Summer Field Trip

There are so many incredible places to visit in this city. I wanted to take some time this summer to visit a few with the kids, so Susanne and I loaded them all in the Transmilinio and a taxi and we headed to this really cool, family owned/operated glass factory.



We had the pleasure of getting a personal tour of the warehouse where they make all the glass.




They take recycled glass from all over the city and melt it down in natural gas powered ovens, heating it over 1000 degrees celsius. Then, these big strong men, working long, hot hours, tenderly work the glass, blowing it and molding it into the most beautiful, yet also functional shapes and sizes of glassware.





I am pretty sure this warehouse would not have passed safety inspections elsewhere. The "ovens" were handmade out of scrap metal and brick. We were allowed to walk right by these ovens, and walk right through the production areas of the place.




Susanne and I were a little nervous, trying to keep the kids out of the way and out of the direct line of work, but we were right there in the middle of it. We commented that in so many ways it looked like a dance...like a beautiful, coordinated, creative dance right in front of us. A free, live performance unlike anything we have ever seen before.
We could have watched for hours and hours.

And that dance transformed broken city glass into these beautiful pieces of art.





We spent a long time walking through picking out our favorites.




We bought gifts for upcoming weddings and friends at home.







We left in awe, filled with stories of what really is possible to create.

Blessed be.

grateful for those who love my children

I remember one of the first days here in our new home in Bogota. I was in shock, adapting to a big, Latin American city. The lack of traffic control, the noise, the strong smell of pollution, the crowds of people on the sidewalks, the armed police on the street...

My inclination was to HOLD ON to my children. Physically and emotionally. Aaron would argue that I squelched them. Whenever we walked anywhere, I needed to know where they would be and whose hand would be connected to an adult. I was so scared.

Then came the first day where "the plan" was to separate with the kids. We would go to the office for orientation meetings and they would go "explore" the city with the other MCC kids and one child care provider, Paula. This was a huge step for me, and one I did not want to take. I know that this sounds like I was a controlling, scared Mom, but I can say I was operating under a level of stress that I have never in my life experienced before, and this clouded my abilities to rationally assess the risks involved.

So, I remember watching them go.

They have embraced this city so much more deeply than I have been able to. They have opened themselves up to the possible relationships here, to a broader understanding of this place.

Paula was an MCC volunteer in Canada. She understood what it was like to live in a foreign city. She understood what it felt like not to understand. And with a calm, secure, and sensitive spirit she cared for our children. She continued to do this at MCC retreats, assessing their adaptation to culture and language and responding to their many varied needs. She then agreed to spend time with them this summer so that Aaron and I could work more. She played with them, encouraged them to read, flew kites and rode bikes together, ventured out into additional field trips, and comforted and laughed with them when necessary.

I am reminded that there are people, all over the world who love children. And I am grateful for so much that my own have received.

Thank you, Paula.

Celebrating one year in Colombia

We are pilgrims on a journey; we are travelers on the road. We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.

Alimentarte

Our family enjoyed time together during the last "Festivo" attending Alimentarte, which is a festival of restaurants in Bogota. We spent a lot of time and our own money enjoying the various International Tastes of the city and really cool free activities for children. We came home full of good food and happiness.





When I asked this man for a picture, I could not remember the name for this large utensil, so I simple asked if I could please take a picture of his gigantic "thing," which resulted in the tremendous giggling of all his co-workers.

A time to work

For the last three days, Justapaz has been working together as a team on their biannual planning and evaluation.

Each year, our organization has two periods of planning and evaluation time, two periods of workshop/inservice time, two retreats, and monthly team meetings. Needless-to-say, there are a lot of meetings. In many ways, I have appreciated this time. It is good to connect with others in the office, get to know their projects and how the align with other organizational goals, get a sense of the "big picture," and visit over some good snack and lunches together.

I am also astounded at the amount of paperwork and drawn-out processing that occurs within the organization. I am reminded of my days working in special education, with hours and hours and pages and pages spent detailing specific goals, objectives, responsibilities, timelines, etc. Only for us, this happens multiple times a year, involves more people, and much more written paperwork. For example, in our last workshop together there were 85 pages of written notes. The words spoken in our two days together were recorded almost verbatim.

And while there is an amazing amount of time spent detailing "planes de trabajo," there is also a good deal of time spent in sharing feelings, opinions, and time together in prayer.

