Story of a drug addiction

By Pablo Gomez Ayerbe (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Let’s begin by telling this is not a personal story but of my best friend. Our story together began in school two small brats that had just left the nest and thought they could take the world on their shoulders. we were both driven by the obligation that we had to change the world we were political addicts always thinking of the best that we could do to help society, but don’t worry this story is more interesting than two kids with an addiction to politics, this is a more obscure and dark addiction, one that is harder to forget.

As two 14 year old ignorant boys we didn’t have the educational bases to be able to orientate our ideas in a decently coherent way. I for one started getting involved with social rejects which further on I would introduce to my friend. My friend, on the other hand, began to look towards music that only showed hatred and disgust towards everything. I don’t know about you but I think this is a rather bad combination. The Funny thing about this story rejects attract other rejects. Both of us had the same name, long hair, bad ideas, well you get the point.

Time went by and both of us got more and more involved in this subculture known as “punks”; each time the people became more and more social rejects with more bizarre looks than the last one. My friend and I were both from good schools and well positioned families and we were both in the wrong place. For me this lasted more or less one year, and I managed to have some badass “friends” if you can call them that; but my friends involvement, with this subculture took him deep in for at least 2 years if not more, after the first year is when everything began to get more and more gloomy.

After I left this life style, and decided to go towards a more posh life style my friend and I drew considerably worlds apart. He left school and stopped talking to all his long life friends, and that I when the real addiction began, the addiction to drugs. First he began with hard liquor, then some other type of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine but his real favorite time drug was glue, more commonly known as Boxer. This is used by people on the street to forget about their hunger, but my friend wasn’t in need of that he had a good home to get to; he only had really bad influences and made stupid life choices what a better combination than that to end up in rehab.

It wasn’t easy to get my friend into rehab; it took a lot of bad things to happen, especially the threat of being thrown into family care, for him to reconsider the idea of being put in rehab. Time went by; to be precise 6 months went by. A process in which I and almost all our friends accompanied him through. Now a days I can say proudly that he has completely recuperated doesn’t consume absolutely anything and has a scholarship at his university, after all sometimes life does forgive and we can have a second chance.

One small detail I forgot to mention is that I left that world because I noticed that it was no necessary to dress or act like a clown to have a political ideal or an interest to help society, besides the fact that with that way of dressing how was I going to find a girlfriend ever.

First day in Colombia after the World Hip Hop Dance Championship - Las Vegas, Nevada

By Laura Pava (undergraduate FIGRI student)

I’m here sitting in a classroom, listening to everyone talk about the homework they didn’t make, the financial analysis of an enterprise and what are they going to have for lunch… what they don’t know is that my head hasn’t arrived from the United States. I can’t stop dancing in my mind, so I put on my headphones and start humming “Love never felt so good” by Michael Jackson. 

 There are two types of persons in this world, those that when they arrive from a trip show everyone their photos, talks a little about the experience and continue with their normal life, and those that stay with mental disorder for about two weeks more, thinking and feeling that they are still on the trip. 

 I look down and see my red Hip Hop Vlado shoes and realized I’m part of the second group. 

Traveling to Las Vegas is amazing by itself but being there representing my country – you have to agree with me – is difficult to overcome. The strange thing is that when I think about the city, I don’t remember the great lights, the casinos and not even the famous strip, unlike I remember the hotel’s lobby, the places where we rehearse and the scenario where we saw the best Hip Hop dance crews of the world.

I was under 21 then you might wonder - "who in this world travel to Las Vegas being a minor?!?" - and that is right, I couldn’t even get a beer while I rehearse, but that’s ok, I went to the craziest city in the whole world to drink Mountain Dew. 

We stayed at the Red Rock Hotel, Resort-Casino-Spa, I repeat, RESORT-CASINO-SPA and what did we use? The lobby and the halls to rehearse, I didn’t even get to enjoy the most fabulous pool I’ve ever seen, but that’s fine I danced next to the casino – before they ask me to go-, ate a hamburger in front of the professional betting area, and for you to envy me more, I saw the “Caesars Palace” when the movie “What happen yesterday” was recorded but I couldn’t enter because I had to take another dance workshop. So, that’s right.. I didn’t get to know real Vegas, I don’t have a lot of pictures of the casinos or a t-shirt, I didn’t get to bet nor drink a margarita and I didn’t get crazy and drunk. I went to Las Vegas to get to know Pacman, Parris Goebel, Shaun Evaristo, Ian Eastwood and Bryan Puspos I traveled to watch Royal Family dance, to cry with my crew when we go up on the stage and learn how to be a better professional. 

 My body still feels the adrenaline when I remember the words “And representing Colombia, please welcome, D-three” and the moment when we stand on the famous scenario of the World Hip Hop Dance Championship. 

