Flooded Car By Ana María Meneses

Almost twelve or six months, my parents, my brother, and I travel to Coveñas because there, we have a summer house where we can go twice a year. Until now, we have always traveled by car. December 17^th in 2011, we went out from our home at 5:00 a.m. that morning we didn’t take breakfast because it was too early for us.  Everybody in the car were sleeping, except for my father. I remember that my Mom could not rest as she would had liked to because she felt that she had the responsibility as a co-pilot. My brother and I were asleep because we were feeling tired.

Some hours after we left home, we stopped to take the breakfast in Don Matías at a restaurant known as Los Comerciales. The food they sell there is delicious, especially breakfast. We continued with the trip and when we arrived 200 meters before going across the toll of Taraza, we had to stop because one kilometer ahead, The Cauca River flooded the highway and the town, so the cars could not cross the town to continue their normal way.

It was very hot, around 40 ºC, we had stopped in a place where there was a restaurant and some bedrooms; it was like a hotel but an informal one. Everybody that had been traveling that morning had to stop at that place, so all bedrooms were full. As time passed, we were waiting for the good news that we can cross the river, but that news never arrived.

We took our lunch there. During that time, the people who were there saw only big cars (cranes) crossing the toll. Some of the car drivers negotiated with the crane drivers; one of the car drivers said that he would pay him if he could go through on his crane with them in their car, and the crane driver accepted. So many people tried that method and they got to go across.

My father tried to do the same thing, but the crane driver failed to help him. It was around 6:00 p.m.   Suddenly my father decided to go on with our “trip”. When we had crossed the toll, one kilometer later, we found a long line of cars beside the highway. They were waiting that the water got down. We continued until we saw the water and then we drew up. At that very moment, my parents, my brother and I were frightened because we were on the limit to continue or not, so a driver of a big car told my father: “come on, that car can cross the river.” We knew that many cars broke down in the middle of the river or in the flooded highway. Without thinking twice, my father began to cross. Immediately he felt that the car was a little strange, and the water had already reached the windows, the water began to enter the car. The car was flooded and suddenly my brother reminded me that my computer was under the co-pilot seat, so I began to cry and shout, and I tried to get it but I couldn’t but my mother could. So when I checked, the computer was perfectly well and we got across the river. Although our clothes got wet; we, the car, and the computer were good.

I don’t remember at what time we arrived to Coveñas, but we got there. The next day my father had to remove the chairs of the car, so they could get dry. Since that happened, I learned that we can’t put the computer under a chair in a car.

Nowadays when the news says that there are problems on the highway, we travel by airplane.

A Positive Action by Katherine Quintero

In March when I was studying in my university, one day after clases a friend of mine told me something about a fundation and that information stayed on my mind, because always I wanted to be a volunteer but I didn´t know much about foundations.

The next weekend my friend invited me to the Colombia Crece Foundation, I remember that it was a saturday and I had arrived to 8:00 am in Belen Rincon because the clases started from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm but that morning had been raining since the night before and that day I had left my home at 7:40 am because I lived near to Belen Rincon and I was walking to foundation from home, I was thinking about if that was a good idea or if I really could teach to other people, it was a big challenge for me.

So, I arrived to the foundation and I could see and feel a lovely environment because all volunteers were so young like me and they looked so happy. I felt  motivated because since I was there everybody received me with love like a family. When I was with one grupe, I started to talk with Omar, he was a director of a target by foundation and he explained everything to me about the system and he invited me to a class with mothers because they were looking for volunteer teachers. In that moment I could understand the importance of education with that I could see how the education is a constant cycle and how it affects our future. I saw some moms didn´t know read and write and how it affected their children because they had´nt somebody in home that could help them with the school tasks, for that I decided to be a part of Colombia Crece Foundation, I became in a geography teacher all saturdays, and I had been teaching to moms during six months and I could learnt so much about the real life that is invisible for many people when mothers have to take a roll of  a father and mother at the same time, when the children some days couldn´t go to school because the neighborhood is dangerous because inside it has invisible barriers, I leart that and many other situations but the most important was the positive actitude of that women that didn´t matter the circumstances they were studying for their children, for the future.

This experience was incredible for me because I learnt real things about life and I could knew how with my time and my knowledge I could did a positive action without money and I know that I changed some lives with my action.

