Indigenous ceremony

So me and my buddies went to an indigenous ceremony to "get in touch with our spiritual side. little did I know I was in for a doosey. SO, Me Fernando, and his friend German went to this place in the Mountains of Bogota. We couldn't get there buy bus so we took a taxi. The funny thing about Bogota and directions in general is that noone knows where the hell they are going...even the taxi drivers. The streets are in blocks with numbers for each street which is simple enough but the thing is each street can have a varient of A-F and the direction it is in... for example. CLL 100A South 15B East, On top of that The streets change from time to time. Anyways we tell the taxi driver the address and looked at us dumbfounded as if we were the taxi drivers and he was the passenger. Luckily We knew the general direction of the were the ceremony was. After about 1hour of meandering aimlessly we found the place. When we got there there was several indigenous tribe members all decked out in war paint with instruments and such. Before the ceremony was to start. They passed around a drink...Not wanting to offend anyone I drank it just like everyone else. an hour goes by of chanting and dancing when I everyone starts to throw up,,,Including me. Shortly after Bats started to circle the campfire and Fernando sitting next to me was engulfed in flames!! I started freaking out until the chief tribe member calmed me down and explained to me that what I drank was hallucinogenic and that it is supposed help me see spirits and connect with mother earth. So I went with it, and saw some pretty crazy stuff I cant really explain. The next morning I felt surprisingly refreshed and clean. Apparently what I drank is called Yajé and its supposed to clean your body of everything bad and all the toxins. It was a very interesting experience and I wouldn't do it again, but I must say that I feel more energized and can think much more clearly now.

More recently

I have been sober since my excursion to Villeta and intend on seeing how long I can go. The trip from Chia all the way the office of the foundation is getting to be a little much for me every day. SO I took action and am currently taking classes to get a motorcycle liscense. Once I get my liscense Im buyin a motorcycle and there aint nothing stopping me!! Fernando said once I get my liscence and everything I can accompany him every weekend to trips all around Colombia….I aaam psyyyched. This Saturday I am going to a city in the jungle to attend a tribal ceremony done by some indigenous tribes…..stay tuned!!!!

My first PR Task

My foundation is developing a project that focuses on improving education in public schools. They target the teachers, teaching them how to read better to there class and how to properly use new technology (such as computers). SO, My boss has family in a city called Villeta which is about 2 hours away from Bogota. There was a fair there called la feria de panela “the Panela fair” There is a fair for just about everything in Colombia. Panela is a sweet that is harvested from sugar cane which is very healthy actually..but that’s a whole nother story. The idea was to go to villeta and propose the project to the mayor and a few businessmen to see if we could get funds to get it going. Sooo turns out My boss got sick and couldn’t go. So I was to go with her brother (Fernando) and represent the foundation on my own. YIKES! Fernando is my age and recently started a panela business which made it big. SO, he was going to Villeta to promote his company while I was to go and do some PR and make contacts for the foundation. I was to talk to the mayor and several other business men that Fernandeo all new and propose them the project about education.
So I was waiting for Fernando at my house in Chia. He comes by on a crotch rocket. He tosses me a helmet and says in Spanish “hurry up and get your stuff we have to be in Villeta in 90 minutes I need you to help me pick out runway models to accompany us during the fair to promote my company” Sweeet I said to my self trying not to act too excited. I hoped on the crotch rocket and we booked it to Villeta. The scenery was breath taking going up and down mountains through valleys at like 150 mph… In villeta Fernando’s grandparents live right next door to a club/resort with a pool tennis court, A BAR, restaurant, etc. So we stayed there. Later on I meet the mayor and some busniness folk during the day, make some contacts, and chat about the foundation. At night we partied with the models that helped promote Fernandos company… the first night I was a little reserved, the second night, Me and Fernando Gooot Shit canned. In south America the have a drink called aguardiente its really smooth and it sneaks up on you fast. One thing leads to another and we downed at least three boxes of aguardiente. On our way back home we got a in a little drunken argument which was harmless at first. Then it escalated and we got in a little scuffle (nothing serious) to my misfortune the police arrived do to a little noise complaint (they didn’t see the fight nor did they know about it.) I had nooo ID on me just a wallet and money. I told the police I was a foreigner and had no ID. They called me gringo and told me to shut up and sit down. Then they stole my wallet and demanded I give them every thing in my pockets or I would go to jail!!!!! I thought to my self and chuckled under my breath AIESEC Minneapolis was right, I am the most likely to be thrown in jail abroad. I was so drunk I was excited this was happening so I could tell it to other people. He ended up taking my crappy cell phone and 50000 pesos!!! Which is worth $25 hahaha. The police brought me and Fernando back to his family and woke them up at 5 am in the morning…..oooh boy was that a shit show. Needless to say the weekend was a semi success, I got to shmooze with the mayor and made some business contacts, but let the liquor get the best of me again…

