holidays

Oscar and I made brownies!! When I said we needed to add two eggs to the flour mixture he put in the two eggs, shell and all, into the mixing bowl, on top of the flour mixture, smiled and said, “ok what next.” It was a fun evening.

My time in Cali was bittersweet; the first few days were spent trying to hold back tears of frustration. The family I stayed with was not affiliated with the Episcopal Church and worked long hours. They, along with myself were under the impression that there was a structured plan for my being in Cali, which was not the case. Nobody wanted me leaving to venture out on my own and not knowing anyone, I felt imprisoned in the house with a television, my journal, and my thoughts.

After the first few days of my ‘perceived imprisonment’ life began to pick up speed. The people of Cali are so warm, generous and excited to share all that is unique to their city and their country and to show that there is so much more to Colombia than the world news portrays. I visited a few different communities in and around the city and every person/family I met was so hospitable and loving, generous and gracious, once again I am left speechless, full of love and lost in thought. I will be going back. (quick side note; no matter how hard I try I cannot escape that darn cow stomach soup).

One thought I would like to share with you is about how each and every one of us has been blessed with different gifts, it’s how we choose to make use of, accept and appreciate these gifts that forms our lives, our journeys. It does not matter where we are or what we are doing, moment-by-moment our journeys are formed and the wonderful thing is that they don’t require anything more than ones self, the belief in ones self.

The point I am trying to make is that we all have the potential to do amazing and noble things and crossing an ocean is not required. Living is living, being real is being real, honesty is honesty, giving is giving, and loving is loving, anywhere and everywhere on planet earth and beyond. You are the difference and you are your life.

travel!!!

I am in an awful hurry as I had to sneak in one last rock climbing session before I head off to the Pacific coast to a city called Cali. A city in Colombia famous for busting some pretty rad salsa moves, and as I am told dancing in general. This adventure will be to fully experience the Novena(9th) nine days before Christmas which are celebrated with family get together and all sorts of other things that I will be sharing in my next entry.. In Colombia Christmas is celebrated on the 24th rather than the 25th. So I will return from Cali in time to spend Christmas with Myriam, Oscar and the rest of the clan in a town called Subecoche.

P.S. I bought a pretty awesome suitcase (as you can see in the photo) for $2.50 in the 2nd store the church runs and it is probably one of the coolest things I now own, and thought it fitting for this quick blog entry.

confusion and inarticulacy

These two words have been the theme as I have been trying to type this blog for the past week, my attempts at simplicity are to no avail. It has been a very muddy while as I attempt to swim through my thoughts... and mind you, mud is not easy to maneuver in, let alone swim in.

I want to write about how there are days where Spanish comes easy and I surprise myself with the ease and fluidity of my speech while others I sound like a skipping record and people have to use all of their creative abilities to extrapolate any sort of meaning(it's fun for all).

I want to write about the frequent occurrence of grandparents being dropped off at the hospitals never to be retrieved again by their own children. Their children seeing them as a burden and disown them with literally nothing but the clothes on their back.. How heart breaking it is to know that one human being could do this another, especially their own parent. But how wonderful it is that others show such generosity and kindness by taken them in.

I want to write about the sadness I feel due to the corruption, lack of social services, injustice, deaths and missing persons caused by standing up for yourself, your home, your family and the numerous homeless children on the streets that sniff glue to ease the pain of being homeless, hungry and alone. And how incredible it is that compassionate people exist, people who see this suffering and because of it give what they can to help.

I want to write about stunning beauty of this misunderstood country and how it is just one of many misunderstood countries in the world. How I wonder what would happen if we all just opened our minds to be a little less fearful, a little less judgmental and opened our hearts to love and accept just a little bit more, what would happen?

I want to write about how life is about perspective and how perspective is reality. We each create our own perspective which in turn allows us to create our own reality. It is what we choose to see and believe in that shapes and forms ourselves, our worlds, our lives...

thanksgiving today

Oscar has returned home which means Myriam will now be getting a full nights rest. Now it's story time...

