An American Road Trip: Floridian Fun in the Sun

The two years that I spent in South Florida as a member of AmeriCorps were full of some of the most memorable moments in my life. The work and the people that I meant during my service are things that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The thing that has continued to amaze me is the quality of friendships that I made while living in one of the richest areas of the United States. A handful of those friendships helped bring me back to the beaches, heat, and palm trees.

When Trisha and I parted ways at the airport in Austin, I headed east to Fort Lauderdale. I was picked up by Ryan, the husband of one of my roommates during my second year, Kourtney. While I was really excited to see Kourtney and Ryan, I will selfishly admit that I was actually more amped about seeing their dogs, Taz and Zoey. These two were a huge part of my service both years and I had missed their energy and sloppy kisses while I was in Colombia. Needless to say, some much-needed puppy therapy was in order during my stay.

Kourtney and Ryan were gracious enough to let me stay at their apartment, which was absolutely beautiful. I had a great few days catching up with them and, of course, soaking in quality time with the pups. But those four weren’t the only reason that I went down to South Florida. I made a stop at the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to see my former bosses, Brad and Audrey (or Braudrey as they were known during my service). It was great to fill them in on my comings and goings, while also getting an update on the current AmeriCorps group. I wish that I had had more time to spend with them, but other places were calling my name.

For lunch, I went back to my second-year service site, EdVenture, and met up with my former counterpart, Carly. It was a blast not only being able to see her but most of the other staff that I served with during my time at the charter school. I was also able to meet the current AmeriCorps members that are serving at the school and got to share some of my AC and PC experiences with them. After school was done, I accompanied Carly back to her gorgeous house and we did some more catching up.

For dinner that night, I went to the house of one of the families that I used to tutor for. We had a very lively discussion about my time in Colombia and my thoughts on lots of topics (ranging from education to the recent election to cultural differences). Angelina’s mother (the girl that I used to tutor) is from Peru and it was very interesting to compare my experience in Colombia with hers growing up in Peru. The night ended with several pleas for me to move down to South Florida (including an offer to just live in their spare bedroom!)

The rest of my time in South Florida was spent relaxing with my two favorite furry friends, going for walks and runs around the neighborhood, and cooking up a storm to express my gratitude for the hospitality Kourtney and Ryan extended to me. As my time in South Florida came to an end, I was able to spend one last night with Brad, as we went to a brewery down by the airport. He dropped me off and I readied myself for the next leg of my trip: up north to Tampa.

Tampa presented me the opportunity to cross paths with multiple people from different parts of my life. I was picked up at the airport by Cassie, another AmeriCorps survivor from my second year. She and her boyfriend Ryan have a cute little apartment near downtown that offered the perfect accommodations for my stay. Cassie currently is teaching 6^th grade Language Arts at a charter school in the Tampa area and invited me to come and present to her students about my time in Colombia. While a bit rambunctious, the presentations went well and I think the students learned quite a bit about life outside of the United States.

The next path that I was able to cross (on the spur of the moment) was my friend Kevin. Kevin and I first met while participating in Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services in college. The summer that I spent in Italy Kevin was in Germany and we were able to meet up twice that summer (in Rome and in Salzburg, Austria). Since then, he has become an Occupational Therapist and is currently located in a community north of Tampa. It just so happened to be his birthday, so Cassie and I headed up to a brewery to meet up with him and a few friends to help celebrate his big day. We played multiple rounds of Cards Against Humanity and reminisced about the good ole days of Camp A.

The third path that I crossed during this trip was with my friend Donna. Donna and I first met in Korea through the volunteer group Mannam. She was a science teacher on the military base located in Seoul and opened up her home to us multiple times for parties and other get-togethers. She has since moved back to the Tampa area and is currently teaching Language Arts at a local school. We went down to the Riverwalk and had a very enjoyable lunch at a restaurant right on the water. Afterward, I was able to accompany her on a few of her dog-sitting stops. A massive lover of pets, Donna has become involved in animal shelters and pet-sitting for owners while they are on vacation.

