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Posts Tagged ‘20000 pesos’

Day 172 – Sandra T.

Posted in Something for others, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2010| 8 Comments »

Versión en español sigue abajo.

Good morning and welcome to the Worldwide Day of Giving!!!

Today is a day that you can do what I have been doing for 182 days (I am behind on posting my blogs).  It’s so simple…find someone you don’t know, tell them you are participating in the Worldwide Day of Giving and give them $10, or whatever you can afford, no strings attached and find out what they will do with the $10.  Hopefully you can learn a little bit about them as well.  I always get their contact information and then try to stay in touch.  Have fun with it!  Then I hope you will share your stories here…if you take pictures or video, you can post your stories on the Facebook Page.

I have a couple of media interviews today.  This morning I am heading over to News Channel 8’s Let’s Talk Live for an interview with Natasha Barrett and Melanie Hastings.  Then around 2:30 I will be on CNN with Ali Velshi.  Finally this evening, I will be celebrating here in DC at Café Dupont (The Dupont Hotel) from 6-8pm.  If you are around, please join us!

Interviewing Sandra in her classroom (Photo: Roberto Gonzalo Ceballos)

On day 172 I found myself at the Instituto Tecnico Marco Fidel Suarez (ITMFS), a grade school in Manizales.  The kids here are similar to the those at the San Agustin school.  They come from very simple backgrounds.  Poverty is rampant and sometimes the brightest part of their day is the time they spend at school.  “Sometimes the meal they get here might be the only meal they get all day,” says Sandra, and English teacher at the school.

The bilingual chorus that I was working with at this school was made up of Sandra’s students.  After we were done rehearsing with the students, Sandra stayed to talk to me some and I found my recipient for my 20,000 pesos.  

Photo: Reed

An educator for the past 13 years, Sandra never imagined she would be teaching at a school like ITMFS.  “I was teaching at the University.” And before that she had some pretty impressive jobs translating and interpreting for the Ambassador from India.  “I don’t know how it happened but somehow I ended up teaching here and I am so happy to be here.” 

Colombia divides it’s neighborhoods into socio-economic categories called strata.  The wealthiest is six and the poorest is zero.  This school has children from the zero and one strata.  To me the concept was unfamiliar to identify people so readily by a stratum based upon where they lived, but here it was quite common.  In fact, many of the students that I met would ask me which stratum I belonged to.  A question that I didn’t know how to answer but comparatively speaking, it was surely much higher.

Sandra is passionate about teaching.  She speaks English all the time and expects her students to try their hardest.  Most of the students were lucky to know a few words in English.  The hope is that by learning the songs that we teach them that they will make a connection and learn more quickly.  There was one girl who was quite advanced in the chorus.  She had an amazing natural ability I think for languages.  Sounding almost like a proud mother she nodded her head and said, “Yes, she is quite good isn’t she.”

I learned that English is not the only thing that Sandra is passionate about.  Now the proud mother really came out and she flipped through her phone for a second and handed it to me.  “I have the most special baby boy: Juan Felipe.” He is three and looked so happy in the photos she shared.  

I shot a little video of the class singing as well as Sandra explaining what she was going to do with the $10 and why.  This one is in English.  Enjoy.

Versión en español

En el día 172 estuve en el Instituto Técnico Marco Fidel Suárez (ITMFS), una escuela del sector público en Manizales. Los niños de acá son parecidos a los del Colegio San Agustín. Tienen un historial muy simple en donde la pobreza es excesiva y algunas veces, la mejor parte del día es el tiempo que están en la escuela. “Algunas veces la única comida que tienen es la que comen aquí” dice Sandra, la docente de inglés.

El coro bilingüe lo integran los alumnos que asisten a clase con Sandra. Después de haber terminado el ensayo con los estudiantes, me quedo con Sandra para hablar un poco y encuentro a quien darle mis 20,000 pesos.

Sandra, siendo docente durante 13 años, nunca imaginó que estaría enseñando en una escuela como el ITMFS. “Fui docente  a nivel universitario” y antes había trabajado como traductora e intérprete para el Embajador de la India. “No sé cómo sucedió pero de un momento a otro terminé enseñando aquí y estoy feliz de hacerlo.”

Students at ITMFS (Photo: Reed)

En Colombia los barrios se clasifican en categorías socio-económicas llamadas estratos. El estrato más rico es el seis y el más pobre es el cero. Los estudiantes de esta escuela provienen de estratos cero y uno. Para mí el concepto no era familiar, es decir, identificar a las personas rápidamente sólo con base en el lugar donde viven; pero aquí en Colombia es algo demasiado común. De hecho, muchos de los estudiantes que conocí, me preguntaron a qué estrato pertenecía. Una pregunta que no supe cómo responder, pero comparativamente hablando, de seguro mucho más alto.

Sandra es apasionada con respecto a su trabajo, habla en inglés todo el tiempo y espera que sus estudiantes hagan su mayor esfuerzo. Muchos de los estudiantes son afortunados al conocer algunas palabras en inglés. Se espera que aprendiendo las canciones que les enseñamos, los estudiantes hagan una conexión y aprendan más rápidamente. Había una estudiante en el ensayo del coro, quien estaba muy avanzada con respecto a los otros; creo que tiene una extraordinaria habilidad innata para los idiomas. Con el tono de voz de una madre orgullosa Sandra mueve su cabeza y dice: “Sí, es muy buena para el inglés”.

