http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:33:47 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The following is a Facebook note I wrote a few days ago. I thought it might be suitable for a blog entry as well (I edited it a little bit for clarifying purposes): "I finally got to see the whole documentary produced by two major media sources from Colombia about the country's last 25 years of history. It was hard for me not feel shaken, angry, depressed, and ashamed. Colombian history is a one of amorphous conflict and unconventional players: a failed state, numerous insurgent groups, drug traffickers, and politicians of all varieties, all battling in a contest for power. The inevitable result of such contest... the loss if innocent lives. Some of you might have seen my Facebook status ("Sebastian is wondering how is he going to clean up his country's mess if he can't clean the mess in his own room?"), which alludes to my desire of changing my country for better someday. While the images ran through my computer screen, I felt great pressure on my chest, tears pushed against my eyelids and my teeth gritted. Before writing this entry, the fact that these powerful emotions ran through my body by watching the documentary made me realize the strong urge I feel to change the world (I have given myself the luxury of using this childish, foolish cliche, and I apologize). This realization made reminisce to several experiences I've had in my travels to Europe. Berlin and Auschwitz have seared a mark on my heart and brain. Auschwitz has undoubtedly changed me, since you can still feel the horror from the past looming on the fields. The thousands of lives tortured, exploited, and thrown away in ashes out of the chimneys still scream the injustice committed upon them. During my visit to the Birkenau section of Auschwitz, I couldn't stop thinking about the many victims of kidnapping, trapped in similar camps under the same treatment the Nazis gave to their prisoners in the Colombian jungle. The empathy with the horror and despair of a family being transported to Auschwitz was also the empathy with the soldiers, policemen, and civilians "muriendo en vida" in the jungle. Berlin has a different story. For me, Berlin is a monument to German history. Every inch of the city whispers a story from the past. From the Neue Wache, to the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin TV tower. Every building has a story tell. The Monument to the Murdered Jews draws my attention in a special way, since few are the monuments initiated by the civil society that remind you of their greatest failure rather than their greatest victory. The Wall is a scar to the city's face, that reminds you constantly that there was something wrong in the past. Yet, Berliners got over it, they teared it down. A walk around Zoologischer Garten reveals a vibrant city, ready for change, evolving, moving with the trend. Berlin is living history. It reminds you of the tragedies of the past, while it moves forward. It's constantly evolving, and that's the beauty I see in it. History is in the back in your head, so you may avoid the pitfalls from the past. And now I come here, to this desk far away from home, pondering about my role in this gargantuan task. I compare the effects of the documentary on me to the combined effect of Auschwitz and Berlin. History is important, it makes you realize how bad things can be, so you can avoid being back at that place. There are many reasons to strive for a better future. There is hope, and hope was something had been numbed out of me during my time in college. The last part of the documentary stressed the many aspects in which Colombia has really improved and the reasons Colombians have to celebrate. No matter how dark the times are, in Colombia there is always a reason to smile and enjoy life. At this point I forgot what the whole point was of writing this note. I just had to express myself somehow. It might have turned out to be an idealistic piece of crap, but I end on a positive note. I've regained some hope. Hope to fight. And the mess in my room has been cleaned up." http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/04/bittersweet.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/04/bittersweet.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:33:47 -0600 We then headed to the Castle District. The Castle was built during the Hapsburg Empire, and it is breathtaking. The Palace now houses several museums and it is huge. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to walk around because we had to change into our formal attire to go to the Parliament meeting. However, here's a small sample of what I saw. Later that day, we went to the Hungarian Parliament. It's one of the largest governmental buildings in the world, and certainly the landmark of Budapest. We began our visit with a short guided tour through the premises of the Parliament, but that day we couldn't visit the debating chamber since there was some political unrest. One of the Ministers was being dismissed due to a scandal and the current governing coalition is very likely to collapse. In any case, some rooms were off-limits for us since some meetings were being held to discuss how to approach the situation. The building itself is a monument to the Hungarian pride, due to its grandeur and the fact that it was built with raw materials coming exclusively from Hungary(with the exception of Swedish granite columns). The building also houses the Holy