Mid-service Conference and Bogota

Joy and I at lunch in Bogota

Well we are through half the year now and it is time to look back and reflect on everything that we have achieved and overcome.  A few weeks ago it was time to regroup with some of the other volunteers.  Dale and I took a 30 minute flight to Colombia’s capital, Bogota, where we met with the other 17 interior volunteers.  The bus buzzed with stories of all of our adventures as we drove to Fusa, Bogota’s neighboring town.  We settled into our cabin-like “resort” that was equipped with a pool, bar, restaurant and a game room.  We spent the whole weekend catching up and swapping stories and comparing schools and placements.  It was refreshing to hear how everyone is working through similar struggles and interesting to hear how everyone’s experiences have been so different from one another.  Having the support from other volunteers and the field staff is a very important part of this experience and it was great to take the time out of our busy lives to be with one another.

  Luckily, after the conference was over Dale and I did not have to go right back to Medellin so we stayed with Dave and MR, another WorldTeach married couple, for a couple more days.  We drank wine, ate pizza, and played cards and I was so happy to have a family game night with the other volunteers!  We also had a chance to do some sightseeing before I became ill, perhaps a travel bug, and I had to call my evening short. This trip was the first time that we really had a chance to see the city and it was a great city to be in.  Bogota is like Medellin’s opposite and it is very interesting to see the differences of the two biggest cities both of which are so close to one another.  Some differences that I noticed is that Medellin is sunny and Bogota is rainy, Medellin is cookie cutter and very modern looking while Bogota’s buildings look historic with a lot of character, Medellin is a big city that feels small but Bogota is a big city that feels very big.   Both cities have good and bad attributes but I am very happy to be living in Medellin.