My Colombian colleagues are very thorough. Emails are never just one sentence long. They usually have a formal style and are lengthy and descriptive. Salutations and goodbyes are usually mini-speeches, with long, detailed analysis and justifications for opinions. They are hard working. According to a 2006 report by the International Labor Organization, Colombians work harder than any other country after South Korea.* Saturday is even considered a work day. They are highly convicted, devoted, faith-driven people, who are committed to working for justice in the name of Christ. And, they continue to teach me things about the work world that I have never known before. For that, I am grateful.

*Statistic is from "A Gringa in Bogota: Living Colombia's Invisible War."

Regional-"isms"

Here in Colombia, there are sub-cultural assumptions and stereotypes people make about different regions. I like to call them "Regional-isms." In some ways this is a global phenomenon. It is perfectly natural to identify ways in which we are similar and different from others. For example, some of my friends in the east coast think I lived on land in Kansas surrounded by cowboys and cattle. Here, these differences seem more exaggerated, and emphasized in many parts of society. I think that some of this comes from the old-fashioned notion of Haciendas, where "your people" and "their people" are separated in work, in daily activities, and in property/region. It also stems from the strain of clasism, war, and racism due to colonialism, which created all kinds of different groups of people vying for rights to land, wealth, and property. Our good friends believe there are geographical factors that contribute to these divisions, such as the mountainous terrain, and other natural, physical divisions between areas of Colombia.

I have found that here it is much more common and less "taboo" to throw out these assumptions and even stereotypes about people. Or, perhaps they are just more noticeable to an "extranjero" where the locals have just internalized and normalized them. One of our family's favorite telenovela shows depicts characters from some of these categories in an over-inflated and humorous way.

The following is a collection of the most common stereotypes we have heard. I must say that these come from our conversations with Colombians, who are admittedly biased based on their own background/region. Colombians are fiercely proud of "their land" and openly admit their pride and bias when discussing other parts of Colombia. Most of the information I am sharing comes from the perspective of people in Bogota. Please understand that these are not based in any kind of scientific research, and they are not meant to offend anyone from any particular region of Colombia. I only want to share them because of their colorful description of yet another layer of diversity in this beautiful country of Colombia. I would be very pleased to receive revisions/additions to these understandings. There is always more to learn.


Boyacenses: In Boyaca, there tends to be cooler weather. It is made up of small farms, producing potatoes, panela, and other cool weather crops. Campesinos there wear the virgin wool "ruanas", or panchos. They are considered more closed, and in this region trust and loyalty is extremely important. In fact, they can be known to be aggressive, in defense of an amigo or family member. They are generally hard working, and because of this it is sometimes assumed that they are dirty. They drink beer as if it were water, during any time of the day, at any age. They often us formal language.

Paisas: Paisas come from the region of Medellin, Antioquia, and the coffee region of Colombia. They generally have very large families, and tend to be a closed community. They eat large meals (origin of the Bandeja Paisa), are the most indirect in a conflict, and are very good at selling things. They are considered hard working, tight with their money, and very proud of their accomplishments.

Santenderanos: In this region of Colombia, people are extremely open and direct, so much that people are scared to confront them. The women are very direct and "strong-talking." The people here are extremely animated and humorous.

Costenos: Costenos are from a very hot climate. They are known for wearing revealing clothing, being highly sexual, and enjoying nightlife and parties. They also are very warm and friendly, and quick to trust, but especially welcome other Costenos (it is hard to be trusted and be an "outsider.") The men tend to have one wife, but many lovers, and whiskey is the "normal" drink of choice, at any time of the day. They are considered very open, lazy (sleepy) and friendly. They have a laid back attitude, and there are no traffic rules. They are "pushy" and sometimes offensive.

Indios are largely indigenous people, who have amazing artisan creativity, are separated from the "civilized" parts of the country, and stay to themselves. Conflicts are handled in a very indirect way. They are considered uneducated, and people consider them "child-like" and take pity on them. There is an assumption that they cannot function in society, even though some groups have beautiful and productive communities largely untouched by outsiders. They live in small groups and enjoy a simple life.

Chocuanos: The population in Choco is almost completely Afro-Colombian. There are a lot of connections to African cultural norms and music. They are sometimes considered lazy and unorganized. They are known for various herbal and spiritual remedies for illnesses. They are warm, very loud, friendly, and embracing.

Cachacos come from the Bogota area. They are very polite, careful, and use formal manners. They tend to be more distant and it is harder to get to know them. They are organized and sometimes uptight. They are generally well educated. They can be considered cold and unkind, snobby and dangerous.

Llanos is the plains region of Colombia where the true Colombian Cowboy lives. They have a strong personality, are hardworking, timid with new people, and they tend to have large, sprawling farms, so they do not know their neighbors. They keep to themselves.