"Two Bags to Bogotá" ... and they made it!

¡Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

I've made it to Bogotá and already I'm loving the city and the people! This week has been packed full and I've been trying to soak in every piece of information that I learn. Luckily, I've had a wonderful 'tour guide' - another YASC member. There were two volunteers here in Colombia this past year, one of whom already returned to the States for her job, and the other, Kate, who leaves Tuesday! Since we're overlapping for a little over a week she's been able to show me the ropes! I can't imagine having done it on my own!

Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, is a huge city with close to 8 million people, a wild transportation system, and an exciting, yet comfortable, energy. With beautiful, massive, green Andes mountains to the East it's pretty hard to get disoriented. The climate ranges from 50-70 degrees, so in the daytime I sometimes take off my fleece wishing I was wearing a t-shirt, and at night time, I wear my pajamas with wool socks, a thermal long sleeve, and a hoodie - while under 4 blankets! Bogotá is the 3rd highest city in South America, and the altitude has definitely affected me. I often have to catch my breath at the top of a stair case, which makes me laugh out loud since just a week ago I was running miles outside! Although it's usually very cloudy, we've had really great weather this week with some beautiful blue skies and big white puffy clouds. Thank goodness the sun visits sometimes! I can't really describe how vast the city seems - but let's just say that I can take a bus 1.5 hours North and one 1.5 hours South and still be in Bogotá. (Granted, that has a lot to do with the speed (or lack thereof) of traffic.) All in all, it's a fairly developed city, it feels manageable, and I've already eaten some good street food.

The view from outside my window

For my first month here, I'm staying with a woman named Myriam. She's absolutely wonderful and has made me feel completely at home. All three of her adult children live in Canada and, unfortunately, her husband passed away this past January, so I think we're mutually glad to have one another! I haven't been able to spend too much time with her this week since I've been going around the city so much with Kate, but I'm sure I'll be able to say more later!

My bed in Myriam's apartment!
(And yes, Ama, I still can't seem to part with Cinnamon.)
This is Myriam!
We're currently sitting next to each other and listening to music together. :)

After my month living with Myriam, the plan is to move into the apartment at the Episcopal Cathedral. Kate and Brittany lived there this past year and it seems quite cozy! Conveniently, it's close to Myriam's and obviously very close to the church. I went to church this past Sunday, in which I was introduced to the congregation and was asked to do a reading (in Spanish!). The people at the church are absolutely wonderful and quite funny! In the evening of my first day here, Kate and I went to a meeting, in which there were about 10-12 attendees. While the meeting was very meaningful, there was tons of joking and laughing - which made me feel right at home. The meeting was actually a small workshop on self-reflection and one's purpose in life. Everyone shared whenever they wanted, and we ended up talking about why people joined the Episcopal Church. This was very interesting to me. The Episcopal, or Anglican, Church has only been around in Colombia since 1961, however, religious freedom wasn't allowed until recently - 1991! Before that, only the Catholic Church was allowed, therefore, the country is still predominately Catholic. So, as opposed to me (someone who grew up in the Episcopal Church), people shared stories about being raised Catholic but wanting something more progressive (especially in terms of gender equality and sexual orientation freedom). And so, they found the Episcopal Church and joined.

There's no way that I can explain everything that I've done this past week, so I'll just highlight a few moments by using some photos...

I bought a guitar for 40,000 pesos or $20 bucks from this man! His name is Pachon and we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and trying his guitars. He wanted many photos of himself because he said he looked like Castro. So, for one photo he put on sunglasses, and another he held up a huge Bible. Haha! Very funny. I bought the guitar he's holding in the top photo - it's old and wonderful. I've already played it every morning since I got it, and I plan to paint it!

Here's a picture of Kate and I at the Transmilenio bus station. Transmilenio is an excellent mode of transportation throughout the city. There are five main ways to get around: the Transmilenio, the public bus (which is nothing like the Transmilenio in terms of organization), cabs, bikes, or walking. In this photo, Kate's trying to teach me how to make sense of the map! I'm obviously focusing very hard...

Here we are in Usme (oos-may) working with children ages 6-12. (The girl in the green is Kate's friend from home who visited.) This past year, Kate and Brittany lead an after-school program with the children at the local Episcopal Church in Usme. These children come from poor backgrounds and need a place to eat and stay after school while their parents work in the city. The program includes fun things as well as going over some homework. You can really see how much these children value Kate and Brittany's presence, love, and care. I hope to be able to continue some of their work there with the children.

Welp, that's it for now! I'm unsure what my service will be as of yet, though, I'm beginning to make connections with various organizations that involve human rights, indigenous rights, and economic development. So far, my Spanish is going excellently! Luckily people speak extremely clearly here in Bogotá - It's a great feeling to be able to communicate with people. :) Thanks so much for all of your support and love. Also, thank you to everyone who has donated to help me do this work! I still have some ways to go, so donations are still greatly appreciated (please email me for more info!). Thank you!!! Please feel free to comment on these blog posts. I'll try to keep these updates going every 1-2 weeks!