After a 35 minute flight from Bogota, four of us arrived in Bucaramanga. Jenny and I tagged along with Amber and Michaela to Aspaen Gimnasio Cantillana. It was a beautiful Catholic private school for girls Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade in Piedecuesta. Twelfth grade was just added this year. Most schools in Colombia stop at 11th grade. Administrators here felt that adding 12th would allow students to be better prepared for Advanced Placement courses and have time to be better prepared for University. It reminded me a lot of Hutchison School, my school back home in Memphis, TN.
The girls there were celebrating Colombian Independence Day when we arrived in a beautiful covered outdoor multi-purpose space. I had seen other posts from other Fulbright TGC teachers about being treated like rock stars at schools. Well, we were treated like rock stars! We were fresh off the plane and the ride from the airport when we had to introduce ourselves in front of the whole school!
The faculty, staff, and students were so kind to us and so curious. Like previously visited schools, the push here was to have students become proficient English speakers. When we had lunch with the girls (who begged us to sit with them), teachers would come by and say, "English only". With my extremely minimal Spanish (no exaggeration), they had to speak English!
We were then treated to a volleyball match. Here, students can hit the ball with their heads and feet, too! It made for an interesting match, which the girls from the school we were visiting easily won.
There was a traffic jam that caused us to sit in traffic for a while. Here, when there is a traffic accident, cars stay in place. Sitting in traffic allowed us to see the plight of the Venezuelan people face to face. We saw people, many who were families, travelling with their belongings in backpacks and bags. Some were holding signs asking for help or money.
We had a discussion about the immigration of people from Venezuela at the U. S. Embassy a few days ago. We were told that 4,000 people enter Colombia each day. The only job that they can get is as Uber drivers which is officially illegal. We were also told in several sessions that despite the strain that it is causing, the people of Venezuela were welcomed because "they are our brothers." Beyond them just being a neighboring country, in the 1800s Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, parts of Peru, Guyana and Brazil were all together in what was called Great or Gran Colombia. For many, Venezuela was the "big brother".
Hearing the stories on the news made me feel sympathy. Being in the large city of Colombia made it hard to find them. But, sitting in traffic and looking into the tired faces of those people evoked a feeling that I wasn't expecting. It wasn't pity. It was empathy. It was the feeling that these mothers and fathers were doing the same thing that I would do to make a better life for my family if left with no other resources.
After finally getting to our hotel and having a brief rest, Jenny and I were treated to a wonderful, warm meal at the home of our host teacher's parents. Diego guided us to a lovely apartment surrounded by the beautiful plants that his mother, Carolina, grows. His father, Juan, made us a wonderful meal of arepas and a wrap made of different meats (I forgot the name!). Diego kindly translated for us, and we were invited to come back anytime or if we needed assistance.
Hospitality is a subject in some schools. The kind of hospitality that I experienced in this one day can't be taught. But, it was truly and deeply felt.
