“Infinite flexibility.” This phrase was one repeated many times by our program director Dan when I studied abroad in San José, Costa Rica in 2018. His continual reminders to practice this kind of flexibility proved useful when several of our weekend class trips were cancelled due to teachers’ strikes, and again when our mid-semester Nicaragua trip was changed (to a wonderful 10-day visit to Cuba instead, which forever shaped my perspective on language learning and travel!). We had yet more opportunities to be flexible when interactions and communication differences with our host families and professors were difficult.
Always, always, infinite flexibility.
Nearly seven years later, I now live in Colombia, and flexibility and adaptability are still skills I need and continue to actively practice. In fact, growing in this area was one of my goals in applying for and accepting a Fulbright ETA grant. I found a journal entry from last April, in the midst of all of my processing and decision-making before I officially said “yes.” Here is an excerpt:
April 13, 2024
“I started reading as many blogs as I could find online from former Fulbright Colombia ETAs. They were fascinating! Everyone who wrote about their experiences seemed to love what they learned, and the friendships they made, and the places they got to explore. They all talked about growing in teaching skills, flexibility, cultural awareness, and more! They made new friends, they learned to dance, they tried and loved new foods, and many of them either stayed a second year or went on to other international work… [Reading their blogs] brings back many memories of Costa Rica and all the richness of my time there. I love it, and I understand why they love Colombia.”
“And yet I am afraid. I am afraid and feel very unwilling at the moment to exert that energy. To push myself again, that far out of my comfort zone. I am comfortable in North America right now.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Colombia looks incredible. [I just feel] like it is me against the world … if I decide to go. Like I am sailing away, waving goodbye to everything I know, to established friendships and family members and routines. As independent as I tend to be, I am not feeling like becoming more independent right now. If I’m honest, I don’t want to put in the effort, the energy, the time, the cultural shock, to adjust to life in Colombia.”
Praise the LORD that He guided and prompted me to go! To “sail away” seven months ago (albeit in an airplane) to this then-foreign country and discover all that He had in store for me.
Of course, growing in flexibility has not been easy. I have dealt with a few last-minute cancelled plans. I have left my house with new friends not knowing what exactly we would be doing all day or when I would return home. I have often stayed out far later at parties, family gatherings or events than I would have preferred. I have waited for hours in bus terminals and airports. I lived in a house with a broken window that let in water every time it rained, which is often. I have killed more cockroaches than I can count and waged a never-ending war against ants. I have ridden in small taxis with 6+ people, on the back of motorcycles, in church acquaintances’ vehicles, on the back of old Jeeps, and in a chiva bus. One time I even ate a full dinner right before going to a movie with new friends and then had to find room in my stomach for the hot dog & popcorn they bought me (a difficult trial, I know!).
In short, everything I have experienced since moving here has, indeed, required effort, energy, time, and a good deal of cultural adjustment. And I would do it all again. Only three months remain of this grant, and I am excited for all that is to come. But enough philosophical reflection for now. I know you’re mostly here to read about and see photos from my latest adventures.
Third time’s the charm
For someone who lived in the same exact apartment for four years in Texas, I have moved quite a few times in the past seven months. Upon arrival to Villavicencio, I fully intended to stay at an Airbnb for a few weeks, then find permanent housing and stay put all year… life worked out differently, however. I spent two months in one house, five in another, and just moved into a third where I will stay for the next few months.
This move does mean that🎵 las chicas de la casa 5-12 🎶 ya no viven juntas en la misma casa. Aliya and I are still incredible friends and partners-in-crime in this Colombia adventure (and we still work at the same university) but we said goodbye to our shared house. Not before filming several TikToks and eating one last round of our favorite local empanadas, of course. Our roommate era was a sweet time, indeed!
Muy amañada en el conjunto mío
I should explain, though, that House #3 is not far at all from House #2. Here, people will often ask me if I am amañada en Colombia, which I have learned means to be “comfortable” or “at home.” If nothing else, I am muy amañada in the conjunto where I live—so much so that when I met a neighbor on a hiking trip to nearby Restrepo and later found out he and his family were moving to Germany for work, I asked him if I could rent their home. I wanted to move, but I didn’t want to leave the neighborhood! One thing led to another, and now I live in a beautifully decorated and spacious four-bedroom home. Yes, it is too big for just me, and no, I do not have roommates, and yes, it is expensive and thus a temporary arrangment, and no, I did not get married (one neighbor lady’s theory as to why I moved), and yes, I love it.
Unexpected generosity
Besides the additional cost, the only major issue with renting the new (mostly furnished) house was its lack of a refrigerator and washing machine. Thankfully, gracias a Dios por su provisión, a dear friend moved back home recently and is lending me her fridge, and a neighbor is renting me her extra lavadora in exchange for English lessons for her daughter. God provides in mysterious (but happy!) ways. A close friend & neighbor loaded my suitcases into his car to make the move easier, and then later helped me unload both the fridge and the washing machine. I am very blessed!
