Paso a Paso

(For those of you who caught my error in the subject line of my email, I'm definitely in Colombia, not Ecuador. ha.)

"Paso a Paso" means "Step by Step," which is exactly what I've been doing these past couple of weeks... taking things step by step, day by day. I'm not sure how I can really describe what has been going on, but let's say that it feels like a lot has happened, and a lot hasn't. Ha! For this first month, I have three goals: 1. To find volunteer work, 2. To create a support network, and 3. To become more familiar with the city.

In order to do this last one, I make myself do something new in the city everyday, whether it's walking to the gym (20+ blocks away), taking a completely new bus, or exploring a new street/store. So far, I've already seen some very interesting things and it's going pretty well, though it's extremely exhausting. Hopefully the city will feel manageable soon!

A photo of the city...

And another...

In terms of creating a support network, the church acts as an immediate support system. Myriam, the woman with whom I live, is absolutely wonderful. She's been nothing but a blessing to me and my adjustment here in Bogota! Living with her is very comforting and she's extremely supportive. Today we went to a beautiful museum called "The Museum of Gold" which is full of gold (including copper and silver) artifacts from various indigenous groups from all over Colombia. It was very beautiful and interesting - a great way to learn about the indigenous cultures here. We just ate supper and we had hot chocolate, bread, cheese and vegetables! Me encanta! (I love it!) I've also made some good Colombian friends! These guys have befriended the other volunteers here and so I was immediately connected to them when I arrived. They're SO helpful, completely trustworthy, and very fun to hang out with. I've gone to Suesca twice with them so far. Suesca is the name of a BEAUTIFUL pueblito (little town) outside of Bogota. Here you can hike, camp, and climb. The boys love to climb, and though I tried it a couple of times, I love to sit on top of the mountains and look at the view, breathe pure air, and close my eyes in the sun. :)

My Colombian friends.

Me climbing the wall!

The plant in my hair grows all over the mountains.
Suesca is beautiful!

I've been learning a lot about the many problems here in Colombia. Second to Sudan, Colombia has the greatest problem of internally displaced persons (those who are forced to flee their home but who, unlike a refugee, remain within their country's borders). In many rural parts of Colombia, millions of people have been (and are) killed or forced out of their homes by guerrilla groups (FARC, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - an illegally armed left-wing group against the government), or paramilitary groups (illegally armed right-wing groups). Terrible human rights violations are (obviously) occurring. Take a peek here for more info: http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/colombia

Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current Colombian Civil War. Apparently, paramilitary groups and the Self-Defense Units of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) in particular, are responsible for at least 70 to 75% of identifiable political murders in Colombia, with the UN estimating that approximately 80% are committed by paramilitaries, 12% by leftist guerrillas and the remaining 8% by government forces. (Yes, government forces). Paramilitary violence is overwhelmingly targeted towards peasants, unionists, teachers and human rights workers (stole the majority of that from wikipedia).

Things are pretty safe here in the city in terms of all of this conflict. It's common to see displaced persons on the street as they've come to Bogotá seeking shelter, support, and a new life. Cali and Medellin are other cities that have received many displaced persons. I've heard that the government only gives 3 months support to displaced persons to get back on their feet (that seems like almost nothing to me). There are almost 5 million displaced persons in Colombia. The cocaine industry is heavily related in this mess. While Bogotá is pretty safe, a car bomb explosion occurred the day that I arrived (ha) as a threat to the government from the FARC. Luckily no one was severely hurt. It occurred at 5:30 in the morning near a government sponsored radio station as a warning to the new president.

I'm sure you'll be learning more about this situation as a I learn more... I'm extremely interested in these issues here in Colombia and hope to do my volunteer work with a related NGO. I will most likely not be able to continue the majority of the work that the other volunteers did because I'm by myself. Therefore, my search is taking some time since I'm looking for something new and something I can do myself. The past couple of weeks I've been meeting with some people whom I've randomly been connected to who may have some connections/information with NGOs in Bogota. I had a great meeting this past Friday with a young woman from England who's been working at an NGO here in Bogota for a few years - I think she's my lucky ticket to my next step!

