Cartagena: Land of the Pirates

Welcome back! I've not written for a couple of weeks, because I've been Just. So. Busy! However, this weekend I've got a bit of downtime, and I intend to capitalise on it to tell you lovely people all about what I've been up to these past few days. Apart from the time I spent sitting at home, planning lessons, and running around Barranquilla, being sociable (I know, it's a hard life), I managed to get a bit further afield and visit the beautiful city of Cartagena de Indias!

The atmospheric Cartagenero seafront

Naturaleza

Two weeks in and Colombia continues to give. I am enjoying a lot of free time at present, mostly because my work at the University doesn't seem to start until the end of the month, and nobody seems too bothered about the fact that I'm just chilling at home (T.I.C.). However, the weekends are still as busy as ever. We decided to head out along the coast again this weekend, this time a little further along, to Parque Tayrona - a National Park, and place of outstanding natural beauty (especially for us foreigners!).

Our route to Parque Tayrona

When talking over plans with the group, there was a great discussion about what we'd have to take (everything), where we'd be able to sleep (on a campsite) and what we'd be able to eat (what we'd brought). There was even some talk of supermarkets and hotels. Given that Parque Tayrona is, basically, a jungle, this seemed unlikely. And faced with the question of what there was to see in the way of attractions, the appeal of a place with no wifi or good restaurants to go to seemed limited to some. But for those who went, the appeal was clear: naturaleza (nature)! And nature, on its part, definitely delivered...

Piecing Things Together

This has been a lovely week. I've been at the seaside, enjoying the benefits of a lovely au pair family with good food, good wine, relaxed moods and the occasional day trip to Spain to go and visit the Dalí Museum - amazing! I even managed to spend a couple of days with my good friend Laura, as she worked for the same family last summer, which was lovely - particularly as she's currently working at a vineyard, and happened to bring us a present (drinkable, of course).

This week has given me the chance to chill out and bit and start piecing things together from what I've learnt during this crazy year abroad: yes, it has been a whole year! I won't do the full report, as it's not over yet - far from it - but having now come almost full-circle, back in France again, things are starting to piece together and take shape for what's to come next year, and perhaps beyond. Ideas about jobs, lifestyle and location are abounding, none quite certain as of yet, but certainly there in bud, ready to blossom and/or fade away. I'm thinking about interpretation, journalism, doing a lot more travelling, and possibly ending up in France... We shall see.

I think perhaps one thing that's lent itself to this momental creative thinking is that through this year I've seen that even the wildest things are possible and the highest of heights touchable when your heart is willing and God gets behind it all. I'm feeling pretty excited, not least because I know that whatever happens, be it amazing or catastrophic, if I'm with God I am certain it will be the best thing.

A Bible verse I was reading the other day sums this up for me:

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
New Living Translation (2007)

On the Road Again

Soundtrack: Down the Road - C2C (again, I know, but it's terribly apt)

Here I am, back on my travels again - never stay in one place for long! Having spent ten days at home in good old England it was time to get on with the last chunk of my Year Abroad, a second summer in France to keep up the art of shoulder-shrugging, refresh my essential knowledge of cheese and wine, and to make sure I haven't forgotten how to pout...

In fact, these past few days I really have been on the road again - after arriving in Lyon to meet my au pair family on Thursday, I barely had time to settle in or even unpack my suitcase before I was told to get packing again as on Friday we were going on holiday to Narbonne, three hours away on the coast! Having made it here, I have to say I'm very glad we made the trip - firstly, we've come to see my friend who worked for the family last year, but also we're in a beautiful chalet, right on the seafront and the view is amazing. Just what the doctor ordered.

With regards to work, the kids (two, aged 10 and 13) are really cute and the parents are very nice and keen to learn English. It's a little bit odd being on a holiday with a family other than my own and I'm never quite sure how much I should help out (when you're living with your employers even going to bed can feel like skimping out sometimes), but they're incredibly chilled out and work is not too challenging at the moment. All in all, things are going pretty well. I foresee a fairly relaxed summer with various exciting interludes (I'm going InterRailing in two weeks!). It's been strange adjusting to life outside of Betel again - so much free time! - but God knows what He's doing.

In a way, it's just back on the wheel of change - new place, new faces, new lifestyle - but now that Fourth Year is getting so close I can feel things slowly gathering momentum. This should be a nice summer to gather my affairs and get myself slowly back into study mode. By the side of the swimming pool, of course...

With love,
Nat xxx

Overwhelmingly Everything

So, yet another week has passed at the beautiful Côte d'Azur and I am left with just seven more days of my adventure here in France. At the moment, I can't decide if I want to stay or I want to leave - I love the madness here, but you can only live madness for so long without actually going insane! At the moment, I have so many thoughts going round in my head I have difficulty separating them - hence the non-specific title to this post. Let me explain:

My two perspectives regarding my time here are thus:
I love the excitement that comes from working with children - the imagination, the noise, the giddiness. I love the friends that I've made here, the social life, which is non-stop, and the fact that when I walk down the road here I can say hi to the waiters/receptionists/life guards/trapezists/cyclists etc., etc., and I know them as friends. I love the weather (except this ridiculous heatwave), and the fact that when we go out in the evening, we can casually just stroll down to the beach - just amazing. Also, I love the challenge that comes from pushing myself to be stronger, better, more imaginative every day... and finally, I love that all of this happens in French, and I happen to be part of it!

However, there are also things that I don't enjoy quite as much. When I get tired (which is often), I lack the motivation to challenge myself in the way that I want to. Also, that way it becomes harder to socialise - either I can't concentrate on the conversation, or I just can't understand what's being said! Another thing - I miss church. I miss being with a group of people that believe deeply in their hearts that Jesus is love and that God's way is the best way to live your life, no matter what the cost. The culture here is pretty secular - in terms of drink, sex, etc. - which is difficult for me - I struggle without someone to call me to account in what I believe, and sometimes I find myself accepting things that I don't necessarily like, or even agree with at all. And, lastly, I miss my friends and family. This summer has made me appreciate those close friends with whom there is a deep level of mutual understanding - I have had the luck to have made these kinds of friends in the UK (you know who you are), and I hope to make more in the future - but for the moment I have to be content with what I have, which is a large group of lovely people who I like spending time with, and who like spending time with me (I hope!).

So, to sum up, I have loved my time here, and I appreciate every minute that God has given me, but I think I am ready to leave. I will never forget my summer in La Belle France - and perhaps I'll come back next year! Who knows? I'll just have to wait and see!