Day 78- Finally Able to Breathe

Week 12

Day 78 – Thursday, June 28^th

I’m into my 12^th week in Colombia and I finally have everything I need to be able to return home with Sofia.  Today we had the maid come to the house so we planned to have a lunch with all my mom’s sisters that are here in Bogota. Maria Teresa, Elvira, Rachel and Beatriz were all able to make it. We had a nice lunch, but I had to leave when my driver came to pick me up. All I had to do was run in to get Sofia’s Passport with Visa and a sealed packed to be given to the U.S. Customs agent at immigration in New York. So I decided to leave Sofia in excellent hands with my mom and all her “Tia Abuelas” (Aunt Grandmas).

The car picked me up just before 2:00 and oddly enough, there was no traffic all the way to the Embassy. We got there at 2:30, but it was too early to go in, so my driver waited with me for 15 minutes and dropped me off at 2:45. I presented my ticket (from the day before) at the window and she said that she would let me go in early. I went through security and went directly to window #1. The guy at the window asked me to check the cover page summary that was attached to the packet. It was all correct so I was able to take it with me. (HUGE sigh of relief) As I was walking toward the car, I noticed the beautiful view of the mountains with dark rain clouds above them, although it was very sunny where I was. As I looked towards Monserrate on top of the mountain, there was a huge Colombian flag that looked like it was lit up by the sun. It would’ve been a great picture, but I didn’t bring my camera since I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring it into the Embassy. (Oh well, missed photo op.) I felt great!

So my mom was watching Sofia for the afternoon, and I was completely done and had everything in hand that I need to be able to return home, and I was feeling great, so I decided to celebrate by taking one last Zumba class in Colombia. I found out that there was a class at 6:30, so I got dropped off at Hacienda Santa Barbara, had a celebratory cup of coffee and sat at a table for a while to relax and enjoy the moment.  I called Cecilia to see if she would like to join me in the class and I was surprised when she said she would. So after a while of walking around, I met Cecilia just in front of the Zumba studio and in we went. Let me just say, this class was much different than the morning classes that I have been attending. The room is small and there were 15-20 people all squished together in the studio. I was standing by the wall in the back and many times was not able to do the full movements because there was not a lot of room. But the class was AWESOME! Nelson was our instructor, and he has a ton of energy and moves fast. The class tonight definitely got my heart rate up and it was fun to be there with Cecilia. She did well – even though it was her first time. She mentioned that she will continue going to Zumba, but will start a little slower pace with the smaller classes in the mornings.  YEAH! Another person has been introduced to Zumba and liked it.

So I came home tonight, more tired than I was the day before. Tonight I’m guaranteed to be able to sleep well and I can finally breathe knowing that I have done what I needed to do and I have what I need to have to be able to come home.