It's officially vacation season in
Colombia! You may think to yourself, "That's not anything unusual.
It is mid-June, after all." But it IS different in Colombia!
The official school year in Colombia
begins in February and ends in November. Though most of Colombia is north
of the equator, the country uses the southern hemisphere school calendar, and
considers December and January as "summer break" and mid-June to
mid-July as winter vacation. Vacation season officially kicked off Saturday, June 15, complete with fireworks and neighborhood all-night celebrations.
Of course, living in this City of Eternal
Spring, we never experience "winter," as we know it in Iowa.
And, in fact, "winter break" takes place at the end of one of
the "winter" (i.e., "rainy") seasons.
So what does vacation season in Colombia
mean? It means quiet days and noisy nights! It means fewer school
buses on the streets, but more people on the streets and in the popular
gathering places. It means special activities in daycare centers, at the zoo
and the museums, and at shopping centers for the kids.
It means all the popular vacation destinations – whether an hour out of
town, or an all-night bus trip away – are packed with families vacationing
together.
Vacation season at the Bible College means
students have completed their quarter of studies. It means we're getting
ready for two, separate week-long intensive classes, this year offering Greek and Pastoral
Theology III.
Because Christopher studies at a U.S.-based
school that follows the U.S. school calendar, it means he's on break for two
months instead of just one. It means mentally winding down from 11th
grade and anticipating 12th grade.
In our house, it means catching up on all
the things we've fallen behind in – office work, blogging, cleaning out
closets, etc. It means hosting AIM teams.
Yes, it's vacation season in Colombia!
That doesn't necessarily mean a vacation! But it does mean
change... and a change of pace!
