safe and sound

I have returned safely to Colombia, with zero travel complications, coincidentally both of my connecting flight's gates were located directly next to a Starbucks :). The last week and a half was a whirlwind of every kind of emotion.  Grandpa Burke will be forever missed, he is such an incredible man.  I'm so happy I was able to see and hear from all the people his life had touched, and changed for the better.  Those moments are priceless to me.
While home I was also able to see many of my family and friends.  Grandma Soukup is getting stronger each day and is being sassy as ever with the wonderful staff taking care of her at Heritage.  She will be home before we know it!  Aunt Patty congrats on the new job, how exciting!! I was able to see and chat with Greg for a little over 12 hours!  It was also amazing connecting with old and new friends.  Dillon if you're reading this, I want you to send me some of those pics you took since you no longer  have facebook!
Normally for me Christmas is a time to freeze your butt off with the family you love while eating too many cookies and treats.  This year, my Christmas is going to be looking very different!  I'll be enjoying the sun and warmth here in Medellin with one of my best buddies.  Travelling, staying busy, and being happy is exactly what I need right now.
More updates and pics to come following a much anticipated visit from the future Dr. Mrs. Alice Castle Guns :))

much love and Christmas cheer to all :)

Eve of coming home

Last images of my boring and bland meals I cook for myself.  Can't wait to eat other peoples cooking like papa bear's breakfasts.  I would do some pretty mean things for a Belgium waffles or some pancakes right about now.  This hear is veggies and tofu, and below is veggies, rice on topof an arepa.  See you soon!

  

photo update

church

more strange fruit

i climbed to the top of that!

up allll those stairs!

it's nice at the top

quiiite a few steps

incredible views!

prrrretty city

incredible

chocolat

incredible colors

turkey break!

Good morning!
Yesterday was Black Friday!! Yikes! I've been trying to control my urge to shop online and have it shipped to fairfax...it's been very difficult.  This is definitely the least amount I have ever spent on a black friday in many years!
Thursday I went to another teacher's apartment for a thanksgiving dinner.  All the teachers who were not traveling during this break each brought a dish for dinner.  I was in charge of buying bread rolls. :)  The dinner was delicious, for dessert there were pumpkin tarts that were vegan.  They were so amazing.  I need to start learning how to cook here.
Yesterday, Carmel and I took a day trip to Guatapé.  It was absolutely amazing.  The most incredible view I have ever seen.   We had to walk up 740 steps to get to the top of la piedra.  I´ll put pictures up later.  Then we went on a boat tour followed by a little walking tour of the town.  It was beautiful.  We also stopped at a little chocolate shop in the square of the town.  The chocolate it was incredible.  The whole experience reminded me of the movie Chocolat :)  So the day was awesome, the bus ride home in the dark was a little bit scary on the windy roads with big trucks and buses coming at you on the edge of a mountain, but we survived!  The real interesting part comes in once I got home.  I was emptying my bag and putting away my things and realized I left Carlos! What a typical ending to an otherwise perfect day.
Since my last experience with losing an iphone I now leave on location services, lock my phone, and have the Find Iphone app.  I've been able to track Carlos the whole time from my ipad.  I left him on the bus.  We called the tour company right away and they contacted the bus driver who grabbed it and will give him back to the tour person today.  However, this morning Carmel received a call from a tour guide who said she was waiting for us in parque poblado, where we caught the tour yesterday.  She said we were supposed to be there 10 minutes ago.  So Carmel quick calls me a cab and I hurry to the park to meet up with this woman to get my phone back.  Turns out, she thought I wanted to be on the tour! She tried to get me on the bus so we could leave quickly, since I was so late, I tried to explain to her that I was on the tour yesterday and was just there to pick up my phone! She got all huffy and wanted to leave.  So I'm sitting in the park, alone, no phone, completely frustrated with this language barrier, so the only option is I go buy a buñuelo, a latte and catch the bus home.
Moral of the story: Carlos will most likely be returned to me this afternoon, and buñuelos are delicious.  Yay!

the important things

Happy Monday!
This is the first monday in two weeks that I have had to go to school.  I was getting nice and used to having a long weekend.  The end of the year is coming around quickly.  Next week we have Thurs/Fri off.  The following week I am taking my personal day (hopefully!) on that Friday.  Followed by a shortened week due to many festivities for Christmas!  Our schedule is crazy, but I must admit my brain has been struggling to focus on work while so many things are happening back home.

