Over dinner a few days ago Conor looked up at me and asked, "Is this how you pictured it would be?" Mid bite into a California roll, I thought he was talking about our marriage. Cue heart attack! Sensing my confusion, he clarified he was talking about our decision to move abroad and teach in Colombia.
How I pictured it? This was tough. Similar to how I don't actually picture anything in my head while I'm singing (the polar opposite of people who visualize the musical staff, or see the lyrics as they sing), I don´t tend to create intricate visions of the future unless this vision is attached to a very specific goal. I think this is a mindset I've developed as I've grown older, due to the times in my childhood and teen years when I dissolved into a puddle of tears because things didn't turn out how I pictured. I'll admit, I was hoping our overall quality of life would improve while living abroad, but without specific expectations in my head, I continue be surprised and entertained by many aspects of our life here, and occasionally slapped in the face by some unanticipated challenges...what do you mean we have to go to the grocery store to pay our gas bill in person?
"Has this been how you picture it would be?"I couldn't have pictured our apartment or our friends even if I tried, but I do feel how I hoped I would feel after moving abroad. I feel more free and relaxed than I did back in the states. I feel closer to Conor- we've spent more quality time together, and we've also had to depend on each other more than when we had our families only a short car ride away. I feel more alive and more dynamic. I'm challenging myself by taking on new hobbies, and I have the time to fully immerse myself in my online master's degree. I feel refreshed. I have plenty of energy, and some to spare, and I there are several moments a month when I'm amazed by something new. Don't get me wrong, it hasn´t been pure bliss. I felt how I knew I would feel at first about changing my routines (cranky!) and living far from family- occasionally homesick and sad. Mom, can you put Scout on Facetime again? However, since I know me so well, these feelings did't come as too much of a surprise. This too shall pass.
Being me, I of course fired Conor's question right back at him. He agreed our life abroad has had challenges, but overall it's been everything he hoped it would be. He added he now thinks of our apartment as "home" and how strange it is that our daily routines seem totally normal. Who me, casually speaking to the pharmacist in Spanish? Of course! Stepping back, this "normal" seems paradoxically odd since we are existing on a continent we had been previously pretty unaware of on a daily basis. Life is crazy!
In February, we had our first family visitors when Conor's Dad, Mom, and sister Maggie made the voyage across the Caribbean sea to see what our new home looked like first hand. It's safe to say that now we're not the only ones more aware of South America! While the Sullivans were here, they stayed at the posh Colombian country club, Club Campestre, and enjoyed the pool and palm trees when we were at school. Conor seamlessly planned (and re-planned) his parents visit via many drafts of the ideal itinerary, so I'm going to hand things over to him so he can fill you in on their trip. Conor, take it away!
Conor: Whoa, whoa. Before I talk about my family visit, if you thought I was going to go through the entire blog without mentioning the true highlight of February- ANOTHER PATRIOTS SUPER BOWL VICTORY, you were wrong! I am quite amazed that in the few months we have been here, my New England teams have won not one, but TWO world championships. Seeing as I knew no one would invite a Patriots fan to their Super Bowl party (except for our principal, everyone in Colombia is an anti-Patriots fan), Taylor and I co-hosted a party with our friends, Matt and Hannah, at their apartment. Prop bets with Super Bowl-themed cash, commercial bingo, and Super Bowl squares kept the party goers happy and distracted from yet another Patriots win, while I celebrated, and gloated.
Okay, okay. The real highlight of the month was my family’s visit. My sister arrived on Saturday the 16th after a red-eye flight from New York. That afternoon, we met friends for a soccer game, which is a very big deal to the locals here. Cali’s team, ironically called "America", played against their rivals from Medellin and came away with a 3-0 win. The energized crowd with home made banners and constant chanting really kicked out week off with Colombian passion.
The next day I met my parents at the airport with our friend and driver, Kevin. Kevin hit it off with my parents right away and told them all there is to know about Cali. On Monday, we took my whole family to the markets at Loma de la Cruz. My parents picked out beautiful, handmade souvenirs from local vendors, and we enjoyed a traditional Colombian dinner at one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the San Antonio neighborhood, El Zaguan. The next day, my family was finally able to see our apartment, which they had only seen through FaceTime for months, and we met our neighbor, Abby, for dinner at our favorite, local pizza place, La Diva. On Wednesday, my family came to school and saw the beautiful campus I had been telling them about to them since our arrival. Unfortunately, my students were traveling for “Career Week”, so they had to settle for seeing merely my empty classroom, but this did allow me to leave school early and take them on a tour of Cristo Rey, Cali’s take on the famous Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I took the liberty of showing my dad my favorite bar (and beers) in Cali at the Bogota Beer Company. Later in the week I took my family to the place where the magic of Colombia first hit Taylor and me: Chorrera del Indio. This restaurant sits right beside a swimmable waterfall and the breath taking views and delicious san cocho is Colombia at its finest. Our finale on Friday was the worldwide known Salsa show, Delirio. Cali is the Salsa Capital of the world and this show did not disappoint! However, Taylor and Maggie would probably argue their glamorous Colombian style outfits truly stole the show.
At dinner on our last night, I asked my family the same question I asked Taylor: "Is this how you pictured it would be?" My mom was surprised the food wasn´t spicy, while my sister and dad hadn't expected the large amount of modern industry in the city. But overall, my family was just glad to see how happy Taylor and I are in our new home.
Favorites:
-Co-hosting the Super Bowl party with our friends Matt and Hannah...Super Bowl squares, dips galore, and lots of Prop Bets featuring Colombian pesos with Tom Brady's face on them
-Attending our first Colombian soccer game- talk about a hyped up crowd!
-Walking the Red Carpet at Delirio, Cali's world famous salsa show
-Visiting Conor's student's family restaurant, and Conor arranging love balloons for our table (a common Colombian tradition for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays)
-Seeing a beautiful sunset from our friend Abby's rooftop terrace
-Cheering on Taylor's students as they performed their original poems at Bolivar's 46th Annual Poetry Festival
Getting Schooled:
Conor and I bragged non stop to his family about how gorgeous the weather would be when they visited. 75 and sunny every day we said, a slight breeze we said, an occasional afternoon storm lasting no longer than 20 minutes we said. Of course on their second day here, literally the largest, most aggressive storm I've ever seen canvassed Cali and dumped down torrential rain, for hours. The storm was so bad, as a safety precaution our school ushered all students directly off their buses into the library, and held them their for the better part of first block until the thunder and lightening stopped. Please enjoy the video below of the soccer field turning into a literal lake. Sorry Sullivans! Luckily there was great weather the rest of the week.