It takes about 6.5 hours from La Paz via Bogota.
We have arrived in Medellín, Colombia, the last country on this trip!
A friend I met at last year’s SEED Program picked me up at the airport, and the three of us went for a classic Medellín breakfast: ☀️
This is huevos revueltos con Arepa, quesito y plátano (scrambled eggs, arepa, cheese and plátano ).
Plátano, shown at lower left, is a cooking banana commonly eaten in Colombia. It is an indispensable part of Colombian home cooking, and can be fried, baked, stewed, or otherwise cooked and eaten as if it were a vegetable.
Arepa, on the right, is a standard Colombian breakfast, a round bread-like food made from corn flour. There are various types depending on the region, but in Medellín, a simple arepa with little saltiness, topped with butter and cheese, seems to be the standard breakfast food 😌.
I love it with ” Quesito “, the white fresh cheese on the left side: ❤️
After that, we went to the host family’s house.
The host families were very kind and drove us to the Japanese Cultural Center “Haru no Hinata” where we were doing our internship, and then took us to a shopping center!
There I ate Buñuelos (buñuelos).
It’s a classic Colombian snack, like a fried doughnut with cheese kneaded into it, but it’s indescribably exquisite and I was instantly hooked😍.
The internship will finally begin tomorrow!
Spring Hinata (Japan Cultural Center)
There is one bus ride from the house to Spring Hinata.
It’s not that difficult once you get used to it, but this was my first time on a bus alone in a foreign country. In Peru and Bolivia, I was always with someone, so first I was impressed that I could get on the bus alone and reach my destination 😂.
Finally, we arrived!
Before my lunch class, the administrative staff of the Japanese language school showed me around the area.
There are several stores related to Japan, including a manga shop, a crepe shop, and a cafe serving Japanese food. I was surprised that there are places where you can experience so much Japanese culture in the area!
Internship Details
The internship at the Japanese language school lasted about three weeks. I assisted with Japanese classes (reading, circling, supporting students’ learning, etc.) and workshops to introduce Japanese culture.
Schedule
– Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Day class, Evening class
– Thu: off
– Fri: Japanese class in Ajizal (displaced persons’ autonomous community)
– Sat: Morning class, afternoon cultural workshop
Ajizal” in the Friday column is a district where internally displaced persons live, and I was given the opportunity to teach Japanese to the children!
Classes included Japanese language lessons with textbook content projected on a screen, and presentation-style lessons introducing Japanese culture. In particular, during the cultural introduction time, the teacher explained about Japanese culture and history in an easy-to-understand manner, and the participants were very interested in the topic, asking many questions!
After class this past week, we all went out to eat together, stopped by a nearby bakery and went home, and had a great time together. ☺️
In the next issue, we will introduce our activities in Ajizal, a district where internally displaced people live, and the cultural workshop of “Spring Hinata”!