Crown jewels, items that every king had to wield during their coronation and then return to the Treasury. After the tour we had a meeting with two parliamentary aides from the European Issues Comission, who discussed the implications of EU accession for Hungary. As a transitioning economy, Hungary has had many challenges in its history. The change to a free-market economy brought many destabilizing economic factors, and overall it is the "poster-child of everything that could've gone wrong" (to quote the lecturer) among the new EU member states. Their most important challenge now is to comply with all the requisites in order to adopt the Euro. They are the only candidate country that does not fulfill any of the criteria, and the current economic environment doesn't yield any optimistic panorama. After the meeting we had a boat cruise on the Danube River. The tour took place at dusk, so we got a view of the Budapest from both daylight and nighttime. One of the most beautiful experiences ever, accompanied of course by Strauss's Blue Danube. After that we had a small dinner at nearby pub, and went back to the hotel. The night was not party friendly since it was Monday, all pubs were closed, and we had to wake up at 7 am to go to our next meeting. The meeting was with an researcher from the American funded NGO Freedom House. This body researches the development of freedom in the former soviet states. Of course, Hungary is part of it. He highlighted many of the challenges of a transitioning economy. It caught my attention when he mentioned that since his branch had the label "Freedom House...Europe", he didn't have a hard time as his colleagues in Turkmenistan, where the organization was directly linked to the US (although both branches are). Afterwards, we went to the House of Terror. The name can be misleading, but actually, it isn't. Let me explain myself better. The House of Terror is not a haunted mansion, or anything of that sort. It is the building where the Hungarian Nazi Party had it's headquarters and later the Communist Party. It is now a museum talking about the oppression people were subjected to during the time. Now, the name is not misleading, because the whole exhibit excels at manipulating your psyche to creep you out. There's creepy music in every room, they play with shadows and lights to give everything a creepy look, except for the most shocking part of the building. You take an elevator that descends very slowly into the basement, while a screen shows an interviewee explaining how the people who were against the regime were executed in that very same basement. You get out the elevator, and the basement is basically a small prison. You walk down the prison cells and then you come to the room where all the gallows are. At the end of your visit, you have a very dark display of iron crosses dimly illuminated with red-colored lights. The place pushed the "terror" thing a little bit too much for me. This part of the trip was a good start on the rest to come, overall. The weather was great and we were there in an interesting political time for Hungary. Coming up, more excitement and some depression, since Krakow, Prague, and Auschwitz were also part of the field trip. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/04/budapest.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/04/budapest.html Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:37:55 -0600 My plan for Easter was to visit a friend in Berlin. The last time I came here with my study abroad program he was back in Colombia, so it wasn't possible to see each other until now. To get to Berlin, I used a means of transportation I'm not used to, nor very comfortable using.Yet, being young and adventurous, why not given a try? What I'm talking about is called Mitfahrgelegenheit. People who are driving from one city of Germany to another post their info on a website so that other people who need a ride there can call them. I was not very comfortable with the idea of riding with a stranger, especially after I told my parents of my plan and they almost flipped out. However, Juan, my friend in Berlin said it was completely safe. So I asked Vera, one of my Freiburger friends, to call these people for me, since my German is still not that good and having things clear setting up these things is vital. I got a round-trip from Freiburg to Berlin for 75 euros. I had looked into buying a train ticket about a week ago, but because I waited for so long to book it and it's Easter, the cheapest price I could get was 163 euro. The difference was abysmal. Also, the train ride takes 6 hours, while the ride take 8 (theoretically). The balance tipped in favor of the Mitfahrgelegenheit, so I took it. I met the people who were riding with me on Good Friday morning in front of the Hauptbahnhof. Thomas was the driver, and he signaled me to sit up in the front seat. The other three girls knew each other, so they had taken the back seat already. Half an hour after we departed, an uncontrollable lethargy began to overcome me. I tried to be a good co-pilot, struggling to stay awake, but it was pointless. We made a bathroom stop and switched drivers to Anja, one of the girls seating in the back. We had short conversation about what was I doing in Germany and her summer plans in South America, when sleep started firing all its artillery to take me over, again. I surrendered shortly afterwards. Every now and then I opened my eyes, but for short periods of time. However, I noticed the signs on the road