Today I´m not part of Colombia Crece because I don't have enough time but I want to come back in the future because we have to do something for the world. We are not alone, we have big problems that we are living every days, and It needs a solution.

The first time in San Andrés by Víctor Monsalve

It was amazing when I went to San Andres for the first time. It was 10 years ago. My aunt wanted to enjoy the holidays but she didn´t have someone to go with,  so she decided to invite me. I remember that when we arrived to the hotel the air conditioning in the lobby felt like heaven because we'd been waiting for a taxi in the airport for one hour. I was starving because we didn't have time to have breakfast so while  my aunt was in the room organizing the luggage, I went to the restaurant and ate all the food that I could. Then I went to the beach in order to take advantage of the great sun and enjoy the big waves. The evening came  and my aunt hadn't arrived yet. I starded to worry about it and I came back to the hotel to look for  her. For my surprise she was slept in the room and seemed to be drunk. I asked  the bartender and  he said to me that she  had been drinking all afternoon. It was very funny as my aunt doesn't drink a lot. The next day when we were having lunch, I asked her why she never went to the beach and  she answered, "Oh, I was very tired because of the flight and I thought to take a Nap." I acted as if I didn't know what really happened and we continue talking about other things. Then at night, we went to take a trip around the Island in a golf car which couldn't get a higher speed than 30 km/h. We had been driving for two and a half hours and the Island seemed to have no end. Then when we finally finished the trip, we decided going to the night show in the hotel. There were a  lot of people from different countries like Canada, Holland, USA etc., but unfortunately I didn't have any idea what they were speaking because  my English was dreadful. I just knew how to nod. It was a great  experience, not only for the fact that we rested  but also because I had the oportunity to know the other side of my aunt who I thought was an innocent woman.

Visiting Costa Rica by Laura Guzmán

Thanks to my job, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some countries.  One of them is Costa Rica, which is known for Ecotourism which is extremely popular among the tourists that visit the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country.

I take all the trips with my boss Luis.  In these trips, we implement information systems in the group’s companies which we work for.  During the week, we work hard; but the weekends are completely free for us.

In our first travel to Costa Rica, we had two free weekends, then we decided to do Ecotourism, then we visited three National Parks where we could see three amazing volcanoes and one of them was in eruption.  It was a fascinating and unforgettable experience.

In our second trip to Costa Rica, we only had one weekend, but this time, we wanted to visit some beaches, during the week we were doing some inquiries, and after analyzing some options, we decided to visit Jacob Beach.  This beach is near to San José, the capital, is cheaper, clean and has a nice night life.  It had everything we were looking for.  The week before, we were planning our trip and we were looking for the cheapest way to go.  Going by bus was the best option that we found, since taking taxi is very expensive.

The next Saturday we couldn’t wait to get started.  We took our breakfast early in the Hotel and we were ready for our trip.  Before taking the bus that would take us to our destination, we went to the Supermarket that is next to the Hotel, and we bought things likes sunscreen, repellent, snacks and some beers.  Now, we were really ready for our great adventure.

Quickly we went out of the Supermarket and started walking to the bus station.  we had walked only a few meters when suddenly Luis fell into a manhole that had no cover.  Fortunately He could avoid falling completely into the huge hole with his arms.  But unfortunately his leg had a big cut and was bleeding profusely.

I ran to the Supermarket and I bought some first aid stuff and I applied it to the wound.  When He could walk, we returned to the Hotel and as the leg didn’t stop bleeding, we decided to go to the Hospital.  There Luis’ wound was stitched and four hours after we could return to the Hotel.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit a beach in Costa Rica, but we were fortunate, because the accident could have been worst.

MEMORIES OF A TRAGEDY By Sebastián Wachter Cifuentes

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Perhaps this will not be a mythic experience or an extraordinary deed; it´s not a contemporary thriller, much less the start of an epic saga such as the ones that teem everywhere on the shelves of the prestigious inner-city libraries.  Sorry to disappoint the reader this time; this is simply the true story about a life changing experience. I hope, however, this will be to your satisfaction.

In June of that year, I was sent to the stiflingly hot town of Tibú, located in the Department of Norte de Santander in Colombia.  Tibú is a popular town among the locals and among any who follow the sociopolitical news of the region. It had turned into an evil den of criminals: thousands of slaughters were committed in its streets and according to urban myth, in the airport hundreds of corpses were stacked, countless numbers, for the vultures. I remember well my arrival in Tibú, because this was the date of my birthday and the experiences that happen on those days are emotionally important –according to what I recently read in a dynamic psychology article.

