Here is Andy Johnson’s daily update of the Grade 8 exchange with Colegio CIEDI, Bogota. from my daily conversations with Andy, I can tell you that the whole groups is having a wonderful and educational time. Katie Litzenberger flies out to join the group on Saturday and Andy returns to Boise on Tuesday.

Andrew Derry

Today we spent the day exploring Bogota and its history.  We also spent a good deal of time learning about indigenous history at the Museum of Gold.  This museum is dedicated to preserving and protecting the remaining treasures of Pre-Colombian Colombia.  The museum has an astounding array of some of the finest gold metalwork anywhere in the world.  Additionally the Colombian government has done a superb job interpreting these artifacts in a way that is accessible and very educational.  Many of the things the kids saw and read in the museum reinforced what they had learned when they studied the Mississippian and Anasazi cultures earlier in the semester.  Following that visit we visited the church on Montserrate.  The city of Bogota is at about 8000′.  The church is on an impossibly steep mountain that towers over downtown Bogota.  When we stepped off the cable car we were at about 10,000 feet.  The views, even on a cloudy and somewhat smoggy day, were wonderful.  The group photo was taken from the steps of the church.  After this visit we slid back down the mountain on the teleferico (cable car), piled onto the busses and drove down into la Candalaria.  This is the oldest part of Bogota and retains much of its original character.  The streets are steep and lined with colorful old houses.  We visited the Plaza de Bolivar, saw the main cathedral, sat on the steps of the senate and listened as David Palacios gave a brief, but good summary of the form of the Colombian government. Afterwards, we walked back into la Calendaria and visited the Botero Museum.  Botero is Colombia’s national artist.  His work is fetching upwards of 700,000-800,000 dollars at art auctions.  He donated his entire art collection to Colombia.  We saw works from Picasso, Renoir, Nolde, Kokoschka, as well as Botero.  We finished the trip by grabbing hamburgers at La Corral, a good chain of Colombian hamburger restaurants.  All in all, another great day.

Andy