So when we left off at the end of The Vegas Adventure, I had just left my good friend Chris in the blinding light of a Vegas morning, to fend for himself on the Strip for one last day. While he wandered around in a daze, trying to think of things we'd forgotten to do… Continue reading Return to Gringoland
Category: Los Diarios del Gringo
The Vegas Adventure
"So when I was sitting next to you guys on the plane, I thought you were Mormons," confesses our new friend Junior, a young Colombian guy, as we sat waiting for connecting flights in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We laugh, but Junior is peculiarly stone faced. "No, I'm serious." Several weeks earlier, my housemate (who I'll… Continue reading The Vegas Adventure
“La Vida Sigue”
This week I had a little assignment for a subject that translates to 'Documentary Photography', where we had to make a photo essay on whatever theme we'd like. The next weekend my friends decided they'd like to visit Cementerio Central, Bogotá's main cemetery. A graveyard's as good as any other kind of yard for a… Continue reading “La Vida Sigue”
Medellin: Pronounce it ‘Medejin’, Gringos.
It's been a silent few weeks here at the Naked Pun, as uni work has been getting on top of me. A few weeks ago we had Universidad del Rosario's mid semester break, but because of a general apathy towards university work and a tendency to procrastinate, I could only afford a long weekend's worth… Continue reading Medellin: Pronounce it ‘Medejin’, Gringos.
Paradise Found
Within two hours I'd said goodbye to someone who left Bogotá for good a few days after me, gave up on an assignment and filled a backpack with random unsuitable clothes (jeans?!) before hopping on a one and a half hour flight north to a Colombia I hadn't yet met. As you walk out of… Continue reading Paradise Found
17th Jazz al Parque, Bogotá
It did what it said on the tin - jazz in a park. Last weekend saw the 17th incarnation of Bogota's 'Jazz al Parque', a jazz festival held both down south in Plaza Ferial de 20 de Julio and up north in leafy Parque Metropolitano El Country. As it was my week as staff photographer… Continue reading 17th Jazz al Parque, Bogotá
Photo Essay – Rosario y Nacional
Last week I had to create a photo essay for a photography course at uni. With Wednesday's student protests fresh in my mind, I decided to try and show the differences and similarities between Universidad del Rosario, an affluent four hundred year old institution in the city centre, and Universidad Nacional, the nation's biggest public university,… Continue reading Photo Essay – Rosario y Nacional
Robocops vs Mohawks – Round 2
"Quien es usted?" ("Who are you?") "Soy estudiante!" … Continue reading Robocops vs Mohawks – Round 2
Fresh Air in Villa de Leyva
"So how were the kites?" It's Tuesday afternoon, first Spanish class after the previous long weekend. "The what?" "The kites, you went to Villa de Leyva for the Kite Festival, right?" My classmate, a Korean kid not much older than me, looks a little bemused. "...oh yeah, there were kites at that thing." I feel… Continue reading Fresh Air in Villa de Leyva
First Weeks in Bogotá
After three weeks in Bogotá and around 15 days in our house, we have internet. The people at the bizarrely named 'TaiwanNet' down on Calle 12 are going to wonder what happened to the gringo who came in every second day for a few minutes to check his emails and talk about the Olympics. Today everyone's… Continue reading First Weeks in Bogotá