Today is the last day of my international field experience and my day began at 3:00am. As the alarm came on, it was reminder that my journey is coming to an end. We loaded the bus at 4:00am with a bit of precipitation in the air and headed for the airport for a long day ahead. Our flight from Bogotá to Georgia was smooth but the long layover in Georgia was hard. After 20 hours of travel, I finally drove in at midnight and was delighted to be home.
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These mornings were set aside for building networks and understanding through Teacher Collaboration. We were able to sit down and share our experiences about the culture of Colombia. As each of us reflected on the importance of our international field experience, we also had to discuss what our future plans were as soon as we returned home. Previous TGC fellows were also invited to share with us their past travel experiences and thoughts. They are currently working on various projects and collaborating with other educators from other countries.
After we convene back at Botogá with our cohort, we explored the Gold Museum and Museum. Both of these museums had amazing art pieces and paintings. El Museo del Oro (The Museum of Gold) is one of the most visited touristic highlights in the country with visitors around 500,000 tourists per year. The museum displays a selection of pre-Columbian gold and other metal alloys and contains the largest collection of gold artifacts in the world. Together with pottery, stone, shell, wood and textile objects, these items, were sacred metal. Museo Botero (Botero Museum) houses one of Latin America's most important international art collections. Like the Gold Museum, this museum also sees 500,000 visitors annually, around 1,000 daily.
Today was spent visiting the private sector of the Colombian education. Los Nogales and Los Robles are both private schools with preschool to high school students. The schools had low enrollments but again classes are taught both in English and Spanish. The students that attend the private schools are provided with a much structured curriculum therefore assumed he/she will be successful in the future. RIO DE LA VIEJA
Again on a Willy Jeep ride, we headed 12 miles northwest from Armenia to reach the town of Quimbaya, where we were able to navigate the river on slow-moving bamboo as we gazed upon the soft mountainous landscape of Quindío. The experience was quite relaxing and therapeutic as our river guide maneuvered the bamboo raft quietly down the canyon. Along the way, we saw a waterfall, several herds of cattle, monkeys swinging in the trees and local villagers fishing for their daily catch. At lunch we were treated to a delicious traditional peasant lunch with chicken. |
AuthorLisa Toney is an educator eager to expand the wings of Navajo students. Archives |