DEPARTURE
Ok, so as usual, I tried to cram as much as humanly possible into my last weeks in the US. In the last week alone, I fit in: working, a family reunion, a lunch excursion with friends from DC, dinner with Lauren and Laura, a dentist appointment, coffee with Sylvia, dinner with Ashley, New Year's Eve, getting stitches in my foot, making applesauce with my grandfather, Lauren's wedding, packing, and all of my pre-trip errands and shopping trips (with help from Kris and mom). It was pretty ridiculous. I definitely wish I had planned better and could have made my last week a little more relaxing. I felt like I rushed through all my goodbyes. However, I expect most of you guys to come visit so I'm not worried ;)
Anyway, after I stayed up all night to pack, I rushed to the airport, only to find both my suitcases grossly overweight and so late that i had to be put into the expedited security lane. I arrived at my gate in Philly right as they were calling my section to board (i.e. success!). Then i had two connections, one in Dallas, and another in Houston, where i met most of the other people in my program. It was a long day with lots of air time and minimal sleep. We arrived in Bogota around 10 pm, completely exhausted and thrilled, all at the same time. Needless to say, I did not have any problems falling asleep.
ORIENTATION
So the next two weeks consisted of a whirlwind of activity. Much of the first week contained necessary activities such as registering our visas so we could get cedulas (official Colombian identification cards), applying for Colombian bank accounts, setting up cell phones, etc. We also took classes in Spanish and TEFL at two area high schools, Gymnasio Moderno and La Montana.
This entailed being out the door by at least 8 every morning and not arriving back home until 5 or 6 at night. In the entire two weeks, I think we had one cumulative day off. Needless to say, it was exhaustingThe hotel we stayed it was absolutely lovely. It was up on a hill so it had great views of the city from the surrounding neighborhoods, kitchens in every unit, and the most amazing breakfast, made to order, every morning. Needless to say, after my fellow volunteers, what I probably miss most about Bogota is definitely the breakfast ;).
Besides classes and logistical tasks, we had several fun adventures during Orientation, as well. We heard several interesting speakers and visited many important government offices, including the Ministry of Education, United States Embassy, and the Inter-American Development Bank. We were fingerprinted, searched, and questioned. However, the information we recieved was definitely worth it (in my opinion). At the Ministry of Education, we actually met the Minister, herself (see below) , after which we heard an interesting discussion about education in Colombia by the director of bilingual
education. We spent the entire day at the Embassy (where there are absolutely no pictures allowed - not even one taken from behind a bus window. trust me, I checked). While these discussions were obviously more beaucratic in nature, it was certainly interesting to hear the Embassy's perspective on education in country and the programs they are currently working on. Plus, while arguably a bit overdramatic, the security briefing contained interesting information to keep in mind. Still, with every speaker we encountered, the same message resonated loud and clear. Colombia is more than thrilled to have us here. They believe that we have a great deal to offer, and hope that the foundations that we create this year will continue to strengthen and translate into big things for Colombia. There is certainly a lot of weight on our sholders, but I have no doubt that our group will rise to the challenge.We also managed to fit in a little fun during our two weeks, as well. Excursions included La Laguna de Guatavita (an ancient Lagoon, associated with the indigenous Muisca people), the small town of Guatavita (with its adorable shops and touristy stands selling anything you can imagine), Catedral de Sal (a Cathedral built into a salt mine, now greatly commercialized
for our touristy pleasure), hiking to the top of a nearby mountain (amazing views), Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold), and the historical Bolivar Square (picture >>>>). While we certainly did not spend enough time sight-seeing in the city itself, we definitely crammed a lot into our two weeks. In the free evening hours, there were groups that went running, did yoga, ran exercise classes, played games, went out to dinner, and sat around talking until the wee morning hours (or as late as possible to still get up in the morning). On the weekends, we went salsa dancing (or in my case, tried to) and explored area restaurants. A few of us even enjoyed a traditional Colombian meal of Ajiaco (a chicken soup of sorts) at a local woman's home. Good company, good conversation, good food, what more could one ask for?For our last night together as a group, we explored a city favorite (or so we were told) called Andres Carne de Res. Honestly, words cannot this establishment. It looked like a trailer park and a Christmas parade and a TGIF all threw up to birth this building (if you want to see pictures, check out my facebook albums!). It looked like it was held together with peices of tin and seemed to stretch on forever. There were Christmas lights everywhere, trees growing in the middle of the restaurant, tin decorations hanging in every nook and cranny. Your senses couldn't help but go on overload at the amount of craziness that was surrounding you. Plus, it was expensive!! You had to pay just to get in. However, after two hours of waiting, or so it seemed, we finally got our food and something to drink and it all seemed to turn around. The food was wonderful and the dancing was just what we needed to end a fun-filled two weeks together. Sadly, the restaurant was 45 minutes from our hotel and half the group (myself included) had to leave at 6:00 the next morning.... and I hadn't packed. It was touch and go for awhile but I pulled it all together. Dreary eyed and saddened to be leaving our new friends, the folks headed to Barranquilla and Cartegena boarded the bus, ready to embark on the next leg of our journey. And what an adventure it has been.....
For pictures of Bogota, feel free to check out my facebook albums (embarassingly I have more than one):
22 Gringos take on Bogota
I take too many pictures: Bogota edition
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