Now to get a little sappy...
This past week of school has been incredibly overwhelming.  School is important and always takes my energy, but what has been even more overwhelming is hearing about Grandma Soukup and all her issues in the hospital.  As well as Grandpa Burke who will be undergoing a surgery of his own before Thanksgiving.  Living abroad is a wonderful lifestyle, but it definitely calls into question what is really important in life.  I love my family and friends more than anything in the whole world.  I wish I could be home to give support to my family right now, but I am tied here for the moment.  I have been forced to learn different ways of showing the people you care about them love.  A "special intentions" section has been added to my white board at school.  I tell my students many stories about my grandparents, parents, and friends.  Positive energy and love is coming from Colombia all the way up to Iowa.

What I do know for sure...international teaching has been an incredible experience so far, and I know I am meant to be here right now.  I also know that I will always have part of me in the midwest, whether I'm living there or not.  Right now it's hard to be away, but I must keep remembering that Iowa is just a quick 6hr plane ride, or 12hr total travel day away.  :)

Now I just ask my faithful readers, all 4 of you, to be sure to send prayers, good thoughts, positive energy (whichever method you believe in) to the Soukup and Burke families in the next few weeks.  gracias :)

lots of love,
aimee

happy thanksgiving!

It was a quick week, filled with hard work at school and hard work at home.  Carmel and I got our butts kicked at crossfit on Thursday and then we went to cycling on Saturday morning.  I think my legs were still sore today.  This weekend was our 2nd long one in a row. :) Saturday night the school held a Thanksgiving dinner for all the staff.  They had traditional food, and complimentary beer/wine.  Our school is soo big, there was a lot of people I had never met before.  Colombia doesn't celebrate American Thanksgiving (obviously) so I consider myself very lucky to be working at an American school, double the holidays!

Besides dinner, not much else is new on this side of the border.  Medellin did just open a Forever 21 in the mall closest to me, this is where I bought my dress for Saturday.  They have really good prices, this might have a serious gamechanger for my clothes shopping in the city...I was doing so well.

It's been overall a dreary weekend.  I discovered the website I used in Spain to keep up on my TV shows again, so I spent some time catching up.  Downton Abbey is SUCH a great show.  Today it was sunny so I went for a run/walk, cleaned a bit, and then headed down to the pool to read my book and snooze (I bet most of you are jealous since I saw so many pics on facebook of snow!)  However, karma comes around because my consequence for being so smug was my butt got burnt.  Who honestly thinks to sunscreen your butt.  It's just not fair.  I'll be sure and wear loose pants to work tomorrow.

Enjoy your snow!
Stay happy and healthy!
aimee

picture post!

Halloween Celebration

the seniors enter the grounds and the whole school goes out to watch

they hired military guys and trucks to escort them in...

and then sprayed all the kids

some great costumes out there :)

more madness

kids running away from the scary seniors

just crazy

Miss Zarves and Mrs Gorf from Wayside School

Students from 5E and Mrs Gorf

puentes

In November, we have one full week of school.  The first two weeks we have a holiday on each Monday, followed by a full week, then a 3 day week for American Thanksgiving.  It's going to be a quick November!

This past week...
Mon-normal day
Tues-meetings all day
Wed-conferences all day
Thurs-kids stayed at home due to road construction-conferences in the afternoon
Fri- 1/2 day Halloween celebration

Quick summary of the crazy school week we had. This past weekend was full of Halloween celebrations.  Friday night, costume party at a house for the teachers.  Saturday Kelsey and I stepped out of our comfort zone a bit.  We went to a family birthday party/reunion of a Colombian/American family we met at the Halloween store on Wednesday afternoon.  It was wild, every male in their family is named Jorge.  Everyone was so nice, we were able to practice our Spanish and help them practice their English.  It was nice being around kids, parents, and grandparents.  Kels and I have vowed to start exploring the city more and stop being so lame!

We started our exploration on Sunday morning.  We went for a quick run on ciclovia then took the metro (my first time) down to el jardin botanico.  It was a great little day trip.  We ran into other teachers we knew, and a mutual friend that I was connected to via facebook.  It is so crazy how small this city can feel at times.  The botanical gardens was full of butterflies, flowers, desert plants, people, yoga, and a health food style market!  I tried some awesome food and bought an organic soap.  Overall a productive day.  We also went out to Envigado for the first time to try out a restaurant for dinner.  It was an awesome mexican place that I will definitely be going back to.

Today (a holiday) I went for a run on ciclovia-they hold ciclovia on puentes too!  Then did some cleaning and cooking, Gladys broke her hand at another teacher's apartment so we will be cleaning and cooking all by ourselves for the next couple of weeks.  I don't know how I will survive!  :)  Then once I was done I headed out to the pool for some sun and a nap--of course it started to rain shortly after I got there and proceeded to storm while I skyped with the future Mrs Castle.

