And he's back

I had big plans for this blog—weekly posts, fascinating insights into Colombia, a regular supply of pictures… I’ve definitely come up short on all counts. Nevertheless, I’m recommitting myself to this endeavor, especially as it will force me to take pictures, something I’ve rarely done since arriving.

Hanging out with some classmates

Luckily, the lack of posts is not due to lack of things to share. Life has gotten busy here in Bogotá. I’m back in student mode again, reading for some classes more than I ever had to do for classes at UNC and undertaking the at times painstakingly slow process of writing papers in Spanish. With only three classes though, I can’t complain, as I still have time to have a life outside of school.

Concert of Santana and Fania All-Stars, including Richie Rey, Bobby Cruz, Andy Montañez, Cheo Feliciano, Adalberto Santiago, Johnny Pacheco, Papo Lucca, Roberto Raena, Bobby Valentín, Ismael Quitana, Alfredo de la Fe, and Luis García

In addition to salsa caleña classes, I am now part of a salsa team, our eyes set on Bogotá’s annual salsa competition in July. My salsa instructors have won the partner category for the past three years, and this is the first time they’ve organized some of their students for the group category. Nice prizes for the winning team, as well as the opportunity to perform in the city’s annual salsa festival in August. We’ll see what happens, but we definitely have a lot of work to do.

Santana

I’ve also started volunteering with a great organization called Fundación Niños de los Andes, which runs a variety of programs designed to help street children. I work in the so-called Patrullas de Rescate (Rescue Patrols), in which we carry out a variety of activities in Bogotá neighborhoods that have been identified as problem areas. The activities are designed to promote be awareness of social resources in each community, identify problems specific to each neighborhood, provide medical attention if necessary, and, in some cases, identify children for the foundation’s community homes and rehabilitation programs.

I’m still participating in the research project on ex-combatants, exploring the wealth of Bogotá cafes, getting to know my classmates, etc etc. All in all, life is treating me well. Being called for lunch now, so I better get going. I promise my next post will be a bit more interesting. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!