2 weeks later...

I have been in Colombia for just under a month now and I am still loving it. Though I have started to experience the things a foreign culture can do to your body. This past sunday after church I went to lunch with two other teachers from ECA to a rotisserie chicken place in the neighborhood behind our apartment. It was the best chicken I have had in Colombia and possibly in the past few years! though its repercussions made me second guess if I will eat it again. I have been sick since Sunday night and am finally feeling a bit better today. I can truthfully say that I am extremely excited for the next few days to rest.

I have been loving my time here other than the fact that I have been sick this week. The people of Colombia have been extremely welcoming and so have the teachers and members of my school. i have grown to love my students very much and I look forward to teaching them each day. each of my classes has grown to be very fun and extremely intelligent. I well into WWII with one of my history classes, getting a bit depressed in the Great Depression with the other US class, and we just made our way into Africa with my Geography class. My geo class continues to amaze me with the amount of energy they have and how much they really enjoy learning. As do each of my other classes. 

For the past two weeks I have started to have a small group with a group of around 8 9th grade guys. they rock. I was able to lead last week and i talked about a verse that has grown very special to me over my two summers at Noahs Ark in Colorado and told them about my recent walk with the Lord. the verse is Jeremiah 12:5. It was well received and lead to a good discussion of where we seek refuge and find faith in our lives. We are currently planning a night when my students will come spend the night at my apartment and I will introduce them to the movie the Sandlot and the next day we are going to hike Monserrat. 

i will upload pictures later this evening when I get home but for now I am off to have dinner with our staff at a family who has us over once a month and their son is in my Geography class. 

(Sorry I wrote this lat week and forgot to post it)
Yesterday was my first day with the three classes that I will be teaching this semester. I will be teaching a 9th grade World Geography course, an 11/12 grade US History course, and an 11/12 Honors US History course. Each class is unique in its own way. My ninth graders are excited and were apt to introduce themselves before stepping through the door. My regular US class was a little more relaxed in their approach to meet me while the Honors class, which is only 12 students, was quick to ask questions about me.

I spent the first day with each class laying out my expectations for them over the semester. I even came up with a presentation explaining my class rules entitled "Mr. Greens Bill of Rights" to accomodate the history teacher in me. We then talked over where each class was in their curriculum and moved into a discussion time. I quickly found out that all students dislike vocabulary strongly, tough luck. I also found out they enjoy Social Studies, bingo!

I made it through my classes relatively unharmed and made my way back to the teachers room. the teachers room is on the second floor of our building and is a room of 20 something desks. we each have our own desk, that's right I have my own desk. It's almost like I have a real job or something... Upon getting back to my desk I put on headphones and started working on the next days lessons. I was quickly drawn out of my music and history filled zone to the sounds of laughter and at some points repulsion. apparently while I had my nose in my computer one of the Colombian teachers had pulled out a bag of bugs called "hormiga culona". Which translates to big-a**ed ants. The hormigas were no longer alive but instead had been deep fried and everyone was now taking turns eating them. I of course realized I had to bite the bullet and stomach one. After the reactions I had seen around me I was surprised to find that they actually didn't taste so bad but instead it was more the thought of what you are eating that gets you. I quickly washed mine down with some fresh Colombian coffee that is constantly at hand in the teachers room and got back to work, of course.

Hormiga Culona

One of our teachers Mark getting ready for his turn eating a bug

Mark again taking the plunge

A quick shot of one of the buildings here at ECA as I was leaving

A whole bunch of us teachers on the bus going home at the end of the day

3 Days in Bogota

Hello again. I landed in Bogota late this past Saturday night. My flight came in about 20 minutes late and I didn't arrive at my apartment until past midnight. The school I am working at arranged for one of the students mothers to pick me up at the airport. She was extremely nice and loved to tell me about her city. We spoke about her time growing up in Bogota and the surrounding area, the history of Colombia, and of course her kids(who will not be my students this year but possibly next year).

Upon Arriving at my apartment I was met by the Trussells, the couple that I will be staying with for the next month or so while my living situation is hammered down. They greeted me and went to bed much as I would if I had to wait until midnight to meet the strange red haired guy I was hosting. I quickly made myself at home and went to sleep. Below is my humble room while I stay with the Trussells.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of cooking and came out of my room to a hefty breakfast sandwich. After eating we spent time getting to know each other, when we heard the door bell ring. In entered another new teacher this semester, Justin. For the rest of the afternoon Justin was nice enough to show me around my neighborhood. He took me down the street to San Pedro which is our local market. The market consists of many small grocery stores, a meat market/butcher, some open air restaurants, and other random stores.

After my tour of my neighborhood I was wiped out, so I called it a day and made my way back to my apartment. The next day I was again met by great food for breakfast. Later in the afternoon Justin and I decided that we wanted to explore the city a little but. Upon suggestion we decided that sticking to the more touristy areas would be best since neither of know much more spanish than "No hablo espanol". We decided that our destination for the day would be Montserrat.

Montserrat is a mountain that overlooks the city of Bogota. though the city is pretty much surrounded by mountains, this seems to be the largest. Justin invited along his roommate who has been teaching here since September already and off we went. We set off with the plan to take the buses to our destination but soon found out that because yesterday was a holiday it would be difficult to get their by bus. We instead took a cab, which turned out to be much more entertaining. Our cab driver spent the next 20 or so minutes dodging other cars, people, dogs, and potholes through back streets and near vertical streets to the base of Montserrat. At the base you have three choices on how you are going to get to the top, you can walk, ride a train, or take the gondola. We chose the Gondola.

The ride to the top was very quick but also a little nerve racking. The cars of the gondola are maybe
10' x 6' and there is a little sign that says 40 person maximum! Needless to say we were packed into the car and sent on our way. Upon reaching the top you finally get a feeling for just how big Bogota really is. I turned around after exiting the car and couldn't believe how far the city spread out. At the top of the mountain there is a church, a little market place, and several food vendors as well as sit down restaurants. We walked around and explored the top for a while and then waited around hoping to catch the sunset before heading down but decided we may not want to be out after dark. Upon getting to the bottom we caught another exhilarating cab ride home, with screeching tires and illegal passes included at no extra charge.

Me trying to get a shot inside the gondola while getting a look of disapproval from a Colombian grandma over my shoulder

This is Nathan in front of the church on top of Montserrat.

Inside the church

Justin on the front steps of the church

Justin and Nathan contemplating their places in Bogota/deciding if we wanted to pay to use the bathroom

Our view from the platform waiting for our ride back to the bottom

Leaving In Eight Days

Hello and welcome to my blog. As many of you know I will be teaching history in Bogota, Colombia for the next year and a half. As of today I leave in 8 days and I am finally realizing that this is really happening. The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least, I graduated college last week, finished student teaching on friday, and moved out of Chicago two days later. I now find myself on the cusp of having my own classroom in another country. I plan to use this blog in order to keep all of you back home up to date with what is happening in my life, what I am doing in my classroom, the adventures I go on, and random things I find on the internet that I want to share. I hope you share in this adventure with me and please give me feedback if you can.

I really have no idea what to expect when I arrive in Colombia but here is a video of Bogota and the surrounding areas that I've watched a few times in hopes it helps.