Drew Benson: Colombia

View from the balcony of the cabin

      After an entire day of flying and waiting in the airport, Fred Harwell, Wilson Vaughan, Jack Duke and I landed in Bogota, Colombia, where we split up with our respective host families and headed off to our new homes for the next three weeks. Jack and I were fortunate enough to stay in a cabin on the beautiful campus of the renowned Colegio Claustro Moderno. The school itself was a bit different than MBA in that it was a kindergarten through 11^th grade school (their 11^th grade is our 12^th grade). The school felt a bit more relaxed – the dress code was a bit more casual, there were longer breaks between classes, and the students called the teachers by their first names. That first week we spent time taking typical high school classes (English, Spanish, Biology, Math etc.) and learning the customs and lingo of the Colombians. It also took some time acclimating to the climate, for Bogota is nearly twice the altitude of Denver, CO. We thought the Colombians were in for a surprise when we first played pick up basketball, but we soon found ourselves sweating and gasping for breath. I even got to play in an alumni soccer game that Friday and, despite my fatigue, I was able to finish the game. 

View overlooking the lake outside of Bogota

The first weekend, we were able to enjoy a stay at Pablo Gaitan’s lakehouse (Pablo came to MBA on exchange last year). We also spent lots of time tasting local cuisine like morsilla, empanadas, almohabana, and my personal favorite, arepas. The following week’s highlights included visiting the Museo de Botero (a famous art museum of Colombia’s most famous artist) and watching national soccer matches against Peru and Argentina. It was really amazing to see Bogota during a match, for literally the entire city is decked out in their jerseys and everyone stops what they are doing to watch the match (quite a different attitude towards soccer than in the US). 

Standing on top of Monserrate over Bogota

That weekend, we were able to ride to the top of the mountain on a cable car to see the entire city of Bogota at a place called Monserrate. The final week at school seemed to fly by, capped off by a dance marathon on the last school day of the semester. As the four us had been taking salsa lessons, we obviously stole the show. The last three days (Friday-Sunday) were spent touring everything we hadn’t seen in Colombia – from the President’s house to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) we were able to see it all. The trip truly was an experience of a lifetime and something I will be proud of for the rest of my life. I would like to thank the Wilson family, Mr. Gaither, Mr. Paolicchi, and Dr. Zimmerman for making this exchange possible and providing such an unforgettable experience!