Are months getting shorter or is time going faster these days? It must be one of the two, because I could swear I just wrote one of these yesterday and yet here we are, 31 days later, me not even one iota closer to having it together.
Ok so there’s a chance I’m exaggerating a smidge, December wasn’t completely devoid of progress. Was I as productive as I could have been? Definitely not. But instead of kicking myself for all the coulda, woulda, shouldas this month, I’m just going to promise myself to do better in January.
I know my inability to say “no” to social engagements played a role in my low productivity this month–between holidays, events, visitors and, well, Saturdays, I was out much more often than last month. It’s hard to regret those decisions, though; I didn’t move to Colombia to spend every single day locked in my apartment, after all.
All that said, I did still accomplish some things to be proud of this month.
Without further ado, here are the highlights of my December 2014.
Colombians treat December 1st as a holiday in itself–Alborada, it’s called (translation: dawn)–so the month began with celebrations, fireworks, beautiful light displays and a whole lot of Aguardiente. It set the stage for celebrations throughout the rest of the month, and it was pretty magical to be a part of it.
I’ve been able to sample many of the traditional foods eaten around this time of year, including a gelatinous dish called Natilla (the direct translation is custard) and the fried balls of semi-sweet dough that are eaten with it, buñuelos. Buñuelos are eaten year-round, but especially during December.
I rode my first chiva, an antiquated-bus-turned-party-bus that drives around the city for a few hours while attendees drink, dance, and generally make asses of themselves on-board. The friends who invited me are teachers at a local school; they had just finished the semester and the chiva was their way of celebrating the start of their monthlong holiday. Needless to say, things got a little wild. Aguardiente flowed heavily yet again, Christmas hats were worn, fried street food may or may not have been purchased in a drunken haze.
Mid-month, I celebrated my one-year travel blogging anniversary, a pretty exciting milestone considering when I first started telling my travel stories last year, I had no real direction or intention; I never imagined I’d be so invested (or even still blogging) one year down the road. I’ve reflected a lot over the past few months about what I want for the future of this blog, and I laid my thoughts out in detail in this post.
On another blog-related note, this December has been my best month of blog traffic ever–I exceeded my goals and am hopeful that the growth will continue into 2015, especially now that I’ve got plans to attend my first ever travel blogging conference in April, TBEX Costa Brava.
I’ve scored a few more freelancing opportunities this month, meaning I won’t be totally scraping by come January and I can relax a little bit about finances. I’m hopeful for even more work next month!
For Christmas, I received the best present a travel blogger could ask for, a new camera! My Canon Rebel SL1 is a total beaut and a definite upgrade from my previous one, and with my sweet Cyber Monday deal, I got it for nearly half the price!
Otherwise, Christmas was a pretty average Christmas away from home. I partied with some friends on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day on a Skype call with family before watching a serious sob-fest of a chick flick on Netflix while drinking red wine alone in my room. Wait, was I not supposed to admit that? Oops.
I’ve been graced with the presence of two amazing friends from Berkeley within the last few weeks. It’s always nice to see a familiar face, and these two ladies are the kind of friends with whom the connection hasn’t faded over time and distance–we’ve been able to pick up right where we left off when we last saw each other, FIVE YEARS AGO. These, ladies and gentlemen, are true friends.
Finally, I decided my living situation wasn’t for me and found a new apartment. It’s pretty much just like the last one (I actually only had to move one building over)–but better. Better room, better view, better kitchen, a real common area…and not to speak ill of my old roommates and landlady, but…they were just the worst. The absolute worst. All of them. When I first mentioned my new apartment in last month’s roundup, I was still under the impression that I’d be able to put up with a few things that were bothering me. Turns out I was wrong! So, we start a new month in a new apartment. Fingers crossed that it’s the last move I have to make!
A few plans for January: Traveling to the coast with my friends for some beach time, planning my return to the states (currently thinking mid-March or start of April) and methodically checking things off my Medellin bucket list. Seriously…how is the time going so fast!? Didn’t I just get here?!
Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year! What are you planning for 2015?
