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!!

colombian "snow days"

Hiiiiii friends!
As Marc reminded me today, it has been 10 days since I last updated!! Oh man! That is far too long.  I have been overrrrrwhelmed with staying on top of school, cooking food, and trying to find time to workout.  I believe the last time I updated was before the Open House.  Everything went swimmingly, well I don't know about that, but I definitely survived!  My Spanish certainly wasn't perfect, but I tried! Since the Open House we've been truckin' away getting into all those interesting subjects that 5th graders learn about.

Last weekend I didn't do much, went to an Irish Pub Friday night to meet up with some teachers from school.  The only Irish part was the name...Irish Pub.  Saturday lounged around, took a nap, lesson planned and early to bed.  My life is really not that exciting, I kind of feel bad for all you people who read this regularly.

My latest adventure has been the hour+ bus ride to school each morning.  This week we've had a new driver, and apparently the petrol he put in the bus had water in it...according to him so the bus would just stall out.  It just shut off about 10 times on the way up the mountain to school.  It's a bit terrifying if you know how Colombians drive.  There are no rules!

I'm writing to you this afternoon after school was let out early.  We dismissed early due to rioting in Medellin.  And now the school has cancelled for tomorrow as well.  These are our "snow days" as I am calling them.  The good news is that the rioting is no where near where I live or where the school is.  It's mostly downtown and close to the airport.  The school cancelled I think more to please the terrified parents that were calling the school today.  That is pretty much all I know about the riots.  This week was supposed to be the first full week of school, but it looks like that will have to wait until next week.  Darn.

This weekend is looking bright, I'm meeting some wonderful friends for brunch tomorrow, followed by relaxing by the pool.  Saturday a bunch of teachers are meeting up in Envigado to go on a hike led by someone who works at the school.  And Sunday will be full of lesson planning, and prepping for the week.

I'm sure there is lots more that I have forgotten to mention from the past 10 days, but I'm getting sleepy! Oh! Because I've been trying out new workout classes!  Monday I tried a class with a few girls from school and it was SO tough.  I was still sore today!  But this afternoon I went with Carmel, and Fabiana to trial a CrossFit style class.  It was sooo tough.  I definitely will not be able to walk tomorrow.  Good thing I can sleep in :)

/Hope everything's well back home and everyone is surviving the heat I've been hearing all about!

much love de medellin!
aimee

it's been soo long!

Hello all!
I can't believe how long it's been since I updated! This week was my first full week of teaching and MAN was it overwhelming.  My to-do list is unending, the life of a teacher I suppose.  The flower festival was amazing, I would write more about it but I added all the pictures to my facebook so if you're interested in what it's all about please feel free to look there.  All I want to say is it was amazing, and I am so glad I was lucky enough to be able to see it in real life.  The week at school flew by and then for our first three day weekend a group of Columbus teachers went to a finca, which is basically a cottage home/farm for families here in Colombia.  It is technically a hostal that is located between Medellin and Santa Fe, just up the mountain from a small town called San Jeronimo.  It was an amazing weekend just to relax, drink some wine, lounge by the pool (when it wasn't sporadically downpouring) and get to know my wonderful coworkers.  A few of us went for hikes and we may have gotten a smidge lost, but whatever, we came full circle eventually.  I am definitely getting quite the workout in here with all the mountains and altitude...it's tough.  I will however start looking to join a yoga studio, maybe try pilates, or even crossfit while I'm down here.  After talking to the other teachers who have been down here for a year or more now, there is just so much to do! There is traveling around Medellin, around Colombia, around South America, nevermind trying to do all this while teaching full-time! I will never be bored here that's for sure.  Hopefully next weekend a few of us want to go up the cable car thingy which helped Medellin achieve the most innovative city in the world.

This next week at school should be pretty quick, we had today (Mon.) off for a holiday, we have 12:30 dismissals both Tues and Wed, I have training for a program called Number Corner Thurs afternoon, so my only full day with my students this week will be Friday...I'm sure it's going to be a productive week :)  My time here has been so amazing, I know it's only going to get more stressful as the school year progresses.  In addition to all this, the school offers their teachers a masters program where they can take three courses a year and earn their masters in just three years time...I have been weighing this decision heavily and I have decided to enroll in the program, it is a master's program for Interdisciplinary Studies of Education.  The price is right, the opportunity is amazing, and even if I still want to leave after two years, I can finish the program online (Mom stop panicking ;) ).  So! This is going to be the toughest, most amazing year of my life for sure.  I cannot wait for my first visitor a beautiful Miss Alice Guns to arrive in December.  I know it's quite the commitment and investment, but if you've ever wanted to visit South America...you have a friend in Medellin.  This country is amazing and I've heard amazing things about the surrounding countries as well.  I'm considering a trip to Peru right after school lets out this year, a couple of ladies mentioned they were going and would be up for another travel buddy.  The opportunities are endless down here.

