Medellin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hola Friends!

Hope you are all well!!! The last couple of days has been full of meetings and me trying to absorb as much info as possible! I am currently writing from Medellin (City of Eternal Spring).

To start off, we met with the World Bank to hash out the logistics of our internship. The people there have been extremely nice. We met with our contact, Martha, who is the education specialist for the World Bank in Colombia. She gave us an overview of the education system. Below are some things that are different than the American system:

1) They offer school only up to 11th grade.
2) Education is provided for free for students only up to 9th grade. That means that students who want to go to 10th and 11th often times have to pay to attend. (Except in Antioquia it seems)
3) Teacher unions are very powerful here in Colombia too!

We are going to be working in two locations - La Ceja and El Carmen de Viboral. However, our other contact, Leon Dario, is taking us around other municipalidades to look at various schools. Our primary focus will be to evaluate various vocational/technical training programs in high schools and document what factors are leading to them work or not work. Also, we are going to be able to work with the schools, volunteer, maybe hold workshops, and overall, get involved in the community. La Ceja and Carmen de Viboral are both small municipalities in Antioquia so we are going to be living and working in very small town. Can't wait! I have never lived in a tiny, rural town so I am really excited! As long as I have running water, I'm good!

Since we have arrived in Medellin, Avi and I have met with lots of people who are involved in the educational programs in Antioquia. There are many programs being piloted in the region and all of the people have been gracious enough to answer all of our questions and have offered to take us to various schools to see these projects in action. We are going to be able to see a Escuela Nueva school. (Escuela Nueva is an educational model created by educators in Colombia in order to improve the quality of education in multigrade, rural schools) Some rural schools have only 1 teacher. A teacher is responsible for teaching students from different grade levels and ages in a classroom. The model requires for students to have study guides in order for them to set the pace of their learning..a student can complete a grade level or more within a year. (I met with one of the teachers who created these guides and she gave a copy of them.) I know it's kinda nerdy, but I was super excited when I got them.

So now to the other touristy parts...

So in Bogota, we were stopped by the Colombia police to check our IDs. They do random checks in order to make sure that people do not have any criminal records (or so we were told). So I did not have my passport or my ID (did not think I needed it). This is what happened...

COP: Where are you from?
Me: US, I'm American.
COP: Looks at me closely.... are you really American?
Me: Yes, I am.
Awkward stares and silent moments later..
COP: Alright, you can go.

Next time I'll just say I'm from Canada. :)

In Bogota, we visited Mount Monseratte - you take a cable car up the hill and you get to see really awesome views of the city. These are some of the pics...



























I'm learning tons of Colombian slang words too... there's more but I can not think of them right now.

chimba - cool - but only use it in Medellin ..in other places it is very offensive!
parce - friend
pelado/a - student/child (haha, this one I am definitely going to use!)


Medellin is known for many things - great weather, shopping, plastic surgery, parties....awesome landscapes! It is a place where lots of people are dressed to impress.

Across the street from the hotel, there is a park that has sculptures made by Botero. He's a famous Colombian artist that draws people with lots of volume. Years ago, drug dealers/criminals placed a bomb in one of his dove sculptures which killed many people. Botero decided to place a replica next to the damaged dove as a reminder of what occurred and the need for peace. Also, some of his sculptures gave missing pieces (stolen)...such as a sculpture of a cat is missing its whiskers.

So far, so good. I'm loving it here. I feel like in the future I am going to be living somewhere in Latin America. Well, take care peeps and send everyone a giant hug!

PS: Go Mavericks! They had a great comeback! There are LOTS of Miami Heat fans in Bogota (you would appreciate it Nashira). Sadly, the Bulls lost (Sorry roomie). However, I am thinking Dallas is going to win it all!