On Monday I gave Myriam some brownies from the bake sale to share with Oscar in the hospital(his sweet tooth is almost as big as mine). Last night after Oscar arrived home, Myriam went out to run some errands. I was reading in my room when the banging of cupboards started in the kitchen. I assumed Oscar was just so overjoyed to be home he was nostalgically looking through everything, touching anything he could.

Well, that wasn't the case and within moments he appeared at my door very collected with his hands folded over his belly, very politely with an hint of serious concern in his voice, he stated, "Myriam told me that you made brownies, and well, I had one on Monday but I cannot seem to find the rest of them anywhere." How could I stop from smiling? I had to inform him that all the brownies had been consumed early in the week.
"Oh, I see. Well, what are the ingredients?" I listed the ingredients.
"That's it? When can you teach me to make brownies?"
"Saturday or Sunday I have time."
"Great, Saturday we'll make brownies together. Does the oven work?"
"Yes the oven works."

Today my office mates were determined to find turkey and mashed potatoes to celebrate Thanksgiving. We also found mini pies.

Today I learned how to belay rock climbing and teach Alice how to do a proper 'ocho' knot.

The sun is out for a few moments and I am so thankful to be here, learning all that I am learning, while being supported and encouraged by so many wonderful people. For all of this and all of you, I am thankful.

P.S. If you are not on my email list and would like to be, please let me know!

???

Dance photos are up, click here to view: http://picasaweb.google.com/akrislock/Bogota#

Oscar was supposed to come home from the hospital last night and my heart sank when Myriam walked through the door alone. Every time Oscar gets close to leaving along comes another complication. The worst was a fall he had last week, causing much concern and now Myriam is spending not only her days with him, but nights also. Her sister-in-law helps out by taking a shift when she is able to so Myriam can run home to shower and take a quick nap. The few times I do see Myriam she shows me family photo albums while explaining each photo, telling me wonderful stories so full of love and life.

I am unsure of how to explain my thoughts so instead here are two quotes that come to mind, "tell me what is your plan to do with your one wild and precious life." Mary Oliver. And, "Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold." by Zelda Fitzgerald

Prom was great. Dr. Santos(my coworker) his wife's nephew was graduating from high school. The families of the graduates, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles all attended... In the hotel they had long tables set up with waiters serving drinks and appetizers and the majority of the people danced til the wee hours of the morning. The hotel was still packed when I looked at my watch for the first time surprised to see it was 3:30 a.m.

My date(Carlos) was an amazing dancer and was patient enough to teach me a thing or two. I picked up the dances pretty quickly and was excited that I was able to keep up until Carlos got excited also and started adding fancy footwork while explaining all sorts of things. I strained to hear him over the sub woofer we seemed to be dancing in and would focus so much on what he was saying that I would forget to keep my feet moving.

As my friend Alice and I were enjoying coffee hour at church this past week, they announced a bazaar this coming Sunday. Alice turned to me and said, "too bad we don't have anything to sell." Not sure if she was serious or not I found myself saying jokingly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "um, brownies." Well, Alice thought this was a fantastic idea, so we now have a booth of brownies and no bake cookies. Please do stop by if you'd like to buy some of the world's best baked goods, it'd be great to see you.

dancin' the night away

I came to Colombia with an open mind and heart hoping to 'just be', not having too many expectations in order to get the most out of my experience. Thus with this in mind aside from the amount of love I have seen here, not too much has taken me by surprise until Tuesday...

Tuesday started off as one of those mornings... one of those that went like this: waking up was difficult as my body was exhausted from the previous days intense rock climbing session. I turned on the shower full blast to see my clothes hang drying and not so dry anymore; sock and underwear drawer completely empty. My eyes were too tired to put my contacts in, glasses it was and brushing my hair seemed too much of an effort so out came the hairband. My regular morning exercises seemed more fit for someone such as Chuck Norris rather than myself, so I figured why not move on to breakfast, maybe that would help.. . . until I poured orange juice into my hot chocolate. It's only 8 o'clock in the AM.

