now that I'm back in the swing of things and it's been over a year since we settled in
a few things have changed...
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around the same time I headed to the States, my dear Americano friend Katy was packing up too... this time for good. Her fiancé had the opportunity to work on another job, so they said adios to Cartagena. I'm very excited for them in their new adventure, but I miss having my American partner and our nostalgic conversations.
Alicia aka Alice is my friend from Russia and is thankfully still here. But she's experienced quite a big change. She and her husband are expecting a little one in September. Our conversations have changed from discussing shopping at the mall and dinner reservations to total baby prep. She will be leaving next month and heading to the States to give birth and plans to return in December with her little bundle of joy {which I am quite excited about}.
My friend and Spanish teacher, Alice {two Alice's... ironic?} is now teaching English at the University and with her new position her time for teaching Spanish has declined. But she still gives me quite the education, by taking me to spots I've never heard of that are outside of our 'zone', speaking Spanish as we socialize, and answering the one trillion questions I have about Colombian culture and 'why do they do that?'.
It looks like Rosetta and I are going to need to reconcile.
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When we returned to Cartagena, Matt and I made the decision to join the local gym. We've been pretty happy with both the facility and our commitment to going. But when you don't have many other commitments besides work {for Matt} you just can't come up with near the amount of excuses.
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Last year Matt and I downloaded a few of our favorite series that don't air in Colombia off i-tunes {think Breaking Bad and Mad Men... Modern Family airs here.. just a mere 6 months behind you}. We realized we really liked having something to look forward to once a week. So this go around we decided we would download new series or get caught up with old ones. Sunday evenings we watch The Wire, Wednesdays Weeds, and starting next week Breaking Bad will be back in the mix. Pretty thrilled about this change.
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I went on a 4 month hiatus from the kitchen. I think I cooked one meal while I was in Tennessee. No. I wish I was exaggerating. It was magnificent, mostly because my mom knows her way around a kitchen. So I've been a little more interested in things culinary lately and have enjoyed taking my time while cooking, finding new recipes, even making my own recipe book {3 ring binder} and watching this little guy grow on my window sill.
meet mr. basil
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so theres been a few changes around these parts, some health related, routine, social, but mental as well. While in America I got used the the general pace of a busy life... full of pressing to-do lists, social calendars, and time management. Those aren't things that we generally experience here... this latin american lifestyle is pretty easy going. Do I experience stress? Sure, sometimes. An errand gone amiss with a bit of a language barrier can really get my heart rate going and feel quite stressful. Will I have those days? Abso. I can count on that. But I want to make sure that someday when I'm sitting on my front porch somewhere in the US of A, thinking back on this wild adventure I can take a deep breath and know that I took full advantage of the moments. Until then you can find me pool side, reading, writing, taking pictures, crocheting, cross stitching, dreaming of future travels, and enjoying time for us.
Time for me.
I'm going to take it all in.
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