said Karlsruhe and Munich. My brief knowledge of German geography made think that we might be going the wrong way, since Karlsruhe is only an hour away from Freiburg (we had been driving for 2 hours at this point) and Munich is to the southeast of Germany, while Berlin is Northeast. I dismissed my worries and thought maybe they knew what they were doing. I was a study abroad kid that barely knew the language and surely knew much less about driving in Germany. The next bathroom break we made Thomas and I stayed inside drinking some coffee while the girls were outside smoking. I asked him how long would it take to get to Berlin, and he said probably 5-6 hours. According to my math, we had been driving for 4 or 5 hours already, so we couldn't be just halfway to Berlin. The reason, Anja got lost. While Thomas and I slept, Anja had taken a wrong turn started driving BACK to Freiburg!! The rest of the ride was uneventful. I got to Juan's house safe and sound and without any complications, except the 2 hour delay on the road. I guess the lesson to be learned from this is not to fall asleep in when you're shotgun, or seat in the back. And if you think things are not right...you might always know better than a local stranger. http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/mitfahrgelegenheit_or_why_you.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/mitfahrgelegenheit_or_why_you.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:23:07 -0600 have to participate, I can weigh my political skills (hehe). After that intensive phase, I had my first field to trip to Berlin and Riga. Berlin I wrote about, Riga is still missing its entry (coming soon). The field trip lasted 5 days, a little bit less than regular field trips (which last a whole week). When we came back, we started all other academic classes. Mine are two Econ and one PoliSci. A few weeks later we went to Geneva for 3 days, and visited the UN Headquarters (UNOG... and also mising its entry). The weekend after we had an optional day trip to the Swiss Alps, where I skied for the first time ever (this trip also missing its own entry). A week after, we had our second field trip to Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. Luxembourg and Brussels have their own entry, but no pictures, and I still haven't written about Paris. I'm travelling to Berlin this Friday to visit a friend and see all the things I missed in my last visit. The last wekend of this month I head out for Eastern and Central Europe, that is: Budapest, Krakow, and Prague. So... if my math is right I still have to write about Latvia, Geneva, the Swiss Alps, and Paris, and upload pictures of Luxembourg and Belgium. I think it is also necessary to give you some more insights about German daily life in general. All that before I head on my next field trip. Fortunately I don't have that much work next week. Workload abroad has been more than what I expected, and feeling I'm half of the time on vacation doesn't help that much. Anyway... 5 more entries to come and some pics. Auf Wiedersehen!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/wartenrucklauf.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/wartenrucklauf.html Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:46:04 -0600 Beerfest. The Stiefel is a boot-shaped glass from which you drink the beer you order. There is a 20 euro deposit for the glass, but it is a enjoyable experience, especially if you start taking roles from the movie. My time in Brussels was also special for two things besides sightseeing... which you can easily get now from the Internet: waffles and music. I am not one of those people who drool uncontrollably at the sight of chocolate, neither a dessert freak. However, I would do anything for those waffles. Belgian chocolate has been the most delicious experience so far. Your hands will get dirty, your face will drop chocolate all over, but it is worth it. You can't say you have been to Brussels if you haven't tried the awesomeness of the a Belgian waffle. Brussels also has the Musical instruments museum, which houses one of the largest musical instrument collection in Europe. The neat thing about this museum is that you're given a set of headphones with your ticket. Once you approach any particular instrument, the headphones catch a designated signal start playing music with the instrument right in front of you. The highlight of my visit was the glass harmonica, a 17th century instrument that looked like a huge glass shell seated on a desk. Based on the same principle of sound used when you rub your finger against the edge of a wine glass, the glass harmonic produced really quirky sounds. However, the music selected by the museum curators made the instrument a remarkable discovery for me. Next Paris.... but that is a subject for another entry, since Paris is..... well it's Paris. I had promised pictures for this entry but my camera's memory card decided to stop working. The pictures for the whole trip are lost... or at least that is the case for now. And my camera cable came in today with the mail. So... yeah... technology is hating me now. Other entries do have pictures now though. So check'em out!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/through_the_heart_of_europe.