It's been a crazy weekend and can't wait for a short week followed by another 3 day weekend!! This is a schedule I can definitely get used to.  I'm so glad Colombians love to celebrate their holidays.

Hope everyone is safe, happy, and warm back in the States!
much love
aimee

que pena...

It has been quite some time since I last wrote to you all, as I was so kindly reminded of today during my Skype session with Grandpa and Grandma Burke and Mom.  It was lovely finally having a few minutes to stop and chat with family :)  My first ever report cards are completely finished, and parent-teacher conferences will be this week.  The students have off on Wed. and are dismissed at 11:00 on Thurs. so teachers and parents can meet.  It is going to be a stressful couple of days!

The good news is that Halloween is coming up and Colombians loove Halloween.  The whole school is taking the day to celebrate this wonderful holiday on Friday, we dismiss early at 1...which is then followed by a puente on Monday.  It will be a much deserved, relaxing long weekend.  I'm going to be staying in Medellin to catch up on sleep, hopefully some touristy things, a bit of celebration, and maybe a bit of work.

It has been so long since I wrote in here, I haven't updated you all on my excursion to the desert! The desert met up with the ocean, it was a hot, sweaty, relaxing trip.  It was quite the adventure followed by report card stress and planning for quarter two.  Right now I feel like I'm just a big ball of stress with work, and trying to plan exciting adventures for the breaks! It's quite overwhelming, but I am incredibly happy as well.

I can not believe that this week is the end of October!!  In just a few short months Alice Guns will be here and I will be on December break! So many exciting things to look forward to this year!  There are so many places I want to travel to, and so many activities I need to partake in!  I feel as though the options are endless.  :)

Thanks for reading and keeping me on top of these updates

much love
aimee

october break

I am a Warrior!! Completed el Desafio de Guerreros today, which is basically a Warrior Dash but on crack.  The race is set on the side of a mountain at Parque Arvi, there was mud, barbwire, hills, sandbag carrying, sliding down rocks underneath barbwire, getting stuck in the mud (at least 10x), falling, falling and more falling.  It was SO much fun! But it was also incredibly intense.

This week is our October break, the students have the entire week off and the teachers have PD both Monday and Tuesday.  On Wednesday I am leaving Medellin for practically the first time! A group of us are going to La Guajira which is the desert of Colombia.  I'm not entirely sure what to expect except for hot weather.  I'll be bringing my charged camera and a positive attitude!  It is going to be so nice to get away for a little while.  We have off from Wed. through Monday.  We arrive late Monday night back to Medellin which will make for an interesting first day back after break.

When we get back there will only be three full days left of quarter one!! Yiiikes! This means my grades will be due coming sooner rather than later.

Well, this warrior is incredibly exhausted and needs to go lounge in bed.  I didn't bring my camera to the race, but one of the other teachers got some great pics so hopefully I'll get to see them soon!

Shout out to Grandma Soukup and Grandpa Burke, prayers and thoughts are with you always! Please get healthy soon!!  Love you both so much!!

have a great week everybody!! :)

survival

Hiii!
It's been many days since my last update.  I have since completed my first masters class, slept 12 straight hours through the night, eaten Spanish tapas, and ran the Color Run here in Medellin.  The run was SO much fun.  I am so happy to be here, but I can't help but miss all my loved ones back home.  I have received birthday cards, gifts, messages, it all means so much to me.  Experiences around the world are incredible, exciting, and new but nothing can beat the love of your family.

This is a short update tonight, I have about 8 school days with my kids left before the first quarter is over.  These next few weeks are going to fly by!  There is much on my school and personal to-do lists.  Such as booking flights to the Galapagos Islands, booking a flight back home for the month of July, planning excursions for Semana Santa, and lots of boring school stuff that you all probably don't want to hear about.

I must try for a second shower today to try and get all the color off from the race earlier, and head early to bed to try and not get overwhelmed.  I enjoy hearing about everyone back home from everyone I love.  I hope you all know just how important you are to me.  Just know that I am always thinking about you, praying for you, and worrying for your safety.  Please stay healthy, happy, and safe!!  (and pencil me in to your schedule for july 2014)

much LOVE de medellin
aimee

That color does NOT come off easy...I may have lost a complete layer of skin...

waterfall hike!

