From Christine Corbin, our Middle School art teacher and chaperone with our Grade 8 students in Bogotá, Colombia. Students were on an overnight stay in Villa de Leyva.

“It has literally been non-stop activity from dawn until midnight here in Villa de Leyva! The students are participating in a community service project this morning. There was a big fire in the area last year, so the kids are replanting some indigenous trees to help bring back the natural vegetation.

On Thursday we went to a fossil museum; also the Observatorio Indigena Muisca “Infiernito.” Before going there, we began the day at a very cool ceramic art studio way up in the mountains. The kids wove baskets and made ceramic pots. They had a blast and were totally engaged in the process. We had a delicious typical Colombian lunch at the pottery factory and then stopped in the village of Raquira to shop for half an hour. After returning to the hotel for dinner, games and activities were prepared for the kids until it was time to go to bed.

Yesterday was amazing and exhausting at the same time. We got up really early (5 am) and took the bus to Santurario de Flora y Fauna de Iguaque, a national park way up in the mountains about 20 miles from Villa de Leyva. We hiked through 3 bio zones: jungle, temperate, and desert (at the top), with our destination being a sacred lagoon where the indigenous people believe creation began. The hike was pretty difficult, it was incredibly steep and long, but all of the students did remarkably well. We came back to the hotel, showered and went shopping in the town for an hour or so. That evening there was a big bonfire, dance, and birthday party for Chad (it’s his birthday today). Also, since it was April Fools Day, there were dozens of funny jokes and pranks. It was so much fun for the Colombian students, but they were afraid they would get in trouble for playing a joke on someone….so they would come and ask permission to play an April Fools’ joke!

We should get back to Bogota around 6 or 7 this evening, just in time for a surprise 15th birthday party for Laura, one of the CIEDI students. I know the families are excited to share this experience that is such an important event in a girls life here with our students.”

Photos are from previous days’ activities working at school, touring museums, taking a tram to Mount Serrate overlooking Bogotá that has 8 million inhabitants!