A little bit of culture

And here is the second post I promised. Its a list of various things that I have learned directly or indirectly throughout the week.

Life fun facts.... 

- they have something call pico y placa to assist with the traffic here. It only exists on week days but according to your license plate, you are only allowed to enter the city on certain days or stay after certain hours. For example, some of the admin had to leave the happy hour early because they had to be out by 5:30. 

- most people wear their engagement ring on their left hand and then they move it to their right hand when they get married. 

- Its a city of contradictions. Lots of greasy, heavy food here yet it is a very health conscious city. Its quite the combination. 

- new fruits that I ate this week: maracuya, granadilla, and cherimoya. and I have a zapote on my countertops that I haven't tried yet. 

- there are rules for every little things-  over 220+ amendments to Colombian law

- laptops have a totally different keyboard. Zoom in and check it out.

School fun facts..... (I'm going to add in some more pictures of the school to beautify this otherwise wordy post)

- Colombia is the country with the second most public holidays. Here they call them puentes. The first one is next Monday. That's right... we are starting the school year off with a holiday.

- name games here can be tough because many students have the same name 

- I'm having an identity crisis... I'm not coach smith anymore. Should I be Ms. Kassie (culturally normal) or Ms. Smith? Let the students pick? 

- All schools are required to have a certain number of instructional minutes per week. This upcoming year, the school has decided to count the 4 minute transition time as instructional time because ,in local schools, teachers change rooms and not the students. Doing this allows them to create nearly an hour long lunch which is a combination of a lunch and an extra help period where kids can go find teachers for help. 

- the school tries to stay current. I have heard ' according to brain research' many many times. They read and try to act on it. (For example, max of 10-15 minute lesson, brain breaks, no extra help after school, etc) 

Many schools come to visit to try to attract the Latino population 

- the companies that parents work for actually choose their vacation time. What this means for the school is that students may be out for a week at a time if they want to have a family vacation that year. 

- School practices 

• generally no points off for late work- there shouldn't be an academic consequence for a behavioral offense 
• no 0s and no missing. They are starting this year to give IE's, meaning insufficient evidence. This aligns with the belief that grades should represent what students can do. Within the next year or two, the plan is to move to standards based grading using a 4 point scale. 

- Roger showed us a very neat website by Geert-Hofstede in order to compare cultures. Some big take aways: 

• Individualism in the Colombian culture is virtually nonexistent. They said many of the students look alike and even the majority choose to wear their uniform everyday. It is a P.E. uniform so they only have to wear it on those days but almost everyone wears it everyday. 
• Students are incredibly protective here of their group. For a teacher, that means never single a kid out or the rest of the class will make life difficult for you. 
• This means it can be hard for a move-in/ new student to the school. 
• It is a typically very competitive culture. Both students and staff are allowed to sell stuff at school. 
• they are much higher than the US in terms of indulgence. What this means is that they know how to chill out, relax, and have a good time. You can typically find people at all hours of the day sitting around, sharing a meal together, etc.

- Students fail years here not courses. You fail and must repeat the whole year if you fail 2.5 classes. 

Outdoor amphiteater 

- Some students come from very wealthy families... we were told that some may get dropped off and have body guards. 

- The school tries very had to keep students there K4-12. They have a foundation that supports families that have fallen on hard times with a scholarship. 

- They have a huge huge HUGE halloween party at the school. You'll of course be seeing some of it later. Think costumes, slip n slide, dance party, party bus, grease pole, etc. 

• Also kids go trick or treating in malls here... not neighborhoods. 

- I will apparently know when Novemeber 30th turns into December 1st. The city lights up in fireworks (that are illegal but it doesn't stop anyone). December is a big party month in celebration of Christmas. The city center does an fantastic job with Christmas lights. Roger said students are often distracted/ tired in December because of the late night/early morning parties. 

Alright, thats it for now. Talk to you next weekend! 

First real week of preplanning

So... I'm having a hard time trying to organize the massive amount of information that I learn on a daily basis for you. I'll start with some of the more boring stuff and include some random facts and tidbits on a separate post. 2 weeks in and I am still very much in the place where everything is new. 