As I left the apartment the torrential downpour started which left me arriving fuzzy haired, soggy and groggy-eyed at work. I just wanted to sit at my desk peacefully and avoid the day, but no such luck. Pilar comes in to say, "we need to get you a dress for prom on Friday and your prom date will be here in a few hours to meet you so it won't be awkward at the dance." My thoughts at that moment were revolving around questioning whether or not this was reality or a dream? Prom? What? The end. I've given up trying to differentiate between the two.

It just so happens to be that it was reality and I am going to prom this evening with the cousin of one of my coworkers. His cousin isn't in high school but we are still going to prom? Is anything making sense these days? I'll just go with it.. Here begins the true adventure.

Dress shopping, hair, make-up, nails- it has no end! The prom being a 'cocktail prom' requires a fancy cocktail dress(silly me, if only I'd thought to pack one). Since I tend to be taller than the average female Colombian, half the morning was spent trying on dresses saying, "well you could wear that dress just don't bend over, or well, if you want to look like neon barbie that dress would work." Finally we found a nice black dress.

Now comes the hair, make-up, nails- I now look like a 90's rock star. After leaving the beauty salon all gussied up, I spent the walk home trying to contain my laughter. I could not keep a straight face to save my life and still as I type this it is difficult. It feels so nice to laugh as I think about my day, my week, Colombia and how everything unfolds. I will for sure be a salsa expert after tonight- oh how I love it here.. Happy Friday folks.

'molasses cookies'

(photos are from a day trip to the Salt Cathedral, built in salt mine)
A lady in the office, Maria Pilar, enjoys coming into my office to chat. Last week it was discovered we both have a love for cooking/baking. Once this came out, the treats started... Tuesday it was a milkshake (quick side note, if you want to taste the worlds best milkshakes, come visit), Wednesday she brought me a piece of apple pie, Thursday, an arepa. First, I told her she needed to kick the habit of bringing me things to eat because my stomach really was not built to hold so much and second, I would make her chocolate chip cookies. That was until I discovered her favorite were ginger aka, molasses cookies which is fantastic because those happen to be one of my favorite cookies also. Well the adventure starts here...

After translating the ingredients and researching the difference in high altitude baking I set out on my mission. First task was finding the ingredients: ground cloves, ground ginger and cinnamon, plus molasses, HA! Right. I might as well have ridden an elephant into the store asking for the isle where they kept the penguins. I was able to find fresh ginger, whole cloves, and something roughly translated as burnt sugar, which their version of molasses. I returned home to no measuring units but to be expected and easy to deal with.

Next surprise: Myriam has NEVER, EVER used her oven, never. I wish you could have seen her reaction when I asked about making cookies. She just kind of blankly stared at me, realized what I had said, repeated it, and then said, "The oven? I don't know if it even works." We figured it out after many attempts and coaxing the heat source to stay lit. Long story/evening short cookies were eventually produced, although they don't taste quite like molasses cookies, I succeeded in my first attempt at baking.

Halloween is celebrated here. Kids dress up in costumes and trick or treat at the stores and malls, all day long. They were so cute wandering around in their costumes, playing in the plazas. With the coming of Halloween I began to miss the delicious smell of fall. On Friday, when I left the office just for a moment I caught a whiff of fall. The crisp, damp, cool and somewhat smoky smell in the air, I absolutely love it (how nice would it be if you could send smells like this in a jar). My mind may have been playing tricks on me, whatever it was I am not complaining.

Oscar was doing really well and was supposed to come home last week but he began retaining fluids and had to go into the ICU. Now that that is under control, he has developed bronchitis. With one complication after another, I am impressed with the strength Myriam seems to be pulling out of some secret box of infinite reserves.

