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Hi!
Yep, I made it. Alive and well, not even a hint of a kidnapping to be seen! The trip wasn't much fun, but now that I'm here I'm really excited to see what I can't do!
I left Xalapa at 11, with little enthusiasm, to be honest. It's hard to go from 3 squares a day, no laundry, and just a little light housekeeping and dish washing (to help out, of course, not mandatory) to.... WORK. But of course this isn't just work, this is COLOMBIA! I'm going to be teaching abroad, fulfilling one of my dreams (albeit in a rather small scale)! So, needless to say I marched onto the bus and toughed out the 5 hour cramped ride to the airport. From there I waited in lines for hours to check in and get on the plane. Ugh. I didn't even get to finish my Starbucks! Grrrrrr!
From there I flew 3 hours and 15 minutes away to Panama City. Pretty, hot, and would be worth a stay. Panama City is right on the gulf coast and looked like a lot of fun. The Panama Canal was SUPER easy to spot from the plane!
After a slight delay we flew just one short hour to Medellin. I was a little anxious because I didn't know where I was going to find the other groups of people who were to meet me at the airport, but I figured things would work out. I grabbed my bag, turned around, and there was Janis (my boss for the trip)! I couldn't believe it and neither could she. In fact, all three groups arrived to the customs area at the exact same time. It couldn't have been more perfect!
We got on the private bus that headed up to the school (8,000 ft. elevation) and felt like I was back at the UDLA in Mexico. This place was HUGE. It houses a Pre-K-12 system on one mega-campus. There are normally 1,500 students that attend this school every year. I'll have pictures tomorrow. The place was amazing. We're going to be hosting 300+ students and teachers from 20 different schools (if I heard correctly). This thing is BIG. I feel like a little fish swimming in a HUGE pond. No, really. Thankfully Janis is good at reminding me why I'm here, and I'm sure it will be fine.
When we finished with the introductions, we headed to the "hotel". It's more like a bed and breakfast, and we got all settled and then ate here at the hotel. It was interesting food, Mexican like, only not spicy (at all) and with some interesting twists. Thankfully the reception clerk/waiter/manager/bell boy was very patient as the few of us that spoke Spanish helped get the 16 of us ordered. It took almost an hour to get the food out and that was after they called in reinforcements to cook (literally, we watched her dash in to the kitchen from a taxi). It was fun to get to know everyone. More on that later...
So, tomorrow is all about meeting the participating teachers, and getting our rooms ready for Monday. The elevation is a killer, 5 steps and you feel dizzy, but other than that it should be fine.
Keep the e-mails and messages coming, it helps keep my spirits up!
More Later...
Aaron
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