We have been here now for 15 months. Pretty set on staying for at least a total of four years, so that would mean through the school year of 2015. Right now it's storming and raining, not exactly encouraging me to want to stay.... but the weather for the first 2 months of school was quite lovely. Last year when the rain started (around the same exact time last year) I got really bummed because I didn't know that we would go through really awesome weather too.
At this point in time, we are really enjoying our jobs. Dave and I both find our positions fulfilling and by and large truly love the folks we get to work with. In fact, I feel such a strong sense of community here among the international teachers. I guess also connecting with other teachers who are parents doesn't hurt!
Baden continues to love jardin, and we continue to love having him attend Arca de Noe. He is attending five days a week, three half-days (8ish-noon) and two full days 8ish-3:30). He's having fun, learning a lot, and staying very active-- extremely important for this little boy and for his parents' sanity.
Baden won't start CNG until our fourth year here. We're pretty much ok with this since by then he will have received three years of total immersion in Spanish in pre-school; CNG is not a bilingual school with primary instruction in English and a few hours a day in Spanish.
Izaura is at home with Alex during the day. She is just a sweet happy little thing. Not quite so extroverted as her big bro-- but most of us aren't. We plan to send her to Arca for half-day starting next August.
We are often having the conversation "where will we go...." In fact, this is a conversation we have with many of our coworkers. Guess it's part of the mindset. More and more we are settled here in Bogota despite not being in love with the city itself. There are so many factors outweighing the bad: great jobs, great childcare and help, great pre-school, great opportunity to learn Spanish, cyclovia, mini-trips out of Bogota, great new friends. Makes being here doable.
When I think about where we go next, I don't necessarily have a specific country in mind so much as specific priorities for our living arrangements. I want us to be near green space, either with a yard or near a park or in a building with a courtyard. Getting outside here can be a hassle and I feel limited to going out at specific times especially when I'm with the kids. Like sometimes, I wish I could just take Baden out for a short while in the late afternoon/early evening, but it doesn't happen. Closest park is a 15 minute walk (Gimnasio Moderno- which I'm working on getting daily access to).
There is so much I need to backtrack and start archiving on this blog-- like the birth of our daughter! More to come.
