Party Time

The staff, volunteers and children of Globalteer Volunteer Colombia Children's Project recently celebrated the quinceñera (15th birthday) of Luisa, one of the children at the project, which was a very eagerly anticipated event. For weeks they had debated the possible outfits, hairdos, and make-up, in addition to the options for decorations, music, and food.

Quinceñeras are very important events in Colombia because they announce a girl’s coming of age. The girls, their families and friends usually begin preparing for the big day several months in advance in order to make it extra special for the cumpleañera (birthday girl). Because Globalteer Volunteer Colombia Kids Project works similarly to an orphanage and most of the children have lived there for several years, the project has become a big family. The staff and volunteers are called tía (aunt) or tío (uncle), emphasizing this familial relationship.  So, of course the project undertook this planning with unmatched gusto and enthusiasm – equal to that of any other loving family – working very hard to put together the best party of the year.

They made announcements, prepared lists and sent out invitations. Everyone at Globalteer Volunteer Colombia Children’s Project was involved in this exciting preparation process, including the youngest members of the project, and the results of all the hard work were stunning!

When the big day arrived, they decorated the common area of the project with blue and purple colours to compliment Luisa’s party dress. Everyone was smartly dressed-up and the younger kids were running around in expectation of the wonderful fiesta to start. When the cumpleañera, who had her hair styled and was wearing a long layered dress, made her entrance everyone cheered and exclaimed that she looked so much like a fairy-tale princess! 

The party immediately went into full swing with plenty of music, and dancing and singing.  At times it seemed like a red-carpet event because there were so many photos and videos being taken. Luisa received presents and congratulations from all of the attendees, and everyone was happy and excited to share this special day with her.

There were many special events over the course of the night, starting with performers from Universidad Adventista de Colombia, who sang Luisa a beautiful rendition of the birthday song. After eating a traditional birthday dinner the main part of the event began: dancing! A local professional dance group performed traditional numbers including salsa, merengue and bachata. By the end of the performance everyone – children and grown-ups – had joined in. The children taught the Globalteer volunteers some basic steps so that they could participate in the fun too. Later on, the children began dancing reggaeton, a style of music that blends Caribbean and Latin American influences with hip hop and electronica, which is the most popular music genre with Colombian youth.   

To conclude this wonderful evening, the birthday cake was cut and served to everyone, along with sincere appreciation for their participation. Luisa and all of the children of the project thoroughly enjoyed the festivities, and will cherish the unforgettable happy memories of the fiesta.

*The children’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Journey into the wild

There’s something really special about Medellin’s zoo. Maybe it’s the beautiful and lush setting: a maze-like garden that is home to more than five hundred species of trees, including palms, fruit trees, acacias, coal trees, samans, búcaros, urupans, guayacans, ceibas, gualandays – located right in the middle of Medellín’s urban jungle! Maybe it’s the poetic atmosphere that piques the visitor’s imagination: in the center of the park stands a traditional hacienda with a beautiful porch constructed in the republican architectural style, a relic from the original owner of the land. Or maybe it’s simply the zoo’s classic charm with its fresco-painted walls depicting exotic animals, and Colombian families from all social backgrounds filling the pathways on weekends, that makes it so unique and endearing.

Whatever it is, el Parque Zoologico Santa Fe is definitely worth a visit for anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of the paisa (country) way of life and especially for all those eager to discover more about Latin America’s (and beyond !) extravagant wildlife. The zoo houses approximately one thousand animals native to the Americas, Asia and Africa, including many endangered species. Among the most popular animals on display are the lions, Bengal tigers, zebras, spectacled bears, harpy eagles and hippos.

Though it’s located in downtown Medellín, the vast majority of the kids from one of Globalteer’s Volunteer Colombia Children’s projects had never visited the zoo before. That’s why we recently organized an afternoon excursion for twenty of them, accompanied by one of the foundation staff and Globalteer’s volunteer coordinator. Recently arrived from Nashville and curious to discover the city’s attractions, our volunteer Mathew was excited to join the adventure too!
 
