Photo Courtesy of justiceforcolombia.org
So last week I went to school with one of my gringa friends who is a teacher here in Bogotá. She is here through a program called World Teach, which is a program that places you in a country and you teach English at a school that would not normally have the funding for English teachers and they give you a small stipend to live on. If you know what Teach for America is, it is essentially TFA but in a foreign country. Continue reading
Although it is already November 1, I would like to do a recap of this past weekend. Not only was it Halloween weekend, it was also important because the local and regional elections were held. The mayor of each city was elected, which means that changes, hopefully good ones, will be happening soon. Continue reading
This past weekend, Friday through Monday, ArtBo, an International Art Fair was held here in Bogotá. ArtBo is an exhibition of art galleries and artists held annually in Corferias in Bogotá for the last seven years, this year from October 21 through October 24.
Exciting news! GoAbroad.com, one of the leading websites on meaningful travel and studying, living, and working abroad, has chosen to feature The Wanderlust Chronicles as their Blog of the Week. In honor of having my blog featured on GoAbroad.com, I want to tell you, Dear Reader, why I chose to, well, go abroad to Colombia. Continue reading
Tomorrow, October 17, is a national holiday in Colombia, which means hooray! No work. Día de la Raza, or Day of the Races/Day of Ethnicity, is the Colombian celebration of Christopher Columbus Day. Before 1983 it was celebrated on the second Monday in October, as in the US, but a law changed it to move to the following Monday. Continue reading
Translation Tools
My first experience with translation was in French class during college. My professor did an exercise with us where we had to first translate an excerpt of a book from French to English, and then another excerpt from English to French. He then showed us translations of the two pieces that had been done by professionals so that we could compare.
Ciclovía in Bogotá
We always try to wake up early on Sundays in time for ciclovía, Bogotá’s bike path on one of the main streets that is closed to cars from 7 am to 2 pm. Usually we walk, instead of riding bikes, about 45 blocks to a little borough of Bogotá called Usaquén. Continue reading
This past Monday, September 26, I had the opportunity to participate in a Symbolic Tribunal against Sexual Violence in the Context of the Colombian Armed Conflict, held at the Universidad Naciónal in Bogotá. It was important event that helped bring to light some of the violence that happens as a result of the armed conflict in Colombia and the impunity that surrounds these cases. I wrote an article about it for Colombia Reports, a Colombian news website published in English. You can read the full article here: Bogota university holds ‘court’ against sexual violence.
also: How to Obtain a Colombian Work Visa in Venezuela.
View of Cucuta from my hotel room
I left Bogotá Wednesday morning and flew to Cucuta, the closest Colombian city with an airport to Venezuela. I was told that going to Venezuela is the easiest and cheapest way for a foreigner to obtain a Colombian visa. For some absurd reason that I cannot figure out, in order to obtain a visa for Colombia, one must go out of the country to a Colombian Consulate in another country. I do not understand why I can’t get a Colombian visa in Colombia, but that’s how it is. And before you say anything, Dear Latino Readers, I know. I know the visa process is extremely difficult and frustrating for you guys, to go to either the States or Europe. But that doesn’t make Colombia’s rules any less absurd or exasperating.
Today is the Día de Amor y Amistad, or in English, Love and Friendship Day. It’s the Colombian version of Valentine’s Day, but instead of being just for couples or lovers or crushes, it’s also about friends. It is celebrated every year on the third weekend of September.
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