My time in Tampa was wrapped up with another visit from Kevin at a brewery that was decorated like a giant aquarium. We played darts, drank some delicious brews, and ended up at a burger joint that was the perfect way to end my brief time in Tampa.

I’m excited for my next trip down south. Not only is it warm and sunny, but some of my favorite humans make it a place that I will always enjoy visiting.

We Got The Whole World In Our Hands

Before I ever applied for Peace Corps, I have been a huge fan and proponent of geography. Learning the location of important places around the world is a key factor in being a globally educated and well-rounded human. This is one of the contributing factors to why I just love to travel. Being able to experience new cultures and customs is an absolute thrill and adrenaline rush that has only been enhanced by my love of geography.

When I was accepted to the Peace Corps over two years ago, I started doing some research on various projects that other volunteers had done to help give me an idea of possible things that I could try and accomplish during my service. I was immediately drawn to the World Map Project. Created by a Peace Corps volunteer who served in the Dominican Republic from 1987-1989, this project was right up my alley. What better way to spread my love of geography than through the creation of a gigantic map mural?

When I finally got to my permament site here in Repelón, I started scouting out possible locations to make this map into a reality. Luckily for me, other artwork adorned many of the walls of the school when I arrived. This gave me hope that getting permission to do this project would be no problem at all.

Well, time continued passing and I had yet to find the right time to get this project started. Finally, just prior to the summer vacations this year, I talked to my principal at the time (he has since left) about the project and he was immediately on board. We agreed that I could use the wall behind the stage, as it would be in a prominent location and could be seen all visitors that come to the school. So I got to work.

After chiping away all of the old paint, giving the wall a fresh coat of white paint, and starting to draw the grid, I was slightly derailed when I realized that the elements were going to eventually do more damage to the map than good. Luckily for me, a new library had just been constructed at my school and with this four blank walls were just screaming for a new map. After receiving permission from the new principal to move my project into the library, I started over again.

Finally, after about a month of hard work and collaboration with some very talented 10th and 11th grade students, the map is finished! I am so excited to be able to give the school this resource that I am hoping will be utilized by the social studies teacher and maybe incorporated into other activities to expand the students' knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Below are pictures showing the project from start to finish:

The wall before starting

The start of the grid that was used to draw the map

Grid done - now ready to draw the world!

One of my 10th grade students, Angelica, hard at work

Another 10th grade student, Anderson, lending me his drawing skills

All drawn and outlined - bring on the paint!

Mafe, a 10th grader, putting her artistic abilities to work

11th graders Alex and Arnaldo helping to put on the finishing touches

The final product!!!

I'm super proud of the end results! It was a lot of fun being able to collaborate and work with my students outside of the classroom and in a non-English context. The artistic abilities of the students here both at my school and in Colombia in general never cease to amaze me. I'm excited that I'll be able to leave this in the school as part of my Peace Corps legacy here in Repelón.

The Journey to Colombia

As the calendar pages flipped from 2015 to 2016, I have found myself doing some reflecting on the past few years. In the last year of my 20's, I have been asked by many people the question of how I ended up in Colombia, along with why I am still single and show no signs of settling down anytime soon. To really answer that question, we need to start a few years back - 29 to be exact...

Ever since I can remember, I have been a traveler. My first flight happened when I was no more than 3 or 4 months old, as my parents and I would make trips back and forth from Washington D.C. (where I was born) to Iowa and Illinois (where my parent's families are located). This constant moving about to new places and cities just became part of life. 

When I was 5, my family moved to a small town in southeastern Iowa to be closer to family. This move, from the large, bustling city to a confined farming town was a huge factor in why I currently find myself sitting at a café in Colombia recounting my journey. Growing up, I was never satisfied with the limits that living in a rural community presented me. The want and desire to explore everything around me began building up inside of me.

