A new normal to a festive normal

After three years of living in Bogota, life has a sense of normalcy. I know where to shop, how to get around, I can speak easily with my neighbors and people at church, and sometimes I forget I am living in a "foreign country". Then every once in a while I step back and realize... somethings here in Bogota are just strange.

For example- grocery shopping. When we go to the bigger supermarkets, I sometimes forget that I'm not in the States. There are aisles with orderly rows of food and household items. I push a shopping cart and can scan barcodes at handy little price checking machines. But then, as I go down an aisle it becomes a real life game of frogger. One family has decided to stop mid-aisle to contemplate the price of rice while another mom is chasing her child away from the candy. Defensive cart pushing is real and incredibly funny when you step back and watch the chaos.

Now lining up to pay for groceries is also a "normal" experience. Many stores have adopted the one line system where everyone stands in one line and the first person always goes to the empty check stand. It takes away the guessing game of the "fast line" and really is more efficient. Until you are in line and realize the person behind you is RIGHT behind you. Like if you take a breath in you are going to bump them behind you. There is no way any person is going to cut between you and the person behind you! When this happens I have to take a deep breath (and hope not to bump them) and remember that personal space is clearly defined differently here in Bogota.

In the same time that life seems normal, I realize that living and working in a missionary community allows me to live a life that is different. Conversations about student's hearts are a daily occurrence. Prayer is the go-to medium for solving problems (most of the time). Grace is extended when mistakes are made and communication becomes cloudy. I feel so blessed to live and work with a group of people that don't mind cultural differences and embrace God's cultural similarities.

As we move onward towards the Christmas season (which started the day after Halloween here) I am excited to celebrated with family- both literally and figuratively (my parents will be here in 10 days!!!). I am excited to share the warmness of Jesus coming to earth with my PKers and help them see that God has an amazing plan for this world. I am excited for the various parties and celebrations with co-workers and church family. And I am eager to dive into the word of God and be in awe of His work.

So as normal life turns into festive life I am looking forward to a worshipful life.

On a slightly different note... here are some pictures of Christmas entering Colombia...

Welcome tree at our school

Christmas is arriving in Cartagena too!

A PK sized tree

This and that

Usually in a blog post I try to have a topic or theme or story. But sometimes that doesn't really work. So today I thought I would share random pieces of our life in Bogota that isn't really that connected.

Just outside of Bogota is a cathedral built into an old salt mine. It's a beautiful work of art!

Some of the smaller towns outside of Bogota have a more traditional look with brick roofs and white washed walls.

All middle and high school classes share classrooms so each teacher is given a desk in the teacher office. This is Ed's desk on a normal day.

The natural beauty of Colombia is outstanding. There is never a bad view.

Sometimes the teacher office is a place of work, while other times a lot of goofing off happens :)

While coming back from the teacher retreat there was a long stop while a land slide was cleared. For this guy selling treats it was a great business opportunity.

One time at the local mall a whole parade of women dressed in white gowns walked around. I have no idea why.

Peanut butter is a rare fine here- and expensive. It's almost $5 for a small jar!

Hanging out with some of friends on break sometimes means going on a Ferris wheel.

One of the theme parks in Bogota- with a good discount on Wednesdays (we learned!)

Ed's not too excited about his tummy treat! Shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk!

Ed, always known for his fashion, made a sweet hat while horse back riding on the retreat.

Apartment tour

Some of you know that we moved apartments last June to have a little more space and be closer to our transportation. We are still in the process of decorating, but here's a basic tour of our cozy little home!

Our living room area

Bedroom (and the bed is actually made!)

My indoor garden with lettuce, kale and chard.

Our kitchen (the washer is behind me)

Our living room from the front door

View from our window- look at the beautiful clouds and mountains!

The court yard area below us- with green space and a small playground at the end

Moment of joy #5

For about a year now, Ed and I have been attending a church that is very close to our apartment and let me tell you, I love walking to church. I love that I don’t fight traffic, public transportation and can use my journey to church as a time to prepare my mind and heart to learn and worship. I love the beauty of God’s creation that we pass. I love the tranquility of a neighborhood on a Sunday morning. I love that most mornings it is sunny and beautiful. I love the gentle pace of walking not crossing too many busy streets. It’s a perfect moment of joy each week.

Bogota vs. Bamako

I started this post last year and forgot about it. Did some updating of pictures so here you go!

Over the past few months people have asked the question “how is Bogota different than Bamako?”. This is a great question- and one that leads to a lot of thoughts and comparisons. I decided that rather than use words, it would be good to make picture comparisons. As you will see some things are very different, while others are quite similar. The pictures to the left are in Bogotá (or surrounding area) and the right in Bamako. Hope you enjoy!.

Landscapes

     

Down my street

Cityscape

Iced treats

 

Theme parks

 

  

Soccer

 

Things you see in Bogota #10

People- It is really hard to describe the grand size of Bogota. Sometimes it seems like a small community- you can run into people you know anywhere in the city (this happened yesterday when we were across town working on legal documents and ran into a lady from church). At the same time, however, Bogota is a city of 8 million people. 8 million folks! That’s the same as New York (8.25 million) and WAY more than Los Angeles (3.82 million), or Paris (2.23 million). It’s hard to wrap my mind on how many people that really is, so I did some simple math.

In my apartment complex there are roughly 400 people.

In my neighborhood (7 square blocks) there are roughly 25 apartment complexes.

If each apartment complex has roughly the same number of people as ours (most have more, since we live in a smaller complex) that is 400 X 25 or 10,000 people.

That’s more than the population of Monmouth (OR) in just my neighborhood. 

On the map below outlines where I live in comparison to the whole city.

This is only part of the city. Imagine the whole city. Now that’s a lot of people.

This is part of a series- for all the posts click here.

Things you see in Bogota #9

People walking dogs- Living in apartments, I would assume fish and hamsters would be the pets of choice, but in Bogota it is definitely dogs. Dogs are treated like children. I have even seen/heard of companies which run “doggy spas”. They pick up your precious pup from your house in the morning, transport it to the spa for a day of grooming and play and return your "refreshed and relaxed" pooch back to your apartment at the end of the day. On any given street, you will see people walking their dogs and taking them out to “take care of business”. As long as they pick up after their pet, it doesn’t bother me!


This is part of a series- for all the posts click here.

Things you see in Bogota #8

Strange Fruit- As expected, living in a different country means a wide variety of unique food. In Bogota- we find all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Here are some- want to guess what they are called (see answers below)?

1. Pitaya

2. Noni

3. Feijoa

4. Chirimoya

This is part of a series- check out the rest here.

Things you see in Bogota #7

Garbage pick up- Today was garbage day. Every city/state/country has a different system of waste disposal. In Bogota, we have blue barrels that reside in a small room in the basement of our apartment complex. When we have trash, we leave it in the barrels. Once a week (I assume) the barrels are dragged to the curb for pick up by the blue-suited LIME (Limpieza Metropolitana or the garbage company) men who dump the trash into the big trucks to be hauled away. It’s fairly simple for us and seems effective for the city!

 

This is part of a series highlighting the sights and everyday life in (northern) Bogota. To see the rest click here.

Things you see in Bogota #6

Bicycle Taxis- For going short distances in the city- this is your best option. For 50 cents/person, the bicycle rider is willing to tote you along. We take these in the morning to avoid missing the bus. It is also a good idea when carrying a lot of groceries home. We use them frequently enough that the local “drivers” all know where we live and are waiting outside our door in the morning to help us out!

This is part of a series. To see the rest click here.