Sunday, 11 March 2012
Video of Teaching in Santa Ana
A couple of weeks ago, a couple of reporters came to do a clip on us volunteers discussing our experiences of foreigners teaching in Santa Ana. Dad insisted I put the link up so you can see what it's like here, so here it is. I was super nervous in the interview so my Spanish is awful but at least it shows some footage from our classrooms here and a little bit of what our experience is like.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Two Month Update: You Know You're in Santa Ana When...
I can't believe that I have been in Colombia for two months. It truly has been an adventure and a challenging experience with many highs and lows. There is so much that I need to update on this blog about my time here in Santa Ana. The truth is teaching is keeping me very busy.
My day starts at 5.30AM when my alarm goes off and I get up to start the day. The only good thing about getting up so early is the beautiful sunrise that I get to see everyday.
My classes start at 7.45AM everyday but I usually have to be at school for a 7AM meeting. I usually teach classes until 12.15 or 1PM when I have lunch at the school restaurant and then head back to my room to have a siesta and plan classes for the next day. There are often meetings in the afternoon too, by which time it is time for dinner and more preparations for classes for the following day. As there are limited resources at the school and I teach young children, I have to make a lot of resources for class. The school does have a photocopier, but paying for each copy adds up and I usually draw or write what I need by hand, or have the kids copy from the board, but that takes FOREVER. Anyway my point is that time seems to escape me and since I haven't had much time to write my blog I thought I'd write a post on all things Santa Ana. So here goes.
You Know You're In Santa Ana When:
My day starts at 5.30AM when my alarm goes off and I get up to start the day. The only good thing about getting up so early is the beautiful sunrise that I get to see everyday.
You Know You're In Santa Ana When:
- You hear champeta music blaring from picos day and night. Seriously sometimes ALL day and ALL night.
- The only thing you can hear over the champeta is donkeys braying. Seriously, they sound miserable.
- You walk through the town and all you hear is students (and adults) yell, 'Tiiiiiiicccchhhheeeeerrrr.'
- You quite often have chickens, dogs, bugs, spiders, snakes, 'insert animal here' in your classroom. Another distraction for the students!
- You have frogs, mosquitoes, geckos and scorpions in your room.
- You often don't have running water or power, usually at the most inappropriate times.
- Everything you eat is sugar-filled, fried and/or a carbohydrate.
- You go to the local store at night and fall in the mud pit that is the main road of Santa Ana
- It's so hot that the only time you are fully clothed is at school. At home it's 'undies only'.
- To get to Cartagena you take a moto-taxi, a canoe and a hot, sweaty bus and look like the wreck of the Hesperus by the time you arrive.
- Air conditioning is a rare and strange thing.
- Hissing is a form of communication.
- No-one pronounces 's'. Ever.
- It's rude not to greet the locals. It makes you look weird when you go to the city and start talking to strangers.
- You use whatever you can to teach a class and make do with limited resources.
- Every class your students ask you, 'Prestame un lapiz!' ('Lend me a pencil').
- Your students release snakes in class, pee on the floor, want to fight you, hit other kids with machetes and give you attitude. They push you to the limits at times.
- Your students hug you, kiss you, give you notes and lollies, draw you pictures, ask you funny questions and adore you.
- The highlight of your day is seeing the beautiful pre escolar kids in the restaurant eating lunch or when one of your students learns something new. They bring joy to you and you look forward to seeing them each day.
- You are part of a community that doesn't have much but is so incredibly special.
Friday, 10 February 2012
One Month Update.
More than a month has past since I left Melbourne early on New Years Day but it feels more like a year. I have traversed continents, across time zones (back 16 hours) and traveled from sea level, to an altitude of 2625 meters and back down to sea level.
