The Final Update...(pre-recorded)

The last months passed with incomprehensible speed with no time to reflect nor blog. But finally we are here on the beach in Alaska and time has begun to slow. And, although I am distracted by tasty food, amazing views and wonderful friends I am going to do some back blogging because we have lots to share about our departure from Colombia.

Collecting Debts in another language:

Two years passed in this beautiful and crazy country and one of my main accomplishments was learning the language. It is such a unique and worthwhile endeavor to learn a second language, a challenging, frustrating and exhausting endeavor. It is so rewarding to watch your growth over time to be able to understand more and more and at times miss things all together. I am feeling proud to leave at this level of Spanish and sad knowing it will rapidly leave my brain upon my departure.

Aaron had a different experience but I would say rewarding nonetheless. Language acquisition is not the same for all brains, some are wired for it and others are not. Aaron struggled with remembering words, pronunciation and conjugation but his strengths laid in his confidence level and his outgoing personality. His weaknesses never held him back from meeting people on the streets and getting wrapped up in ridiculously long conversations.

Some people’s Spanish was so easy to understand, slow, clear and very articulate and sometimes you would converse with people and wonder if they were even speaking Spanish or another language all together. Usually there was a correlation with class, the lower economic stratus seemed harder to understand and the janitorial staff at school were no exception. Yet they did somehow clearly speak the request to borrow money but they couldn’t clearly understand when you asked for it back. Aaron’s friendly smile soon earned him the reputation among the janitors as the money lender. I had no involvement in these interactions but shared many laughs with Aaron as he told me of his attempts to communicate with them. This one being the best….

With only a few weeks left at school Aaron decided it was time to collect his debts but his friendly request were not doing the job and his lack of Spanish left him frustrated. He decided that he could write a few sentences in google translate and have one of them read the message and spread the word to the others….something to the effect of…”Please pay me Friday or I will have to go to your boss.” Aaron directed the guy to his computer where he asked him to read the sentence and well….literacy is not widespread among the janitors and it took this poor guy a painfully slow 5 minutes to read this sentence. And, as if that was not painful enough Aaron asked him to type his response. He examined the keyboard as if it was the first time he had set eyes on one. The minutes passed slowly as he hunted out his desired letters and tapped them with his big awkward finger. He found many of the letters he needed to write his five word response but he did not find the space bar and therefore the words ran together creating an undecodable message for both Aaron and google translate.

In the end all Aaron’s debts were paid with the help of a human translator.

Oh my Dentista!

As mentioned before in this blog we decided to do all our dental work before leaving Colombia, this turned out to be quite an unexpected adventure for two reasons- one being that Colombians are not that into anesthesia (ironic considering it is the cocaine capital of the world) and second we had some strange propositions from our dentists.

Our dentists, Clausy and Hernan are a young fit Colombian couple with a few enhanced surgeries, they are well groomed and very friendly….oh and they don’t speak or understand a lick of English. Our first visit seemed normal, by Colombian standards, a hello and good-bye kiss and an appointment to fill a bunch of cavities. Our second visit was a little spicier…their directions for Aaron’s recovery was that he should go right home and not have sex…..and then he proceeded to tell me that however, I could have sex, just not with Aaron. I did an awkward laugh and we were on our way.

At work on Monday our co-worker who had set us up with this dentist mentioned that they were “Open-minded” and that they had once invited her to a close optional party. Interesting.

Third appointment is best told with direct quotes:

I am getting my tooth pulled…(keep in mind that I am doing all the translating)

Aaron: Is it possible to watch

Dentist: With my Aaron, ANYTHING is possible.

We have time to kill while the Novocain kicks in….

Dentist: are you guys jealous in your relationship?

Me: not really, not by Colombian standards

Dentist: My wife and I are not jealous at all! We are really open minded. When she goes somewhere I don’t have to know where she is going and she is not jealous with me either, We are really open.

Me: oh

Dentist: We would like to invite you to our finca (country house) we have a pool, we can have lunch and some drinks and spend the afternoon together, it is very nice at our finca.

Aaron: what do you like to do at your finca or for fun in general?

Dentist: We are very sporty people, we like to do sports

Aaron: What’s your favorite sport?

Dentist: Sex, it is very good for you. I like to do it 10 times a day! Ha ha ha ha

Me: ha ha ha (awkward!)

It continued on like this and we tried to change the subject as he ripped the wisdom teeth from our mouths. He gave some dental information too about the procedure but instead of translating that to Aaron I just made up ridiculous sexual comments to Aaron and he tried so hard to hold back the laughter as the random instruments hung from the sides of his mouth.

We left with swollen moths and sore jaws and told the dentist that we would love to come to his finca in July. He didn’t know we were leaving c:

Talent Show….

At the end of each school year the teachers put on a talent show for the students and I don’t know who loves it more the teachers or the students. It is good fun. Our principal sang and danced to some hip-hop song, Aaron and I read students minds and I also danced with some co-workers to Justin Beber…if you don’t know who he is don’t feel bad I didn’t either  but just think New Kids on the Block. But for sure the highlight of the show is when a very well endowed Colombian teacher and her assistant did a hip-hop duet where, in skin tight clothes she dry humped the stage and shook her ass to an audience of children under the age of 10….inappropriate is one way to describe it but that word just doesn’t seem to do the experience justice! 

