{"id":18130,"date":"2025-07-24T03:21:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T18:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/2025\/07\/24\/first-weekend-in-medellin\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T03:23:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T18:23:22","slug":"first-weekend-in-medellin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/2025\/07\/24\/first-weekend-in-medellin\/","title":{"rendered":"First weekend in Medell\u00edn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Japanese language classes in &#8220;Ajizal&#8221;, an autonomous region for internally displaced persons<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"704\" height=\"527\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18065\" style=\"width:506px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-1.jpg 704w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>Every Friday, I went to Ajizal, an internally displaced persons (IDP) community, to give Japanese lessons to the children. This day was my first time, so I joined the class as a support person for &#8220;Eri-san,&#8221; who had been teaching in Ajizal for about two months!<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"934\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18071\" style=\"width:803px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-3.jpg 934w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-3-300x114.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-3-768x293.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 934px) 100vw, 934px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>On that day, we practiced reading hiragana and katakana, learned how to say colors, and at the end of the day, we ate dumplings made by Eri-no-san. The children were very energetic and lively, but they also actively participated in the class, studied Japanese, and actually used the words they learned. I was impressed by their willingness to learn. \u263a\ufe0f<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"914\" height=\"686\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18074\" style=\"width:568px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-4.jpg 914w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 914px) 100vw, 914px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:54px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>karuta club<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>After my classes at Ajizal, I went to the Spring Hinata and joined the karuta club. Everyone was learning the bottom phrases and taking the cards quickly, and I was not able to get any teeth at all \ud83d\ude02.<\/p>\n\n<p>I was very happy to see that they liked and were enthusiastic about Japanese culture \ud83d\ude0c.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"594\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18077\" style=\"width:542px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-5.jpg 594w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-5-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"774\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18083\" style=\"width:442px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-7.jpg 578w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-7-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cultural Workshop<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., we offer Japanese cultural workshops.<\/p>\n\n<p>This time I held a workshop to introduce Japanese sweets in the 2:00 p.m. session.<\/p>\n\n<p>(\u2193The scene at that time)<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"612\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18086\" style=\"width:525px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-8.jpg 612w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-8-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"606\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18089\" style=\"width:533px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-9.jpg 606w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-9-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>I introduced mainly Japanese sweets and dagashi (fancy confections) with quizzes and other activities. With the help of my friends, I made the slides in Spanish, so I had a great sense of accomplishment when I finished.<\/p>\n\n<p>Santiago, a TikToker who came to this event, made a video on his TikTok introducing this event and &#8220;Spring Hinata&#8221;!<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"411\" height=\"668\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18092\" style=\"width:361px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-10.jpg 411w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-10-185x300.jpg 185w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 411px) 100vw, 411px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>Please take a look at how I was introduced too, like this<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vt.tiktok.com\/ZSBHvtY6u\/\">\u263a\ufe0ehttps:\/\/vt.tiktok.com\/ZSBHvtY6u\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dumpling workshop<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18098\" style=\"width:611px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-12.jpg 650w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-12-300x184.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>In the 4:00 p.m. session, I had the opportunity to help out a bit with the dumpling workshop held by Erino&#8217;s! Everyone seemed to enjoy the process of kneading the dough from flour and making the shapes with their own hands. It was a lot of fun to see how many unique dumplings were being made, some in the shape of cats and others with toppings of their own choosing \ud83d\ude02.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"695\" height=\"521\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18101\" style=\"width:506px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-13.jpg 695w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-13-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"503\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18107\" style=\"width:508px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-15.jpg 696w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-15-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sightseeing in Medell\u00edn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Sunday was my day off, so I decided to go out with a friend I met at Spring Hinata! She and her family took us to many places where we could enjoy Medell\u00edn.<\/p>\n\n<p>First, we went to eat Bandeja Paisa, a traditional dish from the Antioquia region centered on Medell\u00edn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"674\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-17.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18113\" style=\"width:528px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-17.jpg 674w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-17-300x226.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>It is a hearty dish with a large plate of beans in soup, ground meat, chicharrones (fried pork belly), chorizo, morcilla (black sausage), rice, fried egg, avocado, platanos, arepa, etc. I ordered a mini size, but it was still too big to eat\ud83d\ude05.<\/p>\n\n<p>Afterwards, we went to a small town called El Retiro for coffee, went to a shopping center to take a Colombian version of Purikura, and had a very enjoyable day!<\/p>\n\n<p>They were a really sweet family who took us to many places over the course of a day even though we had just met them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"729\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-19.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18119\" style=\"width:641px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-19.jpg 729w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-19-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"479\" height=\"359\" src=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18125\" style=\"width:442px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-21.jpg 479w, https:\/\/gorom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-4-21-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:57px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>In the next issue, we will take a look at the second week in Colombia, when we explored the city of Medell\u00edn!<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese language classes in &#8220;Ajizal&#8221;, an autonomous region for internally displaced persons Every Friday, I went to Ajizal, an internally displaced persons (IDP) community, to give Japanese lessons to the children. This day was my first time, so I joined the class as a support person for &#8220;Eri-san,&#8221; who had been teaching in Ajizal for about two months! On that day, we practiced reading hiragana and katakana, learned how to say colors, and at the end of the day, we ate dumplings made by Eri-no-san. The children were very energetic and lively, but they also actively participated in the class, studied Japanese, and actually used the words they learned. I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,148,53,120],"tags":[79,102,133,154],"class_list":["post-18130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tomomi-latam-trip-2025-2","category-tomomi-latam-trip-2025-en","category-news-en","category-grow-en","tag-colombia-en","tag-internship-en","tag-tomomi2025","tag-grow-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18131,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18130\/revisions\/18131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gorom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}