After arriving in Colombia on January 4th, I spent my first two and a half weeks in Cota, a small town just outside of Bogota where I participated in the WorldTeach Orientation program. Here I got to know my fellow volunteers and learnt about Colombian culture, economics, history, politics and the education system as well as intense TEFL training to prepare me for my role here as an English teacher. During that time we all got to know each other well, and very quickly- something that is almost unavoidable when spending all day every day with 36 other people and sharing a room with five others. The group is diverse with various educational, work and life experiences, amongst us- three married couples, more than a handful of people over 30 and two Aussies (including me!) Of these 36, half would be staying in Bogotá and the interior, and the other half would be spread across the coast, with eight of us heading to tiny Santa Ana, a town of around 5000 on Isla Barú, about an hour and a half from the beautiful colonial city of Cartagena on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast.
On January 22nd, the eight of us left cold and rainy Bogotá and flew to the lovely warmth of Cartagena. From Cartagena we enjoyed the luxury of an air-conditioned car ride to Pasacaballos where we took the ferry across to Barú and proceeded to drive on the unpaved streets taking in the barren landscape on the island that would be our home for 2012. After an hour and a half of travel we arrived to the intense heat and dusty, unpaved streets of Santa Ana where we were welcomed by the beating, hot sun, loud champeta music and inquisitive stares from the locals. We certainly made an entrance as our two vehicles tried to navigate the flooded swamp that is the main road of Santa Ana, a challenge to cross with anything other than a motorbike. We managed to find our way around the lake and onto the grounds of Fundación Instituto Ecológico Barbacoas, our new home and my workplace for the next ten months.
The campus consists of open-air classrooms with trees surrounding them, providing shade for relief from the sun. Most of the staff here commutes from Cartagena or Barranquilla and stay here on campus from Monday to Friday, traveling home to their families on the weekend. They live in the Casitas, located at the back of the campus. Beyond the campus lies the Villa where we, the volunteers, share the two storey building with the doctors who work at the Medical Clinic during the week. We have a common living space and kitchen, and each of the volunteers shares a room upstairs, with a bathroom. Our rooms are simple with tiled floors and consist of bunk beds, two fans, a closet and a deceiving air conditioning unit which doesn’t work. We are told from last year’s volunteers that each room has it’s pros and cons, I’m sure we are bound to find out what they are as the year goes on!
We are now in our third week of teaching and it has been challenging so far. That, however, is another post entirely.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
(A Little More Than) Halfway to Colombia
Days 1-2: New Years Eve... Twice, the Adaptor Saga and Crying Babies
Here I am, halfway to Colombia! After three flights and and 22 hours, I arrived in LA with a couple of days to pick up last minute supplies, gorge on American food and American-sized portions and to try and get my body to realise what day and time it actually is after crossing seven time zones.
The Journey So Far.
My New Years Eve in Melbourne was a quiet one this year. Rather than bringing in the 2012 dancing and being merry with friends, I was at home trying to pack my life into a suitcase in a mere few hours (there's nothing quite like a last minute packing session.) Just before midnight, I had a packing freak-out of epic proportions. I could hardly shut my bag and definitely couldn't carry it more than 3m, It was time to cull some items and logistically work out how I was going to be able to talk my way onto a plane with 40kg of luggage without having to sell a kidney. After repacking I realised that at least half of my luggage was made up of boring yet essential items such as contact lenses, first aid items, towels, sheets, mosquito nets, rain jackets and so on, and that the cull wasn't going to be hugely successful. Dad, A.K.A. the most efficient packer on the planet, told me that I was going away for a year and that I had packed well. So with that, after taking out a few items and packing into two bags, I headed to bed at 2AM for a refreshing two hours sleep before the long journey ahead.
As Mum and Dad drove me to the airport, we passed revellers enjoying the last hours of the night on St Kilda Beach and I wondered if my friends were still out partying somewhere, or perhaps devouring a kebab/pizza/McDonalds. Since I had been working so hard and my preparations had been so last minute, I hadn't really had the chance to think about much else than sleeping, organising copious details for the year ahead and worrying if my visa would arrive. In these early hours of 2012, it was finally sinking in that I wouldn't be eating real Vegemite (the travel tube just isn't the same), playing with my dog or seeing my friends or family for a long time.
