readjustment. Hearing Spanish everywhere. I was chilling at a cafe sipping coffee and overheard the couple sitting next to me speaking in Spanish. "Woah! Spanish, I wonder what they're saying....o wait. You're back in Spanish land." The brain is slowly switching back to living in this place.
I suppose I could go on and on. Things are just much more different than I remembered them ever being since arriving. Not that it's bad. It's kind of fun re-experiencing Colombia. I'll leave it at that for now. Why? You might ask. Because yes.
...and I'm a tired pumpkin ready for some shut-eye. This teaching thing is a lot harder than I remember too!