Myriam gets frustrated at times with this situation she cannot control and there are moments filled with such heaviness for the love of her life. Yet she accepts it, faith has not left her and she still finds time to laugh and enjoy. By no means is it easy but the attitude Myriam has is real and honest, and she does not blame. It is as if she is really able to see beauty, wherever she goes.

trust ambiguity.

After my grand adventure in Medellin work seems especially slow. Work is slow in part because the Bishop, and the Secretary, Pilar, are both out of town for a week which leaves not much to do in the office. To pass the time I've begun exploring the world of Spanish music via the internet and finding whatever I can that explains the different verb tenses in Spanish. As I was trying to figure out some Colombian localismos a member of the congregation came into the office and offered to help me with my grammar. Yay, I will begin spanish lessons soon!

I talked with Pilar about what they had intended for me to do here and why things were moving so slow. She said the idea was for me to work with the mission that I visited in the south a few weeks back, helping with the kids in the after school program. She also explained that the Bishop is the one with the idea of what I will be doing but with a combination of him traveling so often, trying organize everything with the priest of the mission, making sure I know the city well enough to get there safely on my own, and just being the typical way the office runs, things are just slow to happen. Ok.

I've been following my fellow missionaries blogs and have made a few other non-colombian friends who are doing some incredible things. Hearing about the projects they are or have been involved with fills me with ambition, inspiration and a little bit of envy. It has also really made me think about what my 'mission' here in Bogota is. Up to this point I feel like everyone else is giving/serving while I am trying to graciously recieve in every way I know how to but I do not feel like I am giving/serving. So what I am I doing here? I know it is something, which sounds obviously, obvious.. Maybe the more you try and figure something out the further away it slides so a good idea would be to trust more in ambiguity, have faith, just be, and live conciously.. Oh I don't know really, but when it comes to the end of the day, I am thankful and happy to be right where I am. It is not always easy but this is exactly where I want to be: feeling safe and loved.

love is real, real is love

Oscar is back in the hospital due to a bacterial infection in his brain, they had to go back in and clean everything out, they removed part of the bone in his forehead because the infection was so bad. I am at loss of words after an 8 day adventure in Medellin, and returning to find out Oscar is back in the hospital.

Medellin is a beautiful city with a pleasant climate and incredibly generous people. I am blown away by the giving nature of the people here, they still have so much love to give after living in/through difficult times. Colombia has struggled with corruption, drug wars and drug lords causing the displacement of people, unemployment, deaths, disappearances of loved ones, it has caused such turmoil and pain for the people of Colombia, and all they have been through they give so much of themselves and take pride in the beauty of their country. As a friend said, “We can talk for 20 minutes about all the bad things about Colombia and then carry on for hours talking about all the beautiful things.”


The church in Medellin, San Lucas, runs a preschool during the weekdays, which I was able to help by reading stories in English, helping in the nursery, and playing with the kids, ducks and bunnies. When I pulled out a camera to snap some photos, the children took the camera hostage, fascinated with taking pictures and getting the instant results (I've posted some photos). They loved hearing me talk, just saying their names in English was the greatest for them and great fun for me.

What I had the most difficultly with, aside from the slurred speech and beans at every meal, was their generosity. They work so hard, long hours, they don't make much but they insist on paying for things, were willing to take a day off, or fit in any time they could to spend with me showing me the city and still felt like they weren't attending to me well enough. When I tried doing dishes or helping they responded by saying, "please let me attend to you." All they wanted to do was give; it was overwhelming, humbling, and beautiful. Allowing someone, anyone to give what they can and then in turn being able to receive it graciously without immediate action was difficult.

As I was listening to "Love" by John Lennon on the plane ride home, I thought a lot about my experience, and what I could to with these feelings of being overwhelmed. How to pay it forward and live love. I thought about the difference between the power of love and the power of fear and what they can do to a person depending on which we choose to invest in. Here are the lyrics for Love:

Love is real,
Real is love
Love is feeling,
Feeling love
Love is wanting
To be loved.