Check in at the airport was quick and painless. I struck up a conversation with the lady behind the desk and exclaimed how lucky she was to cop the early New Years Day shift and she was quick to tell me that she had come straight from a party in the city. When she sent me on my way, I was relieved that my bags had been successfully checked and, for the time being, I hadn't been charged excess baggage. My friendly conversation skills? No, I think Emirates just has a generous baggage policy, but I guess it still pays to be nice.
While I waited for my flight I hunted for an adaptor, something that had proven difficult to find in the days prior to my departure. In one of the 15 stores I had visited, the shop assistant advised me that I needed a special 'earthed' adaptor and would find one at the airport. After checking in I went to the luggage shop, then the duty free shop, then another store selling travel goods. No luck. It turns out that you can't get an adaptor to plug a three-pronged Australian device into a two pronged Colombian electrical outlet any more. Why? I don't know. At this point, fatigue and frustration caught up with me as well as the emotion of the adventure I was about to embark on so when it was time to say goodbye to Mum and Dad, I couldn't stop myself from shedding a a few tears.
The flight to New Zealand was short and relatively painless. I managed to pick up an adaptor in the duty free on the plane which claimed to convert two or three pinned devices. Unfortunately it did the same as the other two adaptors I had bought at the airport. Great. You can imagine my relief when I found what I thought was what I was looking for in the pharmacy at the airport. There was an adaptor that claimed to work with the three/two pronged issue. I also asked if it converted voltage. The last thing I wanted was to blow up my electronic goods. Boris, my friendly sales assistant assured me that, yes, it did and if not he would refund my money. Sitting down to a nutritious Burger King cheeseburger, I re-read the instructions. I think you can guess what comes next. That's right, it didn't convert voltage. After many attempts of convincing from Boris, I finally demanded a refund, which, was given to me in New Zealand dollars. It was 'store policy' that they do cash refunds. Thanks, Boris, just what I wanted- $40 New Zealand dollars cash just 15 minutes before boarding. I wasn't going to convert the currency as I would lose half of it in conversion and although I needed plenty of things sold at the pharmacy, I certainly wasn't giving it back to Boris out of principle. I hurried down to the surf shop and picked up a pair of Havianas. Problem solved!
My next two flights were with Air Tahiti Nui, first to Papeete, Tahiti, then finally to LAX. On my flight to Tahiti, I crossed the International Date Line taking me back to December 31st, 2011 so when I boarded my flight to LAX at 11.55, I welcomed in 2012 with my fellow air-travellers, for the second time. The flights weren't the longest I have ever taken, however I managed to be seated a few rows back from the bulkhead seats. For those of you don't know, this is where the airlines seat parents with small children. The first flight had two babies who took it in turns crying for the entire flight. Yes, the entire flight. You can imagine my excitement when I sat down on the next flight and heard the screams of a baby coming from the same section. This was not like a regular baby cry- the kid had lungs and wasn't afraid to use them. Luckily after the first hour, the little angel stopped crying and I managed to get a few hours sleep.
Once I arrived in LA, I checked in to my hotel and watched some trashy TV in an attempt to stay awake and try and avoid jetlag. I managed to stay awake and go to bed at LA bedtime rather than Melbourne bedtime. After a decent nights sleep, I spent the day with my dear American friend Sam who I studied with in Mexico and then travelled with in 2009. It was great to see her after more than two years. She took me to the mall to collect a few last minute items like Crayola pencils and markers, khaki pants and flashcards, just more stuff to fit into my bags! I'm nervous about check in tomorrow at ultra-budget Spirit Airlines where you pretty much have to pay for the air you breath on the plane. Let's just hope there are no crying babies on my next two flights. Next stop, Colombia (via Fort Lauderdale).
Sam and I at the Culver City Mall.
Here I am, halfway to Colombia! After three flights and and 22 hours, I arrived in LA with a couple of days to pick up last minute supplies, gorge on American food and American-sized portions and to try and get my body to realise what day and time it actually is after crossing seven time zones.
The Journey So Far.
