Betta late than nevah!!!

 

Hitchcock Effect or Dolly Zoom: As you move the camera back you, Zoom In on the object your focusing on. This technique is used is to create a feeling suspense, capture a realization, or simply to cause a Vertigo like effect.  

This 3-day weekend I had the opportunity to go to Barichara – a beautifully quaint little Pueblo in the Santander department about two to three hours outside Bucaramanga.  

Oh, by the way, the bus stop to go on such a trek was “Daddy stop, I want Pineapple.”

I found this amusing and giggled a little… a little too much.

Most of the Pueblos in the surrounding area are Colonial and transport me Guanajuato or Tacambaro. The difference here is that there are no Enchiladas, Tacos, Buches, or Carnitas on the streets; they do have Hormigas Culonas (big ass ants, ants with big asses). I have definitely not tried them yet. I did try something very interesting though.  

Google PEPITORIA

The town of Barichara – known for it’s product the Barichara Stone is magically enchanting. Cathedrals and roads made of such stone surround the immaculate white dwellings crowned with red-tile rooftops.

On the second day we took a Bus or “Buseta” from Barichara to San Gil, where I enjoyed an amazing walk through the Gallineral Park, named after it’s huge Gallineral trees. These trees are draped with moss and created an enchanted like feeling as I walked through.

We then proceeded to purchase our passes for water rafting, which has been of the best experiences I’ve had in Colombia. We were escorted to a car in order to be taken to the top of the mounting and enjoy our “canotaje.” It began to rain. No, not rain; it POURED. I still went ahead anyway. It was an amazing two hours of paddling, resting, swimming in currents, and enjoying the raindrops on my already wet face.  We were partnered with a group of “Paisas” from Medellin – Paisas is the term one uses when referring to people from Antioquia Colombia. After the rafting they offered to take us to Barichara since they were heading that way anyway.

The third day we trekked down (and up) for two hours through the horse trail connecting Barichara to Guane. Guane is one of the oldest towns in Colombia with a dense history with remnants dating back to the Paleozoic Era, and also where the Guane Native Tribes lived.

It was during this hike, as we were about to reach the small town of about 300 people, we were walking uphill and we reached the top of a hill. With my eyes I followed the path leading down to the town centered in the valley, I continued to gaze forward until I stopped and looked at the Andean Mountain Chain before me. I was so insignificant in front of it. I was a miniscule speck compared to this herculean giant before me.

(Pic soon to come)

The clouds travelled towards the mountain, and got lost behind it. My perception began to shift instantly, I felt as if I was suffering from vertigo. I’m not exaggerating when I say - my mind perceived this Hitchcock like effect focusing on this titan. The mountain grew bigger and bigger as I stood in it’s splendor. I thought I was going to faint. For some reason I was able to step back and see it’s grandeur.

When we finally reached the town we visited the church, a fossil museum, and walked around to successfully find our own fossils.  We hired a driver to Barichara, packed our bags, headed out to San Gil’s bus station, and went back to Bucaramanga. We got back around 10:00pm that night and I slept like a baby. 

I get back to ALS and to the Ice Bucket Challenge. I instantly felt ashamed… both as a U.S citizen and as a human being.

Being far away from home has shifted my perception. This opportunity has made me grateful for some of the privileges I’ve had, but I’ve also felt terribly embarrassed for some of the things we do for attention. As Americans we are so far detached from the reality in which other people live in as well as the reality in which other Americans live in.

Now don’t get me wrong. I commend those who donated to ALS and those who tried to spread the awareness of this disease affecting 30,000 Americans.

Here is my issue – and the issue that several of the special people in my life agree with (Marco, Claudia, Jose) – some people are not really doing it for the awareness.

Paraphrasing Marco:

People are doing it just for the attention not necessarily for the cause, can we be more gross? People around the world don’t have clean water!

It’s that weird feeling of – we are not part of the same world but yet we are; we share the same world, we share the same emotions and desires… yet USA is so privileged and it almost feels un-human. There is a reality outside of the USA and we don’t see it.

I’m having this realization moment. This Hitchcock like effect, like I did with this mountain, but instead of the mountain it’s the U.S. and the stupid things we do to have enough “likes” or to “trend” or to… I don’t know, look for some kind of validity in the empty consumer driven world the U.S. has us living in. I’m able to see this perspective from afar which I could not see before.