On Monday, we got to meet our administrators and the new local staff. I very much enjoyed meeting everyone and was encouraged at the atmosphere. It feels very welcoming and fun-loving with high expectations. I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly intimidated by the great success of the AP program at the school. They had a 95% pass rate for all students that took any AP test and only one person out of 60+ failed the calculus exam. Huge shoes to fill... With that said, I am in a great place to learn and grow professionally and feel that I have a good support system. 

We left school at 3 to attend 'happy hour' at a really neat place. I tried a drink called lemonada de coco and it was very rich. They had multiple different appetizers brought out to us and we had a great time getting to know each other a little more. I got some brownie points by trying the blood sausage but only after I made a local eat it first. 

one of the plates with all kinds of yumminess 

I hunted down some fresh ground peanut butter before heading back to the apartment in a taxi with two others that live close. It really would be nice to live a little closer to the heart of the city. We struggled a little with directions so I asked to get dropped off at exito to get some groceries. I like to tell myself that food always tastes better after carrying it home. 

Tuesday was more meetings and more settling in.... pretty much the story of the week. One of the admin talked about how they were 'a school of yeses' and I liked that openness to new ideas and continual improvement. They are encouraging everyone to step out of their comfort zone and broaden the audience of the students works. We learned a more about culture and what that means for students here. Basically, they love to talk. Classroom participation should never be a struggle but classroom management might be. 

This is in the middle of one of the malls here. The whole city is preparing for the flower festival. 

Wednesday meant more of the same- professional development. So far, I have been impressed with the professional development offered. They generally practice what they preach and model what they want to see. We learned about their lesson planning guide and I was interested to learn that ethics was a part of that. They would like each lesson to have a component of ethics in it. This is because we have students that are coming from wealthy families and will likely be thrust into positions of authority relatively soon. 

I got to meet Sam this morning. Sam has been teaching AP Calculus here for the past 7 years or so and is moving up to be the math coach this year. I am so thankful for his willingness to share, help, and support me. 

I went to my first intercambio Wednesday night. An intercambio is a free language exchange where people come to practice their Spanish and English. It is a really neat atmosphere where the conversation fluidly switches between languages. Everyone is very nice and obviously there to learn so the stakes are not very high. 

Thursday, I went out to lunch with some people at a very neat restaurant. Speaking of food, I seem to be struggling to find my normal. But don't worry, I am still trying everything and seeking out all the new goodies. I didn't have to really change much with the AB curriculum so I finished the bulk of that today and am now trying to sort through BC. 

Restaurant up top. Grocery store down below. Piano in the middle. 

For some reason, Thursday was a bit of a tough day for me. Tough enough that I opened up the last three of my cards (thank you again to everyone). I think my brain had just reached its limit. There really in no time to shut it off because the normal things that you don't have to think about at home are still added stress here- especially because its in a foreign language.  How do you get consistently hot water? How do you get the mail? Where is the gym? Where is ___ at the grocery store? How do you recycle? How do you email your secretary to request supplies (<- google translate). The list goes on... I am ready for the kids. I want to meet them, build relationships with them, encourage them, help them. But yet I'm not ready for kids because I still have so much work to do. 

Its the slow times that life gets hard. Times when I'm surrounded by my blank white walls. Times when I can't tell my taxi driver how to get to my apartment. Times when I have different food in my panty. It's then that I have to remind myself how much I wanted to and still definitely want to do this. This, by no means, is not a woe-is-me post or a buy-me-a-ticket-home post. I just want to be real. This blog is meant to be a forever journal for me that I just decided to share with the rest of the world. So the real me, the realistic me says, yes, life gets hard. 

BUT the great thing is that there are as many and even more things that I am loving about doing life here. And those are so easy to list off and so easy to realize - especially when I am out and about, experiencing new places, and cementing great memories with some awesome people. 

Even in a mall, you can't escape the green. 

I hunted down my soon-to-be gym Thursday. Its called smartfit and it is in the mall near me. Let me just tell you how much altitude affects the body. I was dying!! This mall is quite nice and even exciting enough to have a zip line running through it! 

Anyways.... Friday was back to the grind at work. I tried the cafeteria at school where I believe I will be eating everyday. There are many choices and the food is of course fresh. We eat around 1:30 everyday though so I'll have to work on that snack. I got home and worked the rest of then evening to get the first day powerpoint, syllabi, etc done and went to be early for the big adventure Saturday. 

Walking through his neighborhood. 

