Week 2

As we moved into our second week in Medellín, my fellow scholars and I have thrown ourself into a whirlwind of activities, learning more about our projects and the culture in the city.

The week began with a meeting with Adrián, the CEO of our collaborating organisation, Picacho con Futuro. We learnt about the organisation, details of our projects and potential pathways for moving forward. Since this initial session, we have largely focused on curating our project plans throughout the week and developing ideas that will be both successful and sustainable. It is exciting to discuss and grow our ideas and proposal, whilst working with and learning from new people, including my fellow scholars, the make_sense team and the local people in Picacho. 

As a part of our project, we intend to involve volunteers from the local university, Pontifical Bolivarian University (UPB). To attract the students, we held a cultural fair on Thursday outside the library on the university campus. This was a fun, enjoyable experience, as we showcased our projects and our cultures, enticing people with British sweets and chocolate which then allowed us to converse with the students about what would be involved and how they will be important to the project outputs. It was very successful, with roughly 40 people signing up in the hour we were there, and we have since been in touch, arranging a meeting for next week where we can begin to move forward as a team. 

Alongside our main project, we will be volunteering with a secondary organisation in Medellín called 'Mi Barrio, Mi Sueño'. To better understand their objectives and work, we spent Wednesday in Comuna 3, after an entertaining bus ride up the steep winding streets, with a representative of the organisation who explained their plans for new playgrounds within the Comuna and how we can help in the following weeks. To hide from the intense sun, we got driven up to a beautiful café, on the backs of their motorbikes which was very enjoyable, to enjoy a delicious Colombian coffee. The view of the city was breathtaking and the owner, La Reina, was a welcoming host who told us about her story and how she ended up where she is now. It was a great day, and I look forward to helping the organisation in their building project at a later date. 

Beyond working on the projects, we have continued to explore the city. Trying new Colombian food has been great, even if it is largely meat-based (quite difficult as a pescatarian). The coffee continues to be a highlight, as well as seeing the city from the new angle on the back of a motorbike! My fellow scholars and I also indulged in a typically tourist night out, providing us with some entertaining stories and memories from the trip. This weekend, we plan to venture outside the city to the town of Guatapé for the night. It looks beautiful in photos next to the large Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir, and has been recommended by both the make_sense team and previous visitors in Medellín. I am having a great time and I am excited to continue this experience over the next month, hopefully improving my Spanish skills which continue to be below-par!