VIDEO COMING SOON

Despidida

Not many holidays or events seem to go unnoticed in Colombia and farewell parties are no exception. The last month in Colombia was rather stressful for us not only was the workload at school intensified with report cards and parent meetings we were also trying to close a big chapter in our lives all in another language in a country where most things are more complicated than necessary. We had to close bank accounts, phone accounts, pack, ship, get lots of signatures and figure out lots of logistics but on top of all of this, our social calendar was purely out of control. We had parents not just inviting us but insisting we come to their house for dinner; we even had family come by house when we told them we just didn’t have time to come to their house. We had parties and dinners with friends, co-workers and neighbors. We had so much to do at home but we were spending all our time socializing.

Our last night in Cali was the best all our friends took us out for dinner (like 20 people) and then we all went out dancing. That night at the disco-teca was one of the most fun nights we had while we were there. It was the first time that we had our co-workers, friends and neighbors all in one place. It was kind of a magical night where they seemed to be playing the best music and every time we turned our head we met the gaze of a friend. It was a great way to end our stay. 

The Grand Departure

Our flight departed on our last day of work. We imagined the day would pass slow considering we only had to pick up a check at work in the morning at 8:00 and then we were free until the evening at 6:00 but you would be surprised how long it takes to say good-bye to a whole staff. From there we went to lunch with a bunch of coworkers. The time we arrived home to finish packing we already had friends coming over to say good-bye yet again. The door bell kept ringing and before we knew it we had a mix of friends, neighbors and co-workers filling our house. A little stressful since we were not really finished packing.

Before we knew it our transportation had arrived…a full size bright orange school bus that took up the whole width of our street but this didn’t stop us from saying more good-byes to neighbors and friends. The scene was chaotic our bags were being carried by many different people, and the woman from the tienda appeared with a going away present for us and then our “grandpa” neighbor broke out into tears. It was a beautiful sight and I have to say even though I had imagined this day more than once during my stay my imagination never seem to stir up this scene….a big school bus, backed up traffic, 10 people waving us good-bye, many crying and then at the very last minute a few friends hopped on the bus and decided to accompany us to the airport. These people really are amazing.

The Final Colombian Blog Post

There was no doubt in our mind that this day would come, we knew it was temporary and in away this day seemed like an awaited milestone but now that it has arrived we are filled with nostalgia, love and memories. Leaving a place is a lot like when someone dies, all the bad memories seem to disappear and all you can seem to remember and reflect upon are the highlights of your stay. We have moved a lot in our lives we have left behind many communities, jobs, apartments and friends but nowhere seemed more definite then here. We spent a lot of time this week saying good-byes and everyone insisted we come back and visit and our response was always “of course!” but in our hearts we knew this was one of those necessary white lies. The reality is we probably won’t be back and the harder reality is that we will most likely never see any of these people again.

It was an emotional week saying good-bye to our students was heart breaking, when you spend 180 days with the same kids all day you really grow attached. Of course some more than others and there were two boys that I loved so much that I would have loved to adopt one of them and I am not really kidding. Then there were all the other good-bye sentiments touching cards from friends, gifts and words that were so kind they brought me to tears.

It was strange to take off from the airport and watch Cali shrink behind us like some forgotten memory; it was an emotional two years and years that really changed us in so many ways. Although we said that many of our friendships seemed topical, they were still friendships and although we had few common interests there was something that bonded us together and I just feel so lucky to have been blessed with many of these friends, they enhanced our experience so very much.

These were the words that we left for Colombia and the words that will be in our heart, the video below are some of our favorite travel shots.

My dear Colombia and your dearest people,

You showed us your beautiful country and you taught us so very much. Now, we have only a few days left with you and we want to express all of our gratitude. Many people have been asking us what we will miss most of Colombia. Of course it is the people! You are the kindest people in the world, people full of love and passion. You taught us how to use affectionate words and expressions in our daily lives when were accustomed to using such words in poetry and literature. You taught us how to hug and kiss our friends and students when we were accustomed only to do so with our family and close friends. You taught us the important tradition of greeting people and now we are accustomed to greeting everyone all the time! Our hearts have grown so much and we are forever changed. We are so grateful that you received us with open arms. And to our good friends, thank you for inviting us into your homes, for giving us a family when we did not have our own. Thank you for teaching us your culture, your language, your hand gestures, your music, your dances, your games and your passion for life. We shared many trips, many dinners and many laughs. Yes it is true that we are leaving Colombia, but we are leaving a little piece of hearts here with you in your beautiful country!

Good-bye, a hug, a kiss, rest well, go well, we will see you later, god bless and good luck!!!!!!!

Kind words from others:

Being a teacher can sometimes make you feel famous on a small scale. Like you are a B-rated actress only popular and adored by a small fan club. And this idea is only enhanced when you are leaving. Our students and friends gave us many hugs, kisses, wishes and presents but nothing seems stronger than some of these words:

Aaron's student wrote..."you are the teacher of my dreams and now it has to end" ha ha ha!

A father wrote to me..."Thank you for being the second mother to his child and that he will never forget what I gifted his child.

Other strong words were sent to us...lots of "I love yous!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I’m doing fine in Alaska….

We are back in our favorite place on earth; a simple life with good old fashion work, old friends, family, good food and bliss.

It is strange how in less than 24 hours every single aspect of your life can change, your home, your language, your food, your friends, your routine, your work, your weather, your feelings! We have been transported into another world and Colombia seems like another lifetime all together. With more adventures in our future comes more stress, work, and culture shock. I really hope that time passes VERY slowly this summer, but it never does.

I hope to work on my first radio story and even volunteer at the radio station but for some reason that seems unrealistic right now. My best friend Jen arrives for a visit soon and it has been over two years since our last visit.

To all our blog readers, thank for reading and we hope you have a great summer and we will be back blogging in Abu Dhabi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!