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Why Colombia?

                      Colombia                  map-of-colombia

 

When evaluating where we should conduct our research, our group had considered several places. We could return to Southeast Asia, we could explore new ground with Lebanon, Kenya, Bosnia to name a few, but when Colombia was mentioned, it seemed instinctively obvious. We each individually had it at the top of our list. There were several reasons for this, the proximity and travel time was a consideration as we wanted to have as much time on the ground for research as possible. The history of Colombia was of great interest and the change that it is experiencing now. External perceptions of Colombia were known to us, but we wanted to see how it truly measured up to reality. It has a rich and vibrant culture of color, music, dance and happy people which contrasts greatly to its history of violence, corruption, and dissolution. We wanted to delve deeper into the existing social issues and further understand the recovering economy. Yes, let’s be honest, coffee, cuisine and the fact that it was the home of Gabriel Garcia Marquez all had something to do with it too!

Colombia has great unassuming ambassadors, some of them here at Loyola. Pedro Navas, who had only recently joined the QSB, was excited at the possibility of us going to his country. He became an immediate friend, ambassador, resource and champion to each of us. Some of us had him in classes and we would chat in any spare moment about Colombia, Bogota, our project, his friends, what to do and what to explore. It is safe to say that without his enthusiasm and help the project would have been very different.

I could go on and on as to all the reasons we chose Colombia, but in the coming days and weeks you will hopefully discover all the reasons, adventures, discussions and possibilities we had in front of us.

Colombia is at the North-Western most tip of South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Caribbean Sea to the North. The Andes Mountains span from the North to the South. Majority of the population of Colombia live in the urban centers. Bogota, the capital, Cali, and Medellin. It has a tumultuous history and is in a moment of great change (see BBC link below for political timeline). A few quick links about Colombia:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/colombia-facts/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1212827.stm

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