This weekend I actually did something new and exciting!
One of the teachers from school is super fit and Colombian and he leads these waterfall hikes in Envigado.  I went and it was absolutely amazing.  I have some pictures, but Meghan the other new teacher that went had a better camera so I'm just going to steal her pictures.  This hike made me realize that I am so not prepared for outdoorsy activities here.  I need to buy a backpack, a dry bag, hiking and water shoes.  The hike was so amazing, in one mountain we experienced a jungle, dunes, desert, and grassy pastures.  There were cows everywhere! Terrifying! They would be hiding in the shrubs and in the background and then just start running at you.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I have SO many bug bites.  Didn't even realize I was getting bit until I got home.

I've found a few more cool spots for lunch/dinner and an awesome little coffee shop.  I'm trying to get out and explore more, and hopefully soon we'll have more time off to go exploring outside of Poblado more.  I have SO much on my to-do list.

This week at school will fly by, the students have MAP tests and have off on Friday, we have Prof. Dev. day followed by my very first Masters class starting on Saturday...these next few weeks will be crazy and then pretty soon October break will be here and then quarter 1 will be over and I can really start panicking about grades!

Life is good here, itches and all :)
much love
aimee

biiiirthday

Helloooo!

Quick update...I've made it a whole other year!
Yes friends, I am now the ripe old age of 23.  It was absolutely lovely having my birthday fall on this wonderful Monday.  This weekend I celebrated my birthday by hanging out with a bunch of teachers at two of the girls Kelsey and Meghan's apartment.  Their place is huuuge. It's incredible.  However, moral of the story is I stayed up way too late and as a result did absolutely nothing on Sunday.  It was grrreat.  Good thing birthdays only come once a year.

Today has been a pretty average day.  The kids were wiiiild, Mondays do not slow them down a bit.  After school, I was able to write some thank you notes to the kdis who brought me gifts! So sweet! Followed by a workout class and then a bit of school work.

That's all I've got...the exciting life of a newly 23yr old living in Colombia :D

ps. I've heard from many people that there may be cards in the mail, however I have yet to receive any! I hope they're still in the mail and I eagerly await their arrival :))

muuch love from the birthday girl
aimee

oh monday...

 this is going to be a quick update...

Monday...quite possibly was the most eventful day thus far.  Only because terrible things kept happening to me, which I normally wouldn't share...however I know how much I like to laugh at other people's pain so I'm sure my devoted readers would love the same opportunity.

Started off waking up feeling GREAT.  Finally feeling like I kicked this crummy cold I've been having to the curb.  So I woke up late, no big deal, late for the bus...again. No big deal, whatever.  The bus ride up the mountain starts to make my head feel like its growing and growing and my ears are getting more plugged.  I thought my head was literally going to explode, luckily it did not.  So ok, maybe I'm not over my cold.
Ears are plugged, can half way hear, throat is a mess and it sounds like a 90 yr old smoker is greeting the children as they come in the door.  First question of the day, "Miss Soukup, did you change your voice?" I replied/growled, "No, Juan Josè, Miss Soukup is a tad under the weather."  Followed by, "Miss Soukup you sound like a man"  Lovely.
After lunch, barely made it that far, it was time for Treat Monday! Kelsey and I run away to the high school cafeteria to buy baked goods and yummy coffee while the students are at recess.  We need pick me ups on Mondays.  After my snacks are finished, my nose is running, like a lady i use my arm to wipe it off.  Turns out I have a bloody nose....like a 10 yr old.  Grrrreat.
Students are coming in from recess, I'm blowing my blood out trying to clean the evidence off my hands and arm.  (students may be starting to get worried now...) It's all good, Miss Soukup just needs to keep the kleenex box by her at all times.
First day of science class is Monday afternoon.  Students are getting excited, who can blame them.  I play a scientific method rap song, the dancing turns violent....time for a discussion about when it is appropriate to have fun in the class and when it crosses the line.  As I'm mid sentence about what is an appropriate time to have fun....the chair I'm sitting in breaks and I fall to the floor.  Literally the metal leg broke completely off.  (followed by laughs and comments on how heavy Miss Soukup is.....)
Day over.

hope you all had some great laughs...I know we all did in 5e :) and enjoyed your day of leisure on labor day!

much love
aimee

fotos!

oh the wonderful moments of teaching :) jail=yale 

pretty flowers at school

tamale sin carne :)

my first coffee press and cup o joe!

the entire city was covered with fog....and then the clouds above! the school is reeeally high up.

and the bus is reeeeeally small....i start off every morning feeling like i'm going to pass out

MY FIRST PACKAGE!! Cathy Soukup is AMAZING :))
look at all those stamps!!