California (USA)  has a drought. Santander (COL) has a drought. Regions in China have drought. People across the globe don’t have pure water and here we are drenching ourselves to feed our, as Jose Quevedo put it, "narcissism masked as altruism." 

1 bucket = 10 liters

roughly about 2,000,000 have done the ice bucket  = 20,000,000 liters of H20

Olympic size swimming pool is about 2,500,000 of water = 8 Olympic size swimming pools.

While traveling to guane I recorded a farmer with his cattle who probably had to travel an hour or so just to feed his cattle because of the current drought in Santander. 

(Video soon to come)

No water means no vegetation - no vegetation means no food for the cattle no corn for the chickens - no food for the cattle/chickens means no food/milk for the family.

Here’s the funny thing about the so called ice bucket challenge… I’ve done this challenge every time I take a shower since I arrived in Bucaramanga. This city is really hot, to save water and to limit people’s time in the showers, several complexes here only have one knob to turn on water… and this knob only turns on cold water.

So while you enjoy your warm/hot showers or baths in the U.S .of A, please think about how privileged you really are, think of our brethren suffering around the world and in our own country. Be smart about your water usage.

Deaths due to lack of water 3.4 million (according to water.org)

Deaths due to ALS: 2 to for every 100,000 and reportedly only 30,000 Americans are affected 

... I don't do numbers but I'm sure 3.4 million is way higher. Let's be smart about our water usage... Donate to your charity of choice, don't get sucked in to the "trending" trends. 

Till next time: 

Heriberto 

Thirsty Thursday Thought: “The urgent does not leave time for what’s important.”

I left Bogota almost two weeks ago and landed in Bucaramanga.

 Until last night I had felt like this: Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line

 I definitely felt as if “everyone’s saying different things to me, different things to me.” By everyone I mean, the university and the Tutors I’m working with. They are responsible for my class/work schedule and professional enrichment while in Colombia. WELL, I’ve yet to get a confirmed work schedule or clear responsibilities, which is messing with my MOJO yo. This is a very relevant thought so keep it in mind, as I will refer to it later on in the blog.

After being away from home for almost four weeks it’s evident I am beginning to feel a bit homesick. I’m beginning to miss my loved ones, especially Odysseus Maximus Prime (that short little brat of a corgi). I transferred more than 5,000 pictures from my iPhone to my MacBook. Most of them from the trips I’ve gone to in the past two years: places in Arizona, places in Utah, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, and of course… Tijuana/San Diego. One by one these pictures transferred and I stayed glued to the screen on my laptop.  The images shooting by brought a sense of familiarity, which, oddly enough, manifested itself as a warm feeling running through my chest and moist spots on my shirt where tears had once dripped. Yes, I cried. 

Of course, in true Colombian nature, all of these negative experiences have a silver lining. I randomly met a co-ed group of talented, smart, witty, cute, and sassy Bumangueses, people from Bucaramanga. Since Thursday was a holiday we resorted to bond the only way a group of 24 to 27 year olds now how – Wine Wednesday. At the time I wondered whether the lush had me smitten by this group and whether I was going to enjoy them as much in my sobriety. When I got home I wrote the following words in my journal “nobody said this experience was meant to be lived alone.”

(Jose Pablo, Melissa, Jose Quevedo, Jose Rojas, Camila)

Speaking with strangers over, politics, poetry, literature, film, music, constructive social criticism, and philosophy is one of the best ways to bond; especially if they share your views… What fascinates me is that we have different upbringings, belong to different cultures, live completely different lifestyles, and yet we perceive a very similar worldview. Can it be generational?

Alongside this group of amazing people came another group of amazing people. Johsep Diaz, a young professional in a senior position within the Colombian Fulbright Commission came to visit his family in Bucaramanga and,empathetically, invited me to tag along. We did some mini traveling around the outskirts of the city. 

– Giron, where I had my first Colombian Tamal in an amazing place named "La Casona"

– Mesa de los Santos, where I had my first Arepa Chocolo… and evidently where I became a gastrophiliac.

– Canyon de Chicamocha, where I rode a cable car for about 25 – 30 minutes down and up canyon as big or bigger than the Grand Canyon. Chicamocha is enigmatic natural beauty.

Side note: Johsep, thank you very much for this experience and for the opportunity to meet your sweet, loving, and hilarious fam! 