Love is touch,
Touch is love
Love is reaching,
Reaching love
Love is asking
To be loved.

Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
We can be

Love is free,
Free is love
Love is living,
Living love
Love is needing
To be loved.

And the crowd goes wild!

Rock climbing has been a great way to clear my mind and invest my body in something completely different and absolutely physical. It keeps my heart healthy and my biceps lookin' good... It also has been a great social outlet. I've met some fellows from Britain and one, Cameron, has taken it upon himself to really immerse me in Colombian culture, beginning with a game of futbol (aka soccer).

Colombia vs. Paraguay. The stands are solid yellow with splashes of red and blue (Colombia's colors) the fans go wild, they jump up and down, (how they get and sustained this enegry I do not know) they shake their hands in sync with their vulgar chants, it was pure madness and absolutely amazing. Even though Colombia is terrible at futbol, the stands were packed and the fans were devoted. On the big TV billboard, they do not do instant replays or show the game, they advertise beer, beautiful beer models and other futbol games. They had about 100 policemen, dressed in black, with plastic shields strategically placed around the field for crowd control.

Being the first 'missionary' with the Episcopal Church in Colombia is working out to be a lot of 'just being.' Observing and absorbing the different missions around the area. They want me to see everything they have worked so hard to achieve with the Diocese, they are so proud. Many of the planned visits do not end up working out due to communication, or weather. Patience is difficult and I am working on trying to find my own balance within this experience. It takes a lot of strength, faith and confidence. I feel as if I am growing more personally than I am giving, and am hoping this will balance out over the year.

I still do random translating for the Bishop, and try bulk up my Spanish vocabulary. On Thursday(10/16) I am traveling to Medellin, 'City of Eternal Spring and food that sits in your stomach like a brick.' Apparently the food is pretty heavy and they have strongly advised me to take Alka-Seltzer. On the bright side the climate is just lovely with an average of 70 and sunshine. I will be staying with a Padre and his family in Medellin, visiting different churches, missions and tourist sights. I am so excited.

My Brain is Growing

Maria Pilar just came into my office shared 3 peanut M&M's with me. M&M's were never a favorite candy of mine with the exception of the peanut butter filled ones. It took me by surprise how satisfying those 3 M&M's were and I realized how much I missed chocolate...
Point #1 peanut butter in candy doesn't exist here, I have yet to see even a jar of it on the shelf in the store, and a stash of chocolate is necessary to the life of Audra.

Last night I walked home from the office all by myself! This may not sound like a big deal but it really was. My coworkers and host family have gone out of their way to make sure I know the routes and feel safe. On my 10 minute walk from work to home I pass bakeries, 1 huge grocery story, a handful of armed police officers, and about 9 pet stores(just on my block).
Point# 2 I so very much appreciate their concern for my safety but realizing I could stop in any one of the stores without asking was a mini high.

My host dad is now back at the apartment. Whether he is improving or stagnating, I am not sure of what to tell you. Physically, he is healing, walking better, his hair is growing back, he cracks jokes once in awhile. As for being himself, he still isn't, he has trouble remembering some things and his personality is still off, the doctor says it will take around 3 months to fully recover. His 10 brothers and sisters, plus cousins, aunts and uncles have been here every day, talking with him, helping my host mother, it is incredible. Please continue your prayers for him and the rest of the family.
Point #3 Faith is keeping my family going, the love, the memories, each other, and the numerous people from community who come to give their love, support and time. I am at a loss of words for explaining my thoughts and feelings here.

Point #4 everything all in one:

• Mailing information!!! DO NOT send packages regular mail, unless you send it now, there is a chance I might get it before I leave. Send packages with Fedex or DHL, usually takes a week and everything arrives in the package. and make sure you include peanut butter/caramel/mint chocolate of some sort
  
• In order to get a visa I have to leave the country, not having a visa makes taking language classes a challenge, and I am not sure if I will actually get a visa.
  
