Experiencia Colombia: Tastes, Teachings, Toño y Todo…
Last week, I returned from the most indescribably special week in Colombia with 22 educators from all over the United States. You may have heard of “Taller Experiencia Colombia” before, and if you haven’t, I am here to tell you more about it and the unforgettable program that they’ve crafted, curated, and cultivated over the last three years.
Before you read on, if you are like me and HATE researching places before you go, don’t worry. I am not going to give too much away. I am going to share photos, so if you don’t want to look at those, maybe hold your hand over them as you read??? The photos are AMAZING and will definitely give you some insight into the magic you’ll witness, but I promise not to give too much away regardless.
Before going myself, I refused to look at ANY photos of previous trips or hear any specific stories about what I’d expect. I’m married to a guy who watches Vlogs of places we will visit together and I’m the girl plugging my ears and closing my eyes in the corner. I LOVE surprises and don’t want to take those away from you here… just give you enough insight to entice you to attend in the future!
The privilege and preparation
I learned about Experiencia Colombia from my dear friend Andrea who attended the very first year. I told Paul that once the kids were a little older it was a “goal” of mine to attend since Colombia has long been one of the top places on my “must go” list!
When I was asked to lead the professional development, I could hardly believe how fortunate I was. It honestly took months to fully sink in.
The spots filled quite quickly, many of the folx who filled them were Familia Loca members (YAYYYYY!!!) and I started preparing for the workshops.
100% Spanish!
I was not nervous about the week being 100% in Spanish, however, the thought of presenting the workshops solely in Spanish made me a little nervous. I’ve presented in Spanish before but only an hour at a time, and only about Brain Breaks. The thought of talking about theory and practice ENTIRELY in Spanish felt intimidating…
The thing that was the MOST intimidating for me though? Delivering 100% of the PD 100% Tech Free! Yes… you heard me… TECH free… If you have attended any IN person workshop with me, you know I rely HEAVILY on tech. Those of you who experience PD with me monthly in LFL, you know I use ALLLLL the bells and whistles and LOOOOVE my tech… phew…
My preparation ended up being three pages worth of short hand notes. I planned about 15 hours worth of PD, knowing I was only expected to deliver 8. I wanted to be able to be as flexible as I normally am WITH tech, knowing I wouldn’t have the ability to pivot and pull up anything I wanted electronically.
I also wrote out all of the potential classroom jobs, and Brain Breaks I would use over the course of the week.
As for packing and preparing for the cultural elements of Colombia, I looked at the suggested packing list the day before. That’s it. It is all I had time for anyways! Haha! As I said previously, I very intentionally chose to not look at any photos of where we were going or learn too much about what we would be doing in advance.
The welcome
I was welcomed to Colombia by two ladies who were at baggage claim deciding how they wanted to get to the rendezvous point. One of them yelled, OMG La Maestra Loca, and the other yelled ANNABELLE! The stares and curious gazes from travelers and locals alike were hysterical. I felt famous! It was really special!
Five minutes later, Meg and Craig ran through the airport doors to welcome me with literal open arms and giant smiling faces.
Un encanto
The next day we were driven through the Andes Mountains stopping once or twice to buy fruit along the way, finally arriving at the sweetest little town where we walked into a literal Encanto. Craig’s mamá, Zelie turned her once Internado (boarding school) into an Encanto of her own.
We stepped into a beautiful courtyard, full of flowers, fruit, and the sound of more birds than I could possibly count. I immediately introduced myself to Doña Zelie who was shocked to learn that I was a semi-“normal” seeming teacher. She was told La Maestra “loca” was coming and honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. She is such a delight and was honestly a hidden treasure in Colombia. We wear the same perfume!
Such Incredible People!
Doña Zelie was not the only incredible person on the team. In fact, the people of Colombia, both part of the program, strangers I met during my free time, and individuals we met during the excursions and activities that Adriana, Meg and Craig worked so hard to plan for us, were in fact the most genuinely happy, generous and KIND people, I’ve ever met when traveling. I never thought I’d travel to a country with people as happy as those in Guatemala or Cambodia, but whew… Colombia’s people are something truly special.
Mayorli, Catalina, and Esteban made up the chefs for the week in Casa Zelie, By the end of the second day, they knew when they saw me in line, (I usually was one of the last in line) that I was going to taste EVERYTHING on the table and definitely come back for seconds if not thirds…
One day, after obsessing over a dish that was FULL of onion, Catalina told me that she would bring me a surprise the following morning. Sure enough, the next day, I was called to the kitchen and she surprised me with a full jar of pickled onions, but they were different than ANY I’d ever had before.
