heading out of bogotà

well, another traveling chapter is coming to a close. i arrived in bogotà last august. i had said i wanted to live for a while in a big city, and now i've had that experience.

i know the city and it's various transportation systems fairly well, and getting to most places is more of a problem of traffic and timing than actually knowing what to do. i live with two other extrajeros, lyndsey and mike, in the oldest part of the city, a colonial area called La Candelaria. it's definitely relaxed compared to the rest of the city, and the museums are interesting. i've seen very little of colombia outside of the city, although i recently took a trip to Villa de Leyva, which was beautiful, and hope to see some other surrounding pueblos such as Paipa and Melgar before heading out.

i've picked up some of the accent, which most people from bogotá are quick to say is the best and most clearest in the world. I'm not sure if I agree with that; rather, it's been another fun accent to learn...new words, new diminutive which they use just a bit (solo un poquitico, claro)...well, actually, it is used so often perhaps it has taken on a new meaning.

in any case, i have also gained some insight into the culture. bogotà is probably the most conservative place i have lived in Latin America so far. there are many formalities in speech, dress, and interaction that, although having seen them elsewhere, seem to be heightened here. i can't quite tell if the beauty salons are used more than in other LA countries here, but i do know that at 5:30am you're just as likely (if not more so) to see a beauty salon up and running as to find a place to buy a piece of bread for breakfast. and walking around with bandages from your recent plastic surgery is not only socially acceptable, but viewed quite positively. taking care of your appearance has been important in all places i've been, but i think caracas and bogotà have been a new sight for me. i hear another city in colombia, cali, is known for their plastic women, but not sure if i will get there before i leave at the end of april. i'm hoping to head to cartegena if i have the time, perhaps some of the pueblos outside of bogotá, and perhaps cali on the way down to ecuador, which is currently where i plan to go next.

the experience in bogotà has been a good experience for me, mostly to remind me of what's most important to me and what i hope to experience and contribute with my life. teaching english to upper middle class professionals has been good for teaching experience, but not where i want to be in terms of a career, which for now i am content not to have. but the exchange of culture and language has been worth the experience, and i'll take the knowledge and skills into future social work. i am currently applying for a month-long volunteer experience doing construction work in a pueblo in ecuador, a couple of hours south of quito. i think that will happen during the month of may, and i should be back in the states for a month or so to do some editing and perhaps research work with a professor of social work who i've been working for the past couple of years. i hope to save a little money during this time and then head off to the US southwest and/or northern Mexico to work with the immigrants and refugees trying to cross the border. some of the projects, such as giving water to undocumented immigrants crossing the border, are quite controversial, although alliances between at least one organization and the border patrol have been formed, and permits have been obtained for the work. i think immigration is an issue i would like to work with in the future, partly because of the experiences i have had in Latin America and partly because I think the issue hits directly at US imperialism. who are we, after all, to deny peaceful access to land that our ancestors and others conquered with all manners of force, rape, biological warfare, slavery, and repression? even if we personally had nothing to do with it, i still feel we should do something to take more positive paths in the future. allowing open access to the US is a radical idea that perhaps not many support, but i find myself supporting it more and more in my thoughts. would our economy suffer or gain? probably both. would economic loss be fair? i believe so. our country and by association, us, have so much compared to the rest of the world, i think we should share more than we do.

in any case, i'm still forming opinions, but i don't foresee a sharp divergence from them in the future. i feel good about the changes to come, and i look forward to them. for now, it's a month more of teaching experience and spending time with the friends i have made, and at least for this afternoon, it's off to make some refried beans, man i miss the food from Mexico!