Aprendí que no sólo el inglés es lo que apasiona a Sandra. Aparece una madre orgullosa quien saca su teléfono celular, busca por un momento y me muestra una foto: ¨Tengo el bebé más especial: Juan Felipe.” Tiene tres años y se ve muy feliz en las fotos.

Grabé un corto video (encima)  en donde aparece el ensayo del coro y Sandra explicando qué va a hacer con los $10 y por qué. Está en inglés. Disfrútenlo.

Este blog fue traducido generosamente por Sandra Toro en Manizales, Colombia.

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Day 171 – Myriam G.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2010| 5 Comments »

Versión en español sigue abajo.

Tomorrow is the big day.  Have you been thinking about who you might give your $10 to?  Don’t over think it.  Follow your heart.  Tell them what you are doing.  Explain to them quickly what the Year of Giving is about.  If you are at a loss on how to start the conversation, maybe this example that I sent to some friends will help. 

Hi…I was wondering if you could help me on a personal project that I am doing…well, let me explain to you what the project is and you can decide for yourself. I am participating in the Worldwide Day of Giving, a day that celebrates altruistic giving and community engagement. The project is simple….I find one person who I don’t know and give them $10, no strings attached. I would love for you to be the recipient of my $10.” 

If they say yes, you can ask other questions and learn more about them….etc. If they are still unsure, explain that if they say no, then you will simply have to find someone else. If they say they are not worthy of the $10, tell them they do not have to keep it and that they can do anything they want to with it. If they say that they prefer that you give it to someone who needs it, remind them that they can also do that. Sometimes you get a few objections….but hang in there and you will find the right person. 

Then submit your stories here! 

Changing subject a little, I didn’t get any takers to meet up and use my $100 game card at the ESPN Zone.  They were not very flexible in letting me use the credit for anything else (like food at their restaurant, etc) so I gave my card to some school kids there on a class trip.  They were ecstatic. 

I wish I had captured Doña Myriam smiling in this picture, but she had her serious artist look going on (Photo: Reed)

 

Today I have a beautiful story to share with you.  While I was in Manizales, I spent a good amount of time at the Rafael Pombo Foundation.  One day there was an adult art class taking place.  I was taking some photos of them painting when the work of 85-year-old Doña Myriam caught my eye.  We started to talk and I knew I had found my recipient for the day! 

Doña Myriam gave me so much energy.  She has so much passion to learn new things and live an active life.  She has taken up painting and if you take a look at the video, you will see that she is quite talented.  

She raised 10 children.  Sadly her one son, an electrician, has passed away.  I think back to the recent death of my cousin Ricky and how hard it was on my aunt.  My heart always goes out to parents who lose a child.  There is just nothing that prepares us for that.  She also lost her husband who died in 1976.  

Our conversation turned to happier times, like her childhood.  She shares that at 12-years-old she wanted to join the communist party.  By 15 she had changed her mind.  But this interest in politics and government led her to want to pursue a career in law.  “But times were different then.  My father forbid me to go study at the university.”  Well, she is making up for lost time now as she follows her passions. 

Photo: Reed

 

I asked her how she planned to use her 20,000 pesos.  There was an electricity in her voice when she answered me.  She smiled and placed her hand on top of mine and said, “I am going to buy some more painting supplies so that I can do more painting!”  She has been making paintings for each of her children.  Maybe with the additional funds she can start making paintings for all those grandchildren! 

This woman had something special.  She warmed my heart and I was sad when I left.  It was like I was saying goodbye to my own grandmother.  I gave her a hug and we exchanged phone numbers.  I have uploaded some of the video from our conversation.  It is in Spanish, but even those of you who don’t understand Spanish might enjoy seeing her paint and just watching her expressions.  She’s beautiful.

VERSIÓN ESPAÑOL

Mañana es el gran día.   ¿Has pensado a quien te gustaría darle tus $10?  No lo pienses tanto, sigue tu corazón.  Mi consejo es que les cuentes lo que estás haciendo, explícales rápidamente que significa el “Año del Dar”.  Si no sabes cómo iniciar la conversación, quizá este ejemplo te sirva. 

“Hola.. quería saber si me puedes ayudar en un proyecto personal.  Déjame te explico mi proyecto para que decidas si me quieres ayudar.  Estoy participando en el día mundial del Año del Dar, un día que celebra el dar sin condiciones y el compromiso de la comunidad.  El proyecto es muy simple… yo encuentro a una persona que no conozco y le doy $10 sin ninguna condición. Me encantaría que tú seas la persona que recibe mis $10 el día de hoy. 

Si la persona te dice que sí, ahora puedes hacer más preguntas y aprender más sobre él/ella.  Si no está seguro, explícale que si dice que no, simplemente tendrás que ir a buscar a otra persona.  Si dice que no vale los $10, dile que no se los tiene que quedar, que puede hacer lo que quiera con el dinero.  Si dice que prefiere que tú se lo des a otra persona que lo necesite, recuérdale que él también puede hacerlo.  Algunas veces recibes algunos rechazos… pero sigue intentando para que encuentres a la persona correcta. 

Después, comparte con nosotros tus historias aquí! 

Cambiando de tema, no pude encontrar a nadie para reunirnos y usar mi tarjeta con $100 para jugar en la Zona de ESPN.  La gente de ESPN no fue muy flexible y no pude usar el dinero como crédito para otro gasto (como comida en el restaurante, etc).  Acabé dando la tarjeta a unos niños que estaban de paseo con su clase de la escuela.  Los niños quedaron encantados. 

