Two Extremes
On the first day back to school in Colombia after Winter Break, my eyeballs burned with the green of the surrounding hills, valleys, and palms. The landscape was just as vibrant a few weeks earlier, but after four weeks in the USA, everything popped.
To jump from one extreme climate to another is a shock. Just 72 hours before, Conor and I were huddled on a New York City street corner, bundled up in long winter jackets, our breath was crystallizing into icy vapor. While in New England, whenever I called out "It's FREEZING!", Con couldn't resist reminding me of my recent annoyance with the Cali heat. However, he didn't pick up on the fact that as I complained, I beamed from ear to ear. Compared to the thick South American humidity and the constant back sweat that comes with it, the wind chill was a welcome change. Experiencing these extreme temperatures back to back reminded me of the importance of savoring the moment, hot or cold.
Christmas in Colombia
There was so much to enjoy in Cali during the Christmas season! Last year on the blog I spoke about how much I loved the traditional Velitas celebration at school, and I figured nothing would top that. However this year, in a perfect Christmas miracle, three epic events came together on one night, and now take first place as my favorite Cali Christmas memory.
It all started with the progressive Christmas crawl, a moving party of sorts hosted by some of the expat teachers. Those living in San Antonio (the western part of Cali) make a signature drink and snack at each of their places, and guests walk from party to party, enjoying the night air and each other's company.
Since this year the party happened to fall on the official city celebration of Velitas, Colombian families were outside as well, gathered together lighting candles and lanterns in front of their homes in honor of the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception. In San Antonio, instead of all the candles being clumped together as they are at the school celebration, the candles were situated on windowsills, balconies, porches, sidewalks, streets, parks and squares. They were stunning, and when our party group got a little lost between two of the locations, the beautiful fluorescent candles lit the path, adding an air of magic to the journey. What I loved most though was seeing so many people gathered together, from babies to grandparents, celebrating the start of the Christmas season.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, fireworks were launched! It turns out because America, the underdog team from Cali, had won the country championship only a few hours before, the locals decided to take things up a notch. As the hours went on, the fireworks went off sporadically, and the cheers of America fans jubilantly chanting echoed in the darkness. This trifecta- the teacher Christmas party, the city-wide Velitas celebration, and the America championship now stand as my favorite Colombian Christmas memory.
Tomlinson/Sullivan Holiday
Back in the States, Conor and I spent the week before Christmas in Maine, where we enjoyed the natural beauty of "Vacationland" and even managed to catch a few falling snowflakes on our tongues! Highlights of our time with Conor's parents included a visit to a Christmas pop up bar, walking the magical lights of a Gardens Aglow, a botanical garden in Boothbay Harbor, and attempting (failing) to complete a 2,000 piece Christmas puzzle. Okay, 2,000 pieces is a lot harder than it sounds....maybe I was overly ambitious in my assessment of our puzzle making abilities? Several nights in a row we gathered around the table, chatted, drank wine, and attempted to snap the hundreds of pieces into place. Conor's Dad was a mocking cheerleader from the sidelines and Conor's enthusiasm waxed and waned. However, Conor's mom never deserted me and we fought the good fight until the bitter end. We saved the pieces...better luck next year?
After our time in Maine, Conor and I traveled to Connecticut to help with the finishing touches for the big event- Christmas Eve! Throughout my life, my parents have hosted an abundance of holidays at our house, and when I was small, my sister and I acted as my mom's "special helpers"- dusting, cutting ingredients for appetizers, and cleaning our rooms for cousins. After many years of tutelage from my mom, I have recently graduated to sus chef and creative designer of table decor. Although I complained about helping when I was little, now I find preparing for a celebration just as joyful as the celebration itself. Seeing my parents at the stove together, testing the flavors of a meal, or glancing up at my sister from across the dining room table as she positions the pine garland and candles just so have made for some of my most cherished family memories.
This year ́s celebration was especially memorable because we enjoyed the fruits of our labor with my in-laws! That's right, for Christmas Eve 2019, our two families combined at my childhood home in Connecticut for a Tomlinson/Sullivan event. On Christmas Eve, celebrations included a late afternoon Mass, a white elephant exchange, ridiculous matching pajamas for the whole crew, and several iterations of giant Jenga. When we all woke up the next morning, we had a delicious Christmas breakfast together and lit our own Velitas. It was so special to share Christmas with both sides of our family. I think one of the best things about the holidays is the way Christmas simultaneously stays the same and changes from year to year. Favorite traditions like singing Happy Birthday to Jesus or setting up the ceramic snow village are constant, but the iterations of your family and who gathers out of love are different each time.
