Today I got my picture taken for my Colombian ID. It took three and a half hours from the time I walked in until I got it. No, it really shouldn’t take that long. The good news is that it looks like me. See?

Speaking of identity, here’s my twin whom I met last week at camp. We’re not actually related, but plenty of people thought we were.

Well, that’s all for now. Next week is teacher orientation and preparation for classes which start in earnest August 8.

Speaking of the computer lab, I’m in a new one as of the beginning of this semester. It’s really nice. Here’s a picture:

As you can see, I have a lot of natural light, and a generally pleasant room to work in now. To the left of the picture is the annex, which hosts 8 more computers that can be used by students from other classes who need to work while another class is being held in the main lab.

I hope you’re all doing well. As always, it’s wonderful to hear from you.

Now, to get to church, I have to take the Transmil as far as it goes and then get on a tiny bus called a colectivo, ride that for 10-20 minutes, and get off to walk another five minutes to church.

As it happens, the Transmil system is being extended on that end so that in a few months, I should be able to cut out the colectivo step of my transportation: a real benefit in time and money.

Apparently, bus drivers in Soacha don’t share my enthusiasm, which may be why they went on an unannounced strike yesterday. So, the few buses that were in operation were charging extra and not going as far as normal. The only other options were to pay for impromptu taxi and “bus” service: people driving personal cars and pickup trucks with wooden walls, as you can see in the following picture:

Today when I went to church, everything was back to normal.

I guess you never know what to expect in Bogota, other than excitement at every corner.

The school looks a bit different since the new building is closer to a state of completion; fifth and sixth (I think) will be using a couple of the new classrooms this year, though they won’t have their drop ceilings yet. The new computer lab and library won’t be ready for at least a few more months.

This morning I translated, then “translated,” and finally gave up and summarized in Spanish for about 3.5 hours of meetings. That was draining.

Currently, I’m working out my plans for the eight computer classes I have again this year. I hope to finish before the night is through, but reality is often crueler than my naïve estimations.

School starts with a picnic this Saturday, with core classes starting Monday, and the regular schedule beginning Tuesday.

I like having a non-core class.

On the other hand, students remembered to get candy and other presents for every teacher except us non-core teachers (though that’s not quite true since I got German Hazelnut chocolate from the family I live with).

In the afternoon, the school board took us to Parque Jaime Duque (James Duke Park) to hang out for the afternoon. After a delicious meal, we looked around the place a bit. There are many things I did not see (e.g. the whole zoo part), but I did get to see such things as a very large relief map of Colombia, a full-size replica of the Taj Mahal, and a whole host of replica statues and the like.

All told, it was nice to relax for an afternoon before stressing out again over grading and other tasks related to the end of school.

This week is also the week that the third graders’ pet hamster… well, I’ll let you read what happened:

There once was a hamster named Tiny
Whose prospects were looking quite shiny,
Til one day she died;
The third graders cried,
And made her a coffin that’s piney.

*Note: The last line isn’t quite true, but not many words rhyme with tiny (and I’m sure it would become true were the third graders given the idea).

Now that I’m more-or-less past the survival mode of first-year-teaching, I’m moving on to the stage of enjoying the teaching. It’s a nice feeling. Of course, not every day is as enjoyable as the next, but I love being able to teach interesting topics (and attempting to convince students that they’re interesting), encouraging logical thought, problem-solving, and the like.

This quarter, we’ve begun studying MySQL with the tenth graders. (Most of will want to skip to the next paragraph at this point.) It’s been fun teaching them about the inner workings of how information is stored on just about anything that lives on the Internet. Someday they’ll realize the marketability of the skills I’m teaching them and give me a monetary gift of appreciation, I’m sure.

In other news, my parents were just here for spring break, and we got to visit about a thousand points of interest in Bogotá and the surrounding towns. (The above picture is from our visit to Zipaquirá—a salt mine-turned-cathedral.)

Of course, the dry spell we’d been experiencing since January broke upon their arrival, so we had to contend with rain while they were here, but at least they got to experience the typical Bogotá climate.

Their visit was busy but really wonderful—I couldn’t have asked for a better break!

Part of the reason for this is that it hasn’t rained. But today it did—for about an hour. I guess that’s about enough to wet the dust down a little so we don’t have to breathe as much of it.

I noticed that people with SUVs were apparently exempt from the personal-vehicle ban. It might have something to do with the loophole in Colombian law that if you put a toolbox in your “truck,” you can register it as a service vehicle (although I’m not entirely convinced that it wasn’t simply because SUV owners generally are not required to follow rules, regardless of their country of residence).

I teach the same classes this semester as last (plus another study hall), though my schedule has been reorganized, meaning I now have a class during first hour two more days a week.

I got back on Thursday, January 7, to Colombia’s summer, meaning the days were hot (into the mid to upper 70s) and the nights were cold (as low as freezing). Between the resulting frost and the current lack of water, the price of vegetables, fruit, and milk has gone up, and things are generally difficult on farmers.

More recently, the weather has been slightly cooler (though today got up to 70°F). Since changes in weather are accompanied by wind, that means I finally got to fly my kite again!