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/03/through_the_heart_of_europe.html Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:20:43 -0600 I must confess that I have a very unusual fascination with the Brandenburg gate. There's just something about it that makes me feel greater. The beauty of its Neo-Classical architecture and all the historic events that have taken place around it add to its appeal. Napoleon and Hitler marched through it to make of statement of their power, and it still remains as reminder of the division between East and West Berlin after WWII. It's a powerful sight when you take this into account. The Reichstag was larger and more beautiful than what I had imagined. The Coppola at its top provided a very beautiful sight of the whole Berlin, and it's certainly a landmark. This is a mirror structure inside the Reichstag's Coppola...look closely and you can see my reflection in the middle of it. I also visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This monument has a very versatile psychological effect on its visitors. I had the chance to visit it both at night and during daytime. Before explaining my impressions, I should describe the monument a little bit. The monument is basically a city block covered in concrete slabs of varying sizes and heights arranged more less in a grid. The ground slopes up and down and it resembles waves at certain points. Some people say the place resembles a graveyard, and to some extent I can agree. This is how I felt on my two visits: The night we visited was rainy, and we all started walking into the monument carelessly. The sound of the cars passing through the highway nearby was still audible, and the street lights shone some light onto us. As we walked further and further, things got darker and quieter. It was creepy, very creepy. Catching a glimpse of someone else waking around the corner made me feel very vulnerable; like someone would jump me any moment. The center of the monument was obscure and silent. On the ohter hand, the morning experience was completely different. The sun shone brightly, kids jumped from slab to slab; the place seemed more like a park than anything else. However, there was still a grim feeling to it. This is a short version of how was Berlin. We only spent two days in Berlin and the main purpose of the visit was to visit the German Ministry of Economics and Technology and the German industry Federation. There, we were briefed on what they do and what were their specific agendas. The lectures were really interesting, but I had to write a paper on them so I'm done talking about that for some time. Plus, I gotta go to class :s. More trip stories to come! Bis gleich! Another pic with the Brandenburg Gate... daylight view and with some friends from the program... ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/02/hmm_how_do_i_start.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/02/hmm_how_do_i_start.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:04:23 -0600 Yesterday I visited my cousin Camilo in Basel, Switzerland. My only chance to see him at all this first half of the year was that day, since he flies back to Colombia next Wednesday until he can find a PhD program he likes. I was afraid that I might have some trouble crossing the border since Switzerland has not completely removed it border controls, although it has recently agreed to join the Schengen agreement. However, and to my amazement, no one checked anyone on the train ride to Basel. I wasn't even asked to show my train ticket to anyone. The Baden countryside is very mountainous, but the grim day disallowed any memorable sightseeing from my train window. I arrived at Basel's Swiss Hauptbahnhof and met Camilo. We bought some groceries for lunch and took the tram to his girlfriend's apartment, Christine. When we got there, Camilo pointed to a fence a few yards away from the apartment; he couldn't legally go beyond that fence, since France lay at the other side. Camilo has a tourist Swiss visa, which doesn't allow you to enter any other European country (yet). A whole different neighborhood stood behind the fence and there was a white booth (at that moment empty) that ran border controls every now and then to commuting drivers. On the Swiss side, near where Christine works, there is an industrial area where most Frenchmen work. In the morning, they ask for their breakfast in French and later they give and receive orders in German. I was also greeted with an interesting surprise at Christine's apartment. She offered me orange juice and soon enough she took some oranges from the kitchen to squeeze them. When she cut the first one in half, I saw that the inside were very dark-red-colored, apparently rotten. She ignored the appearance of the sliced fruit and proceeded to squeeze it. When I warned her about the color of the orange, she giggled and replied: "These are blood-oranges!" Blood-oranges are a variety of oranges that are common during the season in Europe, mostly Sicily and Spain. When she handed the first glass of juice to me, I thought it looked just like blackberry juice. However, when I tasted it, it was just like any other orange juice I have had before. I have to admit it was an "interesting" experience to expect a a flavor from watching the color of the drink and getting a totally different one. After a nice lunch we headed out for downtown Basel. We visited the Munster or cathedral, and climbed up to the tower. The view was amazing, extending from the Rhine valley to the Alps. You could also see several bridges that crossed over the Rhine to communicate the different parts of Basel. The way down made my legs shake a bit since the winding staircase was very steep and allowed a aerial perspective that