Luckily, when the group arrived early on a Thursday afternoon, the zoo was almost empty. The only things we could hear were the singing of exotic birds and growling of wild animals…We felt privileged to have the animals almost to ourselves, especially considering how crowded the zoo can be on weekends.

 
Soon the quiet paths were filled with the voices of kids screaming with joy and surprise as they ran excitedly from one animal’s enclosure to the next, their eyes filled with curiosity, captivation, fear and sometimes disgust (such as when they saw caimans hidden in mud) as they discovered creatures they had only seen in books or movies.

 The kids’ favourite was definitely the large cat section, where we had the chance to meet panthers, a jaguar, a Bengal tiger, pumas and a very curious fellow, a little “tiger cat” who seemed very intrigued by his visitors.

But what probably impressed the kids most was their first encounter with a lion. “His Majesty” was lying towards the front of his cage enjoying a huge peace of fresh meat, which allowed us to observe him very closely. He was so absorbed in his lunch that he didn’t even seem to notice the kids’ presence, even though they were staring at him through the cage bars.

Another highlight was the visit to the monkey section, especially when some of the little cheeky creatures started throwing food and… urinating in our direction! This episode caused huge bursts of laughter from everyone.

Then we happened upon a hungry parrot, which had managed to find his way out from his cage, and started to follow the kids everywhere because they were eating ice-cream. The kids also really liked the hippos, zebras, American bison, flamingos and an Andean Condor.

The most thrilling event of the day happened when we took the kids to see the lion one last time before leaving the park. All of a sudden, he jumped up from the bottom of his cage, where he had been hidden from view, and ran right in our direction, provoking the kids who were there – and the volunteer coordinator – to scream in terror! We took this as the sign that it was time to go…

Light Christmas

For North Americans and Europeans who are used to freezing temperatures and snow at Christmas time, spending the holiday season in temperate Medellín might seem a bit surreal.  Lying just north of the Equator, there isn’t much seasonal change in the City of Eternal Spring, where temperatures hover around 22°C year-round.

Instead of a White Christmas, Colombians treat themselves to a “light Christmas.”  Preparations for the alumbrados (light displays) in the cities begin as early as two months before the big day. Some of the most intricate displays contain several million lights, and each one revolves around a specific theme. There is an informal competition amongst the biggest cities in Colombia for the best alumbrados, and year after year Medellín is considered the uncontested winner.

Medellín’s most famous light display is located in the park next to the Medellín River, which city officials begin turning into a pedestrian promenade as early as October.  The river lights adopt a different theme each year, and this year’s display featured the region’s local flora and fauna.  Strings of lights crossed the river in the shapes of plants and flowers, and illuminated animals and insects ran along the promenade, where visitors strolled past vendors selling grilled meat and beer.  

It isn’t common for two of Globalteer'sVolunteer Colombia Kids projects to gather together for an outing because they are pretty far away from each other, but the alumbrados are a special occasion.  On a recent late Friday afternoon, the staff, volunteers and children from one project in the hillside descended into the heart of the city and met up with everyone from the inner-city project in Medellín’s central BarefootPark.  As soon as they arrived the kids, numbering well over a hundred, took off their shoes as fast as possible so that they could splash about in the water and run through the gravel playground, while waiting for the sun to set.  

As the sky began to change color the group began a short walk over to the river, with the adults and older kids looking after the little ones.  After twenty minutes walking along the darkening promenade, they arrived at the traditional starting point, which features intricate fountains and random jets of water shooting out of grates that are illuminated by multicolored lights.  At around 6:00pm, the holiday lights along the river were turned on, to the delight of the children, while the adult chaperones began the difficult task of keeping up with the kids who started running every which way.  Soon the entire length of the promenade was filled with exuberant children climbing on top of animals, insects and trees made of lights.  Several hours later they had exhausted themselves, and the two projects parted ways until their next big outing.  

Enjoying nature

Medellín is a great place to live, and many people agree that it has the highest quality of life in Colombia.  Posters and notices seen all over Medellín proudly proclaim that the City of Eternal Spring is currently competing with Tel Aviv and New York City as the Wall Street Journal’s City of the Year.

