All Roads Lead to Roam

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.  At the Foo Fighters, Tenacious D and Weezer concert before vacation Walking around our resort 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 belon...

Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador It’s one thing to go back to Wisconsin and visit as a tourist, but visiting a place I’ve lived in internationally is another [ wasn't I always just a tourist in Ecuador, though? Sorry, that's rather shady ]. At the end of September, a mere three months after I finished packing my bags and purging the hoard of possessions I accumulated, I got to experience this. Part spending-time-with-friends and part retrieving-the-remainder-of-my-belongings, this was the weekend I needed. Quito ... I was ready for you. I took a personal day from work to fly-out on a Friday afternoon so I could maximize the amount of time I'd have. I took an Uber to El Dorado airport and immediately I was reminded of my only other time traveling to the airport. Five years ago, on my return from my first trip to Bolivia, I had a lengthy layover in Bogotá and decided to venture into the city to explore. It took me about an hour to flag down a taxi that time, and almost a...

Bogotá, Colombia Bogotá has such a unique and vibrant energy compared to any other city I've lived in or visited... and I'm hooked. Before getting to that and to put this particular post in perspective, the last couple of years in Quito I was quite the homebody. There are a variety of reasons for this. One— I was actively determined to slow my life down after being nightlife-centered in my 20's. Two— I had demanding responsibilities in my then-new job, and added additional responsibilities like my Master's program. Three—I found serenity and self-knowledge through spending more time alone, and I grew to truly love myself. Four— yeah it's all a matter of perspective, but Quito came to be flat and tiring so expending energy to exit my comfort zone was low on my priorities list. I became highly complacent and lost the motivation to find or create excitement in my life. With my move to Bogotá, I saw this as an opportunity to redefine my relationship with myself and w...

Milwaukee, WI Bogotá, Colombia There must only be a few things relatively similar to international teaching: sleep-away camp, CBS's Big Brother , bootcamp and prison. I mean this in the sense that you arrive in an unfamiliar place with a group of strangers and then form quick bonds over shared (and sometimes uncommon) experiences. The degree of uncertainty with this life event is exciting and intimidating. It was a brief and whirlwind break between jobs. Moving from Quito back to the States in the end of June, followed by a full week of socializing and catching-up, then another in San Diego for work-related training, and a bit more than one additional week for further reunions and making-up for lost reading... it all culminated with a intercontinental move to Bogotá, Colombia. I knew a short transition was something I'd need to cope with regardless of where my next destination would lie, with Ecuador having a 200-day school year. It will be completely worth it in the end...