Monday it’s back to reality; a reality where Eddie’s schedule doesn’t exist. Am I even here? I was so fed up with the University that I decided to make other plans on Tuesday. Yes, I skipped work Tuesday night. How can one skip work one’s not actually scheduled for? Good question. I haven’t a clue, but I decided to take a four-hour lunch with my new friend Camila, who is part of that Wednesday group. After that Jose, also part of that Wednesday group, invited me to go the FestivalInternacional del Piano at UIS (Universidad Industrial de Santander). 

While I was watching this Italian pianist (Edoardo Torbianelli) stretch his fingers in an almost acrobatic way to play the most impossible arrangement of notes, I reflected on something Camila had said during lunch. Mostly everyone in the U.S. is familiar with the existential Calvin & Hobbs cartoons. In Latino America, there exists this little girl who looks like she can be Kristen Wigg’s SNL Character Gilly’s lost cartoon twin – Mafalda.

One of the most popular quotes attributed to her is “the urgent does not leave time for what’s important.”  (In Spanish, “Lo urgente no deja tiempo para lo importante.”) Camila had mentioned this quote during our lunch conversation regarding her humble upbringings in a town where the Colombian conflict was present and therefore her schooling (very important and high in priority) was left second after the day-to-day urgencies.

In Colombia you live in two realities: that which you would ideally want to do, and the possibility of something interposing the prior... which ultimately shifts priority, but not importance. I thought to myself about my frustration with the university and thought about my current situation in this country. 

For me having a working schedule is supremely critical, yes. Knowing what my duties and responsibilities are is essential, yes. Having the courses I will be teaching at hand is highly imperative, yes. However, creating a sense of community to surround myself with is urgent, meeting my friend’s family is urgent, sharing a wine bottle with strangers (turned friends) is urgent. I was not meant to have this experience in isolation.

So what if I don’t have a set schedule? After all… I’m on Colombian time.

Eventualmente tendre tiempo para la importante, pero ahora, toca lo urgente; creating and maintaining a community of support where we can exchange/recharge our energies.

Goodbye Homesickness & Hello Nesting. 

Hello home – Bucaramanga.

Taco Tuesday - "You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."

 

I reluctantly began the Fulbright Scholarship process a year ago when I said goodbye to one of my mentees, friends, and now mentor.  The night before it was due I stayed up all night editing my essay and social project idea. I remember wanting to give up...
I’m glad I didn’t because this has definitely become one of the most rewarding processes in my life.

I feel as if I won the lottery.

This lottery has not made me rich in money but in life experiences, human connections, and a better perspective about my purpose in life; albeit sounding existential in this moment may be premature… Life is pretty incredible right now.

Bogota treated me very well. It was nice to trade in the constant sun rays of California for the bipolar contrast of daily showers and extreme sun that Bogota usually has on a day to day basis this time of the year.  Bogota has incredible culture, incredible gastronomy, incredible people (Rolos), but what stood out to me most was the marriage between contrasts: the colonial and the modern, the conservative and the liberal, the pagan and the religious. These contrasts come from a history of complicated periods of civil war, political movements, and constant struggle to become a better nation regardless of the inner turmoil.

Because Colombian people have suffered a constant state of civil war, for lack of a better word, it is without a doubt they prescribe themselves constant dozes of warmth, happiness, & fun; evident by their value placed on human interactions. Whether it be breakfast, mid-lunch, lunch, dinner, coffee, drinks, or “rumba,” one constantly gives a piece of factual intimacy to a total stranger.

Hostels Pre-Orientation Rumba:

The hostel was a pretty amazing experience. Visitors of LaPinta were super friendly and ready to embrace anyone and everyone. I met a really cool lady from Britain with a serious cough.  Jen had worked for 30+ years and one day decided pack her bags and travel through Latin America.  She accompanied the group of 20 something year olds during our two nights of Pre-Orientation Rumba.

The group was composed of really amazing people: Marc (Local Rolo & friends with last year’s FBs = Fulbrighters), Kelly (FB), Adam/Vicente (FB), Cyntoya (FB), Tiffany AKA TIFF la PAISA (FB), and yours truly. We went to this really cool Flea Market style bar where we ordered Polas, local slang for beer. Marc taught the group how to dance the typical Afro-Colombian music called CHAMPETA!!!! <--click to listen

After dancing way too many songs for Bogota’s altitude, wearing a couple of wigs & hats from the flea market, and meeting the manager of Mi Tierra/Taverna we decided to call it a night.

