My first two weeks in Medellín have been such an exciting and inspiring introduction to Colombia! I was met at the airport by my taxi driver, Duber- we chatted the whole way- him welcoming me to the city, giving me recommendations and speaking slowly so I could keep up with the Spanish. This was my introduction to the extremely warm Colombian hospitality-which has not wavered since! My @makesense programme managers Dani and Sam could not be more welcoming and supportive. They have introduced us to design-thinking methods and ideation techniques- learning from their expertise has been an invaluable educational experience! 

Week one was an insightful introduction to the vibrant and colourful city. Dani and Sam took us to an incredibly interesting and informative tour of Comuna 13. Our tour guide, Mariana, who had grown up during the comuna's transformation, gave us such a rich account of its history. Once one of the most dangerous places in the world due to violence from paramilitary groups, guerrillas, and the absence of government support, Comuna 13 built community relations so strong that it is now a bustling tourist spot, full of mini museums, art and food. The new safety of the Comuna has come from its the people coming together and looking after each other.

This week, we were also introduced to the social and community enterprise organisation Picacho con Futuro, where we will be carrying out our projects. César and Adrián took us on a hike around the Picacho Mountain, explaining the cultural, political and historical significance of montañero identity. In recent decades, Medellín (a valley) has expanded up the 7 mountains surrounding it, typically with people fleeing violence in other parts of Colombia and South America. They build their own houses on what is quite precarious land (due to the possibility of landslides) and have very steep roads. This informs their hardworking identity. After amazing views of the city and encountering some (very friendly) cows, we finished the tour in the organisation's centre, where they made us fiambre, a traditional campesino lunch (10/10!). The following Saturday, we were able to see the community in action first-hand at the bazaar, where local women sold second-hand clothes they had upcycled (I got some very cool items from this!). We then did yoga with the children of Picacho, who were very inquisitive and talkative (and much better at yoga). 

During week 2, we got started with our projects! We had an initial meeting with the director of Picacho con Futuro and discussed the context of the organisation's work. I am doing a communications project, looking at fostering a sense of collective history and memory of the foundations of Picacho's community building. I am very excited to put this project and ideas into action with the help of local student volunteers, whom we recruited during a pop-up culture fair on campus! 

The second week also entailed another visit to a second social enterprise organisation, 'Mi Barrio, Mi Sueño'. Here, we were taken on a tour of their local area, very kindly invited to a family's house to escape the sun, and then went up to have coffee with la Reina ('the queen'- which she very much was). She owned a very beautiful coffee shop, which I was obsessed with (evidence below). We spoke with her about her history and journey of how she built her business from only 100,000 pesos (around £18). She was very patient with my (broken) Spanish, and we were able to chat for a long while. I also feel the need to shout-out the bus driver to and from La Cruz, who somehow managed to drive a bus down very steep roads that should be physically impossible to fit down.

The rest of the time has been filled with exploring the city with the other scholars, which has made settling in so easy and very fun. We visited Parque Arví via cable car, and lots of other bustling areas of Medellín, trying out lots of fun restaurants and bars, which led me to discover how good Peruvian food is. We have a group trip planned to Guatapé this weekend and lots of plans for our time here. Learning from our programme leaders, local community resilience and exploring this vibrant city has been such an amazing privilege, and I am already sad that I have to leave at some point!