One day after my final exam, Alex Boone, Mr. Spiegl and I left for Bogotá, Colombia, on an exchange with Colegio Claustro Moderno. Upon our late arrival in Bogotá, we were greeted by our host families and taken to their houses. I was fortunate enough to stay with the Osorios, a very affectionate and kind family. My host mother, in particular, was extremely loving, giving me a hug before I went anywhere.
My Welcome Sign at My Host Family's House
"Welcome Grant, This is Your House"
Tired after a long day of flying, my host family graciously let me sleep in before we headed downtown to vote in the Presidential Election Day, in which Juan Manuel Santos was reelected. Shortly after they voted, we headed to a nearby restaurant and I got my first taste of Colombian cuisine, which was much better than I anticipated. The main pairing of Colombian food is a meat with potatoes. Additionally, we tasted typical Colombian food such as arepas, empanadas and almohabanas. The Colombians enjoyed taking me out to eat at El Corral, the proclaimed “best” American restaurant in Colombia, and Crepes and Waffles or Popsy for dessert. El Corral was good but nothing like what we have here in the United States. Nevertheless, I was glad to have some American food while down there.
Eating some Ice Cream at Popsy
Being in a foreign country, I expected many differences but I was blown away by just how many differences they were in between MBA and Colegio Claustro Moderno. To begin, I found the classes to be much more relaxed, as teachers were lenient towards phones and class noise and the students had three breaks each day. Additionally, they do not have sports teams in the school, but rather one has to play at a club outside of school, an aspect very unusual in comparison to MBA and the United States in general. They also did not have a gymnasium, weight room or sports' fields other than a small, concrete soccer field. Unlike MBA, the students at Colegio Claustro Moderno do not take all of their classes every day, but have a block schedule in a way similar to Harpeth Hall. Another interesting difference between the schools is that the students at Colegio Claustro Moderno luckily receive only an hour of homework on average. Due to the small size of each grade (25-30 students), each grade takes the same classes in the same room. The school only goes from kindergarten to 11th grade as 11th grade is their senior year. Lastly, they do not drive to school but have school buses drive them home.
Soccer Game between 11th and 10th grade
Learning the Salsa with Alex
While in Colombia, I was fortunate enough to visit many of the great Colombian tourist attractions and to experience Colombian culture and traditions. During the first week, Mr. Spiegl, Alex, our host brothers and I took a trip to Monserrate, a Catholic church on the tallest mountain in Bogota with an incredible view of the city. Bogotá was much larger than I thought before I visited, with around 8 million inhabitants spread throughout it, and the view from Monserrate was breathtaking. To get up to the summit, we had to take a cable car and then walk to the top. It was amazing. With my host family, I also visited two small, famous cities outside of Bogota: Nemocon and Ibague. Nemocón was a tourist attraction approximately an hour and a half away from Bogota known for its caves and salt production. The caves, which we toured, were said to provide approximately 90% of all the salt Colombians use. Additionally, I was blessed to visit the “farm” of my host brother’s girlfriend, which was really more of a beautiful vacation home six hours outside of Bogota, in Ibague. While there, we ventured into the small city during our weekend there and I was able to strengthen my friendship with my host brother and his girlfriend.
View from Moserrate
The Vacation Home in Ibague
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