Random Tidbits You May Not Have Guessed About Bogotá and My Life Here

As always, it has been wayyyy too long since I updated.  I can't believe it, but we're about 5 weeks into 2nd semester.  God continues to be so good as the year continues.  I feel that I know my kids so much better than the start of the year, and I'm so thankful for how I know the Lord is with me through each joy and challenge as I learn how to teach them.

I hope sometime to share a bunch of pictures with you...the kids, maybe a few from Christmas in the States (which was wonderful), but I don't want to make promises.  Know that I do want to communicate more regularly, and I'm trying not to be such a perfectionist/procrastinator about it.  For now, here are a few random and (hopefully) interesting things about life here.

Limes

In high school Spanish class, I learned the word “limón” for lemon.  You ask for that here, and you will, without a doubt, get a lime...a small and cute one, but definitely a lime, nonetheless.  Ask for limonada (the word I learned for lemonade)?  Sure enough, limeade.  Not a complaint, just a funny thing.  There are no yellow lemons here.

The Weather

It’s not actually that hot here.  Bogotá is over 8,000 feet above sea level, so it gets chilly.  70’s and sunny does happen (especially in December and January, which are lovely) but 60’s during the day and 40’s at night is more normal.  Don’t get me wrong, I won’t complain about not really wearing coats….well, you might catch me complaining about cold rain, but that is my LEAST favorite weather.  If you want hot weather, you gotta go to “Hot Country,” which is the name for anywhere at a low enough altitude to actually be (you guessed it) hot.

Scrambled Eggs

…win the award for the meal I make most often.  Fancy and exotic, I know.  I do like to cook more elaborate things, but I’m just not going to make the effort very often during this crazy first-year-teacher period of my life. I do try to take advantage of the plentiful fruits and vegetables here, though…so sometimes my eggs have red pepper in them.  :P

Chicken-Flavored Potato Chips

They are very popular here.  It creeps me out how much they actually taste like chicken.  Seriously, who came up with that mixture of chemicals?!  I’m not a fan, but if you ever come here, I’ll probably make you eat them.

I can see mountains from my classroom.

Lovely, foliage-covered ones that always have different patterns of sunshine and shadows, depending on where the sun is and what the cloud cover is like. I’ve never lived in the mountains before, but I love them.  I lift my eyes up to the mountains--Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Watch out for sneaky limes, dear friends, and as always, thank you for your prayers as God leads me through life here.