You don’t have to look far to understand why Medellín has been recognized around the world for its innovation.  The list is endless… the modern metro system, the numerous new public libraries in the poorest parts of the city, the new green transportation initiative including a new tram line and a public bike-share program, the cable car system integrated into the metro that allows residents from poor hillside barrios easy access to the rest of the city, and the world’s first outdoor escalator system designed for public transportation for residents of extremely steep neighborhoods.  

In addition to continuous improvements in the city’s infrastructure, Medellín’s city planners always try to preserve as much green space as possible and connect the city to the forests, mountains, and countryside that lie just beyond the city’s borders.  Indeed, in many parts of Medellín it feels as if a city was planted on top of an existing botanical garden. 

Last year an extension to one of the city’s two metrocable lines opened a “tourist line” to a huge nature park that lies over the mountain adjacent to Medellín.  Parque Arví, roughly the same size as the city itself, contains numerous walking paths, lakes, endless virgin forest, in addition to opportunities to rent a horse or bicycle, go camping, and go swimming in the charcos (streams).  With the park covering a large part of the neighboring corregimiento (township) of Santa Elena, itself technically a part of Medellín, the only way to access Parque Arví in the past was to take a long bus up a mountain road.  Now residents of Medellín can access the park by taking the city’s metro and metrocable, and then transferring to the tourist line of the metrocable which takes 15 minutes to arrive at the park, a peaceful and beautiful ride above virgin forest.  

None of the children from this particular one of Globalteer Colombia's partner projects had ever visited the park before, so Globalteer recently organized a day trip for them.  Twenty of the children excitedly gathered in the foundation with their backpacks filled with snacks, packed lunches, and bathing suits.  With only one of the foundation’s staff and Globalteer’s Volunteer Coordinator to chaperone the event, all of the older children were expected to help and take the hands of the youngest so they wouldn’t get lost in the walk to the metro station and the crowded metro system. There have been numerous excursions over the years with the children of the three projects that Globalteer works with in Medellín, and no one has ever been lost or misplaced.  

Upon arrival at the final metrocable station in Parque Arví, the group was met with gorgeous clear skies, bright sunshine, and a park guide, free of charge to all visitors.  The children couldn’t wait to dig into their snacks and before the tour began insisted on devouring their chips, cookies, and malt sodas.  

They needed the energy, as they were unknowingly about to begin a three-hour journey into the wilderness.  The chosen path took the group past a large national police outpost with expansive horse stables for the mounted police who patrol the park.  Soon the pavement ran out and became a dirt road, with numerous old and rustic country houses dotting either side of the path.  A bit further down the path, with the children already beginning to inquire about whether we’d reached our destination yet, the gravel and dirt changed into an old stone pathway, which the guide explained was made by the original indigenous inhabitants of the area, long before the arrival of Columbus. 

The group veered off the main road and into the forest on a narrow path.  The children who had been complaining of fatigue after walking on the main road for an hour all found renewed energy and began to run after each other on the path through the forest, a gigantic natural playground.  They ate lunch on some picnic benches deep within the forest, and then as it began to gently rain the group arrived at the charcos - what the children had been waiting for.  Soon the area and pathways around the streams and small waterfalls were clogged with soaking and shivering children.  While Medellín enjoys a springtime-like year-round temperature, Santa Elena lies at a higher elevation as it’s outside of the valley that Medellín inhabits, and for this reason can be a lot cooler than the city.  The freezing cold water that the children were happily swimming in didn’t deter them, and most spent more than an hour jumping into the shallow pools and sliding down the slippery rocks of the rapids.   

Most of the children at this project live in one of Medellín’s dirtiest inner-city districts, an area filled with car repair workshops, lumber shops, and not a trace of greenery.  Fortunately for the kids, it is easy to get out of this area and find themselves in a place like Parque Arví.   

While it would take more than an hour to escape from the concrete jungle of Bogotá, residents of Medellín have nature all around, and a 15-minute trip in any direction will take you outside the city and give you access to a never-ending natural playground of nearby hiking trails, waterfalls, creeks, lakes, charming small towns, and nature preserves.  It’s no wonder that people in Medellín are very connected to nature.  While they love their city, most never miss the opportunity to visit a small town, ride a horse in the hills, or spend the weekend at a finca, or country house.  The opportunities for day trips with Globalteer Volunteer Colombia children's projects are endless.  Now the kids from each project have made a trip to Parque Arví, and Globalteer staff and volunteers are often asked when they can go again. Will you join them on their next excursion?