2nd week of my experience

I moved into my house that I will be staying at for the rest of my traineeship. Its in a quaint little pueblo called Chía which is about 15 minutes outside of Bogota. It’s a small town with more city like parts, and some parts that are way more out in the country. My house is in the country. I live in a separate house that is on the same lot of land as the family that owns it. If you could picture those houses that are on bamboo stilts except not made of bamboo and way more modern, That’s what I live in. the first floor is completely open…with a few gates so the dogs don’t run upstairs and wake me up in my sleep. My back yard is litteraly the andes mountains.. like 100 ft away..its a beautiful sight and amazes me everytime I see it. At first sleeping was a challenge. In my neighbor hood there a bout 80 million dogs whhooo love to bark at eachother at night. Sometimes there will be complete silence then one dog starts barking ..and it’s a domino effect.. they all start barking and its complete chaos..Also the family has a rooster and chickens to provide eggs. Well their rooster (who I wanted to strangle by the way) woke me up punctually everyday at sunrise. Nonetheless the family living next to me told me I would soon get used to noises of the “campo”. I soon adjusted and the rooster nor the dogs bother me any more

In the family that lives in the house right next to mine there is a middle aged wife and husband one is psychologist one is a doctor, so the family is very well off. They have 2 children which I teach English to every morning M-TH for about 30 mins. In exchange they provide me with housing, aamazing Colombian food, and money for transport.


My traineeship takes place in Bogotá. So everyday I take one bus from chia to bogotá and one bus from Bogotá to the office. I work for a foundation called : La Fundación Seré. It is a fairly new foundation that has about 20 projects at the moment. There are two sectors one focuses on psychological research within Colombia (i.e. therapy with horses for kids with ADHD) and the other focuses on social development ( i.e. helping indigenous tribes that have been displaced from there homes do to the guerilla assimilate into Bogotá) My job is mainly marketing their projects and public relations. My boss is very understanding and has aaalot of conections in Colombia. She is introducing me to some big wigs in the marketing and pr business so I can shadow them and get more experience. Soon Ill have my own business card which is pretty sweet. Im also in charge of tweeking proposals to companies to make them look more appealing.
Bogotá is a whooole nother story. Bogotá in sum is, Chaos. Instead of a subway system they have buses with two cabins that have there own streets. The buses are aaaalways packed. Very rarely do I find a seat to sit in. If there are any old people, Disabled people pregnant women they get first dibs.
One day I figured I would beat rush hour so I could enjoy a nice bus ride sitting down. To my surprise the bus was dead! There were about 5 open seats (out of about 50) I waltz on over and take a seat. To my dismay at the next stop a rush of people come in, those of which 4 are pregnant and one is considerably old. I lost it and screamed in enlgish “DAMN IT! HOW MANY !$%@&!%$ pregnant people are in this *&^%^$ country Use a *%$%%$ condom for Christ sake!! The bus grew silent as a I relinquished my seat to a seriously pregnant women. I got off at the next stop for fear of my life. To say the least there are a lot of pregnant women here, the birth rate is very high, there are around 8 million people in bogota and it gets a little stressful sometimes.

