Liberation comes in the smallest of ways. Somehow, the normal moments of adulthood have never shown up: the deed to a house, a ringed finger, an enjoyment of driving, a bun in the oven, an understanding of RRSPs, the final of revelation of what I really want to be when I grow up. Yet in
Tag: bogota
I spent eight hours last week hiking through a páramo. It was amazing. Situated between the tree line and the snow line, páramos are a sub-tropical tundra region in Colombia´s Andes. Frailejones, which grow an average of two centimeter a year, dotted the landscape as far as we could see. We waded through bogs and
I miss my family’s Easter traditions. I miss hunting for bags full of jellybeans and chocolate rabbits. I miss eating sweet yeast bread, covered in icing for breakfast. I miss turkey dinner around the dining room table with people I love. I miss hymns and traditional greetings. When I am honest, I admit that I
I sometimes say good morning to people on the street as I walk to work as a form of social experiment. Nuns are my favourite as they are quick to respond, usually with a smile. Others usually look at me, perplexed, and then may mumble something or just ignore me altogether. The shoeshine man always
I have the gift of vacations. Unlike many people I know, I am very good at doing nothing for long extended periods of time. Ever since I graduated from high school and realized that real life involved working forever, early retirement has become my goal. And what a fabulous vacation I had! Here are some
In the rhetoric of Colombia, the myth of being Latin America´s largest democracy looms large. But on Monday, democracy was once again seen to be more rhetoric, less reality. Bogota´s leftist mayor, Gustavo Petro, was dismissed from office by the Inspector General for problems when he tried to nationalize the city’s garbage collection last December.
When I was growing up, my mom started selling vegetables in my hometown. Each year, the garden and thus the corresponding chores grew a little bigger. I speak for all of my siblings when I say that we hated it. After too many complaints, the s-word was banned from our vocabulary but that did not
Espanol Bogota is different. Instead of chickens and pigs roaming the streets as I walk to work, I avoid beautifully groomed dogs and their equally beautiful owners. Instead of stepping over ditches of grey water and greeting all of my neighbours by name, I try to be careful not to get run over by giant
Espanol aqui “Dignity is an internal state of peace that comes with the recognition and acceptance of the value and vulnerability of all living things.” –Donna Hicks I’m back in Colombia. Bogota to be precise. I had a wonderful summer vacation. I caught up with old friends, ate cheese, picked blueberries, read, laughed with family
I’m glad June is over. It was a hard month in many ways, including days of travel and too many days of meetings in Bogota. However, all of those days of meetings did provide the opportunity to eat a lot of delicious food. And while I don’t enjoy the freedom everyone in my community feels
Anna L. Vogt 