• I am beginning to miss things about the northwest. Homemade jams, fresh apple cider, the changing of seasons, being able to access nature, mountains, bodies of water safely within a 30 minute drive, familiar live music, and microbrews...

Daylight year round: 6 am to 6 pm.

Days in the office are filled with trying to look up spanish words I don't know in the dictionary, browsing the internet, and of course lunch for an hour. The biggest meal of the day, starting with soup, then the main dish which usually consists of meat, rice, potatoes and/or yucca, salad and fresh fruit juice.

I am growing antsy with sitting in the office with not much to do, and am getting frustrated with not having a camera to take photos. Today I'm going to hopefully enroll in a Spanish class at a nearby university.

Last week I went to a mission in one of the poorest parts of Bogota. The Padre proudly showed me around the mission(combination of a church and home for old ladies). Here also, in the afternoons they serve kids a hearty lunch and help them with their homework. After showing me around, the Padre sat me in a chair and had the kids come and ask me questions and then he left the room. I know! That was my first reaction also, 'what! he's leaving me in the room alone with all these kids!' The second, 'What's to fear? Bring it on!' Then came the questions- rapid fire. How many aunts and uncles do you have? Did you actually fly on an airplane? How many kids do you have? Do you shower with warm water? They were sooo excited, all of the kids started talking at once. I could not understand a thing, even when only one child was talking at a time. It was great. Eventually the kids requested that I sing, I don't sing. I sang. Animated camp songs. This got the kids even more excited and they dragged me out to teach me how to play soccer in the street.

Any fears I had about working with children, or not knowing a language evaporated within milliseconds and I left the mission completely speechless. They were so wonderful, and so happy, so simple in the most magnificent of ways.

Being a little selfish on my part, I want more of this more interaction, more depth, more challenge, more of anything. I am still 'observing' and learning so much and know things will begin to fall into place as the year carries on, trying keeping in mind this is only just barely completing my second week in Colombia. Patience Audra, patience.

First Impressions

I stare out my office window into another world. There is a street that winds up the hill leading to a view of a lush and majestic mountain. I get lost in my thoughts, trying to break down everything that has happened within the past week. I suppose I will start with a few things I have noticed...

1. I don't know why they put lines on the roads, because they don't mean anything to cars. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.

2. Bogota is built out of brick, with much more of a European feel, and I am 7th tallest person in the city.

3. Cows, goats, sheep, horses are kept on the sides of roads or in pastures. They are tied to 5ft. ropes that are attached to steaks in the ground.

4. A small cup of absolutely delicious coffee follows lunch, and is had with a small snack for dinner, unless you prefer hot chocolate. plus bread. such good bread.

5. Curbs are about a foot high.

My host dad is having his brain tumor removed today, and the other night I had a conversation with my host brothers about him, and how he has changed. Please keep my host family in your prayers. I cannot imagine how difficult it has been on my host mom or the family and I am so inspired by the love they still have and show for one another, and still have room to generously and graciously welcome me into their family. I feel overwhelmed by the generosity and could not have asked for a better host family, or entry into the country. Every priest I have met has invited me to come to their parish to talk, to help, or just to share a part of themselves with me.

Mostly I have been doing translating work, English to Spanish in the Diocesan office. Tomorrow, I am getting my visa (knock on wood) and Thursday I will be heading out with a priest to help with a few projects in his neighborhood. Photos from a weekend trip are coming soon!

imagine. believe. inspire.

Ok folks, here I am sitting in the terminal of LAX, a quarter of the way to my destination of Bogota, Colombia trying to stay calm. My tickets all got canceled so the nice lady at the ticket counter spent half an hour trying to fix it while I stood staring at the other passengers lugging their the 100 pound bags on the scale and frantically pulling out cheap knock puma knock-offs trying to make their body bags a tad lighter. Watching them while trying to translate their rapid Spanish caused reality to hit me like a brick wall. Doging my fearful thoughts in an effort to stay calm and take deep breaths was not easy.

