My Overall Thoughts 

The second week of LIA was possibly one of the busiest, but also one of the most enjoyable weeks that I have ever experienced. Speaking with a kaleidoscope of different people and experiencing the surreal beauty of Colombia made me realise just how lucky I am to have been able to experience this, and I felt unimaginably grateful for the opportunity.

Cultural Fair - South Korea! 

Week 2 brought a whirlwind of activity and fun but with it also its challenges. We began the week by preparing for our cultural fair to recruit volunteers for our project, in which we would be representing our home countries. Myself and Je Ho prepared for our stall representing South Korea. Our plan was to give out samples of soju (Korean rice wine) and Korean sweets. We would ask students about their knowledge of Korean culture and get them to stick up post-it notes of their favourite thing about Korea on a pre-prepared board. The samples were a major success and we managed to have many interesting conversations with the students, surrounding topics ranging from Kpop, Kdramas and food to the work environment and architecture, as well as comparisons between Korean and Colombian culture. We (I would like to think) successfully managed to navigate the language barrier and I even had a conversation in Korean with a passerby which I greatly enjoyed! 

El Picacho

On Tuesday, we woke up for an early start, as we were heading to El Picacho, a community located high up in the mountains. After a long and bumpy ride, we arrived and made our way down through the trees and into the town, where we saw multicoloured, brightly painted houses of blue and yellow, lined with plants and flowers. The beauty of the self-built town struck me, so different from the monotone houses and square grass lawns back at home in England. The houses were exploding with an energy and personality that were largely unfamiliar to me. After an amazing lunch wrapped in banana leaves, we went back to the centre to spend time with children who came to the community centre after school. Our group spent the 2 hours allocated to us making paper cranes with the children. Despite my extremely limited grasp of Spanish, I was surprised by how I managed to convey tasks to the young children through body language, who were amazingly quick to pick up on. After a short break, we were taught how to sew keychains. My keychain, which was heart-shaped, represented love and community. We learnt that making these key chains was a way for women in the community to earn small amounts of income and to forget their troubles for a short while in a safe space. At the end, we swapped our key chains with each other, in a display of community expressed through exchange. Despite the fact that the day was long and non-stop, I greatly enjoyed spending time with the children and getting a snapshot of community life away from the city, seeing the incredible views and spending time with the inhabitants of El Picacho. 

Leadership Camp in Guatape: Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs 

At 6am on Thursday morning, all 12 of us trailed gradually onto the bus, bleary-eyed and diorientated, ready to embark on our leadership camp in Guatape. 2 hours later, we finally arrived. The hostel we were to stay at had a beautiful view of El Penon, or the famous ‘Rock of Guatape’, a ginormous monolith located a few miles away. We were happy to be enthusiastically greeted by the friendly hostel dog, who greatly enjoyed the cheese left over from our breakfast sandwiches. After a short rest, we were launched into a yoga session which took place in a hollow looking out onto the lake. Despite my glaring lack of flexibility, I felt myself relaxing and healing from the busy week: the sounds of birds, the smell of the trees and the calming brush of the wind lulled me into a comfortable state of being. However, the session took a sharp turn as we began a session of acrobatic yoga. Despite my initial fears, I was proud to have participated in the activity of ‘flying’ and watched as my peers balanced, seemingly weightless, on just the feet of the yoga-instructor. 

We then had our first leadership activity in which we drew and wrote down our core values. We spoke to each other about our drawings which led to a conversation about conflict, peace and dialogue. I found it fascinating to see the different ways in which the others thought about their core values, as words, as pictures and the varied ways in which we perceive ourselves. After lunch came my favourite activity of the leadership camp: kayaking and paddle boarding. However, not only was this activity fun, it was also educational, as I feel we put our ideas about conflict and peace into practice. Having started multiple kayak wars, being splashed and having a paddle stolen, I realised that dialogue, trust and peace really are the more favourable options. To end the day, we sat around the camp fire, roasted marshmallows, sang and even danced to reggaeton. As I walked back up the hill to our hostel, my legs burned from a day of vigorous activities, but I was happy and content. 

The following day brought a new set of challenges. On this day, we were to travel to the mammoth rock El Penon and to climb up it. However, we were faced with a fateful decision: would we cycle there or take a taxi? Despite the previous day’s activities of yoga and watersports, I bravely (and perhaps rashly) decided I would cycle. Evelyn had reassured me that a 9 year old girl had easily completed the journey: it would be easy for us. We rented our bikes and set off. However, onl10 minutes in, we quickly realised that the ride would not be as easy as we had hoped. The roads were extremely hilly and some were bumpy and ruined. My legs screamed and protested as I pushed them to the limit, and at some points, we were forced to walk up steep stretches. Despite multiple offers of stopping and taking a car at intervals during the journey, all of us heroically persevered (spurred by a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and an ice cream along the way). Despite the inner turmoil and agony I experienced, I was extremely proud happy to have finished the cycle.

However, this was not the end. After a short break, we found ourselves climbing the 715 steep steps up El Penon. Despite my previous pain, the effect on my legs the climb would have was the least of my worries. As we travelled higher and higher up the mountain, my fear of heights began to kick in, and I clung to the walls and stairs for dear life. However, at the top, I could feel the relief of a cool breeze and the amazing view was truly a sight to behold. I was surprised about the extent to which I found I could push myself. However, without the others on the team providing laughter, support and showing resilience throughout the day, I feel that I never would have conquered the cycle and the climb up El Penon, and for that I realised that together we achieved exponentially more than I could ever have accomplished alone. Having gotten down from El Penon, we took a Tuk Tuk back, again holding on for dear life as it shook and trundled over the potholed roads. Back at the hostel, we said goodbye to those going back to Medellin and headed to the hostel we would be staying at over the weekend. We found ourselves followed by the hostel dog who was to become a trusty companion and set off to explore more. 

Final Thoughts 

Throughout the week, I experienced an abundance of things and feel I learnt so much within a short stretch of time. Each challenge I overcame gave me the strength to persevere and I feel that our group became much closer, supporting each other during hardships and fun times. I feel so thankful to have these unforgettable memories and am excited for the rest of the journey!