Visitors, visitors and more visitors

The past month our house has been filled with visitors. The first visitors were TSP’s mom and sister. This was Grandma E’s second visit to Colombia but was Aunt K’s first visit. Aunt K was excited to get her first passport. She loved it so much she did not want to return. Both Grandma E and Aunt K were enchanted by Bogotá. We visited Monserrate (note: this link is not official but has some great photos!) and we went to AJP’s favorite restaurant, Andres Carne de Res. AJP tells everyone that it is a kid’s restaurant that turns into a disco at night. He says, “They even dance on the tables!” We also visited the Gold Museum. The Gold Museum has an incredible collection of Pre-Colombian artifacts. We also visited, for a few moments, the Botero Museum. Fernando Botero is probably the most prominent Colombian artist. He has a very distinct style. The museum started when Mr. Botero donated his private collection of art to start the museum. It was an incredible gift to the city of Bogotá and the country of Colombia.

Grandma E and Aunt K also went with TSP shopping. We went to the leather district for bags and leather coats. We also visited a shop to buy Colombian handicrafts. However, the most exciting shopping adventure was a trip to Corferias. There was a large fair with vendors from all parts of Colombia selling their handicrafts. It was a great opportunity to see the variety of crafts in Colombia and taste some typical Colombian food.

JTP’s brother was our next visitor. Uncle M finished teaching at his PhD alma mater and came to visit us before he heads off to start his tenure-track position in Texas. He had a great time getting to know a new city. He saw Monserrate, the Botero Museum (where he said that compared to the paintings he looks like Kate Moss), Andres Carne de Res, and had a special guys day out with JTP and AJP at the Gold Museum. Aside from the awful flights, the trip was great.

JTP’s cousin came next. She loves Bogotá and this is her third visit with us. Her main purpose with this visit was to do an informal Spanish-immersion program and do some networking for a possible job change to international development. She only stayed with us over the weekend and today moved in with a Colombian family where she will stay for two weeks and then do some traveling in Peru. She will spend the last weekend of her visit with us. She is a wonderful person and a great visitor.

We have loved all of our visitors. It has been great for people in the U.S. to see a side of Colombia that is different from what Hollywood and the news promote. We feel like our visitors return home to be unofficial Colombian ambassadors of good will. They share their experience and all the beautiful aspects of Colombia with others. This increases cross-culture understanding and promotes tolerance. Both things this world sorely needs!

Now that all the visitor’s have gone (almost) it will be time to focus on our next adventure . . . DC for six months to learn Portuguese and then off to Brazil!