Choosing Adventure Over Security: First from Colombia!

Hi all! I'm in Colombia and all is good. I've been here almost a week now. I got in on Monday night around the same time as one other teacher. We went out to dinner with our human resources person. The next day we had breakfast and then met up with some other new teachers. This week, we've just been adjusting to being here, unpacking and getting ready to start working on Monday. The kids will be coming in starting on the 11th.

Most of my time has been spent unpacking, walking around and going out to eat at night. The city is awesome. Very different than Anaco. I'm loving that I can walk all over by myself and feel safe. People are always out walking their dogs, running or riding bikes. The area I live in is one of the nicest of the city so it's really clean. It's also really hilly everywhere so I'm gonna have some good legs by the time I leave. The apartment I'm in is very nice. It's brand new, so it's clean and modern. When the complex is complete we will also have a pool. Here's what the apartment looks like:

My kitchen

Living room

Bedroom

Closet and bathrom

And the view from the balcony!

This is the best part

I'm on the 12th floor so my balcony is awesome!

Yesterday, we got out of Pereira for the first time. The school took the new teachers to the town of Salento. It's tiny and up in the mountains, but beautiful. There are tons and tons of hand crafted and artisan type products and the views are amazing. It is a little more touristy than most places I've gotten used to lately though. I saw a bunch of backpackers while there. We also got taken down into the valley to see these huge, 200 year old palm trees. We also had lunch there, which was really delicious trout. The area is apparently known for their trout. It was very good and a nice area to walk around, though quite cold. Definitely a fun day.