A Field Trip

Bogota  is a city that I knew so little about before coming here. Here are some of the things that I learned today:

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 July 20 is  a holiday here–Colombian Independence day–Flags were out everywhere. 
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In Bogota people love to exercise. This is a group people  who RAN to the top of Monserrate peak–a mountain that overlooks Bogota. It has an elevation of 10,000 feet. They looked very tired, muddy and happy to be done with their run!  I took the easy way up. A funicular train that went at a 90 degree angle up the side of the mountain.
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The views were spectactular!  Here I am with two other TGC teachers–Lauren from New York and Camile  from Florida! 

 

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 Colombia is home to more than 130,000 species of plants. I saw so many beautiful flowers that I had to force myself to stop taking pictures of them!
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The city of Bogota pays artists to paint murals! (The idea is to discourage grafitti) . I thought this one was incredible. 
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This city is HUGE! It has a population of 7.4 million people and covers over 600 square miles. 

QUESTION FOR KIDS:  Tomorrow I will go and see a school in Bogota. What questions do you have about the kids who live in this city? 

19 thoughts on “A Field Trip

  1. Kyle Sifuentes

    What great photos! Beautiful!! Kyle wants to know what they do for fun after school and what is their favorite food to eat.

    Like

    • Jennifer Wilkinson

      Hello Kyle!
      I was able to visit two schools in Bogota today! I asked some of the kids there what they like to do in their free time. They said they liked to play soccer and video games!

      One of the favorite things that people like to eat here is fruit. There are so many different kinds of fruit and fruit juice and it is served everywhere! Today I tried a new kind of juice–coconut lemonade! Your question has given me an idea! I think I will post a blog about all of the different kinds of fruit that I have seen!

      Like

    • Natalia and Shelsy

      We are Natalia and Shelsy students from Colombia Confederacion Brisas The Diamante afther school we like to read books and play football, our food favorite is the pasta whit chicken

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    • angelica sandoval

      hello my name is angelica am student school confederacion brisas del diamante I like to play futboll and my favorite food is rice with chicken

      Like

    • Jennifer Wilkinson

      Hello Brady,
      Today I was able to ask about who the oldest person in Colombia is, but they did not know the answer. I will keep asking!

      I also asked about what kids like to play! They said that they like to play soccer and video games! ( I will let you know when I find out who the oldest person in Colombia is!)

      Thank you for your questions! They are great!

      Like

      • alejo

        hi, my name is alejandro i am from confederación brisas del diamantein school, in bogota we like many sport as soccer, Basquetbol and voleyboll

        Like

    • danna jimenez and maicol osma

      Hi Brady
      We are Mauricio Osma and Danna Jimenez from Confederacion Brisas Del Diamante school in Colombia.

      The oldest person in Colombia was a women named Cirica Maria Zapata who 116 years old. she died last Sunday. 😦

      Like

  2. cumberlandprincipal

    The colors of the flag echoed in the three cars…fabulous! Seeing Bogota behind you gives just a speck of an idea of how large it really is. 600 square miles is about the size of three Chicagos, and Chicago seems huge. I am curious about how it is decided where children go to school. Do they have a public school system with neighborhood schools? What fun to see Lauren and Camille!

    Like

    • Jennifer Wilkinson

      Hello Ms. Heffron,
      I am glad that you noticed the colors of the cars! It was a complete accident! I did not realize it until I saw the picture.

      Today we went to visit two public schools in different parts of Bogota. One was in a very poor “favela” (slum). The other was also in a public school but in a better area.

      Public school is free to all children from grades 6 to 10. Which school a person goes to is determined by class and income. Those who can afford it send their children to private school. We will be visiting a private school tomorrow!

      Like

    • BRILLITH AND LUISA

      Hi!!! we are Brillith and Luisa studens from Bogota Colombia , Confederacion Brisas Del Diamante.
      In Bogota there are many publics schools near our neighborhood but sometimes the population must go to other further schools.

      Like

  3. Ava Tischler

    Ava would like to know about how many kids are in a class and if they are the same ages or different ages.

    She hopes you are having a wonderful time and loves the photos!

    Like

  4. Jennifer Wilkinson

    Dear Ava,

    I was able to visit two different elementary classrooms today. One was very much like our class–about 21 students. The other was very large. There were 40 kids in the classroom! In both classes they were teaching reading. (I tried very hard to understand the Spanish! ) Some of the kids even did a dance for us! I will post some pictures tomorrow!

    Thank you for your question!

    Like

  5. Alex/Laurie Thompson

    Hello!

    Alex would like to know how old the students are there? He would also like to know what colors they like?

    I would also like to know at what age they start learning to speak English in school (if they do)?

    Like

  6. Jennifer Wilkinson

    Hello Alex,
    The students at the schools I visited were between the ages of 7 and 17!
    I am not sure what colors they liked. Hopefully, one of them will read this and will be able to answer!

    At one of the schools they started learning English in 6th grade. At the other school they started in 2nd grade!

    Like

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