would send an acrophobic straight to the hospital. Safely back on the ground, we crossed one of the bridges and walked along the riverside, hoping for an empty table at an outdoor cafe but with no luck. The time of my train back to Freiburg approached so we walked back to the Hauptbahnhof. However, my cousin could not come with me to the train because the station was split between the German and Swiss territory. Again, better not take risks four days before returning home. I have been pondering about the border issue since yesterday. I'm sure Basel is not the only city in the world that sits in the middle of a border between (at least) two countries. For immigration purposes, Basel is divided into the Schengen area and Switzerland, but in terms of national regimes, three states claim its ownership. I can't imagine how unnecessarily hectic life in Basel was before the Schengen agreement. Border controls to commute around the city would make life impossible. I'm sure we can get into a long discussion about the usefulness or even legitimacy of borders as a concept, but I don't mean to bore your brains out. For someone in Camilo's situation, a life with borders makes no sense. Borders limit freedom and the natural flow of human capital (ideas, culture, production factors, etc.). At least for that one-hour ride train to Freiburg, I felt a cozy, emancipating feeling while imagining a border-less world where I wouldn't need to worry about losing my passport. http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/a_city_of_three_countries.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/a_city_of_three_countries.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:42:36 -0600 Today was a day to remember. I cooked my own meal for the first time in my life. I know it was pasta with chopped veggies, but still. I might have made my own breakfast before, but that doesn't really count. It was a good lunch, although I made too little sauce for the quantity of pasta I had prepared. Since this week I'll be done everyday at 1 pm, I'll try to cook everyday at noon. Maybe I'll take it a step forward tomorrow and cook some rice. I also had a chat with one of my flat mates, Christoff. He was explaining to me that they rotated the cleaning duties of the common areas (namely the kitchen area and entry hall) every week. The person in charge has to vacuum the floor and mop it and make sure the kitchen table is clean. Everyone washes his or her own dishes, so it's not a big deal. Since there is a "girls" and a "boys" bathroom, we men have the same weekly cleaning schedule for our bathroom. It'll probably be my turn for both duties next week. However, he made a request that might seem strange to most people in both the US and I guess all of Latin America. I was warned by my German teacher today when we were discussing possible aspects of the German culture that might cause culture shock. Christoff asked me to pee sitting down on the toilet every time I used the bathroom. Apparently it helps cleaning (you don't splash all over) and it's a cultural statement of the equality between men and women. I find it really funny that the culture where I grew up, a man that pees while sitting down is considered very unmanly (to say the least) and jokes are made around that. However, here it is completely normal, and although I haven't asked yet, it seems like German women can get into lengthy discussions about why should men pee while seated. Strange or not, one of the suggestions for people studying abroad is to immerse themselves in the host culture as much as possible... however some things might take me some time to absorb! http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/on_cooking_and_peeing.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/on_cooking_and_peeing.html Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:10:23 -0600 Well, this past week has been one of the craziest ones in my life! Packing for my study abroad program was really stressful, since I had to make sure I didn't go over the weight limit on both suitcases and that I was able to haul all I packed through the airports and train stations, since after my arrival to Frankfurt Airport I had to take a 2 hour train ride to Freiburg. My travel schedule included: 3 Flights (Bogota-Miami-Chicago-Frankfurt) with their own layovers 2 customs checks 2 train rides 1 cab ride to the IES center (final destination). Not that I'm complaining. but being on the move for more than 24 hours straight is really tiring.and hauling my luggage up and down stairs and trains wasn't very pleasant. However I made it safely to Freiburg and met two girls from the program on the way there. My first impression of German was very positive, at least from what I saw from the train window. The landscape was beautiful. Trees and hills everywhere and with a pale green color due to a warmer winter than years before. I was expecting white forests and snow sheeted hills, but until now, Freiburg's weather has barely touched the freezing point (THANK GOD!). I was also impressed by the punctuality of the train system. The train peeks through the horizon 30 seconds before the time its supposed to arrive at the station so at the exact minute it's scheduled to arrive it has stopped and with its doors wide open. We were brought to our rooms ("home" for 5 months), and it was different from what I thought it would be. All the students were scattered around the local university dorms so they could interact more with German students. Since