This week we got access to the university and had our first few workshops on Design Thinking run by Sam and Dani from the make_sense team. Our group worked mostly from UPB for the rest of the week. We started preparing our plan of deliverables for our organisation including three main points: activating the Media Lab (a computer room in the cultural café); running some pilot workshops that can be developed into a longer-term program and improving their visibility in the community (by creating their website, setting them up on google maps as well as improving their Instagram for clarity).
We met the kids on Monday where we were tasked with introducing ourselves in a creative way. The kids went first. Leidy showed us a map of Columbia divided into different regions with key photos of regional food, attractions, indigenous cultures etc. She then focused in on Medellín and Comuna 13 after which each child presented themselves with their names, age and interests. It was insanely cute and it was cool to see how each child’s personality came through in their posters. Then it was our turn, we had prepared a PowerPoint similarly pointing out regions we are from on a world map and focusing in on each of us individually. We also ran an activity of musical statues with a song from each of our cultures. Watching the kids from Colombia going crazy to one of my childhood favourite, Polish songs: “Szalona” was definitely a core memory from this trip. After lunch we shared some snacks from our cultures and the kids (and mums) absolutely loved Ptasie Mleczko (one of my favourite Polish chocolates).
On Sundays in Medellín they close certain roads in the morning and afternoon and open it up to all forms of exercise- mostly running but also cycling, walking and even roller skating. This Sunday I set off on my run at the local stadium and the feeling of running down a huge empty street with locals was amazing! During the long weekend, our group visited Guatapé- a local town. This included hiking up a huge rock called La Piedra del Peñol as well as exploring the local town. I tried a cheese arepa for the first time and absolutely fell in love!