My New Years Eve in Melbourne was a quiet one this year. Rather than bringing in the 2012 dancing and being merry with friends, I was at home trying to pack my life into a suitcase in a mere few hours (there's nothing quite like a last minute packing session.) Just before midnight, I had a packing freak-out of epic proportions. I could hardly shut my bag and definitely couldn't carry it more than 3m, It was time to cull some items and logistically work out how I was going to be able to talk my way onto a plane with 40kg of luggage without having to sell a kidney. After repacking I realised that at least half of my luggage was made up of boring yet essential items such as contact lenses, first aid items, towels, sheets, mosquito nets, rain jackets and so on, and that the cull wasn't going to be hugely successful. Dad, A.K.A. the most efficient packer on the planet, told me that I was going away for a year and that I had packed well. So with that, after taking out a few items and packing into two bags, I headed to bed at 2AM for a refreshing two hours sleep before the long journey ahead.
As Mum and Dad drove me to the airport, we passed revellers enjoying the last hours of the night on St Kilda Beach and I wondered if my friends were still out partying somewhere, or perhaps devouring a kebab/pizza/McDonalds. Since I had been working so hard and my preparations had been so last minute, I hadn't really had the chance to think about much else than sleeping, organising copious details for the year ahead and worrying if my visa would arrive. In these early hours of 2012, it was finally sinking in that I wouldn't be eating real Vegemite (the travel tube just isn't the same), playing with my dog or seeing my friends or family for a long time.
Check in at the airport was quick and painless. I struck up a conversation with the lady behind the desk and exclaimed how lucky she was to cop the early New Years Day shift and she was quick to tell me that she had come straight from a party in the city. When she sent me on my way, I was relieved that my bags had been successfully checked and, for the time being, I hadn't been charged excess baggage. My friendly conversation skills? No, I think Emirates just has a generous baggage policy, but I guess it still pays to be nice.
While I waited for my flight I hunted for an adaptor, something that had proven difficult to find in the days prior to my departure. In one of the 15 stores I had visited, the shop assistant advised me that I needed a special 'earthed' adaptor and would find one at the airport. After checking in I went to the luggage shop, then the duty free shop, then another store selling travel goods. No luck. It turns out that you can't get an adaptor to plug a three-pronged Australian device into a two pronged Colombian electrical outlet any more. Why? I don't know. At this point, fatigue and frustration caught up with me as well as the emotion of the adventure I was about to embark on so when it was time to say goodbye to Mum and Dad, I couldn't stop myself from shedding a a few tears.
The flight to New Zealand was short and relatively painless. I managed to pick up an adaptor in the duty free on the plane which claimed to convert two or three pinned devices. Unfortunately it did the same as the other two adaptors I had bought at the airport. Great. You can imagine my relief when I found what I thought was what I was looking for in the pharmacy at the airport. There was an adaptor that claimed to work with the three/two pronged issue. I also asked if it converted voltage. The last thing I wanted was to blow up my electronic goods. Boris, my friendly sales assistant assured me that, yes, it did and if not he would refund my money. Sitting down to a nutritious Burger King cheeseburger, I re-read the instructions. I think you can guess what comes next. That's right, it didn't convert voltage. After many attempts of convincing from Boris, I finally demanded a refund, which, was given to me in New Zealand dollars. It was 'store policy' that they do cash refunds. Thanks, Boris, just what I wanted- $40 New Zealand dollars cash just 15 minutes before boarding. I wasn't going to convert the currency as I would lose half of it in conversion and although I needed plenty of things sold at the pharmacy, I certainly wasn't giving it back to Boris out of principle. I hurried down to the surf shop and picked up a pair of Havianas. Problem solved!
My next two flights were with Air Tahiti Nui, first to Papeete, Tahiti, then finally to LAX. On my flight to Tahiti, I crossed the International Date Line taking me back to December 31st, 2011 so when I boarded my flight to LAX at 11.55, I welcomed in 2012 with my fellow air-travellers, for the second time. The flights weren't the longest I have ever taken, however I managed to be seated a few rows back from the bulkhead seats. For those of you don't know, this is where the airlines seat parents with small children. The first flight had two babies who took it in turns crying for the entire flight. Yes, the entire flight. You can imagine my excitement when I sat down on the next flight and heard the screams of a baby coming from the same section. This was not like a regular baby cry- the kid had lungs and wasn't afraid to use them. Luckily after the first hour, the little angel stopped crying and I managed to get a few hours sleep.