 Maybe it is not the ideal travel for everyone, but is the ideal experience for a dancer. 

 I stand up. The class is over. I can´t walk normally then I continue dancing through the stairs while everyone looks at me in a weird way … Dear students and colleagues I’m sorry but I will have this mental disorder for about a week more, maybe a month or maybe a year, but if you see me dancing around the university you should know I have no problem with you joining me.

Why does Bogotá need Broadway Plays?

By Juan Pablo Martínez (undergraduate FIGRI student, level 4 English)

Some of the greatest experiences are capable of changing your whole life for one moment, and plays are able to do this.

Bringing over some of these plays would maybe show us in Bogotá some different cultures that could improve the way that we look at this kind of art. Culture is a very important thing for our lives, and people who don’t like to read should find different ways to appreciate it.

One case is “Les Miserables.” This tragic musical is charged with drama and music, and has many fans around the world. It’s about a man who steals some bread for his nephew, and when he is running away with the bread, the police catch him, and put him in jail. Because of this, he then has to serve a jail sentence of fifteen years. When he gets out of prison, he decides to be a better person, and he forgives all the people that have hurt him.

He goes to a beautiful town and some time later, becomes the mayor. One day he walks through a street full of prostitutes, and he sees one woman crying in the street because she has a terrible life. He takes her to a hospital, and she tells him that she has a child, but she is dying. After this, he travels to another town to find her. He discovers that she is so famished and he decides to adopt her.

It’s a great story that teaches us about different kinds of lives.

Why are People usually uncomfortable about everything?

By Katherine Barón (undergraduate Social Communication student, level 4 English)

Normally, people aren’t happy about the things that they have; we often love the things that other people have, but not our own things.

Women, for example, love other women’s hair, or their lives, or their boyfriends, or bodies, and so on and so on! Of course, the exact same thing happens with men.

It’s a normal thing in our society, but it isn’t good. We really need to think about it, because it’s really nice to love our own things, and this means being confident about ourselves, but this scenario is far away for us.

Even for me, it’s a problem, and the funniest thing is that I don’t even know why! Whoever you are, you just need to ask yourself these questions: “am I happy with the things I have?”, “am I happy about how I really am?” When you do this, you’ll probably see that the answers are not positive.

So, be happy with everything that you are, and just when you can finally be happy, you can see the big changes in your life and see the beautiful things that surround us in the world. That is the best advice for all of us students!

I’m a vegetarian, not a terrorist!

By Isabella Sánchez Bolívar (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Most of you might think that the hardest part of being a vegetarian is eating out at restaurants, eating at friends’ houses, getting enough proteins and vitamins or finding vegetarian products, but that isn’t true. The most difficult part of being a vegetarian is dealing with the prejudice that society has.

Every time I tell someone I am a vegetarian, people treat me like a terrorist. First, they start with their interrogation, asking questions like: “why are you a vegetarian?”, “how long have you been a vegetarian?”, “if you don’t eat meat, what do you eat?”, “don’t you miss meat?” After answering all their questions (which I have to say I have answered thousands of times), they begin to criticize me and judge me. According to them, not eating animals is stupid because it won’t stop the mass killing of animals.

Not only that, but they also ask, “animals are delicious, so why are you so stupid to stop eating them?” I won’t talk about the reasons why I and millions more people around the world are vegetarians because that is not the purpose of this article, but if there is something that really upsets me, it’s people trying to convince others to do or not to do something. I strongly believe that everybody is free to think and do whatever he/she wants to think or do if it doesn’t affect the lives of others. That’s why I can’t stand it when they try to convince me to eat meat again because I never try to convince anybody to become a vegetarian. It is a personal choice.     

That’s why being a vegetarian in Colombia is not that easy and it is not because of the reasons you could imagine.

It is because the hardest part of being a vegetarian is dealing with people who just don’t understand. 

The modern slavery: sex trafficking

By: Camila Giraldo (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Sex trafficking, a form of slavery and involuntary servitude, occurs when people are forced or coerced into the commercial sex trade against their will. It results in serious human rights violations, involving individuals profiting from the sexual exploitation of others and having severe physical and psychological consequences for its victims. Although anyone can become a victim of sex trafficking, it mainly affects women and children (according to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are smuggled across international borders every year, more than 70% being women and half being children), and it is the main type of human trafficking, because approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation.

This global crime arises from the need and desire of people to have a better life. Usually poor, vulnerable and unemployed women from unstable countries are lured by offers of well-paid work offers in bars, restaurants and hotels in other countries, with the fake promise of a better life. They travel with false documents through an organized network which transports them to the destination country. Last year, Dayana (19 year-old girl from Risaralda – Colombia) received a unique offer that would change her life: a job as a receptionist in a port in Panama with a really good salary, but when she got there, the trafficker (a man known as “Ruben”) took her passport and forced her into a terrible situation.

