I have gone back and forth regarding this post due to recent conflict and have even wrote a few drafts, but in the end I have decided to keep things simple. If anyone is curious about whatever they have seen in the international news recently, Some reasonable places to begin would be here, here, or here to learn a little about what happened here in Ecuador and the following diplomatic conflict. There is much to learn about the subject; I have seen a fair amount of press, and fortunately, I have been exposed to a number of good resources here at the university including a few professors guiding discussions on the matter and even a forum to present various perspectives and players involved in the conflict. I have formed my own thoughts about the issue, but without getting too into it, I think it is important to remember that all the major players and organizations have called for peaceful resolutions that have pretty much kept the conflict from escalating into more violence and that the conflict is over at any level that would or could concern my study and/or travel plans. The president has declared that had any Ecuadorians died in the attack, they would already be at war- And I am proclaiming that I would already be home.
I looked into this topic with personal interest because I am in Colombia for my Spring Break vacation. I want to note, for my family, that we are flying over and not passing through any of the generally known danger zones (rural places, especially jungles, border territory, vulnerable night-life situations...etc.) and that our group is well aware of cultural, social, and political realities. We are planning on spending most of our time in museums and on the beach. So, although we intend to have our wits about, I´m more than reasonably convinced we are heading to places known only for their recent (relative) tranquility and essential (extreme) beauty.
Leaving today (3-19), we plan to be in Bogotá until Saturday, when we will be flying (only spending about $25 more than a bus and saving about 29 hours travel time) to Cartagena to spend the following three days exploring Baranquilla, Santa Marta, and a National Park, in that order. We plan to spend Wednesday the 26th traveling to spend a day or two, depending on how we feel in Medellin and then be back in Bogotá Friday the 28th for our flight back to Quito on Saturday Morning. In reality, I think we´ve considered all the implications and possibilities of our small excursion and I´m honestly more concerned with my monetary capacity for the trip than the groups ability to address the risks.
And seriously, much love to fam and friends home- I miss lots people and things and find myself listening to a lot of Beatles lately- I don´t know what that means exactly, but I think Beatles are usually a sign of musical-spiritual-existential- perhaps neoplatonic (just kidding)- sincerity.
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