Saturday night a couple more Rolos, joined in on the festivities. If you know me, you know I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Theatre. So imagine my excitement when I found out we were going to “rumbear” in a historic theatre turned club: THEATRON. The biggest night-club in Colombia: four stories high, over 13 bars, and a ton of dance floors catering to different music styles. Although this club is LGBT there is an array of patrons; it’s the hottest place in Bogota. Marc established protocol before entering - “We all stick together and nobody leaves until we are all ready to go!”

Of course, I also immersed myself in the historic/cultural aspects of Colombia’s capitol. Here’s a list of places I visited: 

The historic Candelaria neighborhood

-Centro Cultural Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-Municipal Palace,

-Museo del Oro

-a ton of small but enigmatic Catholic churches

-Museo Nacional

The Beverly Hills of Bogota - Rosales Neighborhood

The WeHo or Hillcrest of Bogota – Chapinero

-Catedral Lourdes

-Theatron

-MiTierra/Taverna

-Zona Gastronomica or Zona G (amazing cuisine)

The Central Park of Bogota – Parque Simon Bolivar

Zipaquira  - A lively small town about an 1 hr 30 mins north of Bogota known for its underground salt cathedrals… WHICH I FOUND OUT CLOSE AT 6:00PM!!  Unfortunately we couldn’t enter, not even to use the restroom #youliveandyoulearn. We still happen to witness a wedding in a small cathedral on the mountain top which made up for it #weddingcrashers.

(Pictures soon to come or you can go to my Facebook) 

Orientation:

I had anxiety about orientation. The typical questions one asks themselves the night before meeting some of the most brilliant U.S. Millennials who happen to have a common interest in Colombia as a destination for their Fulbright: what should I wear? Should I stick to the peeps I already know or venture off to the unknown? Should we play cards against humanity as an icebreaker?

Entering the orientation room I realized we were all very distinct; we come in different ages, sizes, colors, religious practices, genders, political affiliations, and sexual orientations.

Orientation (see what I did there?) was amazingly well done; and I say that having been a part of over 5 years of new student orientations for SDSU and 4 years of Bridge Programs. During the Orientation we found out some bittersweet news; Paola Morales, the person who had been in contact with us from the beginning was going to be leaving Fulbright BUT Claudia Santana is taking her place as the new Fulbright Coordinator. BTW Congrats Lola!!!

We were fed a ton. Literally. I feel like a fat cow waiting to be taken to the slaughterhouse after being fed the finest of grasses.  

 I loved each of my fellow Fulbrighters, and because I loved them so much I took them to that Flea Market Taverna in Chapinero. In Colombia one has to know how to dance… it’s a must. So I needed to make sure they had their grove on before sending them to their respective regions: Cali, Medellin, Sincelejo, Tunja, San Andres, Cartagena, Santa Maria, Barranquilla, Pereira, Manizales, Girardot, Ibague, Armenia, Pereira, Pasto, Popayan, & Leticia.  We had a blast!

 (At the U.S Embassy in Bogota for the Fulbright Reception)

I kind of miss them right now. Anyway…

During the Ambassador's event I was trying to find the connection between all of us (Fulbrights) and it was very difficult. I kept on thinking - We are all very different in many ways - where is our crossroad? I realized. There is no one prototype to a Fulbright Scholar. None of us are the same. Each one of us brings a different experience, and therefore we are all bound to have a unique Colombian experience.

So what do we have in common? Where is that crossroad?

Well, the thing each Fulbright ETA has in common is that we all bought a ticket and have won the lottery.  All of us decided to play, and here we are... standing on the corner of Opportunity and Adventure with a Golden Ticket in our hand.

Till next time,

Ciudadano-Global-Citizen

Disclaimer - Descargo de Responsabilidad

This blog is not an official Fulbright Program blog - The views, expressed here are mine (Eddie Vasquez) not those of the Fulbright Program, the U.S Department of State, ICETEX, or any of its partner organizations.                            

Básicamente, las ideas representadas en este blog son mias y no las de Fulbright, el Departamento de Estado EEUU, ICETEX, u organizaciones asociadas.   

Let the adventure begin! - ¡Comencemos con la aventura!