Once the victims fall into the trap and they find themselves forced into sexual slavery, they are held in constant fear and inhumane conditions (lack of food, poor health conditions, degrading living conditions, etc.). This is an obvious loss of freedom, dignity and identity for the individual, where they’re unable to exercise their rights. In the case of Dayana, she was locked with 11 other girls in in a small room without any kind of light or ventilation, and the traffickers used belts and all kinds of violent weapons to control them when they didn’t follow the rules. In addition, they never received a penny for their forced job as prostitutes.

In Colombia, there have been 147 cases of sexual exploitation over the last four years, principally from Valle del Cauca, Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, Quindio, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Córdoba and Nariño. In recent years, the fight against trafficking has been a priority for Colombia. Between 2010 and 2014, the country signed five bilateral cooperation agreements with Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Honduras and El Salvador to prevent, investigate, protect and assist the victims and in June of this year decree 1069 of 2014 was sanctioned with this objective. Despite these initiatives, there’s a poor level of assistance for victims, because according to Colombian law they’re not the centre of the policies, only witnesses and collaborators of the State against organized crime, leaving aside the part of human rights.

As can be seen throughout the article, sex trafficking is a form of modern slavery, where victims, with the promise of good jobs and better opportunities actually get forced into prostitution or other types of exploitation, living in inhumane conditions and fear. As well, it represents a serious violation of human rights that affects almost every country in the world, including Colombia, where every year approximately 147 cases of sex trafficking are seen.

The Fantastic World of Photography

Article and photograph by Yuli Andrea Robles Gordillo (undergraduate Social Communication student, level 5 English)

 

Colombia, a dream! By: Yuli Robes .Youth Award II- Fine arts on the photography contest Fotofauna XXVI 2014.

It’s easy to see that some people consider photography to be just a technical tool; in fact, many people believe that photography is something simple. For example, my dad uses a camera only for family photos, and uses a photo only for his identity card or his passport, but photography goes beyond that.

Photography is a technical tool, but it is also so much more than this. Through time, this has been one of the best ways of expression, which shows our imagination and creativity, a creativity that is possible to reflect with this art.

Photography is as special as a book, but it is also different! Have you ever seen a photo that transports you to another amazing time? This is the most important factor in photography: it helps us not to forget our special memories, whether these are good memories or bad memories.

In the same way, Photography has presented news and important situations for humanity. Photography has made history, has made families, friends and societies, but more than all this, photography has the unique and wonderful possibility to freeze time forever.

On the other hand, theory and technical concepts are important and in some cases difficult, but in my own experience I can tell you that the most significant aspect when you want to take a photo is that you love the place, person or thing that you will take a photo of. With this beautiful art, you can learn to see the true essence of existence, and you can appreciate all the simple but indispensable details of your life.

Definitely, photography is the best option to appreciate your life, to relax and to show all your talent and love for all the wonderful gifts that are around you!

The Day I Made a Change

By Daniela Orjuela (undergraduate Business Administration student, level 2 English)

I open my eyes to a new day, a day which I don’t know anything about. I get dressed and then I say goodbye to my family and I take a bus. The bus window is full of raindrops this morning. I can see the little shadows on the other side of the window, so I decide to look into the bus. Near to me there is a woman sleeping; I continue to look and I see some people standing, some of them listening to music. Other people are talking on their cell phones, while others are talking to other passengers and other people remain silent.

I arrive to university, and I go to my first class. Everything stays the same as always, but today the teacher starts his class in a different way. During the two hours of class, he speaks to us about the changes in the world, encouraging us with the phrases of great people from history. Then he tells me the following sentence: “Anybody can make a change.” That phrase really made me think all day.

Returning home on the bus, I met with different people. Something caught my eye when an old lady climbed onto the bus and no-one gave up their seat, so I did. How is it possible to change the world if people don’t make a change? We only blame the government for the situations in our country, when we need to be aware of our actions and try to contribute to change.

It is just necessary to be proud that we are the children of the privileged country called Colombia. We are united through football, but we must also be united through other things.

“Everyone wants to change the world, but no-one thinks of changing himself.”

Leon Tolstoy

Skateboarding is not a Crime!

By Juan Sebastián Gaitán Cortes (undergraduate Accountancy student)

In many places around Bogotá, skateboarding is not allowed because some people have bad impressions about this lifestyle. The problem is that there are only a few skateparks and places where you can do this sport, and it’s hard for skaters to have to look for places where they can enjoy this activity. Sometimes, even when skaters find a place, people call the police to kick them out!