1 weekend, 2 houses, 2 university campuses
The last week of February was truly a full one, as our university also moved from its nearby (walkable!) location to a new building across the city. Mid-semester, naturally. Classes began officially at the new campus on March 3, but by February 21, nearly all of the office furniture had been removed from our old campus. I didn’t fully grasp this noticia until arriving at the office for my lesson planning hours that afternoon, unfortunately (or fortunately?), and I spent most of that afternoon eating ice cream and trying to escape the pouring rain with two other displaced coworkers. I arrived at my first class that day planning to review phrasal verbs, only to be reminded by my coteacher that today’s topic was Canada. Say less.
The following Friday was simultaneously the last night I spent in my second house, the day I received keys to the third house, the last day at our original university campus, the last time I arrived to class on foot, and National Pancake Day in the USA. My backpack was rather heavy that day, as I toted a bag of thank-you treats for the campus security guards and two containers of mini pancakes to share with converation club students. Farewell, Parque de la Vida! Farewell, Cofrem. Farewell, loud office cat, and farewell, air-conditioned office. Farewell to unwieldy backpack checks at the guard stations, the underground bowling alley, and the park’s moving dinosaur statues.
New university campus, who dis?
While the new campus does have a severe lack of robotic reptiles, it does boast a five-story classroom building, a functional cafeteria, and more technology overall. The coordinator office and library are on the fifth floor, naturally, and the elevator is not operational elevator (that would be too much to ask for!), but my legs should be super strong by the end of May. The top floor also has a large covered and open patio with a great breeze and beautiful view of the mountains. Now that UCompensar is located in an entirely different area of Villavicencio, I spend quite a bit more time in taxis than I had been—a more difficult pill to swallow (or bill to pay)—but overall there are many benefits to this campus change.
The happy friend of neighborhood cats & dogs
Colombia has proved to be a land “overflowing” with many things, including but not limited to cats and dogs! I used to consider myself more of a dog person, but well, infinite flexibility has turned me into a cat lover as well. It’s a good thing I only moved a few blocks away from my three favorite neighborhood cats, otherwise it’d be hard to visit them. I also made friends with a cat at Parque Bambú and already befriended a new one at our university campus. Cats have become like my equivalent of collecting Pokémon. I have many dog friends, too, other than the fluffy Malamute at the corner house (who despises anyone who steps foot near his house or tries to pet their family cat).
The latest active adventures
February 22-23 // Camping in Parqué Bambú
I camped for the first time in this country at a nearby privately-owned ecological park known for its bamboo and pine tree-lined trails. Nothing like the forests of Alberta, I will tell you that, but the view is nice! This excursion was my fourth with Thanya, and once again, a neighbor saved the day with a loaned tent. The group plan included two friends I met on previous excursions, a steep uphill hike (thankfully our packs and tents were taken by truck), dinner, a campfire with marshmallows, live music and singing, an outdoor movie, and hot breakfast in the morning. Well worth the $30.
March 1 // My second Hulking workout at Fenix Box CrossFit
Small Victories™
With all of the changes recently, I have yet again begun to note the small victories of each day. These moments help me keep a positive attitude and enjoy, rather than complain about, the unique challenges of every day.
✔ I drew upon all my Spanish university studies and cultural knowledge to write a professional rental proposal letter to my new landlord. He accepted the proposal, I went to his house to meet his family and see the house, they then moved to Germany, and now I am typing this blog from their kitchen table.
✔ I successfully navigated yet another rental negotiation, in my non-native language. Amazing where learning a world language can take you!
✔ I found a hardware store to make copies of my new housekeys. I knew there were several cerrajerías in the neighborhood but had yet to see one open. One day I set out determined to find one, and the very last hardware store I checked before giving up for the day was a success. Three keys for less than $3. One of those “I love this country!” moments.
✔ I successfully navigated the delivery of a refrigerator and a washing machine to my new house. Here, I can take no credit whatsoever for the actual heavy lifting involved, but I helped to coordinate all the details.
✔ I escaped getting technically hit by a truck, while on the back of a motorcycle, with just a very small bruise on my left leg. I was wearing a helmet and a trusted friend was driving on a fairly empty two-lane road … but the driver of the truck was somehow drunk at 9:00 am on a Sunday morning. All is well that ends well. Wear your helmets and long pants, kids.
Vignettes of Villavicencio life
One of the neighborhood security guards was making rounds on a bicycle with a small green parrot on his shoulder. A few days prior, the same parrot was riding along with the technician reading electrical meters.
While I was leading a student conversation club on Wildlife & Nature on the 5th floor university terrace, no less than five different species of birds landed on a nearby railing.
Two neighbors helped me move a washing machine from another neighbor’s house into mine. We tried unsuccessfully to squish a cockroach that ran out from under the washing machine … and then disappeared somewhere near my friend’s feet. Moments later, it appeared on his shoulder and happily perched there, like a tiny pet, for about two seconds before he realized and hastily flicked it off.
Walking to the road to the gym after it rains is always a little bit of an obstacle course, as large puddles form on both of the far right lanes. Let’s just say I recently learned my lesson about walking (as opposed to running) past these puddles when a bus drove by.
On the drive to work last week, a taxi driver asked me which state I was from. When I answered, “Nebraska,” he told me that when he was growing up in rural Meta, his father had been a big fan of Western movies centered on the Midwest and had named their family farm Finca Nebraska.
¡Que viva Colombia! I love this country.
Emily Explores 
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