Once I arrived in LA, I checked in to my hotel and watched some trashy TV in an attempt to stay awake and try and avoid jetlag. I managed to stay awake and go to bed at LA bedtime rather than Melbourne bedtime. After a decent nights sleep, I spent the day with my dear American friend Sam who I studied with in Mexico and then travelled with in 2009. It was great to see her after more than two years. She took me to the mall to collect a few last minute items like Crayola pencils and markers, khaki pants and flashcards, just more stuff to fit into my bags! I'm nervous about check in tomorrow at ultra-budget Spirit Airlines where you pretty much have to pay for the air you breath on the plane. Let's just hope there are no crying babies on my next two flights. Next stop, Colombia (via Fort Lauderdale).
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
It's A Christmas Miracle!
I woke up to a lovely surprise yesterday morning. After a night out with friends on Boxing Day, I savoured a sleep in and enjoyed relaxing for a short time- a necessity after the socialising, drinks and food-coma experienced over Christmas. Gradually waking up, I got up and checked my email and was quite surprised to see an email from Diana, my contact at the Embassy. She informed me that Bogotá had sent through confirmation that my visa had been authorised, and that Diana would send my passport back to me in the mail first thing Wednesday morning (which is today!) My Christmas miracle was granted. Now it's just up to Australia Post to send that Express Post Platinum envelope with 'Guaranteed next day delivery' back to me and the visa fiasco will be over. ¡Ojalá!
Update: I got the visa on December 29th- PHEW!
Update: I got the visa on December 29th- PHEW!
Thursday, 22 December 2011
All I Want For Christmas Is My Colombian Visa
It's Friday morning, December 23rd, 2011. Two sleeps until children the world over wait for the fat man in the suit to come down the chimney and bring them the gifts they have been planning for since January, or in my case, overindulging and perhaps being a little too merry while spending cherished time with family and loved ones.
The usual Christmas chaos is going on around me with people organising last minute gifts, getting food preparations ready and a cleaning frenzy in my house for the Christmas Day lunch. This year, I rename the silly season the clinically insane season, for along with this madness, I am due to leave for Colombia in a mere eight days. Eight days... I can't quite believe that it's come up so quickly. When I look at what I have to do in those eight days, I almost have a small heart attack. Along with trying to catch up with friends and family before leaving and celebrating the festive season, I also have to organise my life for the next year and here's the clincher- I still don't have my Colombian visa. Yes that's right, eight days out, Christmas time, and I still don't have my visa, or for that matter, passport (which is sitting on someone's desk at the Embassy of Colombia in Canberra.)
How does this happen you ask? Let's wind back to November. As WorldTeach is an American organisation, the application process has been slightly different for me as an Australian. I had the option of sending my passport off to the U.S.A. to have my visa processed there with the other volunteers', however I didn't think there would be sufficient time to get my visa back from the States before my departure. I thought it safer to apply for the visa in Australia, with less risk of my passport getting lost/delayed in trans-Pacific postal system. I didn't however, bank on my supporting documents (needed to support my application) taking more than three weeks to get to Australia. Gotta love Christmas mail. With twelve working days until departure, I was accosting the postman on a daily basis with no sign of any documents in sight. As I was also becoming increasingly stressed and sleep deprived, WorldTeach and I arranged for the documents to be re-issued and urgently re-sent directly to the Embassy of Colombia in Australia via FedEx, and I would send my part of the application separately. Problem solved you say? Not quite.
In prior communication with the Embassy, I was assured that the visa takes no more than five working days to issue. Knowing that Colombians are not particularly known for their efficiency with administrative matters, I made it quite clear that it was very important that this information was accurate and the visa be issued in this period of time. I was repeatedly told that, providing my documents were all in order, this would not be a problem. They perhaps should have included a clause that said 'Providing your documents are in order, and the visa people in Colombia are contactable, this will not be a problem.' Unfortunately, the people who authorise the visas in Colombia are not answering emails or phone calls, and hence the Embassy in Canberra cannot issue my visa without passing this bureaucratic red tape. So as we are yet to hear back from Colombia, I have to wait until December 29th to find out whether my visa will be issued or not, leaving one working day to get my passport back from Canberra either with or without visa. Let's hope it's the former.