That being said, I do miss all of my family and friends dearly.  Please keep texting, emailing, and skyping me.  I really appreciate all your love and support more than you know.  I'll attach a couple pictures for those of you who don't use facebook, but that was just the easiest way to post a whole bucket of pics.

much love :)
aimee

ps. I've had a few requests for my address...it's a bit weird down here, and I'm not entirely sure how long it takes, we're currently conducting trial 1 with a package from mom and dad.  Hopefully that comes swimmingly sin problemas...but I haven't heard the best reports about snail mailing packages.  The best idea is just stick to letters (I love getting mail, have yet to receive any mail here :(, I'd love to see that change)

Cra. 44 #17-C-Sur-40
UR Poblado Verde Apt 1807
Medellin, Colombia

awkward angle, but a bunch of us met at the stands with our sombreros.

just amazing, please see facebook for more pics.

amazing time at Hostal La Finca outside San Jeronimo 

on our first hike

miss soukup

welp! it's official! i survived!!

This day was aaamazing! The kids are incredible.  I think some of them were trying to get on my good side, but by the end of the day they told me I was the best teacher they ever had.  And they can't wait to come back to school on monday!! I almost cried...no joke.  We officially got nothing done because everything took 20x longer than I expected it would.  HOWEVER, I started to get to know the kids and they were able to ask me questions, and we're working on keeping the Spanish to a minimum...but they are for sure Colombians because they looove to talk :)

The best part about teaching here in Colombia is that their priorities are different.  They expect you to get to know the kids, they expect you to love your kids and tell them you love them.  They expect you to help the child as a whole and not push pressure of standardized tests down your throat.  I knooow it was only the first day....but it was a great one.  :)

Heres some photos as promised!
The first couple ones are from the market I went to last Saturday.

I DID IT! I survived!!

day off from this wednesday: old car parade

cut up mango in a cup! yumm

this is a site on my way to Santa Fe dedicated to la Virgen

Colombian meal! arepa lleno de queso, pimientos, tomates, champinones, una cerveza :)

just hangin out in my poncho y sombrero after a tough day of school :)

TOMORROW.

Oh man! It's almost here....my VERY first day of school as a teacher is mere hours away!! 

Who knows how it will go!

I'll let ya'll know this weekend...I'm sure the suspense will be unbearable. :)

As always...much love

Miss Soukup

p.s. all prayers and positive energy sent my way tomorrow will be greatly appreciated!

getting nervous!!

My VERY first day of school teaching will be this Friday!  Wow! That is SO exciting!  So many exclamation points!!

This week has been very nice so far!  Tuesday afternoon I only had 8 out of 22 students/parents come and drop off supplies, which means Friday morning is going to be a mad house!  The kids have been bringing in suitcases of materials! It's awesome because there is so much support for teachers from the parents/staff/ school that we are not responsible for buying anything!  They provide any materials or supplies you could ever want.  Another great thing about teaching in Colombia, you're allowed to bring yummy snacks in! I may need to find a candy store or something for the first day (and of course to keep a secret stash in my desk).  Have I mentioned I moved my desk into the closet?? It's quite nice.  I'll be able to "work" in peace while the students are learning Spanish or Religion or whatever else.  These kids technically have about 11 classes on their PowerSchool account.  It's just nuts.  There is practically no time left for me to teach!  

Today (huuuuump daaaaaaay! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBhP0EQ1lA) was the best wednesday ever, it was a holiday here so we had the day off.  I was able to sleep in a bit, try out the fitness area for the first time, swim, and check out the parade, it was for old cars or something.  There was so many people there it was hard to see, so I gave up and went for a coffee and palmita de queso.  The food here is kind of different from Spain, pastry items and basically everything is salty rather than sweet.  I miss me some Mario's treats from Santiago.  I'm still on the hunt for a similar bread/pastry shop here.  I'm finding some close seconds.  

Anywho! I have best be getting to bed.  There is still sooo much left to do in the classroom and I'm pretty sure I have meetings for at least 3/4 of my day tomorrow sooo who knows when and if it will get done!

I'll be sure to try and get some new pics up here soon, because let's be real....pictures are way more exciting than my boring stories.  :)

much love

aimee

fin de semana!

Hola amigos!

It's been awhile since my last update, only because I update way too much!  If it gets to be too much info just please stop reading...I won't be offended.  This coming week is going to be a big one!  Tuesday afternoon the students and parents can come and drop their supplies off and meet their wonderful teachers, this will be my first experience speaking Spanish professionally! Yikes!  Wednesday we have the day off because it's a holiday, and then Friday is our very first day of school! Holy canoli I can't believe it's coming this quick!

