The Best of Bogotá

In the same spirit as the last entry this too will be a choose your own adventure. In the first part I will talk about daily life and its trials and triumphs. In the second part I will give a run down of what is happening with the orphanage plans. In the third part I will attempt to trump Rick Steves and give you a taste of what Colombia and Bogotá imparticular is like. There might be a fourth section if I ramble, but I will try to keep short and sweet. So without further adew, grab your coffee, chocolate, popcorn...tofu and warm blanket.

Me, Mi, y YO

Its crazy how life takes it´s twists and turns. Getting off the plane I had a preconceived set of fears, strengths and weaknesses that I might experience in Colombia. "My fears of not being accepted, and confidence that I could build the orphanage by my own doing, have flipped. I have been accepted and loved by everyone and exposed to my inabilities in the face of a huge task" (journal entry, Oct 12th). The community here has been amazing and I feel more like a regular "rolo" (local) than the church´s token gringo.

Several have asked what my average day looks like....ok, maybe just my mom. I moved in with the parents of the pastor a week and a half ago. Ines and Octavio are there names and they are wonderful, loving people. I call them my abuelitos (little grandparents) because they are really little and they are sort of like my grandparents. We live in an apartment complex that has striking similarities to the Spokane county jail. However, the rooms are very nice and I dont have to wear an orange jumpsuit with a number on it.

I wake up day around 8:00 and either go for a run or go to the local soccer court (micro-futbol, as they call it) and play some soccer. After I shower I go downstairs to eat breakfast. I normally eat some granola, a piece of bread or my favorite, an arepa (say it with me AR-ai-pa) which is a corn tortilla with cheese in the middle (very similar to pupusas for you CA folk). I down a cup of coffee, which my abuelitos drink like their life depends on it. After my breakfast, I grab my bag and head off down the street to the local bus stop. The buses very in size and color, but the one I take every day is an old (1980´s) toyota van, that should fit 4-5 people max, but in this case 9-12. Buses are about 50 cents a ride, but they aren´t the most reliable thing, and at night, they´re not the safest thing either. For this reason, the pastor suggested last week that I get a motorcycle, because with the work that I will be doing it will be easier to get around and in the long run, cheaper. When he mentioned that, I immediately had two pictures pop into my head. The first was me mobbing around Bogotá in a Ché like fashion. The second was me flying head first over a taxi after being squished between a cart full of produce and a bus. It was a mix of "yeah, that would be awesome" and "yeah right, I am going to get myself killed". However, as time passed I became more accustomed to the idea. I dont know if the fear just dissipated or the rational side of my brain knew it wasn´t going to win this battle and gave up. In anycase, I will be taking a quick course of how to ride a manual bike and getting my licence soon. Vive Ché. Daddy, get mommy a tissue, I am not going to die.

Usually I arrive at the church around 10am and I am there working until 8-9pm. I spend my days writing and preparing grants, writing emails to people interested in the orphanage, and helping out around the church. I will be honest it gets a little lonely sometime, but the evenings are fun because all the youth show up for evening classes. Its been quite a shift in my social life.

Ok...moving on. Take a sip of your coffee and lets continue.

Orphanage

The plans for the orphanage become clearer everyday. However, despite it´s clarity we still have to wait on funds. I just finished writing a grant to the Mustard Seed Foundation and now am starting a power point presentation which I can email out to interested people. My work consists of thinking of new ideas and approaches and then trying to get other people excited about the orphanage. There are encouragements and setbacks everyday, and gradually I am learning more and more that God has this planned out. The following is apart of a journal entry I wrote the other day, while sipping some coffee and eating some pan dulce.

"I talked with Libni and Daniel (pastor and brother) earlier, and they were a great encouragement. I dont know whether Libni is just overly optimistic or has great faith. But it seems everytime we talk we talk I am encouraged by his confident expectation that Christ will provide and that the orphanage is just one step in a grand plan to reach out and radically change our community for Christ. Libni encourages me to think big and not let money be a barrier. However, the natural businessman in me wants to focus on the tangibles and numbers. I know Christ is bigger than that. I know faith requires me to look beyond the tangible. I know the only way that this orphanage is going to succeed is that God directs it. I know...... please give me the faith to believe". (oct 27)

If you are wondering how you might help or maybe you know someone who could, please email me at grady.jacob@gmail.com . I am always looking for more contacts and foundations that might help. Thank you for your help.

Bogotá

Step aside Lonely Planet, take a seat Rick Steve, and buckle up yall, because here are the ins and outs of everything you would like to know about Bogotá. Like I had mentioned previously, Bogotá is surrounded by mountains. The mountains rise abruptly at the city´s edge. Standing in downtown Bogotá on seventh ave, you feel like you could drop kick a ball at the mountains and it would bounce right back to you. Monseratte and Guadalupe are two famous cathedrals that are perched on top of two mountains that overlook southside Bogotá. The city´s architecture is a blend of it´s historic colonial past, and modern day high rise buildings. Bogotá has autumn weather year round and its only change is that September-Nov is the rainy season. Every afternoon it rains for about an hour or so and then stops and clears up. For this reason, Bogotanos have the reputation for being pretty fairskinned. Speaking of pretty, Colombians on a whole are very beautiful people and they pride themselves on it. The miss Colombia pagent is going on right now and it get about as much press as the NFL play offs. Another thing Bogotanos pride themselves on is their spanish, which is very clear and proper.

The political scene is somewhat similar to that of El Salvador and Costa Rica. The president, Alvaro Uribe, is a card carrying free trade member. The good things that have come from his time in office is that the country is a lot more safer, because of his no tolerance stance on Guerrila violence. This increase in security has bolstered the Colombian economy and definitely made it more attractive for forreign investment. Speaking of which, all the utilities are privatized. The companies owning the utilities are from Spain, U.S. and other European countries. The sad thing about this is that the prices are very unreasonable and in many poor areas, they become the perverbial nail in the coffin for those who need access to water. As Uribe begins his second term (I believe 4 years) many anticipate the signing of a free trade agreement (TLC) with the States. In my conversations about this, I have heard a person say it would be good because there would be more jobs and in the same breath say its incredibly unjust. There seems to be an attitude of appreciation for more jobs, and yet a strong recentment of multinational abuse.

There are a handful of other experiences that I could talk about, like forgetting that the toliet paper goes in the trash can not in toilet, which thanks to years of playing super mario bros I am a great plumber and have not had problems. However, this has been quite a long post and so I will end this. As always if you read the whole thing, you deserve a treat so go out buy yourself a snap-bracelet or something. I love you all. Stay in touch.

Jacobito Grady