Growing up in Colombia meant my world was painted in the brightest colors and soundtracked by the constant hum of life.
: Life often includes waking up early for school (often around 5:00 or 6:00 AM) and returning for a heavy, shared family lunch, which is considered the most important meal. Social Connection as a little girl growing up in colombia
Family was the sun around which everything orbited. Sundays were sacred, reserved for the "almuerzo familiar" where three generations would squeeze around a table for bandeja paisa Growing up in Colombia meant my world was
But here is what I also learned: resilience is not a grand speech. It is my mother waking up at 4 AM to sell empanadas at the bus terminal so I could have a new notebook. It is my abuela turning a single chicken into a three-course meal (soup, main, and fricasé leftovers). It is every costeño on the Caribbean coast laughing harder than anyone else the day after a hurricane. Sundays were sacred, reserved for the "almuerzo familiar"
She grows up with a profound appreciation for her country’s biodiversity. She knows that her country holds the beauty of the Caño Cristales river and the wax palms of the Cocora Valley. She is taught that her homeland is not defined by its struggles, but by its immense capacity for joy and rebirth.
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Colombia is a country of hyper-diverse geography, and your playground depended on which of the five regions you called home.