"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy"

[Guilaume Apollinaire]

Moving to entirely different city, country, & continent is hard. There are stressful moments, and inevitably you will miss what you left behind in some way or another.

Two months into this experience I have only begun to scratch the surface of what is to come, but last night I really came to the realization that I am truly happy here. I could not be more at peace with my decision to move abroad to teach. At the end of every day, I love being a teacher. I am thrilled to help students learn math, and I love building relationships with them along the way. Sure, they sometimes talk more than I would like, but they are wonderful, fun-loving, and nice kids, and they challenge me in new ways everyday. Nothing gives me more hope in our collected future than to see the wonderful people growing up in the world today. As cliche as it sounds, kids (and their education!) really do have a defining impact on our futures.

Apart from my classroom, I love the environment of living in a big city like Cali. I love that there are always people around, enjoying life in some form or another, whether it is the groups who sit outside our little tienda at night, families walking together in the park, or friends out together in Cali. I love that I feel comfortable here; comfortable enough to do things on my own if I need to, like go to the grocery store, run errands, go for a run, etc. I love the people I work with at my school. Education is a wonderful profession, but it is an easy profession to get burnt out on if you're not careful. The majority of people I work with also really love students and learning, which makes all the difference in the world. They are honest, intelligent, and real people and I have so much to learn from them.

Furthermore, I love the friends I am starting to establish here. Nothing makes me feel more at home that having a support system I can turn to on days when I don't love everything. The people I left behind in the States have been more supportive than I ever could have imagined, and that was a hard thing to leave. Now that I am here in Colombia, I am so glad Maggie and I are roommates. She also challenges me in wonderful ways, and we balance each other so well. I love knowing that I can go home and flop on her bed to de-brief the day. I love that during break and lunch I usually end up seeing her even though we live together; we just genuinely appreciate each other's company. I love the other friends I have built here as well, and the bonds that are starting to grow between everyone. Finally, we are not just all colleagues, but rather friends who can discuss real things outside of the realm of our 7-3:30 workdays. :)

Okay...so before I get too into the mushiness (is that a word?) of this post, I will cut myself off. :) You're welcome. Have a splendid Thursday!!!