Mi primera semana en Bogotá, Colombia!

       I have been informed (via my dear friends Allison & Kristin) that is has been two years since I wrote on my blog.  I will try to go back and fill in this gap; I was really busy! (No surprise there.)  But a few months ago I decided it was high time I get my spanish to where it should be and I bought a ticket I've been wanting to buy for years.  Since a week ago Saturday, my life has changed dramatically!  It's kind of sweet having no responsibilities...but it's only been a week, so maybe I'll be going crazy soon; but for now it's "chevere".

Here is an entry in my journal from the first night:

       "I left a spacious 8 bedroom mansion with 12 single roommates and came to a cozy 3 bedroom apartment up a flight of stairs with a warm mother, father, & 3 kids just my age.  I had experienced moments of the occasional slips in vocabulary or grammar, but now it's an exciting moment when I get an occasional full sentence out correctly.  My car at my leisure to 80 cents for bus rides...this is going to be a sweet experience!

       One concern I had was not being able to be funny for a while since I knew my spanish is rough (I know--my concerns are deep and somewhat disconcerting), but this fear was alleviated my very first night.  Though there were a few moments that passed because I was looking up words in the dictionary, I found that I know enough to throw out my typical Sam sass and get laughs from the whole family.  It is a great feeling when you can't even speak the language completely, but the little you know combined with your wit is enough to make the family you just met laugh and laugh.

       Last night as I drove to drop off my car before I went to the airport, it hit me "I'm going to be all alone...I'm not going to know a soul.  My phone is gone and it's just my spunky little self and God..."  Let me tell ya--that thought got me SO excited!  My heart filled with courage and I said out loud "Alright!  It's you and me God.  I'm really doing this, but it's just me and you!"  All the calmness washed away and I was drenched in the most electrifying current of anticipation for a new adventure!"

My sweet new casa:

My cute little room.  It's sweet because it's super easy for me to keep clean!

Andrés Felipe, Maria Eugenia, & myself on the stair with the family dogs.  I normally don't like small dogs, but the one I am holding is pregnant, so she's way chill.  I miss pets!

The Martinez Family:

Me, Jhonatan, Luz Marina, Alfonso, Andrés Felipe, & Maria Eugenia

(This week President Martinez walked in the door one day and called me Samantha Maria.  It stuck and now that is how I introduce myself.)

On Monday Hermana Martinez brought me to a different section of town for a little bit of history, fine dining, and shopping.

This was my first restaurant experience...I was pretty excited!

       Since we're on the topic of food I snapped a couple other pictures.  I have loved everything I have eaten so far.  (Arepas & Avena are my favorite!)

Hermana Martinez is a great cook and breakfast is always hot food because it's so cold in the morning.  (It's usually 46-64 degrees here...that might not seem cold to you, but remember--I'm a pansy.)

After the temple one day we went to Hermana Martinez' uncles home.  His wife gave ma so much food!  It might not look like it, but that is easily 2-3 times more then I eat!  That beautifully formed pile of rice & meat was over 2-3 inches tall.  Before we left she fed us two more times!  (Thankfully they were much smaller portions.)

One of my favorite things here is that everyone I have seen cook (whether they have a lot of money or a little) cook in these tin pitchers: hot chocolate, potatoes, meat, rice...they are sweet!

Day 4 inspired me to write the following:

A COUPLE THINGS I'VE LEARNED:
-In the desert at Anasazi I used rocks for toilet paper, in Colombia my toilet paper smells like flowers because you don't flush it.
-To be dehydrated when I go out.  At Anasazi I was taught to be hydrated ALL the time, and it was ok because the whole world (well with a certain distance from water and camp) was my bathroom.  Here I have to pay to use the bathroom and I get sweet little packets of toilet paper with puppy dog prints that also smell like flowers:

SOMETHING I'LL BE DOING DIFFERENT:
-I might have a new record for not shaving my legs.  I have gone a month before on a dare, I might hit 2 1/2 months while I am here.  I thought I took quick showers before, but I'm mastering the 3-5 min shower (which is not easy with long hair!)