New Year, New Plans!
Speaking of change, 2020 will be another year of change for Con and I. Having fulfilled our 2-year teaching contracts in South America, we will move back to the good ol’ U.S.A in June! Next year I will continue teaching at a charter school in Boston called Boston Prep, and Conor will make the switch into the corporate world. After working part-time for The Endurance Group, his Dad's sales and marketing firm during our time in Colombia, Conor is ready to step out of the classroom and into an office full-time!
We admit- there were a few moments we were tempted to stay in Cali for "just one more year" due to some compelling reasons- our school, the killer exchange rate, the constant sunshine…but alas, our hearts call us "home" to New England. Choosing our next "home" was both freeing and terrifying because the possibilities were endless. Con will be working remotely and I could feasibly teach anywhere. How did we land on Boston? We knew we wanted to choose somewhere closer to family, but also new to us, and a major city. A giant pro-con list and lots of deep talks later, we agreed Boston would be the perfect city for our next chapter. Send your restaurants recs and favorite Beantown locations our way...Boston, we're coming for ya!
Are we sad to leave? Yes and no. We aren't the only ones moving in June- most of our friends here are also making plans to relocate at the end of this school year which is common in the international community. Our colleagues heading to locations like Germany, Brazil, London, Israel, and back to the States like us. It will be sad to say goodbye, but since almost the whole group is dispersing, Con and I won't have to deal with too much FOMO. My 2020 word is "savor" because, over the next six months, I want to stay in the moment as much as I can. In lieu of a resolution, I hope to resist the urge to spend too much time thinking about our eventual departure and instead focus my mind on savoring the present.
Cheers to 2020!
Favorites from Cali:
-Babysitting for our friend Woj's twin daughters so he could surprise them as Santa at school Velitas
-Visiting the “boulevard” for Cali's display of Christmas lights (ohhhh so that's where the high electricity bill comes from...lol)
-Making cookies for special people to spread Christmas cheer (our doormen, the cafeteria staff, our trainer, secretary, etc.)
-A Chiva birthday celebration for our friend Jamie's 30th!
-Seeing the "El Testigo" photography exhibit at Museo La Tertulia- this compilation of over 500 photographs was taken between 1992 and 2019 and is a visual testimony of the Colombian armed conflict
-Book club meeting to discuss Malcolm Gladwell's "Talking to Strangers" (we both loved the audiobook version, available through Amazon’s Audible!)
Favorites from the States:
-Kicking things off with Lulu, Gavin, and Piper with a walk around Dyker Heights in Brooklyn to see the beautiful Christmas lights
-Visiting Kennebunk with Con's parents to see the Lobster Trap tree
-Con going to work with his Dad
-Walking Mackworth island with a little snow under our Bean boots :)
-Making “Baby Yoda” cookies
-The Endurance Group Christmas party!
-Tay interviewing for teaching jobs in Boston (bonus dinner out in the North End with Aunt Kathy)
-Snuggling on the couch with Scouty
-Meeting Brooke's boyfriend Will (we approve!), and celebrating NYE in NY together
- Family party in Rockport, MA
-Taking Con's Nana to a special lunch out
-SO many board games (Monopoly Deal, Settlers of Catan, Code Names...)
-Tay's parents making New Year’s day dinner- Lobster Newburg, yumm!
-Night skiing at Sundown
-One last dinner out in New York with Maggie (we miss you already!)
Getting Schooled:
Okay, so my hair was getting super SUPER long before Christmas. I had a few inches cut off here in Colombia. However, I craved a bigger change right before we came back....so I sucked it up and cut off six inches at my trusted salon in CT. I have received many compliments on the change from my students (Miss, you look so much younger!) However, there is one person in my life who absolutely hates it...my personal trainer, Pablo.
Yesterday, after some intense dumbbell squats, I took my hair out of my bun to fix into a tighter knot, and Pablo looked shocked.
"Tay!" he said, "Your hair!" I was so used to my short hair for a second I didn't understand...
"Oh, yeah", I said, "I cut it."
"No!" he said. And then promptly called Conor over to get his opinion on my short hair.
The poor guy was really traumatized! On the whole, Colombians are obsessed with long hair on women, so this didn't come as a total surprise, but still, his reaction made us crack up!
I guess Pablo is NOT a fan of my haircut...oh well! If he wasn't such a sweetheart, I would probably be more offended, lol.