its a public university, dorms are just like sharing an apartment with three other people, except you have an additional key to your own room. In my case, there are 2 guys and 2 girls living with me, sharing the flat's kitchen and two bathrooms (each bathroom assigned by its occupants to either sex). There is no cleaning service, so there is a cleaning schedule we have to follow. In addition, we have to cook. COOK!! This spoiled child that complained about not liking the food at his school after several weeks and how long an 8 minute walk to the dining hall was had been removed from that right for the first time in his life! To be honest, I made my first grocery shopping trip today. I have bought pasta, rice, and the equivalent of Raumann noodles. It will take me some time to cook my own meal, but I will definitely have to because avoiding cooking just kills your budget. It was also funny to find that we were given sheets here, that consists of a pillow case, a sheet to cover your mattress, and a humongous pillow-case looking thing to place your comforter into (also provided by the school). I spent my time figuring it all out, but nonetheless it seems a little bit more practical for someone who hates making his bed every morning (like yours truly). I was pissed by the fact that my desk had no drawers, so it's even messier that it normally is both back home and at Trinity. All is white in my room: bed, walls, sheets, table, closet... so sometimes I feel I'm in a mental institution. I will have to buy some poster or something to hang on this walls before I reach the point where I need to be sent to one. Freiburg is an amazing city, from what I've seen this few days. There is a huge cathedral in the middle of it, called the Munster. It's almost 800 years old, and the local farmer's market still meets at its footsteps for business. You can find a wide spectrum of architecture types, from the Middle Ages till today. However, nothing seems out of place, everything moves and looks like it has been synchronized together perfectly in a giant watch. Simply spectacular. German has been a challenge. I know it very little, but my flatmates have been kind enough to bear my attempts to hold a conversation with choppy usage of the language. In general, this is a liberal town, populated mostly by students; the fear of xenophobia I had some weeks ago has dissipated a little. Most Germans I have met have been very welcoming and kind. Germans learn English in school, so the majority of them can hold a short conversation in English, but some college students know it a lot better. I even had the pleasant surprised that one of my flatmates studies Spanish in college. It is very tempting to just speak the languages you know, but I have started to resist recently. Sometimes I feel like I have been here for a about weeks, or months. It has only been 4 days! So much has happened and so much is still to happen. Classes start Monday, and our first field trip is a few days away. Tomorrow we'll go hiking to the Black Forest, so hopefully I'll upload some pictures soon. I forgot one of the most important things you can ever forget for a trip this long: my camera's chord. Yes, I have a lot of pictures, but I cannot upload them to my computer... yet. I'm solving that problem, but for now... auf Wiedersehen... http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/grue_von_freiburg.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2008/01/grue_von_freiburg.html Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:31:55 -0600 Several days ago Inessa came to Bogota and stayed several days at my house. It was really exciting to have the opportuity to show someone from Trinity the things that I love the most from here. One of the places you need to visit is the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. Zipaquira is a small town 30 minutes away from Bogota which has a strong salt mining industry. In 1993, the salt minerzs began the ambitious project of building cathedral inside the mine into the mountain. 2 years later the Salt Cathedral opened its gates. The entirety of its structure is made of salt, and digs down 168 meters below surface. It is, indeed, a wonderful site to visit. So I took Inessa there. The first section of our visit included 14 small shrines commemorating Jesus passion: from the 40 whip lashes to his burial. All the sculptures of these shrines are abstract representations of the Lord's suffering, and everything is carved from salt. The crosses at these shrines usually weigh 4 tons. Yes, 4 tons of salt scultped into a cross. Shortly after, we accessed the choir, designed to have perfect acoustic conditions for any performer. The cathedral down below also holds the world's biggst cross underground, towering up 17m from base to top and 12 m from arm to arm. The cross was also carved into the salt deposit. Many of the different ornaments inside the cathedral were lit with blacklight, giving the salt a majestic blue tone. My favorite was the access dome, where the blue ceiling glowed with overwhelming beauty. I promise to put some pictures sometime soon. I'm currently in a trip to Paipa, a town 3 hours away from home and I forgot to bring my laptop (with all the pictures taken in it) with me. For now, Happy New Years and hold on to more landmarks and adventures in Bogota. http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/mining_and_devotion.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/mining_and_devotion.