When I reached the town, I participated in a religious event just at the time when the sun becomes what it is: “The king star”. When the cleric was giving the final blessing, I was riding in a Jeep Model 75, the same used to transport bags of coffee in the Coffee Region; the same that gave such good results in the dusty battles of North Africa during World War II –such vehicles were witnesses to the Montgomery and Rommel deeds, who for a brief moment allowed us to forget the ignominy of central Europe-.

The driver was calm. The route towards Campo Raya, the farthest lane of the town, was something routine for this man; the beads of sweat running down his face were tiny and did not trouble his actions at the wheel. Instead, my body seemed to feel a suffocating evaporation.

When we were arriving, I perceived a nauseating smell, my humanity cringed and I felt sick to my stomach. I violently turned my face and saw her, she was there, an old lady, extremely enigmatic; she knew what I would know in a few moments. When the driver stopped the vehicle, I stood there for a couple of minutes and she fixed her eyes on mine. I took a deep breath, filled myself with courage and put my left foot in the cluster of leaves that were on my left, I usually do that, since childhood I feel some security when my right leg is free to act.

Because of a certain air of chivalry, I was led to meet her, but undeterred she saw how my body sank into the deep ground. It was an electrifying fall, it seemed like my whole life was consumed by that hole. Neither the driver, nor the lady rushed to help me; they knew and this was familiar for them. My eyes immediately protested against the fact, and the tremulous voice of the old lady was heard: "You have fallen into the pit, where I found the mutilated remains of my only son."

 “Happy are those who know that behind every word, there is what can not be said”.

Rainer María Rilke

A PAINFUL AND EMBARRASSING MOMENT By Andrés Felipe Pérez Guizaho

There was a time when my family and I traveled a lot, I was 7 years old and We were traveling to the amazing Coveñas's beach, there are beautiful beaches right there and the weather is perfect or so I think. Well, we were staying in my grandmother's friend’s house and it was great because the house was just in front of the sea, and the view was pretty cool. However, as any good kid would, I ran to the beach, I took off my cloths and I jumped into the sea, this was the second time that I was in the ocean but it felt as if it were the first time.

Therefore, I’d been playing in the water for hours when my parents and my grandmother took the decision to go out of there and go to eat, that’s why they went out of the water but, I stayed in there, I didn’t care about anything, I was just playing with the waves and the lunch wasn't important enough to make me come out of the water, I don’t know if it was the destiny, karma or what, but in the moment in which I decided to disobey, suddenly a jellyfish grazed my arm and when that happened I felt the biggest pain in my whole life, a burn sensation ran around my arm and I was very scared and started yelling for help and ran away from the water, I didn't know what happened with me in that moment, I just knew that something stung me on the arm and I had to keep me out of the water, but my grandmother and a friend of her had been near me, watching me ,so immediately they ran to help me and to find out what was going on with me.

However, they arrived where I was, then my grandmother saw a large red spot in my arm and her friend yelled two possible solutions to my unknown source of pain (to me of course), one of them was to bury my arm in the sand, and the second one was to pee myself on my arm, so I don’t know why the second option sounded better to my grandma, but quickly she asked me: dear, do you want to pee right now?  But unfortunately I didn't, I tried, I swear! But, I didn't, so my grandma told me, don’t worry son I have to pee, so it isn´t a problem, and I was in sock not only because the painful wound, but also by my grandmother’s courageous action. Believe it or not, the pain was despairing for me but there isn`t any scar that puts in evidence the embarrassing moment that I had to live, but it will always be my mind as a funny and also shocking moment of my life. 

The Worst Party Ever by Laura Giraldo.

Two years ago, when I was in tenth grade, one of my friends, the youngest one, Daniela turned 15 and she decided to celebrate it by planning a big party with all of her friends and her family. She invited a lot of people, including me, so the party was going to be really good and all of my friends were going and I didn't want to miss it, but the party was in a ballroom, so we had to wear cocktail dresses and high heels, but I didn't have any of that so my mom and I went to rent a dress and after we had been looking for an hour in several stores for a pair high heels, my mom told me she will lend me a pair high heels she had.