Roger, my high school principal, offered to take us all hiking so of course I was all over that. He lives on the other side of the mountain/ past the school. I took a taxi to San Diego mall where we were meeting and hopping on the local bus. We packed in there and got off at his neighborhood. We walked to his house, dropped off our stuff, and headed out with some of his neighbors. 

red bellied grackle 

We climbed up over some hills, through different gates and properties, and eventually in the river. It was a river hike the rest of the way so it was a little slow going. It was incredible. We saw a couple trout in the river and just enjoyed the challenge and scenery. Eventually, we made it to a beautiful waterfall. 

We hiked back (its always quicker getting back!) and made it to Roger's house where he made a nice spread for us. A couple of us picked some oranges off his trees in the backyard for some juice. Delicious tacos and fruit was on the menu. It was quite the spread. I was already feeling spoiled and the day was far from over. Appreciative is an understatement.  

Next stop was a nearby town. He offered to take us to El Retiro, just a few km away. We stopped at a bakery where I had a rich chocolate peanut butter treat. Then we crowded in the cars and drove a little farther into town. It was such a nice, quaint town. Nothing touristy. No gringos in sight. 

Chiva 

If you can't tell, I just love all the different doors. 

Overall, Saturday was just what I needed. I got out of the hustle and bustle of the city life. I was surrounded by nature and good company. 

When you go to bed at 9, 6:15 isn't a bad wakeup time. These early wake up times here on the weekend make the weekday alarm clock hurt a little less. About 7:30, I walked into town to meet up with Andrea at the farmers market. It was so fun to walk around, sample things, and buy some groceries. I walked down the mountain to get there so there was no way I was going to make it back up with all my food. Taxi it was! And I even managed to give good directions. 

my first arepa since arriving. Arepa con quesito. 

A little food prep and house keeping was on the agenda for the rest of the day. I even managed to get  some pictures up on my walls to spice it up a little. 

One more week of pre-planning. This week, all staff will be back. I am excited to meet the rest of the school family! 

City Tour and my first glimpse of The Columbus School

Day 3 (Thursday) we got treated to a city tour. We loaded up the bus and headed into the city, a city that continues to amaze me. July 20th is Colombia's Independence Day, which they actually do not really celebrate. I was told that they are happy that it is a holiday and they do not have to work but it is not celebrated like it is in the US. We were supposed to have a guide that spoke English but he didn't show up so I got to put my listening skills to use.

The front book bag is a new trend and safety precaution against theft.

Our first stop was Centro where all the famous Fernando Botero sculptures live. They were all very neat. Many people were walking around in this area and of course trying to sell us souvenirs. The building behind some of these sculptures that was beautiful but it is actually unfinished and not used for anything because they ran out of money while building it. The Museo De Antioquia was also right there. Here we also took our first picture of the group!

Next we went to Parque De Los Deseos where they had all kinds of neat things to interact with. They had a sun dial which told time by placing your phone on top of a pole and watching where the light beam reflected on the wall. They had a two domes (moons) about 100 feet apart that allowed you talk to each other and hear clearly due to the echoes. There was also a planetarium and a spot for outdoor movies.

We walked just a few more minutes and came to Parque Explora. This was a very busy place with lots and lots to do. We arrived before they opened and there was a long, long line of people waiting to get in. Here they have the largest aquarium in South America and plenty of other things to do to last the whole day.  We actually did not go in but we checked out the floor paining that looks 3D and the mist showers nearby.

And just a few more minutes away we walked around the botanical gardens. Flowers here are huge. There is a large flower festival/ parade that is going to be happening here in a few weeks. The garden itself was beautiful. It felt like you were walking around in a jungle. Medellin has mastered the art of combining nature with architecture. We passed a beautiful girl who was taking pictures for her quincienro and stopped for a little snack break before heading on to the next adventure. A couple of people had this pastry with cheese in it and I found out just how good these are the next day.

Love the street art!

   

Tree you are supposed to hug to get rid of all your bad vibes. 

Next we went to this place that took us through this whole process with our bare feet to essentially meditate and relax. We took our shoes off and went through various textures and obstacles. We started on 'sand' (aka little rocks) and then went to grass and back to sand.