So as I sit down to enjoy my Christmas lunch, see my friends and family and try to enjoy the festive season, I will have to try and forget about the worry and uncertainty that I am faced with. As my parents keep telling me, I've done all I can now and it's in fate's hands. Send your positive thoughts my way and let's hope for a Christmas miracle (of Colombian efficiency.)
The usual Christmas chaos is going on around me with people organising last minute gifts, getting food preparations ready and a cleaning frenzy in my house for the Christmas Day lunch. This year, I rename the silly season the clinically insane season, for along with this madness, I am due to leave for Colombia in a mere eight days. Eight days... I can't quite believe that it's come up so quickly. When I look at what I have to do in those eight days, I almost have a small heart attack. Along with trying to catch up with friends and family before leaving and celebrating the festive season, I also have to organise my life for the next year and here's the clincher- I still don't have my Colombian visa. Yes that's right, eight days out, Christmas time, and I still don't have my visa, or for that matter, passport (which is sitting on someone's desk at the Embassy of Colombia in Canberra.)
How does this happen you ask? Let's wind back to November. As WorldTeach is an American organisation, the application process has been slightly different for me as an Australian. I had the option of sending my passport off to the U.S.A. to have my visa processed there with the other volunteers', however I didn't think there would be sufficient time to get my visa back from the States before my departure. I thought it safer to apply for the visa in Australia, with less risk of my passport getting lost/delayed in trans-Pacific postal system. I didn't however, bank on my supporting documents (needed to support my application) taking more than three weeks to get to Australia. Gotta love Christmas mail. With twelve working days until departure, I was accosting the postman on a daily basis with no sign of any documents in sight. As I was also becoming increasingly stressed and sleep deprived, WorldTeach and I arranged for the documents to be re-issued and urgently re-sent directly to the Embassy of Colombia in Australia via FedEx, and I would send my part of the application separately. Problem solved you say? Not quite.
In prior communication with the Embassy, I was assured that the visa takes no more than five working days to issue. Knowing that Colombians are not particularly known for their efficiency with administrative matters, I made it quite clear that it was very important that this information was accurate and the visa be issued in this period of time. I was repeatedly told that, providing my documents were all in order, this would not be a problem. They perhaps should have included a clause that said 'Providing your documents are in order, and the visa people in Colombia are contactable, this will not be a problem.' Unfortunately, the people who authorise the visas in Colombia are not answering emails or phone calls, and hence the Embassy in Canberra cannot issue my visa without passing this bureaucratic red tape. So as we are yet to hear back from Colombia, I have to wait until December 29th to find out whether my visa will be issued or not, leaving one working day to get my passport back from Canberra either with or without visa. Let's hope it's the former.
So as I sit down to enjoy my Christmas lunch, see my friends and family and try to enjoy the festive season, I will have to try and forget about the worry and uncertainty that I am faced with. As my parents keep telling me, I've done all I can now and it's in fate's hands. Send your positive thoughts my way and let's hope for a Christmas miracle (of Colombian efficiency.)
Saturday, 17 December 2011
The Birth of a New Blog, and of New Beginnings.
La Mona Australiana- I bet you're probably wondering what that means and why I chose it as the title for my blog. I have been meaning to write this first entry for months, but those of you who know me well will know that I am no stranger to procrastination, especially when my life has been as frantic as it has been the past few months. Hold that thought for a moment, before I get to the title, let me tell you the reason for writing this blog.
Other cultures have fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Studying languages and history and having a love for all types of foods spurred this fascination and led me to start travelling and exploring the amazing things that the world has to offer. You could say that I caught the travel bug, and I caught it bad. I've never had a clear direction of what I wanted for the future except for the list of places I wanted to visit, where my next adventure would be and when I would leave (or more realistically, when I would be financially able to jump on the next plane.)