Finally, as a 16-year-old, my first opportunity to truly step outside of my comfort zone presented itself. I spent six weeks during the summer living in San Jose, Costa Rica. The efforts of the local Lions Club helped make this adventure possible. This was my first true taste of what existed beyond the borders of Iowa and the United States. Remember, I had a very limited Spanish ability and had no real idea of what I was getting myself into. However, I just remember the rush of stepping off the plane in a foreign land and just having to figure out how to survive and persevere.

My trip to San José quickly turned into a two-week stay in the town of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where I took intensive Spanish courses at a local school. This was my first experience traveling with a somewhat organized group and it stuck. Being able to meet and interact with other people from the USA helped open my eyes to how others within my own country lived and thrived. It also shed some light on the fact that Iowa is somewhat of an anomaly to Americans. Quickly, I was charged with not only representing my country, but also my state. Needless to say, this challenge has been accepted.

As my high school days came to a close and I started college, I gradually discovered that opportunities to continue traveling surrounded me at every turn. It was during college that my current desire to visit every continent was instilled. Through the help of Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services, a program headquartered at the University of Northern Iowa that equips college students all over the country with the skills and opportunity to be summer camp counselors on American military bases all over the world, I was able to start checking things off my bucket list.

The time that I spent in Japan, Germany, Italy, and Hawaii really helped shape who I am today. Seeing the beauty that each of these separate locations (as well as those nearby) just reaffirmed the fact that there is so much to see and do. The memories of visiting the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, hiking to the top of Mt. Fuji in Japan, and seeing the ruins of Rome, Italy, among other amazing experiences, continue to fuel my desire to never be tied down to one place for an extended period of time. 

Also during my college years, I was fortunate enough to be able to study abroad in the quaint, yet lively city of Oviedo, Spain. This semester truly opened my eyes to the hundreds of options that were available to me in terms of future plans. I was able to not only experience a different education system for the first time, I was also able to successfully live and thrive in a new culture and language that was not my native one. Looking back on my journey, it was truly this semester in Spain that really sparked my desire to teach outside of the United States. 

Following my graduation from college, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at teaching outside of the US. I embarked on the long 13-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea not at all sure what I would find or how this next adventure would end up. The next year was marked with a renewed appreciation for the American education system, friendships that literally spanned the globe, and an even greater understanding of where my true calling was.

So, after a two-year stint in southern Florida with an amazing AmeriCorps program (which also just further justified my new found desire to both teach and be outside of the Untied States), I applied for the Peace Corps and was accepted as a Teaching English for Livlihoods (TEL) volunteer in Colombia, South America. I am currently living in a small, rural town in the northern department of Atlanticó. While these past 17 months have been anything but easy, they have taught me so much about not only myself but what it really means to be apart of a community of humans that do generally care.

Being able to finally live out one of my biggest dreams and goals in life has been nothing short of amazing. I've given up serious relationships, financial stability, and special moments in the lives of friends and families to not only be in Colombia, but to be true to myself and travel the world. So, I'm looking forward to the new highs and lows that 2016 brings me. Hopefully the close of this magnificent ride in Colombia will just lead to more amazing and exciting opportunities.

Travel Timeline

With my host family in Guatemala (2005)

Capsule hotel in Tokyo, Japan (2007)

Parque Guell - Barcelona, Spain (2008)

Reichstag - Berlin, Germany (2008)

Cinque Terra, Italy (2009)

Diamond Head - Honolulu, Hawaii (2009)

John Lennon Wall - Prague, Czech Republic (2010)

Baseball Game - Seoul, South Korea (2011)

Jungle Experience - Bangkok, Thailand (2012)

Top of Taipei 101 - Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

South Beach - Miami, Florida (2014)

La Piedra - Guatape, Colombia (2015)

Familial Adventures

One of the greatest things for me in regards to traveling is when friends and/or family come to visit me. Not only is it always great to have familiar faces and smiles around, but I also love showing off where I have been living/staying for an extended period of time. Also, as my mom puts it, my love with all  things abroad give my parents an excuse to continue traveling and experiencing new places as well.

At the beginning of December, my parents did just did. The 10 days that we spent together were amazing! Not only was I able to show them around beautiful Colombia, we were able to explore a new country for all of together - Panama! Here's the recap...

