Fusagasuga and I quote from the most academically accurate site ever made: Wikipedia states 'Fusagasuga is located some forty miles from the capital, Bogotá. With 134,523 inhabitants, Fusagasugá is the second most largest municipality in the department. It was founded in 1592 by Spanish priests'. However I might add is it also a town where no one speaks English. I thought Mexico City was challenging. That was a walk in the park compared to this. I have now got my little hands on a copy of the Lonely Planet - the city did not make into the book - that tells me a few things.
Fusagasuga has everything and nothing all at once. It is hard to explain but that is how it feels. You can get everything you need but the city kind of runs out really quickly and just hits vast mountain ridges. The town does feel nice, has character and a sense of community. The churches are full on the weekend and people all know each other here. There are a few bars but it is not a party town so simple living is what I am getting. However within the small bars that I find myself engaged in, beers are cheap; about $1.50 AUS for a local smooth tasting Colombian lager which is great. My actual expenses to live here are pretty good. Rent is cheap about $120 AUS a month for a room in a house including all expenses and access to wifi and laundry services. It is a not a town where there is a lot of poverty but the people live on very low wages and very simply. I have to remind myself that as I take my IPhone6 out (or should I say Matt's phone out - thanks Matt) to take photos a phone of $1000 is 2-3 times the average monthly salaries here - so that gives me some real perspective. I will be earning $1.5 million paseos (when i finally get paid) - not huge amounts but if I live simply that will be more than enough money to live comfortably for a month. It translates to about $650 a month Australian.
I am living with a local family in a small attached house - great for learning Spanish, very challenging for basic communication. There is also an 28 year old architect that is living here in the other spare room and works in Fusa- however he travels to the capital every weekend to see his girlfriend. There are no Gringos here except for me and one other American dude in the program that I am in. He is also at my school. Decent dude with good ethical values. Those of you that are interested in the program and possibly joining me here one day in Colombia is the link: http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/w3-propertyname-2863.html. All you need a is a degree in any discipline and TEFL and you are good to go.
The people here are generally pretty friendly but I have been told there is a lot of petty street crime and the main town after 10pm to be hanging out alone on the streets, alone, apparently is quite dangerous. People I am told quite often get robbed here for their phones and wallets, usually with a knife and sometimes a gun - need to play it safe and cool - but this could be exaggerated - not sure at this stage. More to investigate on this as time goes by.
The school that I am teaching at is awesome. It is a very basic school of about 750 students. Kids are great, teachers are very friendly and it has a great vibe. Also the students are really interested to learn English which is great. Having a lot of fun with them. They are full of life, wit and are cheeky as hell, great to be around and good positive vibes. Currently developing some teaching strategies that I will use next week. Teaching resources are basic. There is one texbook, a white board, battered chairs and tables and a dully fitout room. The kids however breathe energy into the classroom making it come alive.
Joined a local 'World Gym' here in Fusa which is great. I trained the whole time I was in Medellin (mostly when I was distracted by the countless bars, club and restaurants) and it is great to find another little gym that is old school and has everything you need all at once.
I must make it clear that there is some great positives being in this part of Colombia- you can get amazing food for about $3 dollars for a two course meal usually with a drink of some sort. Good coffee is hard to get and expensive here as everyone drinks 'tinto' which is some kind of instant coffee that is cheap and nasty - however you appreciate the good coffee when you get it much much more. I attempt to speak Spanish every day and am learning slowly, but steadily - I should have it under control perhaps at the end of the year - to really get the basics down. You really have no choice but to learn here which is great especially if it is supplemented with individual self directed learning.
Generally a pretty small, quite, interesting town that has a little charm about it. Still finding my feet here. Usually takes me about two weeks to properly get a feel for a town and feel really chilled about it. I will be here for nine months if all goes well. My contract ends in the middle of November. Fusa and I will have time to get to know each other.
I am pretty happy so far with how it has unravelled. Made some great friends along the way (in Medellin no tourists here at all - or none that I have seen so far) - see above. Surprised myself making friends with Americans haha - they were cool guys. The learning Spanish for five weeks was a great investment of time.
I guess in closing I must admit that this part of the travels holistically is and remains very challenging. I can assure you I am always out of my comfort zone. I am always learning, meeting people, adapting, failing at something, tasting something and always feeling uncomfortable - but this is what I thrive on. I have realised that when you make mistakes and feel uncomfortable the only person that cares is you and it is better to just let that go and take a deep breath, relax and smile. It is an internal battle with yourself and with your own ego. I also feel like I have a lot to learn and a lot of growing as a person to do. Letting go of fear in small and big situations is important. Letting go of expectations of how something should be or comparing is also just as important. The school is really important to me, as ultimately that is why I am here, to learn but to contribute and do something positive for the community while I can develop my career. So here it is in bullet point form. Hope all of you are well. I have just scratched the surface of what I want to achieve here. I will keep plugging away. Let our dreams never evade us.
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