About

Hola!

Bienvinedos ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, fellow teachers and travellers, and Internet surfers.

Mi nombre es Katie and while my Spanish has much improved, I will spare you my bad grammar!

Straight out of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, I wound up at GI School in Armenia, Quindio, Colombia teaching Grade 9 & 10 Math.  There were many frustrations, tears, and lessons learned the hard way, but I also had some goals accomplished, great students and colleagues, and rewarding experiences!

Luckily, my journey is continuing, but in another area of the country – I’m off to Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia for the next two year contract at Colegio Jorge Washington (aka COJOWA)  in Grade 9 & 10 Math again!  While I have visited the northern coast before, I’m looking forward to living in this new area, meeting more people, improving my Spanish, gaining more experience in the teaching field, and maybe learning to dance?

Fast Facts

Colombia is not spelled with a “U”.  It is ColOmbia.  Not the university, not the jacket company, not that British province out west!

Armenia is pronounced “Ar-MAIN-ia” and it is different from the country in Europe called Armenia (“Ar-MEEN-ia”).

Quíndio is the “department” where Armenia can be found.  Departments are the equivalent to provinces or states in Colombia. Quíndio is the smallest department in Colombia.

Cartagena is pronounced “Cart-a-HEY-na” because Gs sound like Hs in Spanish.  Unless they’re in front of some letters, which I don’t remember.  Just trust me on Cartagena.

Bolivar is the department where Cartagena is the capital.

Climate – It is average 20°C in Armenia all year (in the high 20s during the day, in the high teens at night).  The reason it is chillier than you’d think being very close the the Equator is because it is in the mountains and the coffee region of the country.  Apparently there are two rainy seasons, but honestly it just rains whenever it wants to.
Cartagena is the typical tropical place that you’d envision all of Colombia to be.  There are beaches, high temperatures averaging around 25°C, but when I think of the city, I really just feel HEAT – 25°C does not feel like it’s an accurate average.  There seemed to be more rain around September-November, but January-February is the windy season and it seriously cuts the temperature by a lot, which is lovely!

Time – Colombia is in the Eastern Time Zone.  However, since it is near the equator, the daylight doesn’t change much with the seasons (I’m not even sure I’d say there are seasons here).  Therefore, for half the year (March-November) Colombia is one hour behind North America’s DST, and when you “fall backward” in North America from Daylight Saving’s, you’ll be back on my time!

Language – Armenia is not a very touristy city, so there aren’t very many people that speak English.  This forced us to pick up the language pretty fast!  Apparently, depending on what part of the country you’re from, certain words are pronounced differently (i.e. “ll” is pronounced with a “y” sound some places, but a “j” sound other places).  People can easily tell which city you are from based on your accent.  I wonder if they can tell I’m from Canada…
Starting off learning Spanish in Armenia turned out to be a good move, because up on the northern coast they speak much faster!  To further add to the problem, people there don’t like to finish their words completely and clearly, so understanding is going to be a tough task.  While Cartagena is the most touristy city in Colombia, there is still a ton of Spanish and knowing the language is practically a must.  Here’s hoping my slight head start will be useful!