Firstly, my heart breaks for what is happening in Ecuador, right now. It truly is devastating to see the violence, vandalism, disruption and instability occurring now. I pray for resolution that can restore peace to that beautiful country.
Bogotá, Colombia
Apulo, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Now that I passed the first long vacation for my new job, I can stop saying that I had an incredibly short summer... or few weeks break to move countries before starting my new position. While I am appreciative of my decision to stay busy and make the most of the time I had with family and friends, it didn't leave me much downtime to breathe or hit the reset button.
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| At the Foo Fighters, Tenacious D and Weezer concert before vacation |
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| Walking around our resort |
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| View from the finca |
This break was so necessary for my own mental well-being. I'd experienced a lot of changes in my life since the start of the year, and these are just the major ones to start with: purging my belongings and buying new ones; temporarily moving back to the USA; moving to Colombia [
it's not Columbia]; ending one job and starting another [
which includes a whole variety of sub-stressors]; and reconciling with my past and finding a pathway forward to self-healing. Luckily, moving from Ecuador to Colombia did not lead to much culture shock but it still does involve a lot of changes in my habits and routines. After arriving to Bogotá, us new hires basically started work right away so there wasn't much time to adjust, or ease into the new life. BUT, now that vacation officially arrived, I could start to put the tired and stressed behind me. No more complaining from me about being exhausted from the stress of moving after this vacation.
I accomplished much of what I wanted to during this break. I lacked the vigor to plan a formal trip, thus this one decidedly became a staycation. I had time to do some further settling in, including purchasing my first ever vacuum cleaner and some more house plants [
I think the plan for populating my apartment is to purchase, like, two per week and/or have plants delivered en masse]. There was also quite a bit of walking around, unfortunately in sytlish-yet-unsupportive Toms®; it both gave me more of a mental map of my new neighborhood as well as pain from rearranging the bones in my feet. Finally, I have somewhat of an idea of where I am!
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| Playing Tejo |
I checked off several activities slash destinations in Bogotá. For example, I played Tejo for the first time and couldn’t have had a better experience. First, it was on a Monday night so it was dead. Literally, the friends I went with were the only people there aside from the business owners. Two Colombians who worked there joined our paltry teams, and added to the pace and knowledge of the game. Second, as it turned out, we were playing on a beginners board/field. The distance we casted these
HEAVY metal discs was half... I don’t honestly know if I would ever get close to the
further normal distance on my first “competition.” Tejo is like bocce ball mixed with corn hole but with clay and a metal puck (
tejo) and firecrackers (
mechas). Special shoutout to the Tejo Club (
Porvenir del Norte) for the wonderful hospitality. They stayed open later for us and even prepared us some potatoes and arepas for snacking on.
Another thing I crossed off the list was visiting the
Jardín Botánico de Bogotá. The day was full of rain and gray skies; while that may not seem to be most sensible to go walking outside, it is actually something I miss about Wisconsin. It gets me in a meditative state to be lurking around a wooded area, hearing the droplets collide above with the leaves and ground squish beneath my feet. Smelling the freshness and flowers being mixed in the air from the rainfall. Slowing down. For a very reasonable entrance fee, I will certainly go back often.
For a staycation, I sure did a lot. Even went to a finca outside of Bogotá. When we arrived to Apulo on Wednesday, I understood that my understanding what a "finca" was not even close. A finca, here it seems, is like a private resort or cabanas for a group (friends/family/etc.). In Ecuador, it would maybe be an inn or bed-and-breakfast type thing, right? Or an actual farm. Our private corner of the world included four cabins, a large living and dining area, huge kitchen and pantry, pool and patio and garden. In a lush valley at the foot of the western Andes mountain chain in Colombia, at 420 meters above sea level, the equatorial tropics were just hours away. I think this is the kind of weather that my family and friends believe I live in; when I comment on the coldness of the climate here and in Quito, the response is generally confusion. It is comforting to know that this more comfortable, desirable climate is nearby. I loved soaking in a pool, in the sun. The fresh, warm and humid air. Vibrant green and bird songs surrounding on all angles. It was a pleasure getting to make friends with more teachers from work and spend sooooo much time in the open air.
I love that I am falling more in sync with my rhythm and new life here. What’s hard to believe is I’ve already been here for three months, and I’ve taken my time in easing into it yet I feel like I’ve experienced a whole lot.This was a welcomed break and recharge. Hopefully soon I will have more discoveries to share.
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| The drive back to Bogotá |
I checked off several activities slash destinations in Bogotá. For example, I played Tejo for the first time and couldn’t have had a better experience. First, it was on a Monday night so it was dead. Literally, the friends I went with were the only people there aside from the business owners. Two Colombians who worked there joined our paltry teams, and added to the pace and knowledge of the game. Second, as it turned out, we were playing on a beginners board/field. The distance we casted these HEAVY metal discs was half... I don’t honestly know if I would ever get close to the 
Another thing I crossed off the list was visiting the Jardín Botánico de Bogotá. The day was full of rain and gray skies; while that may not seem to be most sensible to go walking outside, it is actually something I miss about Wisconsin. It gets me in a meditative state to be lurking around a wooded area, hearing the droplets collide above with the leaves and ground squish beneath my feet. Smelling the freshness and flowers being mixed in the air from the rainfall. Slowing down. For a very reasonable entrance fee, I will certainly go back often.
For a staycation, I sure did a lot. Even went to a finca outside of Bogotá. When we arrived to Apulo on Wednesday, I understood that my understanding what a "finca" was not even close. A finca, here it seems, is like a private resort or cabanas for a group (friends/family/etc.). In Ecuador, it would maybe be an inn or bed-and-breakfast type thing, right? Or an actual farm. Our private corner of the world included four cabins, a large living and dining area, huge kitchen and pantry, pool and patio and garden. In a lush valley at the foot of the western Andes mountain chain in Colombia, at 420 meters above sea level, the equatorial tropics were just hours away. I think this is the kind of weather that my family and friends believe I live in; when I comment on the coldness of the climate here and in Quito, the response is generally confusion. It is comforting to know that this more comfortable, desirable climate is nearby. I loved soaking in a pool, in the sun. The fresh, warm and humid air. Vibrant green and bird songs surrounding on all angles. It was a pleasure getting to make friends with more teachers from work and spend sooooo much time in the open air.
What an amazing trip! I hope to see more posts soon!
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