The day of the party, I had fought with my dad and I didn’t know if my parents were going to let me go to the fifteen party, I was convincing my mother to let me go and finally she agreed, so I dressed up and went to the party. When I arrived,  there was a lot of people including my friends, so I was talking to all of them and saying hi when Daniela came down the stairs with her beautiful dress and then she danced with her father, after that the waiters served the meal, it was chicken, although I don’t like it very much, I ate it because I was hungry, and I hadn’t eaten in the whole day, then the music started and the waiters offered us beer and ron, my friends and I were drinking beer, laughing and they decided to go to dance but I didn’t want to so I stayed in the table drinking more beer until they came back, but then my friends went dancing again so I went with them, we had been dancing for almost twenty minutes when I started to feel sick and dizzy, maybe it was the food or the beer but I came back to the place we were sitting to leave the high heels under the table, along with my friends' heels, because I was tired  and as soon as I got to the bathroom I started vomiting, but I wasn’t drunk.

 It was 1:30 am when my best friend came and told me she would drive me home, so I went to the table to grab my things and discovered that my high heels weren’t there, somebody stole them, there wasn’t much that I could do, other than going home barefoot, it was late and I was sick.

When I arrived home my mom was waiting for me, when she saw me barefoot and dizzy she got really mad and at that point she thought the worst things,  I explained her everything, but she still thought I was drunk and because of that I threw the heels away, of course she punished me after the scolding. The next day, when I woke up my friend told me that the person who stole my high heels, also took other things, like another friend’s phone and money, after all I wasn’t the only one who was unlucky and had a bad night.

Laura Giraldo Ruiz.

The Day I Worked In A Movie by Javier Vanegas

It was a sunny day in New York City. I was walking by the Hudson River Greenway with my best friend Omar. We were taking pictures with Jersey City in the background, and also to the One World Trade Center (a very huge and emblematic building recently finished.) Suddenly an old man with a colorful t-shirt approached us and started talking. The guy offered us a one day job in an HBO movie that was being filmed in the City those days. The only condition was that we had to dress up 80’s style clothing and we had to pretend be dancing in a club.

Filming day was very exciting for me. I had searched online information of the movie, “The Normal Heart”, by the way, and i realized that Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo and Jim Parsons were in the cast. They are three of my favorite actors.

We arrived to the 94 pier at 10:00 a.m. There was already a bunch of people working. A very gentle man guided us all the time. He was one of the Director’s assistants. He told us that the filming was delayed and we had to wait for about an hour to begin.

At 11:30 a.m. the time was becoming endless. Even when we could eat whatever we want from a buffet, we were just sitting with a group of “extras” doing nothing but chatting. The director’s assistant hadn’t said anything else to us since we arrived there. Finally he appeared and told us to go to another place. The entire group walked two blocks to the filming set.

The set was organized inside an empty warehouse. It represented a night club. The scene was about a celebration to raise money for one of the pro-AIDS groups in the 80’s. At first all the “Extras” had to wait in the second floor. The actors were doing something we couldn’t understand. Maybe they were rehearsing. The rest of the staff were organizing and doing their jobs.

Around one hour later they called us to go downstairs, marked our places and gave us a few directions of what we had to do in the scene.  We had to dance all the time. The most exciting moment for me was when I saw Mark Ruffalo just a few inches near me. I really admire him.

Finally we started recording.  There was a crane in the middle of the set that had a video-camera in its top. A blond actor, we didn’t recognize, was the main character in the scene. He was on stage and asked the D.J. to stop the music. Then he called Mark Ruffalo and they both announced to the people in the disco that they had collected 53 thousand dollars. After the shout of celebration they called Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer and the other actors to the stage. They were all hugging each other, laughing and jumping. At last they let the party continued.

We had to repeat that single scene over and over again during almost 6 hours, from different angles and planes. Although I was pretty tired, i felt really excited and happy because movies are my passion and I had the opportunity to be a part of one.

P.S. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but during a break I asked Jim Parsons to take a picture with me.

My Adventures in Tamesis by Andrés Gómez.