Repelón

My parents arrived in the late hours of the night following five different airports and four flights. Seeing them walk through the security gates was an amazing feeling. It had been a little over 15 months since the last time I had seen them. After a quick cab ride back to our hotel in Barranquilla, we called it a night and got ready for our adventure to begin the next day.

The next morning, we endured an entertaining cab ride through the city to where I catch my bus to my pueblo. This isn't the nicest place in town, but that's just how life goes sometimes! We caught the bus to Repelón and after the lovely two hour journey, arrived in the pueblo. I finally found someone else who doesn't fit well on these buses - my dad!

Once in town, we made our way to my house, where my host family greeted my parents with open arms. The days that my parents were in the pueblo (December 7th and 8th) was also a holiday here in Colombia. Known as "Dia de las Velitas" (Day of the Candles), this holiday marks the happening of the Immaculate Conception. On the coast, the tradition is to light a plethora of candles in the wee hours of the morning on the 8th and eat sancocho following this. It really is a unique holiday that I am hoping to continue when I get back to the United States.

After spending the afternoon resting in front of the all important fan (true to form, the heat was incredibly on point as always), I showed my parents around town. This really seemed to be an eye opening experience for them. It's sometimes hard to accurately capture the look and feel of a place through words alone. It really take an all sensory experience to fully appreciate your surroundings.

Following the walk around, we headed to the police station. Mel, the police chief, had invited us over for dinner and a chance for him to practice his English. For my parents, this was probably one of the real highlights of their trip. Not only were they able to meet one of my closest friends in the pueblo, they were also able to participate in Dia de las Velitas. Knowing full well that we would not be making it until the early hours of the morning to light candles with my host family, Mel went out and bought candles for my parents and I to light, along with some of the the other cops. Seeing  my parents interact with some of the more important people of my service here in Colombia was a real treat for me to witness and be apart of.

Cartagena

We continued our trip to the coastal city of Cartagena. This is a popular tourist stop and a former port city where many of the slaves entered the country back in the 14th and 15th centuries. Because of this, there is a a strong African-Colombian presence throughout the city. This leg of the trip was highlighted by a walk along the old city wall, enjoying some traditional Colombian dances (cumbia and mapale) in the park, and enjoying the architecture of the walled city.

Bogotá


Our next stop was the capital city of Colombia, Bogotá. With cooler temperatures, breathtaking scenery, and a beautiful old city center, this city has a lot to offer. The climate definitely agreed with my parents, as they were able to trade in their sweat rags for sweatshirts and turtlenecks. We made our way to top of Monserrate, a mountain that dominates Bogotá and provides amazing views of the entire city. This mountain is a popular pilgrim destination, as many people make the trek up to visit the church and stations of the cross located at the summit.

After taking in the views of the city, we made our way to the old part of the city, Candelaria. This neighborhood offers some of the beautiful old architecture of the early days of Bogotá, along with the Plaza Bolivar. Located here are the national cathedral, President's mansion, and other important governmental buildings. We concluded our stay in Bogotá by enjoying some delicious ajiaco, the traditional thick, creamy chicken soup from this region.

Panama City

The last leg of our trip took us out of Colombia and next door to Panama. We spent a glorious four days exploring Panama's capital city, Panama City. Highlights from this part included:

- a tour of the city by bus
- a visit to the famous Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal
- a thorough exploration of Central America's largest mall, complete with 700+ shops and 100+ restaurants
- a casual stroll around Flamenco Island and its marina
- an enjoyable jaunt through the old part of Panama, complete with street salesman and beautiful architecture
- a 3-hour cab journey to a rain forest discovery center that wasn't actually there
- a complete view of the city from the top of Ancón Hill, the highest point in Panama City
- a great stay at the perfect apartment

All in all, it was a great way to end a perfect get away. It's always great to see my parents and be able to show them my new place of residence. I can now say that I feel revitalized and ready to take on 2016 with a new sense of vigor and steam!