We had to build a 'mountain' and then jump on it

We went through a maze of pillars with our eyes closed and arms crossed to symbolize the obstacles that will pop up in life in order to remind ourselves that we can get through them. We made our way across a group of pillars with different heights without looking down to represent the journey through the ups and downs in life. After that we rubbed our feet against these incredibly soft trees from Japan. From this tree, we took a dead leaf, crumpled it, and rubbed it in our hands. Though we all grabbed the same leaf, each persons smelt different according to our pH levels.

And yes. We were absolutely great entertainment for the locals. 

Love this tree... To be different is to be normal.

Our last texture was water. We sat down beside the water and slowly put our feet in the water and gave ourselves a little foot massage. We moved to a deeper bath with jets that massaged our feet. And finally made it to a large, peaceful waterfall that drowned out the noise of the city. All in all, it was a very unexpected yet interesting experience.

The last stop before lunch was a small area that was made to replicate how Antioquia used to look. There was a little square of small building with great roofs and vibrant colors. We climbed some stairs to be rewarded with more sweeping views of the city. It was here that I got my first taste of rain. The weather is still perfect to me but I may have to reevaluate when the rainy season later this 'fall/winter' comes along. Fall and winter got quotes because we don't get temperature seasons here. We will just have dry (still rains) and wet.

We finally made it to lunch at a place in Parque Lleras. Parque Lleras is the most popular parque, especially for the expatriates and the night life.


That afternoon my big adventure was finding a grocery store near me. I walked to El Tesoro which is an upscale mall near me. Once again, the mall was huge and had the open air feel. There were many American stores and even a little amusement part in there for kids. I walked a little bit more to find an exito (combinations of a grocery store and home goods store) that I will likely do my all shopping at. I headed back and raced the clock to beat dark (sometime around 7:00ish here).

Friday, we made our first trip to school. The school is up the mountains so, with a bus, it is slow going. There were various stations that we had to work out way through. We got our bank card, selected our phone plan, signed up for both our private and public health insurance, talked to a credit union, learned about a discount card to various things in and out of Medllín, etc. Human Resources talked to us about various benefits, schedules, rules, bus routes, and more before we signed our contracts.

Student Art 

Beautiful school- elementary, middle, and high each have their own building

One quick thing about doctors/ sickness here. With my private health care, if I get sick (even if just a cold or something pretty minor like that), I call a number, explain what is wrong, and then a doctor will come to my apartment. What's crazier? Its free. If something is an 'emergency' then you go see them for 64.000 pesos which is about $21 and everything that results from that visit is included - medicine, hospital stay, specialists, exams, surgeries, anything. And before you start to question this benefit, do some research because their medicine here is very good.

Go tigers?!?!

We were served some stir fry for lunch with a yummy salad and an interesting dessert (that nobody knew what it was). With a few minutes before our afternoon meetings, we roamed the school to find out classrooms! Our names were already on the doors and mine was the first door when you walked it so it wasn't hard. My high school secretary let me and gave me the keys later in the day. I absolutely love the light, windows, size, everything. That afternoon, we learned about flexible compensation and other ways to manage money and minimize taxes. It was another mentally exhausting day with lots of decisions and lots of information. Overall, being at the school made it feel a little more real. Even though I have had my own place since I got here, it has still seemed like we were just on a vacation with way too much luggage. I am very excited to meet all the other staff and especially my students.

My room! With windows that will be open all. the. time. 

Basketball and soccer all in one!

That afternoon, maintenance came to my apartment and helped me with just about all of my problems. He 'stopped' both toilets from leaking, adjusted my door so it closes easily, 'fixed' the light in my closet (not yet convinced but it works for now), and,  most importantly, I now have hot water.

As soon as he left, I went with another teacher that lives near me to meet most of the rest of the teachers in the heart of the city. We started at a bar (which had a church directly beside it- doors open, people praying, and all) and then walked just a few blocks to Parque Lleras to grab some dinner. This is definitely the place to be at night. Lots of different bars, music, people, and of course dancing. No picture (especially on a not-so-great phone) could capture that atmosphere.

I am sitting here now typing this post on Saturday morning. I have had some furniture delivered this morning but I am still waiting on a curtain instillation and some major wifi help. I have had wifi since I got here but it has always been spotty and often kicks me off. Well this morning, it kicked me off for good and I haven't had access to it again. Every day is a new day and every thing that happens in a another learning opportunity.