In a beautiful town in the southwest of Antioquia, almost in the border with the state of Caldas you will find Tamesis. There is a lot of fun and many extreme activities to do. I highly recommend to you to visit this gorgeous manifestation of nature that can help you be in a connection with the environment. My girlfriend Sara and my motorcyclist friends had this wonderful trip 6 months ago and was an amazing experience. When the trip began we met at the end of the south part of the city of Medellin and we took the road to La Pintada. When we were almost arriving there, my friend in the red motorcycle got a flat tire and then we had to go to a gas-station as fast as we could, because the air of the tire had been decreasing quite fast, fortunately we were able to arrive before the tire suffered any damage. Then we fixed the problem and we finally arrived to Tamesis.

Being there, we began with the first adventure. We put on the appropriate outfits to get ready for the rappel as show in the picture above. To get to the top of the mountain we had been walking for 2 hours so we were exhausted, but when we got there, the view was incredible and scaring at the same time. We were very excited. This mix of feelings happened because at that moment your brain is trying to tell you rappel is so dangerous and you could die, but on the other hand your heart is telling you that it is a fantastic sensation; So, it is very important to be in control and focus on the task.

 I remember that at that moment my friend Juli didn´t want to descend the rock and she was petrified like a stone doll. That was so difficult for us because the only way to come back was going off the rock, so we had to talk to her and remind her that we had been planning this moment for a long time and it wasn’t time to give up. She was so brave and she finally controlled herself and all of us finished the activity.

The next day we woke up early and we were ready for the next adventure called: Water Fall rappelling, this activity is more demanding than rappel because there are more risks like the water fall and the slippery rocks; that´s why this is one of the top extreme activities in the world, so for this activity we had watched many youtube videos about it, and before we arrived to the top of the water fall, we had a simulation class, so we were ready!. 

In the top of the water fall we took these pictures and we were so happy, then the fight with your mind began again, but in my case this experience with the water helped me and I felt in calm and the decline was so wonderful and relaxing, and off course, the adrenaline helps a lot to makes your body and your brain focus and work so well in this extreme situations.

Finally I highly recommend this trip, first because it was awesome and second because it helps you to feel renovated and refill the energy of your body and mind.

Sleeping on the floor by Jairo Tabares Velez, Course 13

I was living in Melbourne, Australia for one year; first I lived 8 months in a homestay, the family used to rent rooms for students, after I was living living 4 months with a couple from New Zealand, their names were John Wallace and Eva Wallace. We lived in apartment in the third floor of a building in Toorak.

I used to wash my clothes every Sunday at night, there was a laundry room in every floor and there was a washing machine and a clothes dryer. All people in the same floor could use the machine to wash and dry the clothes. 

One Saturday at night, around of 10 p.m., I was going to the laundry room to wash my clothes, I put my clothes on the washing machine, I put 3 coins of a Australian dollar and I turned on the washing machine, after I came back  to my apartment.

My friend John and I had the habit of drinking coffee before going to bed, we had talked for one hour while we were watching TV, after my friend John said me good night and he went to her bed.

My couple of friends had a very deep sleep and they snored too loud. Sometimes it was hard to sleep with their snoring, but eventually I got used to it.  I didn´t remember that my clothes were in the washer, so quickly I stood up of my chair and my friends were still sleeping. I get out my apartment silently and I leave the door half opened and unlocked.

My clothes had finished washing, then I put my clothes on the clothes dryer and I put 3 coins more and I turned on the clothes dryer. I was waiting for 10 minutes more to make sure that everything was working well, then I went to my apartment.

But oh surprise, when I was trying to open the door, the door didn´t open and I didn´t believe; my friend John had locked the door. I felt scared and worried, because the next day I had to get up early at 5 AM and then I had to go to work in the city center. I was knocking the door desperately for 45 minutes but no one opened the door. The snoring of my friends did not allow them to hear that I had knocked the door.

Nothing to do, I thought. I was frustrating, I went to the laundry room again and my clothes had already finished drying. I took a pair of jeans and then I stretched them over the floor behind of the door of laundry room, then I slept over the jeans and I threw over me a pair of t-shirts. It was a freezing night and I woke me up every 30 or 45 minutes because the cold was unbearable it.

From one moment to another, I hear that the door was opening, it was my friend John, he was looking for me, but he did not see that I was behind the door.

I lift quickly and I took my clothes and I went to my apartment. They looked worried and they asked me ¿where you was? I felt embarrassing and I did not want that they were worried by me. Only I said: That is ok, I woke up early and I went to the laundry room to pick up my clothes.

They never knew that they left me out of the apartment and they never knew that I had slept in the floor of laundry room.