Colombia
I traveled to Colombia for the first time in November, and I did not expect to have the opportunity to travel there again so soon. Colombia, not Columbia, an amazing country and having the chance to return allowed me to begin to feel a level of familiarity and connection, while continuously experiencing and learning new things.
Bogota is a massive city and while we just scratched the surface during our two days there, we were able to see the old city to the savannah, and with the majority of our university visits here, we interacted with the city in a different way than most visitors.
Medellin is a city in transition, and I was even able to see changes between my two visits. District 13 is an important symbol of this transformation, and seeing one of the murals there change within a few months brought this home to me, as did hearing varying views on this particular change from a couple of locals.
Arriving into Cartagena feels like entering another world. It is a tourist destination with it’s beautiful walled city and beachfront hotels, but walking through the local market allowed us to see beyond this, at least for a short time. Flying out of Cartagena, I watched the makeshift houses and kids playing in the street fade into the distance, wondering if they would have the opportunity to fly to a new place and explore, as I had just explored their city and country and gained so much.
It was a wonderful experience to help facilitate this iteration of the International Perspectives in Higher Education program, and I feel truly honored to have been brought into the group as I was. Being able to serve in the role of provider, but also join the reflections, discussions with universities, and being invited to contribute to this blog, highlights the amazing field that is International Education. We had an amazing group of educators from diverse backgrounds and areas of study, and this created a wonderful dynamic within the group.
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