He Llegado!

Hello from Colombia!

That's right...I have arrived! The internet is really spotty, so I'm going to keep this post short, but I thought I'd just send out a little hello and say that I made it safely! The city is really remarkable, and I'm excited to go do some more exploring today. Yesterday was a bit of a lazier day since I arrived at 5am after only about 4 hours of sleep. I surprisingly made it until about 10 or 11, but we just walked around La Candeleria for the day, so I didn't do anything too strenuous.

I'll try to post at least a few updates while I'm here, but I'm not sure how it'll all work with pictures and the internet posing as slight obstacles. We shall have to see!

On a quick note, to all of those who have asked--which there have been many--my spanish is actually coming back to me rather nicely. I have yet to run into any major difficulties in both speaking and understanding. Hopefully this means that my language skills will simply improve during my trip instead of requiring the time to resurface and then leaving me with no time to improve. Yay me!

Hopefully I'll have more for you soon!

Leaving on a jet plane

I'm off to the airport in a few, but I wanted to share the pictures from pumpkin picking before I left. Enjoy! and I'll see you in Colombia!

Shhhh...It's A Surprise

I painted a couple of cards with scenes from South America for the people I'm going to visit in Colombia. Here's a peek at two of them.
Just don't tell...they're a surprise!

Getting A Closer Look

I'm currently finishing putting together the dvd of my trip to Chile! I'm rather excited to burn it and throw it in the TV!

Joe and I went to pick pumpkins Sunday, but since I'm bit busy at the moment, I'll give you some fun pictures from the drive there. We got stuck behind an accident that blocked the road for a while and entertained ourselves using binoculars...

Getting Excited!

I'm starting to get rather excited for my trip! Yay!

I haven't quite started packing, but I've got my suitcase and a few random articles of clothing spread out in the spare bedroom. Tomorrow is serious packing day. I like packing, but the whole airport security thing still gets me. I'm a nervous person, and even though I don't carry anything I shouldn't, I still get nervous passing through customs and security.

I bought a slew of tiny bathroom supplies yesterday. Oh tiny bottles.

Instead of sharing some nonsensical, excited babble, I think I'll just share some of my favorite photos of the people I'll be visiting soon...enjoy!

Bienvenidos

This is Colombia.

I'd like to presume that everyone knows that, but I have to admit, that I actually forget where it's located sometimes myself, so I won't presume anything.

I'm going to travel here in 9 days.

I haven't posted much about Colombia, because I've been having mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I'm determined to go. The three people I lived with two years ago in Chile will all be there for my two week hiatus, and I'm thrilled to get a chance to see them again after so long. But I have to admit that I've been a bit nervous. If you go onto any United States Government web page, you'll see nothing but warnings about the unstable and unsafe nature of the country. There is so much literature warning against traveling to the country, that I can't help but be a bit nervous. But at the same time, I have complete faith in Paula and Mark, my ever so gracious and fantastic hosts. After all, Paula is Colombian. She lives in Bogota. And Mark now lives there too, at least for the next year. And Mark is foreign too. Granted his Mexican heritage shows a bit more than his English half, but he's still foreign, and according to my government, that makes you target #1 in Colombia. If there was any way I was in danger visiting them, I'm sure they would tell me to stay home.

I honestly can't help but that think that the US government is just covering its behind. I'm sure the extremely rural areas of Colombia are not somewhere you want to be wandering alone, but I don't think I'd do that anywhere, FARC or no FARC. And yeah, the city has its bad parts, but again, what big city doesn't. I'm not planning on running around by myself, so I'm pretty sure, I'll be okay (famous last words). It's a foreign country, you just have to be smart about where you go and who you're with. Walking down the streets of Santiago after Pinochet died wasn't always the safest thing. You had to be smart about what areas to stay out of in order to avoid a violent riot. It's just about being smart.

Also, I have to admit, that the government warning almost makes me want to go even more. True, if I thought there was an extreme threat (meaning even entering the capitol was a bad idea), I wouldn't be able to scrounge up the nerve-and recklessness-to go, but doesn't a warning of danger make things sound that much more appealing? I think so. I'm a rather cautious individual though, so diving head first into something that really isn't safe, isn't something I'm going to do. I trust my gut, and it says I'll be okay provided I'm smart about things.

Needless to say, I'm trusting my gut.

I guess I'd better start packing.

The Sun Is Shining

Today was one of those days that you wish would go on forever. Well, maybe not. I suppose without the more mundane and unpleasant days, ones like these wouldn't seem as pleasant.

Nothing particularly exciting or fantastic happened, but I think that was exactly the point. I had the entire day off work after a string of 12 hour work days. That was point number one for the good day side. I slept in until 11, with no electronic assistance I might add, and went for a bike ride through the park with Joe. The leaves are changing, the air was crisp, and the sun graced us with rays requiring sunglasses.

After the bike ride and a shower, we went down town, did a bit of quick shopping and errands, got some groceries, and spent the rest of the day at home, cooking and relaxing. I made caramel apple cupcakes and then we fondued shrimp and chicken. It was great. And the best thing is the thought of being able to have a lot more of those days when I return from Colombia. The gallery is closing at the end of the month, and that means I'll have weekends off. Yay! My hours at the paper are also cutting down to 30 a week, so I'll have Wednesdays off and a short Thursday and Friday. The thought of having days to relax and work on my own projects is thrilling. In case you couldn't tell, I'm excited. I'm going to Colombia in a week and a half, and when I return, I get to relax...while still working. What could be better!