La profesora de la clase de arte (Photo: Reed)

Hoy tengo una historia muy linda para compartir.  Ahora que estuve de visita en Manizales, pase un buen tiempo con la Fundación Rafael Pombo.  En una de mis visitas, tuve la oportunidad de entrar a tomar fotos en la clase de arte para adultos.  Estaba tomando fotos de los alumnos y de sus pinturas cuando de repente encontré el trabajo de Doña Myriam, una señora de 85 años.  Comenzamos a platicar y supe que había encontrado a la persona que le daría los 20,000 pesos de ese día.  

Doña Myriam me dio mucha energía.  Ella tiene muchas ganas – y mucha pasión – de aprender cosas nuevas y vivir una vida activa.  Ahora está tomando clases de pintura y si ves el video, veras que tiene talento.  

Doña Myriam crió diez niños.  Desafortunadamente, un hijo hombre, un electricista, murió.  Esto me hizo pensar en la muerte reciente de mi primo Ricky y lo difícil que fue para mi tía.  Mi compasión siempre va para los padres que han perdido un hijo.  No existe nada que lo prepare a uno para eso.  Doña Myriam también perdió a su esposo que murió en 1976. 

Nuestra conversación cambio y comenzamos a hablar de los buenos tiempos, como su niñez.  Me comentó que a los 12 años, quiso unirse al partido comunista.  A los 15 ya había cambiado de parecer, pero siguió teniendo mucho interés en temas políticos y de gobierno por lo que decidió estudiar la carrera de derecho. “Pero los tiempos eran diferentes, mi padre me prohibió ir a la universidad.”  Ahora trata de recuperar el tiempo perdido y de seguir sus pasiones. 

Photo: Reed

Le pregunté cómo planeaba utilizar sus 20,000 pesos.  Hubo electricidad en su voz cuando me contestó.  Sonrió y  puso su mano sobre la mía y me dijo, “Voy a comprar más provisiones de pintura para poder pintar más!”  Ella ha estado pintando cuadros para cada uno de sus hijos.  Quizá, con las nuevas provisiones de pintura, Doña Myriam podrá comenzar a hacer pinturas para cada uno de sus nietos! 

Esta mujer tiene algo especial.  Me sentí  triste cuando me fui.  Fue como si le dijera adiós a mi propia abuela.  Le di un abrazo e intercambiamos números de teléfono.  Subí un video en español de nuestra conversación.  Es muy linda. 

Este blog fue traducido generosamente por Carla Tena en Washington, DC.

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Day 170 – Juan L.

Posted in Investment, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2010| 3 Comments »

It looks like there is a glitch with the website today.  Instead of my usually banner of the open hand that is at the top, I have a nice picture of a foot bridge and some trees.  Not sure why that is happening.  Is anyone else seeing the footbridge picture instead of my normal banner? 

For those of you who will be participating in the Worldwide Day of Giving and sharing your stories with the world, you need to post them here.  If you have photos and video to share, you will need to do one of two things.  Either upload those on the Facebook page or write the stories here and put links to the photos/videos on a 3rd party website (such as YouTube or Flickr).  Sorry to do it this way, but there are some technical challenges that prevent uploading the pictures and videos straight into this website. 

I am so excited to hear about your giving experiences!  If you have some questions, check out the comments here that should help answer any questions you might have. 

So this morning I have an interview with DeLuca and the morning team at Q92, a Canton, OH based radio station.  I have spoken to them before and had a good time with those guys.   Later in the day I am talking with Tim Day of KG Country 99.5, a radio station in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.  I spoke with Tim about a month or so ago and he wanted to check in and see how things were going.  

Then I was thinking about going over to the ESPN Zone tonight.  I heard that they are closing tomorrow for good!  I have some game cards with like $100.  Although there is no mention of them closing on their website, I did hear it on two different news programs.  Anyway, I don’t think they are going to refund me the balance on the cards, so they need to get used.  If anyone wants to meet up tonight and help me use the rest of the credits on my card, let me know! 

Today’s entry is a very special one.  While I was in Manizales, I met with the Secretary of Education for Manizales, Dr. María Constanza Montoya Naranjo.  She is a wonderful woman who is working hard to deliver the best education possible for the students in Manizales.  One day we were talking about the Year of Giving and she suggested I give my $10 to the Mayor, Juan Manuel Llano Uribe.  I had seen him on Friday at the event with US Ambassador William Brownfield.  Anyway, she said she would give him a call and try to arrange something.  Well what do you know?  She arranged a meeting the next day! 

Mayor Juan Manuel Llano Uribe

 

I get invited into a large conference room to wait for the Mayor.  Already seated are four students and two teachers from a local school that had recently returned from a science fair in Dallas, TX.  These students had built some robots that are prototypes for larger scale versions that would be used to help in the coffee production process and they were there to demonstrate their ingenuity to the Mayor.   

Well, how the hell am I going to follow that act? 

Anyway, the school children leave and I get a few minutes with the Mayor.  He invites me to walk over to an adjacent room which turns out to be his office.  It’s spacious with very nice views of Manizales.  There are a couple of comfortable chairs arranged around a coffee table on one end.  He disappears for a moment and then returns.  We chat for a little while and I try to do my best to explain the Year of Giving.  I am not sure what he thought of it, but he agreed to talk with me. 

He spoke about the growth and globalization of Manizales and the expected increase of tourism to the city.  “What should a tourist be sure to see or do while they are here?” I asked.  He said that one should definitely try to see the eight different shades of green that Manizales has.  He was referring to the vast natural beauty and the stunning variety of greenery that exists there.  I was certainly doing that by staying on Roberto Gonzalo’s plantation.  He also mentioned that I should visit Nevado del Ruiz, a snow-covered volcanic peak that has been active in recent history.  The current cone was formed about 150 years ago.  Atop the mountain is a massive glacier.  The Mayor says that this is the only peak of its kind that is accessible by car.  That is impressive, not to mention that it’s at 5,135 meters, that’s more than 16,000 feet!  Well, I didn’t make it there unfortunately, but next time! 