An art attack!

Globalteer’s development manager, Annie Irving writes:

‘When I visited the vibrant city of Medellin early this year, one of the things I enjoyed most about the city was its public artworks.

‘The city centre, in particular, is full of amazing sculptures. My favourites are the 23 voluminous bronze figures by Colombia’s famous artist, Ferdinand Botero, which are displayed in their own plaza in the central city. A very large portion of the Museum of Antiochia, which fronts on to this plaza, is also devoted to Botero’s chubby works. There I discovered Botero’s paintings, which depict equally voluminous people, animals and still lifes. There’s even a chubby Jesus!

‘There are several more striking sculptures in the area around Medellin’s administrative centre. The 38-metre-tall Monument a la Raza is a monument to this region’s people and their struggles against diversity. The lower right part resembles a Greek temple pediment but the left side soars majestically skywards, so that, when photographed from a certain angle, its figures appear to reach out and touch the nearby skyscraper.

‘Though this monument is spectacular, I personally preferred the small bronze figures of local people, by Olga Inés Arango, in the adjoining square in front of the council building. The shoeshine man has an incredibly lifelike face, as has the old woman saleswoman, and the newspaper seller has been caught in mid-voice, shouting out the latest headlines.

‘Across from the administrative centre is the impressive Plaza Cisneros, with its artificial forest of around 300 light poles, some up to 24 metres tall, which is remarkable during the day but must be even more so when lit up at night. The concrete poles are interspersed with stands of tall bamboo, emphasising the idea of an urban forest.

‘I also discovered the Madre Monte, the mythical mother nature sculpted by José Horacio Betancur, in the city’s botanical gardens. And, after a quick google search, I know that Medellin has a multitude of amazing sculptures that I haven’t had time to see.

‘And then there’s the street art ... graffiti on the concrete walls bordering the motorways, images of human figures and huge flower murals adorning the sides of buildings, shops advertising what they sell by painting whole walls with images of their products.

‘Exploring Medellin was a totally unexpected visual feast of colour and artistic imagination! I just wish I had had the time to see more.’

If you volunteer with the Globalteer Volunteer Colombia Kids Project, you will be able to see and enjoy these amazing artworks for yourself. Check out our website now for the project details. Yet another reason to visit Medellin!

Fun at the water park!

A half-hour’s bus ride north of Medellín in the small municipality of Barbosa lies El Parque de Las Aguas, the metropolitan area’s only water park. At the suggestion of recent volunteer Alex, a daytrip was organised to the water park for the kids from one of Globalteer’s Volunteer Colombia Children’s projects in central Medellín.

This was the first time any kids from any of the projects Globalteer works with in Medellín had ever visited the water park or been transported so far outside the city but, fortunately, it proved logistically easy because of Medellín’s excellent public transport system. As this particular project is conveniently located next to one of the city’s metro stations, the twenty children and five adults from the project were easily able to travel to the metro’s northernmost station and then transfer to a local bus to Barbosa, all with a cheap integrated ticket. Though Barbosa sits at a slightly lower elevation than Medellín and therefore boasts a hotter climate, the weather on this particular Friday afternoon was typically gorgeous for this part of Colombia, perfect for a paseo (outing).

Sadly, Alex was not able to come along on this adventure as he had had to return to Canada unexpectedly early, but he was adamant that part of his donation be used to take the children to the water park. Though Alex missed out on the fun, new volunteer Carleen from London and ex-volunteer Michael from Denmark were more than happy to help chaperone the outing. 

Luckily, the water park wasn’t too crowded when the group arrived early on Friday afternoon. The two accompanying social workers unpacked the lunches they had brought along and the group sat enjoying a picnic under the shade of several shelters. The children could hardly wait to strip down to their bathing suits and were soon running excitedly hand-in-hand around the park.

