Orientation in La Mesa

I guess a lot of people are reading this now, since nothing is private on facebook!
Anyway, I just got back from a 5 day orientation in La Mesa, a town about 3 hours down the mountain from Bogota. Since it is down the mountain it was super hot and humid, but there was a pool! The drive down was really pretty-- super hilly and lush, it reminded me of Rwanda.

There were 18 other volunteers there who arrived a few days ago also, and one volunteer who arrived in January. 16 of the 19 were German speakers (15 from Germany and 1 from Switzerland), 2 of them were from England and 1 from Sweden. I automatically started talking to the girls from England because they were speaking English (obviously). Throughtout the weekend it was really cool that the others spoke German because I actually remember a lot from school and could usually understand their conversation. I wouldn´t talk back to them in German but it was super nice to feel kind of included. The three girls who didn´t speak German felt alienated because they couldn´t join in on many of the conversations that were being held outside of the activities, so I´m glad I didn´t feel that way! Plus, that means that I will be able to work on my German and Spanish while I´m here!

Other than that, La Mesa was good. We talked about the rules and regulations of being with the program, cultural shock, Colombian culture and other things to expect while we are here. I learned that I shouldn´t walk alone past 6, I should separate my money and not carry it all in one place (some in my bra, some in my shoe, some in my pocket, etc.), and that I need to be very careful of thieves when I am on the Transmilenio (bus). We also started our first couple of Spanish classes. There is a beginners class and an intermediate class. I am in the intermediate class but there is a big gap between the speaking levels. I feel like I am doing pretty well though, and I understand everything that the teacher says. It is a lot nicer than the Spanish classes I took in school because everyone actually wants to be there learning!

Tomorrow I start my first day of Spanish classes in the city! I will probably also take the Transmileno alone for the first time, sketch.