He stressed his commitment to making Manizales a bilingual community and that they were strongly behind the educational transformation that is needed to make this shift.  There are two critical investment areas for this to be a success according to the Mayor: technology and human capital.  “It’s sowing the seeds for the future,” he said.   Here the Mayor speaks about his vision for Manizales (in Spanish). 

When the Mayor is not hard at work on the future of Manizales, he says that he enjoys playing golf and riding motorcycles.  I wonder if he has taken his bike up to Nevado del Ruiz.  That would be pretty spectacular! 

So what do you think the Mayor is going to do with the $10…or 20,000 pesos in this case?  That was what was on my mind throughout the entire conversation.  I circled back to the 20,000 peso note that sat in front of him and asked what he planned to do with it.  I got an answer that I have never heard before.  “I’m going to take your 20,000 pesos and give you 100,000 a year from now.”  I am not sure exactly how he plans to do this and I didn’t ask.  I just let it be.  

Mr. Mayor…I look forward to seeing you next June!

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Day 168 – Jorge M.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

Version en Español sigue abajo

We are three days away from the Worldwide Day of Giving!  Check here for more details.

 Also for those of you in DC, many of us are getting together on Tuesday at The Dupont Hotel.  There will be former recipients of the Year of Giving, blog followers, and a special appearance from my Dad!  Come out and join us from 6-8pm…the hotel will have some free appetizers and reduced drink menu for Year of Giving followers!  Also, I will be organizing some grass-roots relief for those out of work in the Gulf region due to the oil spill.

On Day 168 I didn’t have any meetings scheduled in the morning so I decided to find an internet café in Manizales where I could get caught up on my blog.  I found a place in the heart of the city and logged a few hours of work there.  It was really cheap too!  About 65 cents per hour.  And the connection speed was fast!

After I finished, I wandered down to the small plaza and fountain in front of city hall.  It was there that I saw Jorge just sitting in the center of the plaza.

An out of work telecom technician by trade, Jorge is actively looking for work.  Something I could identify with.  The feelings one has and the challenges one faces while being unemployed are not so different in another culture.  Being out of work triggers similar emotions and responses regardless of the language that is spoken or the geography of the locale.

Realistically Jorge doesn’t even have that much of an option to consider moving from Manizales to other areas in search of work such as Medellín, Cali, or Bogotá.  He was born and raised in Manizales…in the Barrio Caribe area.  He is separated now, but has a 14-year-old daughter.  So this makes his situation a bit more complicated.

I asked Jorge what he would ideally like to do professionally.  “Unfortunately due to the complexity of the current economic situation you got to do what comes your way” he laments.  I thought I would see what Jorge’s political views were given the correlation to the economy.  “It’s too bad Uribe had to go…I think things here have been pretty good,” he says about Colombia’s current president who managed to change the law in order to serve two terms but was not successful in further change so that he could continue in power. 

Despite his general content with Uribe’s time in office, he chose yesterday to vote for a candidate from a different party.  He gave Antanas Mockus from the newly formed Green Party his vote.  “Juan Manuel is too aggressive militarily and he never asked for forgiveness,” he said about current President Uribe’s Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, who leads the poles and is a member of the current administration’s U Party.  His comment about never asking for forgiveness most likely refers to the “False Positives” scandal where the Colombian military, under Juan Manuel Santos, has admitted to murdering civilians and dressing them up in guerrilla or paramilitary garb so that they could claim to have caught and executed members of these radical cells.

I shifted the conversation away from politics and toward what he planned on doing with the 20,000 pesos.  “I’m going to buy some resume paper,” he told me.  

I was able to shoot a short video with Jorge where he talks about two dreams that he has: be an ecological volunteer and skydive.   This video is in Spanish.

VERSIÓN ESPAÑOL

Estamos solo a tres días del Día Mundial de Dar! (Revise aquí para mas detalles)

Además para aquellos de ustedes en DC, muchos de nosotros nos reuniremos el martes en Hotel Dupont.  Ahí estarán algunos recipientes del Año de Dar, seguidores de blogs y una presencia especial de mi padre!  Vengan a unirse a nosotros de 6 a 8 PM… el hotel tendrá algunas picaderas gratis y un menú de bebidas reducidas para los seguidores del Año de Dar!  Además , estaré organizando alivio de raíces para aquellos que se quedaron sin empleo en la región del golfo debido al derrame del aceite.

En el día de dar numero 168, no tenía reuniones pendientes en la mañana, entonces decidí buscar un Internet-café en Manizales en donde podría ponerme al día con mi blog. Encontré un lugar en el corazón  de la ciudad y allí me conecte por un par de horas de trabajo.  Además fue bastante barato!, acerca de 65 centavos por hora y la conexión era muy veloz!

Después que terminé, vine a parar en una pequeña plaza y una fuente en el frente de la Alcaldía. Fue allí en donde vi a Jorge, sentado en el centro de la plaza.

Un técnico de telecom fuera de empleo, Jorge esta activamente buscando empleo, algo con lo que yo me podría identificar.  Los sentimientos que uno tiene y los desafíos que uno enfrenta mientras se esta sin empleo no son tan diferentes en otras culturas. Permanecer sin empleo desata emociones  y respuestas similares  a pesar del lenguaje que se hable o la geografía del local.

