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An Unexpected Twist

I woke up to a series of high pitched squawks and a soft nibble on my fingers. The sun was already high; had I slept in?? With a 7am flight to Bogota, today was the day I was finally flying to Colombia. Stepping down from the bed, I quickly recalled why I wouldn’t be catching my plane today. My ankle is swollen and bruised; I can barely walk.
Finished with my final week of work and feeling fresh after a morning swim, I decided to play a game of football(soccer) with some friends this past Tuesday. It would be my last chance to see this group of friends for at least 6 months. It wasn’t a particularly great match, however it was fun up until the very end. With just over 2 minutes on the clock, I earned my team a corner kick. As I jogged over to grab the ball, I felt my ankle turn on the turf. The noise was something out of a cooking show; someone had clearly taken a handful of raw spaghetti and cracked it in half. Meanwhile, I was on the ground writhing in pain, thinking about how I was supposed to be catching a plane to Colombia in 5 days.

After an hour of X-rays and waiting, the doctor quickly entered the room. He explained that it wasn’t broken, but I had definitely sprained the tendons in my ankle. He also explained that a 4-6 week recovery is normal, and I’d have to stay off it for at least 2 weeks. After noticing my football boot was still on my good ankle, he reminisced about his own playing days and the pinnacle of his footballing experience: seeing the great Pele play for the New York Cosmos in the 80s. He showed excitement as I mentioned my plan to stop in Brazil for the World Cup this summer. Just as quickly as he entered the room, he was gone and I was on my way home to rest, ice, and elevate my ankle.

Some lovely shots of my foot healing.

Some lovely shots of my foot healing.

 

I was supposed to fly to Fort Lauderdale in order to meet up with my family in Florida during my layover. I planned to rush back to the airport afterwards to catch my flight to Bogota. After much thought, I decided to delay my trip by two weeks. The pain of my ankle would make it quite difficult to even carry my own bag. Two weeks should be enough time for me to at least begin walking again, or at least I hope so!

As I peeled one eye ungraciously open, I found that the nibble was courtesy of Mishka the cat. The squawks came from Lloyd the Cockatiel, who was perched across the room, prompting me to wake up.While I may not be leaving to Colombia today as planned, I will definitely be flying there soon! And until that time, at least I have Lloyd and Mishka to keep me company! After all, who doesn’t like a good finger nibble every once in a while!

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How I Accidently Quit My Job

For the last few months, I have been planning my exodus from the US. Okay; in all honesty I started planning it about a week after stepping back on US soil back in early 2012. Unfortunately, I hit some kinks in the road and had to cancel my original plans to teach English in Korea. That small detour led to another, and another, and left me wondering if I would ever “get out.” Fast forward to August 2013; I made the decision to move to Colombia for at least three months. I did not set a timeline for departure right away, but I began saving money immediately! Near the end of December, I decided that March-April would be a good jumping point to finally go. It would allow me enough time to save a little bit for my trip.
The last few weeks have involved a lot of planning and organizing. Selling some of my excess belongings as well as picking up some new items that will make my traveling more simple. One of those items is an iPad Mini. I uploaded some PDFs and ebooks to it and basically have taken it with me wherever I’ve gone for the past week. I think I’m addicted. xD
I was at work with some extra downtime, so I pulled out my iPad and started reading one of those PDFs. My manager noticed my new piece of technology and asked me about it. I handed it to him and he started testing it out for himself. He asked me if I had sold my laptop in order to purchase the iPad. I explained that it would be perfect for my trip. He countered, “What trip?” In that second, I knew that I had spilled the beans.

The guys at work can be an intimidating bunch. (My manager - far left)

The guys at work can be an intimidating bunch. (My manager – far left)

I told him about the trip I was planning and explained that I would be resigning near the end of March. He was surprisingly understanding and seemed excited for me when I explained my trip to him. Any worries that I may have had about resigning had subsided. It was done.

Since then, I have purchased my one way plane ticket to Colombia! I have added more cities and countries to my itinerary, and plan to travel for at least the next six months. I am extremely excited! The future is here, and it looks bright!