Prost!

I went to France, spent two weeks in Spain, and decided to start studying Spanish. I wound up in Colombia. Who would have known that Spanish, French, and English weren't enough?!

After English, German is by far the most studied foreign language at the university, and suprisingly enough, many Colombians take foreigners to be German before any other nationality.

Many of the best friends I have made in the past few months that I have been in Colombia are from Germany. I feel like some days here I am surrounded by more German than Spanish. German music is playing in our office and at home just as much as Colombian music. Alex, one of my roommates and fellow trainees, even bought me a Spanish-German dictionary for my birthday so that I had a chance of keeping up with all of them (ha!).

We had a huge German-style brunch complements of Alex yesterday morning, and our apartment is constantly stocked with Nutella, Kinder chocolate, and other delicious imported German food.

...and yes, I have been getting crazy ideas of heading back to Europe next summer...it's been far too long since I was in France and now I am determined to visit Germany as well :)

Bogota, birthdays, and bouncing around

...
Semana universitaria was nearly a no-go for as many times as my travel plans fell through, but in the end Bogota ended up being the perfect destination.

The cosmopolitan capital of Colombia falls in the valley of one of the three mountain ranges that cuts across the heart of the country. 18 hours by bus, it is a world away from the coastal city of Barranquilla. Although I had visited before, the city had never quite drawn me in as it did last week. I arrived late Wednesday afternoon, which was the perfect time to catch up with Tiffany and Arnie over drinks. Since Sarah wasn't arriving until late Thursday evening, I had the whole day to wander around and explore El Centro. The hours of roaming up and down tiny streets, stumbling upon historical plazas, browsing in and out of artisan shops, and people watching in cafes made the day stretch on forever.

The weekend was a perfect combination of "me time" which I find hard to come by in Barranquilla and time spent with great friends. I spent my first night with AIESEC'ers from AXLDS, and Sarah and I partied like rockstars with Moni and Vivi who I was lucky enough to catch up with after not having seen them since Buenos Aires earlier this summer.

I am constantly amazed by how artisitic cities can be, in even the subtlest of ways, and Bogota was no disappointment in that regard. I can spend hours getting lost in a museum, parks and cafes reveal the most diverse crowd of people in every size, shape, and color, street corners are adorned with random sculptures. One of the most impressive images that I held with me from the first time that I visited Bogota was the COLOR. Everywhere. It is one of the most vibrantly colorful cities I have ever seen. Maybe that is to compensate for the dreary weather that hangs around most of the year. Or maybe it is just another shade of the Colombian culture that has caught my eye.

This past week, I celebrated my first birthday "away from home". Even though I wasn't with any of my family or friends, I realized that I was at home and that I was surrounded by friends. Every single person here made the past four crazy days and crazier nights of celebrating priceless. I realize every day how happy I am with my life here. There is nothing like the daily adventures of living in another country to make every moment of your life seem like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The nomad-esque lifestyle struck once again this past weekend, as I moved to a new "home" for the third time in just over two months. My living situation since I have arrived has been less than ideal, to say the least. While I do not know how long I will be able to stay here, it is the right decision for me, for right now. I would like to say that this will be the last move of the year, although I have a feeling that may not be the case. In the meantime, I can not even begin to explain how much it means to finally be living with some of my closest friends instead of in a place where I had never really felt welcome or at home. Warning to all: the three of us may be a troublesome combination. Let the good times roll. :)

Let me see you move like you come from Colombia...

...November 15. Hometown stop on the world tour. We'll be there. Shakira Shakira.

home away from home...

AIESEC'ers .....

...welcome you into their home, no questions asked
...make 18 hour long bus rides worth every minute
...know that no distance is too long to meet a friend for a drink
...always have an extra bed to share
...make anywhere in the world feel like home
...make impossible dreams become reality


...besitos de Bogota
xxxxx

Niño de 9 años escribe de Colombia...

Yo creo en Colombia:

Porque es mi país, el de mi familia, el nuestro
Porque es de nosotros los niños
Porque es nuestro futuro
Porque es semilla de progreso
Porque es mi identidad
Porque es el país de gente amable
Porque es inmensamente lindo
Porque es sencillamente el país donde nací

¿Qué puedo hacer yo, con 9 años, por Colombia?

Amarla
Decir con orgullo soy colombiano
Conocerla mucho más cada día
Cuidar nuestros recursos naturales
Hablar siempre muy bien de ella
Mostrarle al mundo que bella es
Trabajar por la paz
Y enseñarles a todos los colombianos que

"la tierra no solamente debe de crecer, también el conocimiento en cada ser humano para que este mundo sea un lugar mejor"

Andrés Felipe Becerra
Colombiano de 9 años

i'm off on a rocketship...

Destinations changed, travel buddies switched, plans fell through, but vacation is vacation nonetheless and I refused to let this one pass by without making the most of it.

Leaving tonight for the heart of the country. A few days of cosmopolitan city life in Bogota followed by hiking, horseback riding, hanggliding, and anything else crazy we may stumble across in Villa de Leyva.

Hasta lunes.

After 2 months of trainee weekends, Tuesday nights at the cinema, countless dinners at Crepes and Waffles, cocktails at Pizza Loca, excursions to the beach, and laughing at funny accents (each other's, not the Colombians!), the UK girls left Barranquilla yesterday to head back to England. Miss you girls already!

...

Claire, Kylie, Kate, Sarah

Through the eyes of a student...

"English Assignment"

Colombian culture is almost the same all across the country but we sometimes run into sub cultures that differ from one city or region to another as to the way people talk behave or think.

People from Barranquilla are well known for the way they treat each other, their hospitality, joy, they are very open-minded, extremely happy, sociable, out going and very helpful.

For example, people here enjoy having neighbors' meetings, partying sometimes without money, going to the beach with friends, drinking Aguila beers, going dancing to the same place but we never feel fed up in doing that.

That's why we are so different from the rest, that's why we are linked to being the happiest people in Colombia and that's why most of the top ranked celebrities in this country are from here: BARRANQUILLA.


couldn't have put it better myself.