Travel day

We had our final meeting yesterday, Thursday, after coming back from school. The original plan had been to hold it this morning, but half the group was gone by 10am. Mariana and Simon had a final activity that was the perfect conclusion to the trip and provided a space for celebrating and healing, two things that everyone needed. Mariana placed a sack of bandannas in the center of the circle and instructed us to take turns and give one of the bandannas to another participant in appreciation and recognition. She started and gave hers to Jim. The challenge, of course, was that as the choices diminished the person giving the bandanna was forced to choose from among the remaining people. It wasn't simply picking the one person you wanted to appreciate. Dave gave one to me; I gave one to Christie.

Margot left yesterday to stay over in Bogota so that she could catch an early morning flight home to Salt Lake City. Edye had offered to drop off some markers Margot had purchased to give to the teacher she had worked with. I rode along so that I could see the school, Jorge Nicolas Abello. We had heard so much about the visit and the forceful and ambitious leadership  there that I was curious to get a "feel" for the school. It was much larger than Madre Marcelina with blue tiling everywhere giving it a very blue tone. There were two large covered courtyards, something Sister Marina really needs and wants, but the classrooms that lined the walls surrounding the courtyards were tiny. We saw one where about 20 students were crammed in side-by-side from the back wall to the front. It felt like a more serious school environment. This is the model bilingual school in Barranquilla. The students study English. but also take math and science in English. Wish we could have seen a greater variety of schools to better understand how quality is defined here.

We had a bus to the airport that left at 11:15am because three people had early afternoon flights to Minneapolis. Edye and I had flight around 4pm so I was fine to go early and hang out with her at the airport. After we got there I discovered a few things: most of the restaurants and shops are outside the security area and waiting areas; the domestic and international waiting areas are completely separate; there is no real food available in the domestic area, just lots of coffee and pastries. I left Edye at 1:30pm after we'd both checked in, she was off to Quito and I was off to Bogota. There was a coffee shop practically at the end of the conveyor belts for the security check so I sat there and read. I had a nice new Avianca plane and watched Modern Family, first in Spanish and then in English. It was strange to hear a dubbed voice speaking Spanish for Sophia Vergara who comes from Barranquilla.

Checked into Hotel Castellana near Esperanza's house and only ventured around the block for a little dinner. I had missed lunch because I was in the airport for so long and when I walked down the first street there was only Subway and Domino's. I walked another block and discovered a little smoothie shop that just opened last week. He gave me the menu and told me that they deliver!

Today's words: No entiendo. desayuno, cena