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Thursday, May 14, 2015

State of Tyler Address

So it has been a while since I have really wrote anything in detail and I figure I would model this after the State of The Union Address and really let you know what is going on with my life. So I will start from the top. Some of it may be repeat but oh well!

I have been here in Colombia now for over 3 years. I can't hardly believe it! the longest amount of time I have been anywhere since I left Texas! Colombia really annoys me sometimes. It is expensive to stay here, there is a lot of corruption,the public transportation and traffic in Bogota are horrible, the weather in Bogota is generally not great. Even after 3 years I still get ripped off just because I am a gringo. True stability in life here is hard to come by. The government and infrastructure are super frustrating (usually). EVERYTHING is a process here and takes many steps and lots of time, nothing seems to change.....

Yet, despite all of that I still really am happy here. Completely happy? no way! But happy yes! I don't think there is anywhere in the world where you will be completely happy all the time. Almost everyone in Colombia are decent,kind,caring and loving people. Colombia is one of the best countries to learn Spanish due to their accent (minus the coast of Colombia lol) Colombia has many many many beautiful places to visit. Most people are genuinely happy to have foreigners here (even if the government makes it expensive and hard to stay here legally)

The food is good,outside of Bogota the weather is generally pretty awesome. The landscape is beautiful. I love the fact that Colombia is up and coming. It is still a bit like the wild west here, not totally overrun by tourists yet. But, at the same time I have enough modern conveniences to stay happy and content. I am a minimalist though, I don't need a whole ton. Not everyone could live here in Colombia with the way the crumbling infrastructure is now.

I have a great job, a great group of friends. A good support network here. I have a roof over my head (although in a loud neighborhood haha) I have food in my stomach. There are things that I want but not really too many things that I NEED. Of course, I could never forget the wonderful,amazing,beautiful,supportive girlfriend that I have. I am a very lucky man.

You know I was searching and searching for "the one" for a long time (thought I found her a few times already lol) but now, with Jenny, I wasn't really looking. We kinda just fell into each other and starting making it work. At first my relationship with her was effort. A lot of it, like with any good relationship but once you put in the hard work of figuring each other out and if you can work together after that it isn't much effort at all. You just work. For years I wondered how will I know when I have found a girl that I truly love?

Now I think I know. When you have found a person where being with them isn't a constant struggle to stay happy, being with them is a pleasure and something you want to do. Where even when that person annoys the shit out of you, your first reaction isn't to break up but to figure out how to work it out. Where you react with love instead of anger and hatred. That person brings out the best in you and you in them. You care more about their own happiness than your own. You do things to surprise them and make them happy not to get a pat on the back but because you truly want to see them surprised and happy. When you have someone that is like you but also different. When you can agree to disagree. When you are thinking about them all the time. I think this is love, and I think I have this with Jenny. So I truly am happy and hope to stay that way:)

You know, I have been to 20+ countries in my life, I have been traveling on and off ever since I can remember, both internationally and back home in the States even as a young child with my aunt and uncle down in Houston Texas. I got laid off from my job at 24 years old back in 2009. I had done some fairly extensive traveling prior to that but, at that time I decided to make it my career/lifestyle.  So I moved to Australia,then New Zealand then Thailand and now here. That was 6 years ago. I am still doing what I love just now slightly different. Back in Australia and New Zealand I was doing more or less constant work and travel.  Free as a bird, rarely working in the same place for more than a few months. It was hard at times but I loved it!

Fast forward 3 years to here in Colombia, and for the past 3 years I have been more or less settled here. I still do travel, just in a different way. More domestically here in Colombia and less international. My goals have changed also. I am thinking more along the lines of a career path, since I love Spanish I decided to go the translator route. So I am learning and working towards my goal. If you asked me if I miss the freedom of the lifestyle I had previously, I would say sometimes yes. But, I also love the life I have here and now. I am very lucky and happy. My life may have changed but not in a bad way. Will I ever return to The States full time? that I don't know. I am not ready to answer that question just yet. I won't say yes and I won't say no.

You know when I was a kid my dad used to tell me a bedtime story every night. They were usually from his childhood. I loved those stories! When I got slightly older, I was terrified I would have a boring life and die without any stories to tell anyone. I am now glad to say that I have enough stories for two lifetimes.

I am a very lucky and fortune man and I wouldn't change a thing that has happened. I love my life as it is. The ups  and the downs.

Tyler