Ya salgo
Tonight, I leave the Universidad Reformada, in order to return to my official studies. I fly from Barranquilla to Bogotá, where I will stay overnight before flying home to Louisville.
I have spent two and a half full days this week translating complex documents about human rights, historical memory, and organizational development. While I find the topics fascinating, if I did not have a background in political science, I don´t think I would have understood them enough to make sense. There were a few instances where I had to look up the definition of the English words that had been assigned to their Spanish counterparts! 20 points go to anyone out there who can correctly define "usufruct" without looking it up in the dictionary. Needless to say, that´s left me a little exhausted on the writing front, which explains my week-long silence.
Yesterday, for my last full day in town, a friend of ours invited us over for lunch. We left for his house at 11:30, and returned at 8:30 PM. In the meantime, we enjoyed each other´s company, had sodas at a place called "The Singing Fish," and explored a human-made peninsula extending out into the place where the Río Magdalena and the Atlantic Ocean, in a region called "Boca de Cenizas," or "Mouth of Ashes." One of the locals taught Rachel and I how to fish with a kite, we saw scads of fossils, and had a grand old last day. That night, a small group went out for my official going-away party, where we played pool and had ice cream. It was quite the pleasant celebration.
Today, I am spending my last day as an accompanier in and out of a conference dealing with women´s rights and mobilization, and translated my last lecture as we spoke with a professor here about the intricacies of the current political news and examined approaches to their interpretation when we arrive home. While I look forward to seeing all yáll in the states, I´m not quite ready to leave. We´ll see if maybe, one day, I can return...
I have spent two and a half full days this week translating complex documents about human rights, historical memory, and organizational development. While I find the topics fascinating, if I did not have a background in political science, I don´t think I would have understood them enough to make sense. There were a few instances where I had to look up the definition of the English words that had been assigned to their Spanish counterparts! 20 points go to anyone out there who can correctly define "usufruct" without looking it up in the dictionary. Needless to say, that´s left me a little exhausted on the writing front, which explains my week-long silence.
Yesterday, for my last full day in town, a friend of ours invited us over for lunch. We left for his house at 11:30, and returned at 8:30 PM. In the meantime, we enjoyed each other´s company, had sodas at a place called "The Singing Fish," and explored a human-made peninsula extending out into the place where the Río Magdalena and the Atlantic Ocean, in a region called "Boca de Cenizas," or "Mouth of Ashes." One of the locals taught Rachel and I how to fish with a kite, we saw scads of fossils, and had a grand old last day. That night, a small group went out for my official going-away party, where we played pool and had ice cream. It was quite the pleasant celebration.
Today, I am spending my last day as an accompanier in and out of a conference dealing with women´s rights and mobilization, and translated my last lecture as we spoke with a professor here about the intricacies of the current political news and examined approaches to their interpretation when we arrive home. While I look forward to seeing all yáll in the states, I´m not quite ready to leave. We´ll see if maybe, one day, I can return...
posted by Amy at 1:36 PM
3 Comments:
Amy,
Well done. I've enjoyed reading about your work, and I look forward to hearing more about it when you return to the 'Ville.
Buenas Amy,
Hope you made it home safely and happily. Take care of yourself over the coming days of reverse culture shock. You'll be missed here in Barranquilla, so keep in touch.
Nos vemos,
rachel
Usufruct (I had to look it up) appears to be a term of relevance to the Lousiana state bar. If the term was used in the other jurisdictions in this country, it would probably be better known, even among lawyers.
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