first week and a half

Upon my arrival I realized why AIESEC is set apart from from other organizations and study abroad programs. At the airport the entire LC of Bogotá was waiting for me they gave me a traditional Colombian bag and poncho as a welcoming gift. They told me that its was normal to where the poncho .. and that “everyone did it in Colombia” They took some pictures and snickered to themselves. I soon found out they were joking and that the whole poncho thing is a big stereo type of latin American people it what they used to wear back in the day. This was one of the many stereo types I soon found to be very false about Colombia and its people. I was not offended and found their joke to be quite funny It was a good icebreaker.
My first week there I stayed with an @er in Bogota. She was my host and everyday she showed me something new about Bogota. There are a total of 6 LCs in Bogotá alone. The LC that hosted my tn is in a school of engineering. They are a very studious people whoo dont like to drink as much as i do ..we’ll just leave it at that. Once I first found out they to party a lot I was really stressed, sure the whole LC is really friendly and was always inviting me out places but who was I gonna go out on the weekends and get wasted with?!?!? Haha well this has been a good experience for me because I am starting to realize there are other things in life besides booze. I was starting to realize the college culture at the U of M (god bless its soul) had taken a toll on me as a person and my social life. In Colombia I was forced into the life style of my LC and I fought it at first, but then I soon realized that even the other LCs (which I soon got to know) that did go out to party on the weekends didn’t drink and go to clubs to get shit face wasted, but rather to drink socially, make friends, dance, aaaand hook up occasionally.
Above all I want to emphasize the difference between study abroad through your University and the AIESEC experience. When I was in spain I studied through CIEE I was surrounded by other Americans and people who only wanted to speak English. With AIESEC cultural immersion, you are 10 times more independent, I haven’t seen a US American in I don’t know how long, and I am aaalways speaking Spanish, by the time this tn is over I will be 100 fluent.

AIESEC Madrid

Hey everyone! I’m currently studying in Toledo, Spain for the semester. Unfortunately there is not a local LC, but Madrid is only a 50-minute bus ride away. I will not be an official CEED, but I’m going to try to be involved as much as I can. The VP OGX happens to be a girl from Washington D.C., Maria, so she has been my main point of contact. Maria’s mother is Spanish and after Maria moved to Spain a year and a half ago, so did her parents.

The LC of Madrid has been having a lot of issues recently, so a meeting was called with the MC last Thursday. I was invited to go along, so I spent the afternoon with a Maria and a girl from Belgium before heading over to the AIESEC office.

Before expanding on the meeting, I need to lay down what has been happening in Madrid. Originally there were three LC’s in Madrid belonging to three different universities. The three decided to combine and form a city wide LC. From there issues ensued. They only have one GM a month, and even then people always make excuses for not showing. A lot of people want to be involved, but no one actually wants to do any work. The EB has been following apart and just a few weeks ago, the LCP up and left after some drama. Maria is now the only EB member left and things need to change!

Here comes the meeting I attended. Two of the MC members ran the meeting to discuss what needs to be done to keep the Madrid LC alive. Elections will occur in two weeks to form the new EB, goals were set, and the MC informed us that in order to stay active Madrid needs one EP, one TN plus one more of either by next December. Maria is planning on running for LCP and as long as people get motivated I think there will not be any more issues. On a more exciting note, LC Madrid just matched its first two EPs, one girl going to Nigeria for a year and another going to Hong Kong!!!

The meeting itself was very interesting because it kept switching between Spanish and English because of the two MC members one was from Mexico and the other Costa Rica. Also, all of the current members speak Spanish minus one guy from Turkey, who is currently studying at a Spanish university even though he speaks no Spanish. How that works, I have no idea. The rest of the MC seemed really cool and I got to hang out with some of the Madrid members that night. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to more meetings and help get Madrid back up and running!