Studying a semester abroad in Mexico in 2006 cemented my love for Latin America and its people, and since then I have never really been able to get it out of my mind or my heart. Mexico made me feel like I'd never felt before, and being back in Australia never completely felt like 'home' again. I've had itchy feet ever since, travelling back and forth to Latin America, each time experiencing more and falling more in love with the people, cultures, food, language and so on. I get a feeling when I'm there that's like nothing else. I like the organised chaos, the street food, the music and the fact that there's constant activity everywhere you go, from the bustling cities to the lush jungles. Heck, I even like not being able to flush toilet paper and the obscure sense of time that can never really quite be figured out.
Studying a semester abroad in Mexico in 2006 cemented my love for Latin America and its people, and since then I have never really been able to get it out of my mind or my heart. Mexico made me feel like I'd never felt before, and being back in Australia never completely felt like 'home' again. I've had itchy feet ever since, travelling back and forth to Latin America, each time experiencing more and falling more in love with the people, cultures, food, language and so on. I get a feeling when I'm there that's like nothing else. I like the organised chaos, the street food, the music and the fact that there's constant activity everywhere you go, from the bustling cities to the lush jungles. Heck, I even like not being able to flush toilet paper and the obscure sense of time that can never really quite be figured out.
Just before turning 25, you could say I had a quarter life crisis. Sure, it's normal for people (especially Australians) to travel and take gap year. Some take a working holiday in Canada or spend a few years in London. Most usually come back and settle into Australian life but here I was in my mid-twenties with no direction or career path and, due to the travel bug (which sometimes feels like an affliction), no money. All I had was a desire to get back to Latin America more permanently but with no clue of how I could logistically make it happen without winning the lottery or robbing a bank. So you can imagine my excitement when mum was counselling me one day and stumbled across WorldTeach in the back of the Lonely Planet guide book for Costa Rica. She suggested I look into the program as it seemed to be exactly what I was looking to do. WorldTeach are a non-profit, non-government organisation who send volunteer educators to developing countries to promote global citizenship and improve education. As soon as I started researching WorldTeach, I had my heart set on participating in one of their many wonderful programs, and decided on Colombia, an amazing country which I visited in 2009. After many months of planning and completing the application process, I was accepted into the program. It is now mere weeks until I will be heading to Colombia for the many challenges and adventures that lie ahead as a WorldTeach volunteer.
During my year of service there will be many challenges, highs and lows as well as many breathtaking and life-changing moments. Keeping a blog will, in fact, be a challenge in itself and will be a way of processing my thoughts and experiences and sharing them with the people in my life, and those who care to read about them. That, along with a promise to my dad (after him asking about 14 times) is the reason I sit here writing this blog. Which brings me to the title.
Why La Mona Australiana?
I could have called my blog, Fi in Colombia, fionam@blogger.com or any other such names but I wanted something a little different and with a Colombian flavour.
Let's start with Australiana. Yep, you probably guessed that it means 'Australian'.
La Mona. The word in Spanish has a range of different meanings, both good and bad depending on which country you are in and who you are talking to. I always thought it was the female version of el mono meaning 'monkey'. You can imagine that I was quite surprised/offended/confused when people in Colombia addressed me with, 'Tss Tss, Ey mona!' ('Tss Tss, hey monkey?') and 'Eyy mona, que guaaaaapa' ('Hey monkey, how beaaaaautiful?') etc. as a way of getting my attention or as a good old cat call (a completely acceptable form of communication, especially on the Caribbean coast). I don't know about you, but I wasn't exactly impressed with people calling me a monkey. It took me a few days to ask someone what on earth it actually meant. It turns out, mona in Colombia is a word they use for people with blonde hair, like rubia in Castillian Spanish, güera in Mexican Spanish and macha in Costa Rican Spanish. Ah, it made sense! In Spanish, people tend to address you with a physical characteristic, for example, if you are thin you will be called flaco/a, if you are on the rounder side, gordo/a and so on. Logically it made sense as (I hope) I look more blonde than like a monkey.
So I thought, why not La Mona Australiana, The Blonde Australian. Let the Colombian adventure begin.
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