Living in a Land Where People Are Fueled By Faith and Coffee
Man, this month has gone by so fast! We have has the opportunity to experience so much here and I am so excited to see what these next five months have to offer. After a lot of time questioning if I should be here or not I have finally settled into my life here in Colombia. In the new year I have been able to take up new tasks such as assisting the colegio to create a website page. Also, I have been put in charge of painting a mural with students of the colegio and adjusted my teaching schedule! Now an overview of the awesome experiences I have had! First, with the World Council of Churches in Chocó, then in Cartagena and Barranquilla for retreat , and returning back to Barranquilla to participate in an intensive class.
Carson and I were able to accompany various peace organizations and the World Council of Churches to several different towns in Chocó. We listened to stories from families effected by displacement and violence. We spent the night in a declared humanitarian zone with amazing and hospitable who let us sleep in their church. Here the people told us this amazing story that I will never forget about men who came to their town and set up old car batteries around the church saying that they would burn it down. The women, obviously not wanting that to happen, took up machetes and chased the men away! Bold and strong women that won't accept the destruction of their community (Happy Women's History Month)! The next day we visited another humanitarian zone and walked through a field of either plantains or bananas to a FARC transition and normalization zone. We spoke with leaders from the community about their current position and we were also able to walk around and view the murals on the houses, the gardens and the soccer fields. It was a very unique experience that I am thankful I was able to take part in. Not only did it help bring perspective to some of the constant themes present here in Colombia such as violence and displacement but it also brought more reality/ context to the different groups represented in the history of this amazing country.
We had a YAV retreat in February directly after we came back from the pilgrimage to Chocó. We first went to Cartagena which was absolutely gorgeous but showed a staggering difference from the places we had just visited. I love when we travel to different cities because you can see the differences in architecture, people and general environment. Colombia is has such diversity, it isn't possible to visit one location and say you know the country. Cartagena has extremely rich history deeply rooted in the Spanish Rule and the slave trade. While we were here, we were able to visit the museum in the Palace of the Spanish inquisition. This museum detailed the history of the Inquisition in Cartagena, forms of torture that they used and also had examples of how the Inquisitions power was used to destroy innocent people's lives who were often women or slaves. As a group (Carson, Sarah and I) we talked a lot about the issues of racism that is not only a theme of the past but is also very relevant in our present in Colombia and the United States.
After time of reflection on our year and what we have observed so far, we made our way up to Barranquilla to participate in Carnaval. I love the energy of Carnaval! In Pensacola we have Mardi Gras and are not very far from New Orleans Mardi Gras too so I going to parades this time of year felt very familiar. The costumes were all gorgeous and the people were all so alive! Carson and I traveled to the festivities with a group from the churches of Barranquilla who made the weekend a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We also visited a beautiful castillo to watch the sun set! Who doesn't love time spent with dancing, food, parades, music and amazing people?
I had an another amazing time in Barranquilla participating in an intensive class where we talked about peace and how the church can be involved in that process. We had representative from the Central Presbytery (Bogota, Bucaramanga and Medellin), Coastal Presbytery (churches in Barranquilla) and the Urabá Presbytery. It was amazing being able to spend time with people who are involved with the church here in Colombia and also extremely interested in how the church can benefit their communities in this time of transition. There were many different speakers that not only educated us about history and the peace process here but also had each presbytery think about their community in these perspectives. At the end of the week we joined the World Council of Churches, Pittsburgh Seminary and people from the Coastal Presbytery in Cartagena to attend a panel with President Santos of Colombia. The point of the panel was to not only to address observations and thoughts of the World Council of Churches after their travels to different areas in Colombia but also to ensure that they will be following the progress that the government is making on its promises to the people during this difficult time of peaceful transition.
Recipe: Patacones
Patacones are delicious and are something I get eat often here! I recently learned how to make them and it is so easy (Shout out to Cristhian for teaching me)! I think y'all will love them! You can eat them by themselves or with salt or cheese on top or even meat if you want!
Ingredients:
-Plantain (The amount of plantains you will need will depend on how many people you are cooking for!)
-Frying oil
-Salt
1. Peel the plantains.
2. Cut fruit into 2 inch pieces
3. Fry cut pieces in pan with oil until golden then, remove and pat dry with paper towel
4. Now, place a plantain piece on a clean surface, use a clean bowl and squish each piece individually. Be careful not to make them too thin
5. Take the now squished plantains and fry them again in a pan with oil until they are crispy
6. Add salt or what ever topics you would like and enjoy!
-Much Love- Hannah