While Michael accompanied the four youngest children in the kid’s pool area, the other chaperones were run ragged trying to keep up with all the other kids who had either jumped into the huge wave pool, were showing off to their peers on the steepest waterslides, or had taken refuge from the heat in an inner tube on the slow river that circles the park. At the end of the afternoon, it took quite an effort to track down all of the children, most of whom had scattered all over the park and, of course, began running as fast as possible away from their chaperones at closing time. 

The journey back to their project was fun too. As all the trains were empty when they got back to the metro station, the children each claimed a seat for themselves, surely more comfortable for the youngest (6 and 7) than sitting on the laps of their friends (or the Globalteer volunteer coordinator) as they had done in the bus. Before long, however, the train began to fill up, and bewildered passengers realised that nearly all the seats were taken up by young children, who stubbornly refused to give up their seats after such a tiring day at the park. 

As the train approached Estación San Antonio the chaperones realised that they would have to scramble to round up all the twenty children who had scattered throughout the train upon boarding, but were now lost in a labyrinth of passengers. Frantically weaving in and out of the confused crowd, the foreign volunteers rushed to gather the children who were having such a good time climbing on the seats and looking at the city pass by outside the window that they didn’t want to get off. Unable to do a headcount until everyone had gotten off, the chaperones were hugely relieved to discover that they hadn’t lost any of the children on the metro!

Standing breathlessly on the platform the three foreign chaperones were reminded that most things don’t happen smoothly or as planned in Colombia, and that, while things get done and eventually work out, it can require a lot of patience. Being flexible and having an open mind are great assets in Medellín. Expect the unexpected and be aware that every day will contain a new adventure or challenge. That’s partly why everyone loves the place so much!  

The children from two of the three projects that Globalteer collaborates with in Medellín still haven’t been to the water park, but that day isn’t far off. Will you be here to join them? See the details of how to volunteer with Globalteer on our website.

Medellín’s Annual Flower Festival

Every August the already bustling city of Medellín bursts with life and merriment during the annual Flower Festival, one of Colombia’s most famous events. The two-week party includes numerous cultural events, with free concerts, exhibitions and parades, all of which are designed to show off Colombia’s second city to the world. People from all over Colombia and, indeed, all over the world, descend on Medellín to partake in the festivities which include an antique car parade, an orchid and bird exhibition in the city’s botanical garden, and a six-hour horse parade with more than 10,000 participating (and in many cases, inebriated and/or scantily-clad) riders. 

Without a doubt, the largest and most famous event is the Silleteros Parade, in which dozens of campesinos, or farmers, from the neighbouring municipality of Santa Elena walk slowly down the mountain into Medellín, painstakingly carrying intricate flower arrangements on their backs. The parade is one of the proudest moments for the city, a spectacle that demonstrates the lingering memories the Paisas have of the agricultural beginnings of their city, and the strong connection they maintain to the surrounding countryside and to nature in general.

Motivated by the wonderfully festive atmosphere that pervailed in the city, and taking advantage of Colombia’s Independence Day falling on a Tuesday, the children and staff at one of GlobalteerVolunteer Colombia Children’s projects decided to throw a big party at their project. The pijamada, or pajama party, took place on the Monday night before the holiday, and was attended by around 20 children, staff and volunteers. 

The all-night event included numerous co-operative games in which the children had to work together in order to beat the opposing team. Ex-volunteer Alex used some of the skills he had learnt during his time in the Canadian Army to instruct the children on his team in the best ways to duck under or jump over an extended rope, or to successfully snatch away the other team’s flag. The kids stayed up all night, first enjoying a large meal of soda and Chinese rice, and then being entertained with ghost stories, karaoke, and scary movies. 

To further celebrate the Flower Festival the children at the Globalteer Volunteer Colombia Children’s project took a cue from the Silleteros Parade and spent the following week constructing their own silletas. Instead of flowers, they used coloured tissue paper, and made constructions specifically to represent the project at a large children’s parade in one of Medellín downtown parks. 

The parade, El Desfile Infantil, was attended by numerous children from various foundations from Medellín’s downtown area, each foundation arriving with their own unique silleta and with their children adorned in traditional costumes. The children from each foundation took turns walking behind their silletas, proudly showing off their finished products to onlookers.