This weekend was a good time, I had to try and keep myself distracted so I wouldn't think about all the fun I would be missing back home at the Frolic.  However, I was in attendance Saturday afternoon via skype so hopefully my perfect life attendance won't be ruined.  Friday night I had to go pick up Carlos from Santa Fe because he was getting unlocked.  Early this week I'll be getting my SIM card here, so if you have a smart phone back home, I highly encourage you to download the app What's App? so we can text!  It's free!  woohoo!  Saturday, I started out with a nice swim...no head bonking this time.  Then I met up with some other teachers for this huge market that happens on the first Saturday of every month.  It was a good time, bought a few bracelets, but nothing big.  I'm trying to keep my spending in check these first couple months til I figure out this peso nonsense.  The conversion is nuts.  Saturday evening, three high school male teachers were having a get together at their house, which is up las palmas.  Carmel let me go with her, since I had no idea how to get there.  It was a good time, I was able to meet more teachers in the middle and high school buildings.  There are so many people here from the Midwest!  I met a high school teacher who is from Iowa, his name is Dale.  He is the epitomy of a small town, Iowa kind of a person.  Go Hawkeyes!! There are a couple teachers from Wisconsin and Illinois as well.  It really is such a small world.

Today, Sunday night already! Yikes! The time here seems to fly by, there is always something to do or somebody to chat with.  Today was a low key kind of a day, went for a run for the first time! Usually, every Sunday there is something called ciclo via (I attached a link to a youtube video about it, the video is actually where I walk/run and is really close to my house!).  But for some reason the road wasn't blocked off today so it was kind of a run/walk because I was on the sidewalk and kept having to stop.  It's tough running here, but I felt good for the short amount of time I ran consecutively :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnEtPaBMT4I

Welp! My rice is cooking, and hopefully I won't burn it this time! I think I may be getting worse at cooking, if that is possible. And burnt rice tastes exactly like burnt popcorn so it wasn't too bad.  If you're a dedicated reader, please leave comments or email or facebook message me!  I would love to hear about all of your lives as well!

much love
aimee

soy aburrida.

I am only writing in here to report that I am still alive! Woohoo!
I'm sure there were bets back home about how long I would last in a big city, those of you that said under a week...you were wrong.

This week has been soo busy with meetings at school.  I have had minimal time in my classroom!  I think I'm going to have a loot of work to do this weekend.  Tomorrow is Friday already, woah.  Today was the first day with all the teachers back.  We learned about The Columbus Way and all the many, many initiatives and changes that are taking place.  This school truly has a lot going on.  The administration staff is amazing though, I am lucky to be starting my first teaching position at such a great school.  There are so many couples and people who have traveled the world teaching, waiting for their opportunity to come to this school, and work with these returning teachers.  I'm a lucky gal :)

Enough of that gushy nonsense, you all just want to hear about my crazy stories.  Well, I actually don't really have any crazy stories.  Except for my violent swimming experience.  My goal has been to swim every day in the amazing pool that my building has so I can get better and do a triathalon!  So I've been verry dedicated, I swim at least 10 lengths of the pool and then call it quits cause I'm a wimp and have not adjusted to this darn altitude yet. So I'm almost done with lengths and I'm leisurely doing the backstroke, looking at the pretty clouds, thinking about how lucky and blessed I am, and then BAM! I smack my head right into the concrete wall of the pool....ouch, but no blood.  So much to your surprise I quit swimming after that, the old ladies who were flapping around at the end of the pool were staring at me.  I decided to go back to my room.  I'm back in the apartment, checking out my battle wound when my forehead starts bleeding! (Good thing Cathy reminded me to bring bandaids :)) So for a night/day I was the girl with the bandaid on her forehead....cool.  

The only other semi-awful thing that happened so far was this morning, Carmel, my roommate says we get picked up in front of our building at 6:45, usually I've been trying to get up and workout in the morning, but today I decided to just skip that (still a little woozy from my battle with the pool), and sleep in til 6 because breakfast was going to be provided by the school.  So it's about 6:20 I'm fresh outta the shower still in towel and the phone rings....the bus is here and waiting for us! Yiiiikes, Carmel and I panic, throw some clothes on and jump on the bus.  Turns out we have a temporary bus/route for the first two weeks til they get everything straightened out with the normal route.  So lucky for me I got to meet all the new returning teachers looking just lovely on the first day.  (ok so now thinking back, it really wasn't that bad, but in the moment I was a smidge upset)

Anywho! This is once again a suuuper long post and I completely apologize.  Maybe if I had more friends or a cell phone (I just dropped Carlos off at Santa Fe to get desbloqueared....hopefully he'll be there tomorrow when I go pick him up after school!)  or energy I would lead a more exciting, Colombian lifestyle.  I'm taking it in baby steps...paso a paso.

much love to all
aimee