The reality was that I was standing in LAX thinking about how little I know about the challenges that many Colombians face. I began thinking about how I do not know what I will encounter over the next year, will it be the 10 year old child begging for money that once received will be used to buy drugs which ease the pains of being homeless and alone? Or will it be having to see first hand the damage of Plan Colombia seeing that lands that have been raped and pillaged? These thoughts quickly escalated when I realized that yes, these are the some realities I might have to face, but there is also so much more to it then this.

It is unusal that I let these thoughts get to me but being 1 am and just having finished my last phone call in the US I am having difficutly articulating my mixture of feelings and emotions. But summed up aside from a little tired I feel good. This is exactly where I am supposed to, and want to be. I am ready to be humbled, to learn, to share, to give completely all I have to give, to fully live this experience. This year will be full of challenging and amazing moments and I feel good and am ready to embrace everything, to embrace life. So I want to leave you all with a bit of advice I heard recently...

Go create yourselves memories!

I fly away... September 9th

As I fall deeper into the whirlwind of preparations for Colombia there is one nostalgic song that plays on repeat in my mind, it is a terrible soundtrack. It takes me back to my teeny bopper days of the late 90's to the pop boy band group N*SYNC. For some reason unannounced to me I cannot stop the "catchy lyrics" from playing on repeat, they a go little something like this '...here we go one more time, everybody's feeling fine now. Yes, yes, yes here we go now." (It does make me smile as it transports me into the memories of the younger years of my exquisite youth)

The ironic thing happens to be I do not think 'everybody's feeling fine now'. Many people have expressed their strong feelings about their views on Colombia AND their even stronger views on Audra Marie Krislock, age 23, living in Colombia for one year. These thoughts include but are not limited to the simple fact that there is probably no reason that I would ever need to step foot outside my apartment in Bogota. Not even for a breath of fresh air because that was the entire logic behind the invention of windows. Now I am being a little dramatic and although I do understand this fear and know there is validity to it, it saddens me a little and I'm not exactly how to explain. It might be that I hope that others will feel the same sense of calming peace that I do about my soon to be adventure. But then again God did make all of us humans quite different, so my goal for the year: bask in the worlds inhomogeneity.

Thinking about the wide variety of peoples reactions has caused a realization to strike me. It is the appreciation and love I have for challenge. Challenge causes growth and if something stops growing it dies. This love of challenge/growth is not a feeling everyone gets as excited about, or actively pursues. The number of you who have expressed some concern but intertwined it with such kind words, support and love is very much out weighed by the latter.

And a quick logistical update... struggling to get everything in line before September 9th has made for quite a full plate tacked on with a huge side dish of some big 'life lessons' mostly in the areas of my patience and faith. I have been trying to invest my faith consciously in many positive thoughts and prayers such as: everything with the visa will come through, they will let me into the country without too heavy of an interrogation, and I will have raised enough money before my departure. Aside from those three minor details, I sleep very well at night.

Summer flies

I am getting a little more nervous and excited as September nears and summer flies by. I cannot believe that September comes after August, it seems to be ridiculously soon. I tried watching a Colombian movie a few nights ago, trying to prepare myself and oh boy, I have a ton of catching up to do... I had to put on English subtitles. I have decided to trust in the fact of what everyone is saying about how all my Spanish will come rushing back once I am there.

Update on Colombia... I recently found out I will be living with a host family for the first three months in Bogotá until another YASCer, Laura-Catherine, arrives in January, when we will move together into an apartment. This will be neat, I think I am getting the best of both worlds, a family experience and independence.

First Attempt

This is the first time ever in my entire life I have attempted 'blogging'. I have heard rumors from many others who have traveled far and wide across the world that it is the easiest way to share with others the work I will be doing in Colombia. I will try my hardest to keep this updated with my adventures while abroad, while trying not to overwhelm you with too much text. Photos will be coming soon, so stay tuned and stay in touch!