The First Night
Our very first night there, while I was enraptured in Zelie’s stories and making posters for my workshop the next day, a very guapo Jose led many of the participants in a Colombian dance class. We had the honor and privilege of learning more about his program and what he does for the local community throughout our stay there. It is very evident that Adriana and Craig as locals go through a great deal of trouble to make sure that the people they are working with for this program are not only the best of the best but are making a real impact on the future of Colombia. Jose is an educator just like us, and he is profoundly impacting the lives of the youth in his area and his story was so inspiring. And, just in case you’re wondering, it is Jose not José… 😉
Las Señoras Vianey, Claudia, y Betty took care of the casita. They were always on the move, but never running. They took great pride in their work and love, love, love making others happy. Every morning started with Vianey greeting me and asking how I slept, how I dreamt and how I woke… and she genuinely wanted to know…
Habib was our yogi for the week. I didn’t know how impactful that morning time would be for me. So many of us on the trip were not only teachers, but mommas. An ENTIRE week away with NO children and NO partners and NO one “needing” us for every tiny little thing, left us open and dare I say vulnerable enough, to get in touch with ourselves again. Habib sat with me one morning and together we came up with a simple morning ritual I can add to my regular morning routine to practice some much needed affirmations that I didn’t know I needed before this trip…
Alejandra and Nelly were another two of my favorites. They were the manicurist and massage therapists who were there to support us whenever we wanted. They were both so passionate about what they do and yet again, so eager to share their passion with us. Watching Colombia play a World Cup IN Colombia with Nelly screaming behind me and ALL of us packed into our little PD room together will be a forever memory, for sure!
Wendy and Toño were the hardest for me to leave behind. Wendy hugged each and every one of us, every night before leaving. She was the most genuinely loving and caring person I’ve ever met. Can you SEE it in her face!?!?!?! We cried so hard on our last hug. I so hope I get to see her again!
Toño is the secret sauce behind the week. I literally can’t say much more than that because you just have to go and experience it for yourself. This guy does it alllllll…. Annnndddd…. He let me ride on his motorcycle with him… easily the highlight of the trip for me!
Toño taught me how to play “trompo” too. Here’s a little video I took for my students. Feel free to use it for yours too!
Tireless Efforts…
Finally, Meg, Craig and Adriana… the week wouldn’t exist without them. Their tireless efforts to continue to improve every aspect of the program and experience is amazing. They are constantly at work to make magic happen all week long and do so with no rush, no panic, and with so much ease and grace it blows your mind. They are inspiring and wildly talented!
Together! I think they’d agree that they each contribute such unique and valuable aspects that I can’t imagine one without the other two! They took care of me every moment of my time there in every way imaginable, down to stopping at a tiny grocery at almost one in the morning on my last night there, to buy me maracuya and sugar for my hotel room… ?
Experiencias favoritas
Well, unfortunately, all of my favorite experiences are ones I can’t share specific details about with you because I don’t want to ruin the magic, but I can tell you, that if you’re a fan of good people, good food, good coffee, good music, good chocolate, and INCREDIBLE views…. then you should be the FIRST to sign up for Experiencia Colombia 2027 or whichever “year” is up next. It is an “Experience” that you’ll never forget, never regret and will impact you much more profoundly than you expect it to!
One thing I CAN share with you that is perhaps the greatest gift that Colombia gave me is… I am healing my fear of butterflies. I think it will still be a journey, however, before I left for Colombia I talked a LOT to myself about the fact that I was probably going to be around them. (In case you don’t know, I had a traumatic experience when I was ten with moths and since then have been a wreck in the presence of moths or butterflies). My journey in “healing” my fear started a few years ago when Memphis’s best friend Jacey passed away. Since then, every time he sees a butterfly, he screams “JACEY is here!” with delight. I didn’t know that Colombia would be essentially a butterfly garden everywhere you walk.
I used different breathing techniques and focused on the ground in front of me, and by mid week I was even able to look up and appreciate just how incredibly different they all were. On one of our adventures, we were told to watch for the blue morpho. We spotted a few and by the fifth, the locals with us were practically doing backflips with excitement. I can’t remember our exact count but it was close to 15 by the end of our hike.
At one point, there were two, and as they flew, they circled each other as if they were dancing. I had just shared about my después de dismissal dance party ritual, and it felt like a little nod that they were listening. I can’t wait to continue learning to see these tiny winged creatures as a little piece of earth’s magic!
I recorded a short podcast with my greatest takeaways from the week and how they apply to the classroom. It is episode 97 of Teaching La Vida Loca. You can listen to it here:
They are:
- No hay afán
- Lo más rico = lo más simple
- Comunidad
I will go into more detail and all in English in the podcast 😉 I think we can learn a lot from these, and I can’t wait to share how you can use them in the classroom. I hope you’ll tune in!
As you can see, this blog really ended up being a reflection of the incredible people who are “Experiencia Colombia”, but honestly, I can’t imagine it being any other way. The people of Colombia are exactly why I loved the week as much as I did!
The people who made it unforgettable, magical, and so beautiful. The people are why I can’t wait to go back. The PEOPLE are why I had to text Claudia and Valentina while I was there to let them know I fell in love with their country… the people are what make Experiencia Colombia, unlike ANY other summer PD out there!
Run, don’t walk…
You can sign up for their newsletter here…
Thank you, Meg, Craig, and Adriana, for this incredible opportunity… I am deeply and profoundly grateful, and will forever be…
Xo
Joyfully yours,
Annabelle
P.S. (The PD 100% en español was not a problem… and neither was the No tech… ha! Go figure. I had nothing to worry about at all. Plus, who knew my time-blind mind and heart would find a place who really understands me and doesn’t hold me to any kind of schedule or time constraints…!? #Colombiayouhavemyheart)