Manizales (Photo: Reed)

Realísticamente Jorge ni si quiera tiene mucha opción para considerar mudarse de Manizales a otra áreas en busca de un empleo, tales como Medellín, Cali o Bogota. El nació y creció en Manizales…en el área del Barrio del Caribe. El se encuentra separado, pero tiene una hija de 14 años y esto hace que la situación sea un poco más complicada.

Le pregunte a Jorge que es lo que idealmente le gustaría hacer profesionalmente. “Desafortunadamente, debido  a la complejidad de la actual situación económica, uno tiene que hacer lo que venga” se lamenta. Yo pensé en ver lo que Jorge opina políticamente debido a la correlación de la economía. “Esta muy mal que Uribe se tuvo que ir..pienso que las cosas  estan mucho mejor,” el dijo sobre el Presidente actual de Colombia que se las ingenio para cambiar la ley para así poder servir dos términos pero no obtuvo el éxito en dichos cambios para poder permanecer en el poder.

A pesar de su contentamiento general con el tiempo de Uribe en el mandato, él decidió ayer votar por un candidato de otro partido. Le dió su voto a Antanas Mockus del recientemente formado partido “Verde.”  “Juan Manuel es muy agresivo militarmente y nunca pidió perdón” dijo él acerca del Ministro actual de defensa del Presidente Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos, quien lleva la ventaja en los polos y quien es miembro de la administración actual del partido U.  Sus comentarios acerca de no haber pedido perdón seguramente se debe al escándalo de los “Falsos Positivos” donde se encontraba la militaría de Colombia bajo  Juan Manuel Santos asesinando civiles y de haberlos vestido con atuendos de guerrilla o atuendos de paramilitares para luego poder reclamar haber capturado y ejecutado miembros de células radicales.

Cambié la conversación fuera de la política y hacia lo que el planificaba hacer con los 20.000 pesos que le di, me dijo  “Me voy a comprar hojas de vida (papel de currícula).”  Tuve la oportunidad de hacer un corto video donde Jorge habla acerca de sus dos sueños, ser un voluntario ecológico y paracaidismo. El video que se encuentra arriba, esta en Español.

Esta traducción fue hecha gratuitamente por Jeannette Pérez.

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Day 167 – Giliante V.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2010| 5 Comments »

Versión español sigue abajo.

For those of you who have not seen the video I posted yesterday about my life on the plantation in Colombia, check it out.  Although totally different than my life here in DC, life there on the plantation was excellent.

 Are you ready for the Worldwide Day of Giving?  It’s this Tuesday.  It’s your chance to do what I do for one day and then share your story with the world.  I want to collect as many experiences from around the world about giving that day and share them here…let’s make something beautiful happen.  I need your help though to get as many people involved as possible.

For those of you in DC, I am looking forward to actually meeting up on Tuesday evening with those who are interested.  I am currently working out the final details with a local venue (Dupont Circle) and hope to host the event there.  In addition to celebrating the Year of Giving and the Worldwide Day of Giving, we will do something to help those who are out of work in the Gulf region due to the oil spill.  I hope you can join me!

Sunday the 30th was election day in Colombia.  I was excited to see how the election process took place in another country.  Roberto Gonzalo’s sister was working at a polling place.  He was voting at another place.  It was pretty much like it is here.  Voting levels are about the same as here I think, somewhere around 50% of the population voted.  As I mentioned yesterday, the election resulted in two candidates going to a run-off election on June 20th.  It’s widely believed that the Juan Manuel Santos will prevail.

While I waited for Roberto Gonzalo to vote, I met Giliante.  Giliante works for the El Gran Cafeteiro company and sells coffee on the street.  Dressed in somewhat of a space suit, he walks the street with a metallic canister on his back filled with piping hot coffee.  He then has a hand control that he dispenses coffee out of for about 25 cents per cup (he makes about six cents per cup).  Check out Giliante in action preparing a coffee for me.

The 34-year-old Manizales native has been doing this for nine months.  It beats the construction jobs he was doing before.  He enjoys the fact that he meets a lot of different people every day.

I asked him what he would do with my 20,000 pesos and he said he would use it to buy some medicine he needed: flouxetina (prozac) and acido valproico (valproic acid).  I had never heard of flouxetina and acido valproico so I asked what they were for.  The educated and well spoken mobile coffee barista looked at me and said, “They are medicines to help me not get depressed, because when I get depressed I have a problem with cutting myself…with self mutilation.”  It was then that I started to notice small scars on his hands and on the right side of his neck.  He must have noticed me staring at them and said, “I have hundreds more…most of them on my arms and stomach.”  He lifted his shirt up and I was stunned.  His chest and stomach were completely covered with crisscrossed lines.  It was impossible to look away from the center of his chest where a fresh-cut was present and maybe a half-dozen stitches protruded through the skin.

Giliante (Photo: Reed)

Giliante was so calm and mild-mannered, I could not envision him doing this to himself.  He said that when he does not take his medicine, he gets depressed and feels the need to cut himself.  The latest cut happened about a week ago he told me.

I asked to take a picture of his chest, but he got very shy and said he would prefer not to.  I respected that and we said goodbye. 

Roberto Gonzalo then asked me what his answer was to my question about what other people might be able to help him with.  I had not asked him that question though.  I scanned the crowd, but he had dissolved into the sea of anxious voters.