On a positive note about internally displaced persons (IDP), I attended an extremely interesting ecumenical meeting with the Episcopal Church between the U.S. and Colombia about the issue of IDP in Colombia. The meeting was very inspiring and later in the week I was able to attend a meeting with the group and the U.S. embassy. In this meeting, they were challenging the U.S. embassy on what they're doing about Human Rights issues in Colombia (I'll tell you more about that later if you care to hear...). In my opinion, it was an extremely interesting meeting with some well-articulated, intense questions eloquently presented to the Embassy (and some shaky answers). The bishop actually asked me to write an article for the Episcopal News online about the first meeting and the visiting ecumenical group. Please check it out (it's short!) to learn more: Click on the Colombia article (8/26/2010). My Article I was/am happy to be connected to such a progressive and socially active group!

Hopefully by my next post, I'll have some more exciting things to tell you about my volunteer work here! I did spend one day with the little kids in Usme and it was quite the day trying to manage things by myself. Here's a photo of one of this kids - with a pillow in his shirt! Haha.

Happy Labor Day to those of you in The States! I'm sad I couldn't be at Lake Michigan with the crew! Please eat some deviled eggs for me! :)

Love,
Anna

"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!

Fundraising

Hello! Welcome to my blog! In order to go to Colombia for a year I am fundraising $10,000. Please read my letter that says more about the program, what's going on with me, and how you can contribute! I leave August 12th!

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to let you know about an exciting adventure coming up! But first an update: I graduated from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, this spring with a BA in Sociology. Throughout college I was very active in various social justice groups and became extremely interested in Latin America through my experiences of studying abroad in Ecuador and completing my yearlong senior thesis on street children in Honduras.

These interests led me to become involved with the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) of the Episcopal Church. (Some of you may remember this program since my sister Kate volunteered with them in the Dominican Republic from 2007-2008.) YASC is sending 12 volunteers to all parts of the world this year. YASC is unique in the independence it gives its volunteers, and in the way it involves communities to support the work. YASC’s philosophy is to not only foster a connection between the volunteer and the host country, but between an American community of supporters and the host country. For this reason we are required to fundraise half of the $20,000 cost of our year abroad. Volunteers involve their supporters by writing blogs to show what the work is and how it is going. A great way to nurture relationships!

I am heading to Bogotá, Colombia to do a year of volunteer work through YASC beginning in mid-August! I will be the only volunteer in Colombia (with the nearest YASC volunteer in Mexico City) and plan to live with a family for at least the first month of my year. The exact type of volunteer work I’ll be doing is not yet defined, though it looks like I’ll begin my work with a human rights lawyer. I hope to be directly connected with her work or with a related Non-Governmental Organization. I am excited to see how the work will develop since it aligns so closely with my interests!

Many people in Bogotá live in extreme need, without enough social structures to support them. I feel privileged to be able to offer them a year of service and am grateful to the Episcopal Church for providing this opportunity. I am eager to discover the kinds of things I can offer, and to learn more than I can now imagine! I know the year will be very challenging but also filled with many beautiful and unique experiences. I will give it my best!

I hope you will consider contributing to the $10,000 I am raising. There are several ways to contribute, including a one-time donation, or a monthly pledge. Materials may also be donated and in the coming months I will be making a list of materials that the diocese of Colombia needs. And of course, moral support, prayers, and good wishes are appreciated more than I can say! If you are interested in helping support my trip financially you can either write a check or pay with a credit card. These donations are tax-deductible, so please fill out the form that is included. To write a check, address it to “DFMS”, which stands for Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Include my name and “YASC” in the memo line. To pay by credit card, please fill out the appropriate form. Then, send the check or credit card form (including your tax deduction form) to:

Mission Personnel

The Episcopal Church Center

815 Second Avenue

New York, NY 10017

You will receive a receipt in the mail.

Furthermore, I will be updating a blog frequently on my adventures in Colombia in order to inform and stay in touch with everyone! The address is www.AnnaInBogota.blogspot.com. Please let me know if you would like to be a part of the mailing list for these updates by emailing me at Anna.Lemler@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to send an email anytime!

Thanks so much for your support. I look forward to being in touch with you all!

Peace and love,

Anna