JulieMartineau
Québec City
Worth visiting!
I spent a year in Bogota in 1993-1994. I lived with a host family and worked as a volunteer at a hospital, and later in a national park. It was intense, it was fun, and it changed me forever.
JulieMartineau
Québec City
Bonjour Ana Maria!
Well, the entire experience was pretty much life-changing, you see; I had decided to go on a volunteer trip into what was considered a rather tough part of the world…
I saw all extremes in Bogota; there was delight and despair, there was beauty and ugliness, and there was strength and weakness… but above all, there were amazing people all over. ;)
I got to stay with a really cool host family, really helpful, caring people… unfortunately, their fortunes have taken them out of the country. The father was actually kidnapped some years after I left; let’s just say it was a factor.
That is the saddest part; a lot of people who could do a great deal for the country were driven out by corruption and the kind of problems you don’t want around when raising a family…
But all in all, an incredible eye-opener on human diversity, from the beautiful faces of mixed phenotypes to the quiet dignity of those who work hard day by day.
I realize I wrote this straight out; am I making any sense at all? ;)
Saludos desde el pais de la nieve,
Julie
abellod
Bogotá
hola Julie…I changed my account but I´m the same one above. I wanted to tell you that I lived in Toronto at the same time when you were here in Bogota. Well, I had written longer but it got all deleted when I changed the account. Please tell me more about your trip. I found your reply very interesting. It shows that you are a very intelligent and insightful person.
Are you planning to come back?
Did you visit Guatavita when you were here? I just send the photo so you can remember those good times. We have a little house there and I love the place. Good luck with all the things you want to do.
JulieMartineau
Québec City
Alo Ana Maria!
Actually, I got your other reply on an e-mail, so I was able to read it. ;)
I intend to post some more details about my time in Bogota (I think a year is quite a bit more than a mere “trip”!) eventually; I just need some time to organize my thoughts. It was, after all, 14 years ago… yikes!
I feel ambiguous about going back, and the reasons have nothing whatsoever to do with Bogota itself: it’s just that considering the time and the means I can put in travelling as a working married mom of 2, I’m seriously considering travelling to parts I have not seen yet… The only provision being the Macarena national park in Colombia, where I spent a truly exceptional week with some Bogota friends.
Yes, I did visit Guatavita! We went to the market, bought some truly enormous mangos and went to the lake to eat them and savour the view as well… what a treat. Being an emotional Kleenex addict, tears come and threaten every time I see the Eldorado lake on television… silly me. ;)
That beautiful place is your home?! Wow – such history and rich, rich culture!
What about your trip to Toronto? Was it to study?
Good luck too! ;)
Las hojas de los arboles van cambiando de colores… ahi viene el invierno…
abellod
Bogotá
Hola Julie…Thank you for answering. How nice to read your message! No, I don´t live in Guatavita. We have a house there for the weekends. I live in Bogotá with my husband and two sons (7 and 9 years old).
My brother has lived in Toronto for more than 20 years (Actually in Mississauga). He was single at that time and we had no children, so we decided to live there for one year at my brother´s house in order to learn some English and be in contact with different cultures. You know that it´s not so easy to find a foreigner in Bogotá. They are all scared to come to Colombia! Therefore, it was very attractive for us to be able to share views with oriental people and also to face different religions. Do you keep contact with many people in Colombia?
Disfruta tu día y trabaja por tus 43 cosas!
Ana María