As we walked back toward our car, I hoped we would see Giliante again so that I could ask him how people could help him.  Would you believe that about a half hour later we saw him five blocks from where I originally saw him.  I got his attention and asked my question.  He didn’t hesitate, “I would like to find a surgeon who would remove some of my scars for me.  They are painful reminders.”  I vowed to try to find a surgeon who would help him with that and also offered to try to get the medicine that he needs.  He was so thankful.  If anyone can help Giliante or has suggestions on ways to help him, please let me know. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about him for days.

Gilante talks about his job and the elections…

Spanish Version

Para aquellos de ustedes que no han visto el video que publique ayer acerca de mi vida en las fincas en Colombia, échenle un vistazo. Aunque totalmente diferente a mi vida en DC, la vida allí en la finca fue excelente.

 ¿Estás listo para  el Día Mundial del dar? Es este martes. Es tu oportunidad de hacer lo que yo hago por un día y luego compartir su historia con el resto del mundo. Quiero reunir la mayor cantidad de experiencias de todo el mundo de tratar de dar en ese día y compartirlas  aquí… hagamos que algo hermoso suceda. Necesito su ayuda para conseguir el mayor número de personas que participan como sea posible.

Para aquellos de ustedes en Washington DC, estoy deseando una reunión en la noche del martes con los que están interesados. Actualmente estoy trabajando en los detalles finales con una sede local (Dupont Circle) y espero poder realizar el evento allí. Además de celebrar el Año de Dar y el Día Mundial del dar, vamos a hacer algo para ayudar a quienes están sin trabajo en la región del Golfo debido al derrame de petróleo. Espero que pueda unirse a mí!

El Domingo 30 fue el día de elección  en Colombia. Me emocioné al ver cómo el proceso electoral se llevó a cabo en otro país. La hermana de Roberto Gonzalo estaba trabajando en un centro de  votación. Él estaba votando en otro lugar. Fue más o menos como aquí. Los niveles de votación son casi lo mismo que aquí, creo que alrededor del 50% de la población votó. Como dije ayer, la elección dio lugar a dos candidatos a una segunda vuelta el 20 de Junio. En general se creía que Juan Manuel Santos seria el determinante.

Mientras esperaba que  Roberto Gonzalo votara, me encontré con Giliante. Giliante trabaja para la compañía El Gran Cafeteiro y vende café en la calle. Vestido el algo como un traje espacial, camina por la calle con un bote metálico en la espalda llena de café humeante. Luego el tiene un control de mano que le dispensa el café por unos 25 centavos por taza.

El nativo de Manizales de 34 años de edad, ha estado haciendo esto durante nueve meses. De acuerdo a el es mejor que los trabajos de construcción que estaba haciendo antes. Le gusta el hecho de que se encuentra con un montón de gente diferente cada día.

Le pregunté qué iba a hacer con mi 20.000 pesos y me dijo que lo utilizaría para comprar unas medicinas que necesitaba: flouxetina (Prozac) y ácido valproico (ácido valproico). Yo nunca había oído hablar de acido valproico y flouxetina así que le pregunté qué eran. El educado y bien hablado barrista móvil de café me miró y dijo: “Son medicamentos que me ayudan a que no me deprima, porque cuando me deprimo tengo un problema con cortarme mí mismo… con la automutilación.” Fue entonces que empecé a notar pequeñas cicatrices en las manos y en el lado derecho del cuello. Él debió de haber notado mi mirada fija en ellos y dijo: “Tengo muchas más… la mayoría de ellos en mis brazos y el estomago.” Él se levantó la camiseta y me quedé atónito. Su pecho y estómago estaban cubiertos completamente con líneas cruzadas. Era imposible apartar la vista del centro de su pecho, donde un nuevo corte estaba presente y tal vez una media docena de puntos sobresalían a través de la piel.

Giliante estaba tan tranquilo y apacible, no podía imaginar que él hacia esto a sí mismo. Dijo que cuando él no toma su medicina, se deprime y siente la necesidad de cortarse. El último corte sucedió hace aproximadamente una semana, me dijo.

Le pedí que me dejara tomar una foto de su pecho, pero él se puso muy tímido y me dijo que preferiría que no. Yo respete eso y nos despedimos.

Roberto Gonzalo  me preguntó cual fue su respuesta a mi pregunta sobre lo que otra gente puede ser de ayudarlo a él. No le había hecho esa pregunta. Lo busque entre la multitud, pero él se había disuelto entre la aglomeración de votantes ansiosos.

Mientras caminábamos hacia el coche, yo esperaba ver a  Giliante de nuevo para que yo pudiera preguntarle cómo la gente podía ayudarle. ¿Creerían ustedes que alrededor de una media hora más tarde lo vimos cinco cuadras de donde originalmente lo vi. Llame su atención y le pregunté  mi pregunta. El no dudó: “Me gustaría encontrar un cirujano que eliminara algunas de las cicatrices en mi cuerpo. Ellos son un recordatorio doloroso. “Juré tratar de encontrar un cirujano que le ayudara con eso y también ofrecí tratar de obtener el medicamento que necesita. Estaba bastante agradecido. Si alguien puede ayudar a Giliante o tiene sugerencias sobre los medios para ayudarlo, por favor hágamelo saber. No podía dejar de pensar en él durante días.

Encima hay dos videos de Giliante grabado en español.

Este blog fue traducido generosamente por Nancy Alvarez en  Los Angeles.

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Day 166 – Rubiela B.

Posted in Rent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2010| 3 Comments »

Version en espanol va ser publicado al final de jueves.

On Friday Roberto and I decided to have a few beers at a local convenience store that has a TV, two billiard tables, and a few tables where locals can sit and relax.

