Nicholas Heim: Colombia

Off to Bogota!

At 5:30 in the morning, Luke Wooten, Mr. Smyth and I boarded our American airlines plane to Miami/Bogota, giddy with excitement for our trip.

Ready for Bogota!

12 hours later, we arrived in Bogota, greeted by our gracious host families, for me the family of Danilo Rojas Betancourth, the Supreme Court Magistrate of Colombia. We also met Magdalena, the English Director of Claustro, and the coordinator of our trip during our duration in Colombia. Upon leaving the terminal, we were escorted out by my family’s security guards, and drove home surrounded by an escort. I immediately noticed the stark contrast between Bogota and home when seeing this, and it made me appreciate Nashville’s calmer, safer way of life. We lived in a beautiful flat, overlooking all of Bogota. I immediately went to bed upon arrival, tired and excited for my first day.

View from our apartment

First Impressions

Luke, Mr. Smyth and I walked onto campus looking dapper, in our MBA chinos and polos. But, we stood out like sore thumbs. All around us, kids of all ages ran around, kicking soccer balls, and just talking, in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Everyone. Luke and I were at home! We went to our first class, a Netflix-English class, and watched the Blair Witch Project, a classic american horror movie. As Luke and I had already seen it, we were laughing our way through. At first, we got odd glares, but eventually, we felt at ease with students, and approached them as much as they approached us. Here, I met my Colombian twin, Nicolas.

Nicholas and Nicolas

Throughout my trip, he would be an awesome friend and guide through Claustro. As our first day continued, we met Chloe and Carolina. Chloe, an exchange student from California, is a member of the Medellin family, which owns the school, and Carolina’s aunt is a kindergarten teacher in Claustro. Although it was tempting to speak English with them, we gave it a college try to speak Spanish all the time.

Education and Free Time

MBA’s Classic Curriculum could not contrast more from that of Claustro. Claustro places a strong emphasis on free time, and pursuing that which interests the student. For example, a “My Topic” period takes place twice a week, each session taking 3 hours of the school day. During mi tema, student can visit the Bogota National Library to read about their future careers. For Luke, he read about music technology and industry, while I read about Spanish Origins and Basic Chinese. Claustro’s approach is both foreign and appealing to me, as it lets the student hone in on their personal interest.

Who says Colombians can't be blonde?

Every day, there are around 3 hours of free time, including lunch (we will get to that later, its awesome). Typically, students bring Bose speakers to school, and the center courtyard becomes a giant dance floor. “Reggaeton” is their twerking, and we taught them as much as they taught us. Even teachers joined in! We also had field day where we participated in Colombian activities, such as playing hot potato with firecrackers.

I have the firecracker!

Futbol

Just had to add....

MBA might have a pizza oven, but Colombia has platanos!!!! This fried bananas are strangely sweet and salty, and were quite honestly a highlight of my trip. When I was getting tired, I knew my platanos were the light at the end of the tunnel. Some days, they saved my life. Because our grade at lunch at 1:30, Luke and I had unlimited access to the snack bar, where we got to try typical pastries and drinks. My favorite typical drink, Colombiana, is similar to Sprite, but much better, and is known as “fuel for TRUE Colombians!”, as said to me by a student. Therefore, I drank more than my fair share.

El mejor!

Weekends and Excursions

During our trip, we had 3 weekend to explore Bogota and the surrounding area. The first week we visited Lake Guatavita, a lake which legend says holds gold at the bottom. Therefore, the conquistadors blew out a part of the mountain lake in order to drain it, yet unsuccessfully. 

El Lago Guatavita

We also visited the Botero museum, a highlight of my trip. Botero is a Colombian painter, famous for painting the people in his work as excessively obese. I felt like I was at home in America! 

Botero Museum

We visited the Museum of Gold, which houses one of the most extensive collections of pre-Columbian jewelry and goldworks in the world. I was drawn to pieces which are said to be signs of extraterrestrial contact to the indigenous people (www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens)

I see a plane..... what do you see?

That day, we were also able to visit the government palace in La Candelaria, the first neighborhood in all of Bogota, characterized by Spanish colonial architecture. We were able to see the building where my host dad works (behind us and the statue in the photo), and chase pigeons!

The Government Palace, where my host father works

The next week and weekend, I got sick with the “Bogota Flu”, a common ailment resulting from the rapid changes in climate throughout the day, not to mention the astounding altitude at 3000 meters above sea level. Therefore, I stayed home for the weekend. But on my final weekend, my host mother, Lolita, and I went to Monserrato, a church famous for its astounding views of Bogota and Cultural heritage center.

Lolita and I getting ready to go up the tram to Monserrato

Saying goodbye was really hard for me, as we made a lot of friends at the school. I am very grateful for this wonderful immersion opportunity, and I know that I grew as a student and person during my time there. This experience was both gratifying and humbling for me as an MBA student. I would like to thank the Wilson Family and the MBA Exchange Program for this awesome experience, and I can’t wait to meet the students from Claustro who come here for exchange!

Vivianna, Julian, and I