Written mostly on February 9. Intended to be published by February 12 or so.
Hello from the Medellín airport in Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia. Lately I only make time for writing in airports and on airplanes, but I have traveled quite frequently over the past two months. I do love to explore new places, but hopefully this is the last flight I take for a while. It has already been a long week, and I am t i r e d.
Today marks one month already since returning to this country, and I feel like it has simultaneously flown by and gone painstakingly slow. I tend to do a lot here on the weekends, as my roommate always lovingly points out whenever we meet someone new and they ask what we like to do. The weeks themselves have gone slowly, given that we are just finally back to classes tomorrow.
I do find it fascinating how quickly the foreign becomes familiar. I have lived in two different neighborhoods and houses in the past six months, in addition to taking several extended trips to stay with friends and family, and I am always interested to see how (relatively!) little time it takes for a new street or living space can become “home.”
Particularly since being back in Colombia after my holiday travels, I have also noticed so many ways that I have adjusted and readjusted to life in this country. Many parts of life here, from grocery shopping to taking taxis to navigating personal invitations, party planning, and rental negotiations in Spanish are far easier and come more naturally now than I once dared to hope. During a recent phone collaboration by my roommate and I, we finally convinced Claro to come and fix our internet (only one real month without Wifi!). The temperature drops below 75 degrees Fahrenheit and I catch myself telling the taxi drivers, “Está fresquito hoy, gracias a Dios”. My approach to social gatherings and outings with friends is much more go-with-the-flow than it ever has been. I am just beginning to grasp the art of a Colombian sense of time, i.e. when we initially plan to meet around 3:00 but actually organizarnos and meet up by 5:00. While chatting with a friend near the entrance of church, I was greeted by enough people that he commented, “Wow! People really love you here.”
¡Que viva Colombia! I love this country.
Back to the office (sort of)
Colombian schools take two different major breaks throughout the year (as well as observing the country’s 18 public holidays per year, of course), from late November to early February and late May to early August. I officially started working again on January 14, but there were a few off-and-on weeks of working a day or two in the office, then from home, and then back in the office. Students did not return until February 4, so only the department coordinators and logistical staff were working in my office.
I passed the time preparing documents and lesson plans, as much as possible … and also doing what I call “life admin”, which looked a lot like constant Whatsapp networking and color-coding my to-do lists … I even watched one High School Musical movie in an empty classroom with a few coworkers. Professional development, you could say. The five young people in the office, myself included, made sure to take regular breaks to get lunch and then a mid-afternoon bakery visit. In short, there was not much to do until late January, when I restarted my hour of daily conversation club. I think a grand total of three students attended; no one wants to go to class during the last week of summer vacation!
Walking, everywhere, all the time
Since moving here, I have only used my fancy Garmin smartwatch a handful of times (it’s already large on my small wrist and I prefer to keep a lower profile and no dar papaya while out walking or running). That being said, if I were keeping track of all my steps lately, no doubt I would have racked up an impressive number this month. Today marks the fifth consecutive weekend that I have gone out on a hike, waterfall excursion, or otherwise long walk.
January 12 // Vereda El Carmen
January 19 // Buenavista via Vereda El Carmen
January 25 // Cascada Palmichal via Vereda La Argentina
January 31 // MANUEL TURIZO
Not an athletic event in the slightest, but since this was the beginning of the fullest 24-period of 2025 thus far, it deserves a mention. Tickets to see Manuel Turizo, one of my favorite Colombian artists, cost only 12.000 COP ($3 USD), and thanks to the determination of my friends, we managed to squeeze our way fairly close to the front. Also my outfit unintentionally matched that of Manuel, we both wore bedazzled lightwash jeans. Turns out this Villavicencio performance was his first concert of 2025, and ohnana, ohnana, everyone cheered when Kapo made a guest appearance for one song! The show began around 11:40 pm, and I don’t think I fell asleep until 2:30 am.
February 1 // Cañón de los Guácharos via Vereda Caney in Restrepo
I woke up, post-concert, around 6:00 am and headed right out the door to join a group hike in nearby Restrepo, led by my friend Thanya (organizer of the Planes Juntos Instagram) and our incredible local guide Oscar. We hiked along and through a river, ending up in a narrow part of a canyon called los guácharos after the birds that nest there. Our six-hour trek involved crossing the river repeatedly, climbing over and around many rocks, and using ropes to scale small waterfalls, too!
February 1 // ¡Fútbol!
I got home from the waterfall hike and eating the llano-famous rosquitas with masato in Restrepo mid-afternoon, took a 1-hour nap, ate a cheeseburger, and left to play with my CrossFit women’s team. (¡Vamos, Nuevas Gallinitas!) Somehow I still had enough energy to score my 2nd goal and kick an opposing team member twice in the same leg (on accident)!
Aaaaand then I said, “This day was very good and very long.” And I rested. 😴
Fulbright mid-year seminar in Bogotá
I didn’t rest for long, however, because by Monday afternoon, my fellow Fulbrighters and I were off to the big city of Bogotá for our mid-year seminar. Morgan and I were lucky enough to rush to the airport (which is tiny!) only to find out our flight was delayed by 3+ hours. I left the terminal for reinforcements at a local shop. Turns out you can take any sealed beverage or liquid through security at VVC with no issue! Good thing, as Coca-Cola was much needed that afternoon.
I could write so much how the actual Fulbright mid-year seminar went, but it’s late and I am trying to finish this blog post before another week goes by! In summary, the whole Fulbright Colombia cohort spent four full days together in workshop sessions, teaching presentations, cultural activities, countless conversations over meals, card games, and late nights out on the city. Even though I was constantly ‘on’ all week and thus exhausted every night, it was wonderful to feel drastically more comfortable and settled than the last time I met with the cohort in Bogotá for our orientation seminar. We all enjoyed sharing about our daily lives, our friends, our teaching, and our communities in Colombia. Perhaps it is just the nature of the highly competitive program, but every Fulbrighter that I have met is an incredibly insightful, competent and socially involved person. ‘Twas a good week.
P.S. My senior ETA, Erica, planned the absolute best activities for our small group on Thursday! Please enjoy the photos below of our cultural outing in Bogotá, which started with a walking graffiti tour, sushi + Thai food and concluded at an enormous shopping center with a trampoline park, ropes, zipline and an obstacle course.
♫ Unas noches en Medellín ♪
Given my work schedule, very rarely do I find myself with free transportation to the Bogotá airport on an early Friday afternoon. I took advantage of this opportunity and headed to Medellín for the weekend, where I spent time with two generous friends who showed me around their city! You just can’t beat two days of art museums, street art, beautiful weather, three visits to the same charming little coffee shop, quality time at the dog park, nighttime metro & cable car rides, and delicious hamburgers. En fin, me encantó.
February 8-9 // downtown Medellín & a walking tour of la Comuna 13
Emily Explores 
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