After our second beer some neighborhood kids asked if we wanted to play some street soccer.  We agreed.

Not only am I terrible at soccer, I was completely out of breath running back and forth on the gravel road that was our “field.”  We are at about 7,000 feet which is about 6,990 feet higher than Washington, DC.  That on top of the 24 ounces of beer sloshing around my stomach had me completely incapacitated.  Thankfully Roberto played well and scored two or three goals for us while I rambled around wheezing.

The next morning was Saturday and Roberto took me down the mountain to show me his plantation.  He grows coffee, bananas, guavas, etc. and has pigs, chickens, turtles, dogs…you name it.   Here is a short video in English about life on the plantation.

Later that day he took me to his mother’s house where the entire family met for a long lunch filled with conversation about the following day’s presidential election.  Most people in the household were supporting Antanas Mockus, however he ended up coming in second place with less than half of the votes of Juan Manual Santos.  Nevertheless, there will be a run-off election between the two candidates on June 20th.

We spent a few hours relaxing at their house after completely gorging ourselves with homemade soup, rice, beans, chicken, fried plantains and crunchy coconut clusters for dessert.

That evening we stopped at a small food stand in front of a residential building in the Francia neighborhood where Rubiela stood stoking the charcoal fire.  There was only one thing on the menu: arepas.

Grilled arepas (photo: Reed)

Arepa is a flat bread made of corn that is very popular in Colombia, Venezuela, and even parts of Panama and Spain’s Canary Islands.  Picture a pancake-like bread…or maybe a really thick corn tortilla. 

Rubiela takes ground corn and mixes it with water, salt, and butter to make the dough.  She then takes the dough, cooks it on the grill, and serves it with a thick tomato and onion stew (guiso) or cheese or both.  Every day she makes at least 3 kilos of arepas which yields about 66 pieces of bread.

I found that there are several varieties of arepas and that they are consumed just about any time of day. 

Rubiela and her son Cristian (photo: Reed)

Rubiela, a single mom, has been firing up the grill in front of her home for seven years.  This is the way she provides for her and her 12-year-old son Victor Manuel.  “There was nothing else to do so I started selling arepas,” she tells me referencing the economic struggles in Manizales.  She says that it is even hard to find a job as a maid, much less an office related job with benefits.  Ideally she would like to work in an office environment where she could help with receiving guests, serving coffee, and other small tasks.  

Her laugh is contagious and fills the air with joy.  I try not to let it completely hide the fact that I know that she dreams for something different.  She is thankful though for her and her son’s health.  “There are good days and bad days, but we never go hungry,” she tells me.  

Roberto and I left to run some errands and agreed to come back later that evening.  When we returned hours later, the sun had set, her son had retired into their home, but Rubiela was still tending the fire and cooking arepas.  Her hearty laughter had subsided and she was noticeably tired.

We both got two arepas.  I got mine topped with the tomato and onion guiso.  Roberto got his with guiso and cheese.  Each arepa with guiso was $0.40.  If you wanted cheese on top, add another $0.60.  Pretty cheap.  They were delicious.  We ate, laughed, and talked politics…hard to avoid with the election the following day.  She was voting for Juan Manuel Santos, the candidate from the incumbent U Party.  

Rubiela said she was going to hold on to my money and put it toward the rent that is due on June 4th.

Here is a short video of my time with Rubiela, part of it is in English part in Spanish.

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Day 163 – Cielo R.

Posted in Unknown, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

Versión en español sigue abajo.

Last Wednesday I made the journey from Washington, DC to Manizales, Colombia.  I didn’t sleep the night before.  I had a lot to do to get ready for my trip and I had to leave for the airport at 3:45am, so it wasn’t really worth going to sleep.  Besides, I would have all day to sleep on the plane right?

On the leg from Washington to Panama I got a window seat and the two seats next to me were empty.  It was odd, since the flight was fairly full.

I arrived in Panama and had a few hours until my connection to Pereira, Colombia.  I have been through Panama before, so the airport was familiar to me and I walked around browsing some of the shops.  I picked up a few last-minute gifts to give to people along the way.

Cielo (Photo: Reed)

I boarded the plane around 11:30am.  Much to my surprise, my seat was in business class!  That was nice.  I was hoping to give my $10 to someone on the plane, but there was nobody seated next to me.  There was a woman in front of me whose cellular phone must have rung or made noises a dozen times before take-off and there was a woman sitting quietly across the aisle from me.  I thought I would ask her to participate, although I have to tell you that I was nervous about it.  I don’t know why, but giving my $10 away on the plane seemed very awkward!  On the positive side, the people can not go anywhere so I have a captured subject for the length of the flight.  On the flip side, if things go bad or if it is awkward I will be a captured subject and be forced to endure the awkwardness for the remainder of the flight.

The cabin was completely silent after take-off.  I waited until the seatbelt sign was removed and people started to move around the cabin.  Right as I was going to ask her they served us food.  I took the opportunity to tell her that I was doing a project and hoped that she would consider participating after she finished her meal.

Our trays were cleared and I invited Cielo to become my 163rd recipient.  She agreed with a sincere but reserved smile and we began to talk.  She was on her way back from Costa Rica where she had been visiting her sister who just had her third child. 

Cielo lives in the town of Armenia, the capital of the Colombian department (like our states) of Quindío.  Armenia is a mid-size city of about 370,000 that is situated between Colombia’s three largest cities: Bogotá, Medellín and Cali. 