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:38:11 -0600 Llapingachos ready to be fried... Ecuadorean goodness that fits in one hand. Needless to say, by the end of the night my stomach was stuffed so much deliciousness. After eating, we played the white elephant game. I had never heard of that game before, but the basic rules are: 1. Everyone brings an unmarked gift and puts it in a table. 2. A drawing order is determined randomly. 3. Whoever goes first, can pick any of the gifts at the table and opens it. 4. The next player picks another gift and opens it, and can choose to either keep the gift he/she just opened or swap it for any of the gifts already opened. The catch is...the people who have played this before buy ridiculous gifts. For example watch this: While we bought DVDs, gift cards, and other "nice stuff", the older players brought a giant ugly doll and a very naughty dog doll. It was hilarious to see people fight over who would keep a fondue pot and who would end up with the giant baby doll. Gifts switched hands like the Mississippi Miracle play. In the end, we had a great laughs watching people's reactions and frustration when they had to give their gift to someone else who wanted it too. Christmas party was a great time. We all ended up with a gift and learned about how food in other countries was like. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/discovering_a_white_elephant_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/discovering_a_white_elephant_1.html Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:19:33 -0600 I will leave you with this for now. Tomorrow I will write about what has been going on my last three weeks. I will probably avoid the nasty misery of finals week, but there might be some interesting things I'd like to tap on. Stay tuned. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/holiday_lights_for_now.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/12/holiday_lights_for_now.html Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:14:00 -0600 My name is Sebastian. This is my first blog and I hope you find this interesting reading material. I've been thinking for a while how to make this introductory entry something different than a list of adjectives and nouns that I could fill into an application form, and to be honest it has been a little bit hard. Let me start by saying I'm from Colombia. I was born and raised in Bogotá and came to Trinity University when I turned 18 to begin my college career. Two of the most important reasons that led to choosing this school are small class sizes and financial aid. My high school graduating class was 94 people, and classes were rarely greater than 30 students. Being used to this scenario, I thought Trinity was a better match for me. Also, Trinity offered me the best financial aid among the school's that accepted me. At the beginning of sophomore year I declared Economics as my major. I think this is a very powerful tool that can affect many people's lives, and I hope that one day, I can use it for the improvement of my country. I also feel I'm a musician at heart. I love playing my guitar and have been taking voice lessons at Trinity since sophomore year. I've been in Trinity choir since my first year, but took a little recess this year since I will be going abroad next semester and I am involved in many extracurricular activities. I'm the vice-president of "Venga". This club is for everyone who wants to practice their Spanish skills. We meet in the Tiger's Den (which is the bar we have on-campus) and have fun playing board games, listening to songs, both of them in Spanish, or just casual conversation. I’m also the Meetings Director of the International Club. Although my executive role is not that big (I take minutes in all the meetings and coordinate them), I still need to collaborate with the other executive officers to organize the events we hold. My biggest responsibility right now is being an ASR senator. ASR (Association of Student Representatives) is the student government organization at Trinity. As a Senator, I have voting rights on the decisions we make on the different issues that are brought up to us. I also have a direct role to playing on any issue I pick on. For example, the student course evaluations are undergoing a reformation process and I have been “lobbying� to the faculty so student can be more involved. I believe it is vital that students can have good insight about what could motivate them to give good quality feedback to the faculty and ensure we’re not deprived from our right to do so. I hope this entry was a little bit more interesting than what I could have accomplished by making a list. I must admit it is hard to keep things both brief and interesting when writing about what any student can do in college. My other blog entries will hopefully be more “story-oriented�, and very probably from a foreign location (WOOT WOOT GERMANY!!!!). I mentioned earlier I will be going abroad: my destination will be Freiburg, Germany. However, the program I’ve enrolled in has a big focus on the relations between European nations, and so, I will be doing several field trips to other countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, France, Belgium). I’m sure this will be as exciting as it sounds, if not more. And loads of pictures too! Auf Wiedersehen! http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/11/hola.html http://blogs.targetx.com/trinity/Sebastian/2007/11/hola.html Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:25:36 -0600