A COUPLE THINGS I NOW UNDERSTAND:
-Why missionaries sometimes have a difficult time when they get home speaking their native language. (I have been trying so hard to think in spanish that by day three each time I wrote my parents I have to go slow because I keep trying to write in spanish).
-Why people wear long underwear.  Living off the Golf of Mexico and in Arizona my whole life I didn't know the joy of long underwear!

I am so grateful for a temple so close to my house in Mesa!  It took us almost 2 hours on a packed bus to get to the temple in Bogotá.  Having learned the ordinances in spanish when I served in the Mesa temple is really paying off here!

Believe it or not my room is always clean...it's amazing what having time can do!  But this little guy is always on my nightstand.  My little luck charm, complements of Miss Aly Herred. (and yes, I know that is spelt wrong, but I like it better that way ;) ) 

This is the street I live on, and this is me running.  I am not in the shape I used to be, but this is my weekly Jog for Jamie in action:

A FEW MORE FUNNY THINGS:
       I  have been here for over a week and I am never offered water.  I knew that water is less commonly drunk in South America, but I didn't know it was NEVER.  For breakfast it is always hot chocolate, for lunch it is fresh pressed juice (which I LOVE), & for dinner it is either juice or soda of some sort...and sometimes hot chocolate.
       I have to make sure I take the right amount because I know I must always clean my plate.  Even though I take smaller portions, I still get fed a lot and so I have been exercising in my room daily so I will still be recognized when I get home and don't get swallowed by SamanthaMaria.  (Today The family put all the food by me and were teasing me to eat more, so I asked them "Why do you not want me to return to the states skinny?!" and they all laughed.  I said it wasn't a laughing matter for me & my future husband, and then we all laughed.)
       Friday was the first time that I didn't clean my plate, for lunch or dinner.  I just can't eat this much!  I don't know how missionaries do it!  I think the reason I couldn't eat all of my lunch was because I had a big plate of food AND a big bowl of lintels!  If only the young walkers on the trail could have seen my face when I saw these lentils!  I was SO excited.  And I gobbled them up; but if you've eaten lentils before then you know how filling they are!

Saturday I went to an institute activity and learned how to salsa dance better.  Here is Andrés and I all dolled up to go.  I am sporting my first pair of skinny jeans.  In a truly girly moment I broke down and bought 2 pairs 'because I needed them to go with my new boots'!

FUNNIEST STORIES OF THE WEEK:
       There have been some pretty funny moments with the family, but one of the best happened Friday morning.  I was talking with Hermana Martinez after breakfast and we were talking about the wash.  I said that I needed to buy some 'calcetines' (socks) because I had only brought two pair.  (It's important to note that I had been here for 7 days by this point.)  The conversation moved on and then got brought back up, and I said I just didn't think about bring more because I don't wear them often in Arizona.  This is when I found out that in Colombia 'celcetas' means underwear and they call socks 'medias'!  So she thought I only had two pairs of underwear, and it had been a week, and I hadn't done my wash yet!  We had a good laugh over that one.
       Tuesday was one of the best moments I've had of saying the wrong thing.  President Martinez asked me to pray (which I had done with the family several times already)--very basic prayers, but they work.  Well this time I was giving thanks for the safety we had that day, for the gospel, & for the food.  I went to bless the food...but I could not remember the word "bless, so I said "por favor puede que este comida que esta bien"--which is a very crude way of saying "please you(God) could that this food to be ok."  I said it fast because I didn't want to wait to think of the correct way to say it.  So I ended the prayer and President Martinez bursts out laughing and says "bendice" (the word 'bless'). We all had a hard laugh over my sad attempt to bless the food.  It was particularly funny because that day they had all been commenting on my spanish having improved greatly since I got here.

       I have already learned so much and I am loving my experience!  The family is so kind and very funny; it's been a pleasure living with them.  We'll see how busy I get, but I'm really trying to keep things chill so there should be a post each week.