Both Armenia and Manizales are part of the heart of the coffee region in Colombia.  It’s hard to talk about these areas without talking about how coffee and the coffee industry has shaped this region physically, socially, and economically. 

Scheduled to graduate in June, Cielo has spent the last seven years studying biology.  Although she had a job lined up to start after she graduates, she recently found out that she lost this opportunity as a result of her trip to Costa Rica.

Cielo says she is not sure what she is going to do with the 20,000 pesos yet…but agrees to let us know when she decides.  I have a feeling that it might get used in a giving way, given her story about helping the woman at the airport (see the video) and lessons about giving that she said she learned in the Girl Scouts as a young girl.

The following video is in Spanish.  Cielo shares a little bit about her thoughts on Manizales.  She is not a big fan…calling it the city of the three F’s: Fria (cold), Feia (Ugly), and Falduda (steep/hilly).  She also talks about an experience earlier that day helping a stranger out in the airport.

Our flight landed and we said goodbye to one another at the customs declaration area.  I found my ride to Manizales and embarked on a two-hour journey through the mountainous coffee region and finally arrived at the Finca (Farm) Loma Linda where I would be staying while in Manizales.  It is atop a very steep mountain with a stunning view of the town. 

Let the adventure begin!

SPANISH VERSION

El miércoles pasado hice el viaje desde Washington, DC a Manizales, Colombia. No dormí la noche anterior. Tenía mucho que hacer para prepararme para mi viaje y tenía que irme para el aeropuerto a las 3:45 de la mañana, así que no valía la pena dormir. Además, tendría todo el día para dormir en el avión, correcto?
 
En el tramo de Washington a Panamá me tocó un asiento de ventana y los dos asientos a mi lado estaban vacíos. Algo extraño, ya que el vuelo estaba casi lleno.
 
Llegué a Panamá y  tenía un par de horas antes de mi conexión a Pereira, Colombia. Había pasado por Panamá antes, por lo que el aeropuerto era familiar, así que camine alrededor viendo las tiendas. Cogí unos cuantos regalos de última hora para dar a la gente en el camino.
 
Abordé el avión alrededor de las 11:30 de la mañana. Para mi sorpresa, mi asiento estaba en clase de negocios! Eso estuvo bien. Tenía la esperanza de dar mis $10 a alguien en el avión, pero no había nadie sentado a mi lado. Había una mujer delante de mí, cuyo celular debe haber sonado o hecho ruidos más de una docena de veces antes de despegar y  había una mujer sentada en silencio del otro lado del pasillo frente a mí. Pensé en pedirle a ella que participara, aunque tengo que admitir que estaba nervioso por ello. No sé por qué, pero dar mis $10 en el avión parecía muy incómodo! En el lado positivo, la gente no puede ir a ningún lado así podría capturar un tema por la duración del vuelo. Por otro lado, si las cosas salen mal o si es difícil seré un tema capturado y estaré obligado a soportar la incomodidad para el resto del vuelo.
 
La cabina estaba completamente en silencio después del despegue. Esperé hasta que la señal del cinturón de seguridad fue retirada y la gente comenzó a moverse alrededor de la cabina. Justo cuando iba a preguntarle que participara nos sirvieron la comida. Aproveché la oportunidad para decirle que yo estaba haciendo un proyecto y esperaba que ella considerara participar después de que terminara su comida.
 
Nuestras bandejas fueron retiradas e invité a Cielo a convertirse en mi beneficiario numero 163. Ella acepto con una sonrisa sincera, pero reservada y empezamos a hablar. Ella estaba en su camino de regreso desde Costa Rica donde había estado visitando a su hermana que acaba de tener su tercer hijo.
 
Cielo vive en la ciudad de Armenia, la capital del departamento colombiano (como nuestros estados) de Quindío. Armenia es una ciudad de tamaño medio de alrededor de 370.000 habitantes, localizada entre las tres ciudades más grandes de Colombia: Bogotá, Medellín y Cali.
 
Tanto Armenia y Manizales forman parte del corazón de la región cafetalera de Colombia. Es difícil hablar de estas áreas sin hablar de cómo el café y la industria del café han dado forma a esta región física, social y económicamente.
 
Programado para graduarse en Junio, Cielo ha pasado los últimos siete años estudiando biología. A pesar de que tenía un trabajo en línea para comenzar después de que se graduara, recientemente se enteró de que había perdido esta oportunidad como resultado de su viaje a Costa Rica.
 
Cielo dice que no está segura de lo que se va a hacer con los 20.000 pesos… pero está de acuerdo a hacernos saber cuando ella lo decida. Tengo la sensación de que podrán ser utilizados en un forma caritativa, teniendo en cuenta su historia sobre cómo ayudo a una mujer en el aeropuerto (ver el video) y lecciones sobre lo que aprendió en las Girl Scouts cuando niña.
 
El siguiente video es en español. Cielo comparte un poco sobre sus pensamientos de Manizales. No es una gran fan… dice que es la ciudad de las tres “F: Fría, Fea, y Falduda (cerrado/montañosa). Ella también habla sobre una experiencia ese mismo día ayudando a un extraño en el aeropuerto.
 
Nuestro avión aterrizó y nos despedimos en la zona de declaración de aduanas. Encontré mi transporte a Manizales y me embarque en un viaje de dos horas a través de la región montañosa cafetalera y finalmente llegue a la Finca de Loma Linda,  donde me voy a quedar mientras en Manizales. Es la cima de una montaña muy empinada con una impresionante vista de la ciudad.
 
Que empiece la aventura!
 
Esta entrada del blog se tradujo amablemente por Nancy Alvarez

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