June 21^st is a special day for skateboarding in Bogotá: on this day all the skaters in the city go to the city centre and ride through the streets until they arrive to the “Nacional” Park. However, in the afternoon, the police go to the park and kick out the skaters and argue with them.

I think that the best solution would be to make more skateparks and places for skaters to do this sport, and so that they can avoid problems with the police and other people. This would be a great idea because skateboarding has many benefits, and if the government promotes skateboarding, lots of people will have healthy lives, because when you do this sport, all the time you’re jumping and doing a lot of exercise while you ride.

Also, it would be a good solution for young people to leave their electronic gadgets at home and go do some exercise and socialise with their skater friends. When you go skateboarding, you can leave all your problems behind you, and find a great way to enjoy your free time.

My Opinion: Riches and Poverty

By Laura Catalina Castaño A. (undergraduate Accountancy student, level 4 English)

We can see that in a country like Colombia, there are many riches, but we have such high indexes of poverty and inequality.

The mining and energy industries produce a lot of money for the country, but paradoxically the people who live here often live in a terrible way. The Government believes that mining can make the country into a rich place, but this isn’t true. You just need to look at the history of this, for example in African countries.

I think that extraction and exploitation of natural resources is the worst thing that the Government can decide to do, because that leads to many problems for the environment. For instance, this will cause water and air pollution because these industries throw away the most dangerous substances and by-products into the heart of the population. While the industries get a lot of money, the population doesn’t receive anything in return.

Our resources are used by other countries with a strong industry and we lose our riches and destroy our country. Do you really think that the money is enough, considering the results?

What do you think about this?

Colombia: World Cup Heroes!

By Tatiana Espinosa (undergraduate Social Communication student)

Everyone knows that the Colombian team was one of the best of the World Cup in Brazil, because we won four matches against some of the best teams in the world, and that was without us having played in the World Cup for sixteen years! Since José Pekerman has been the manager of the Colombian team, we have started to win many matches and people have started to believe again in our Colombian soccer players. That is because José Pekerman is a manager from Argentina with a lot of experience and with all the capacity to make a really good team.

I think that the Colombian team did so well in the last World Cup because this year we had a lot of great players with really good skills, and the team that Pekerman made used a wonderful strategy, that no other team had in the event. And this was unexpected - the people from Colombia were surprised about winning each game! James Rodríguez and Radamel Falcao were the two most important players in the team, but when Falcao got hurt, the rest of the team was ready to give all their support to win each game.

The expectations for the next World Cup in Russia 2018 are very high because the team played so well last time, and so the Colombian people are hoping that in this World Cup we can advance more or maybe win every game. Everyone will be supporting the team during all their matches.

Knowing that Pekerman is going to still be the manager of the Colombian team, and James Rodríguez, Radamel Falcao and most of the other players will still be playing in the national team, I hope that we can win more matches. It would also be great to see the prizes of the golden boot and the fair play award stay in our team. Of course, if we can finally win against Brazil and get revenge, that would be great too!

Citi-Zen

 

By Jefferson Alfonso Mejia (undergraduate Social Communication student)

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life"

Virginia Woolf

I need to drink at least two cups of coffee, smoke three cigarettes,

have four aspirins for breakfast or I can’t decently begin another day.

It is the war of me, against me. With no headquarters or possible deal.

I have learned how to walk in this race of ants

from the masses in the stations, the buses and the cabs,

walking like cattle to the slaughter, in indifferent lines,

jumping from this ship that is sinking, like desperate rats.

One must talk on the phone and ignore the noises:

the beggars, the starving people, the junkies.

The neighbor and his pet, the barking and the trash.

One needs to hear tunes even in a talk,

cause it cannot bear silence even when silence

means the weeping of a sixty-year-old man.

One needs instructions on a screen,

the least possible steps to do something.

One doesn’t want to think.

Is it the shadow of a building or is it the night that has already come?

I am dying among people that I can’t stand anymore,

in conversations that I don’t want to hear or know about.

Smiling at faces I don’t want to see.

Monsters and angels that I love but that kill me.

Does anybody remember the meaning of silence?

Is the fly staring at the glass beautiful?

Or the fearless dove that looks like a rat?

It that the call of an angel, or is it just the horn of a car?

Is it a star that shines with such little brightness?

I’ll die in combat, I know. I’ll prepare my death.

Just yelling at an officer on the street with a gun,

slipping from the terrace trying to breathe free.

Crossing a corner without hearing or seeing...

But still,

I prefer this violence of the streets

the sigh of the rotten breeze,

than the peace of an impossible green

that my body and my shrink

think I desperately need.

Bici Externado: A different way to come to university

By Natalia Reina (undergraduate Economics student, level 4 English)

Externado students are always thinking about how many people are on the bus with them in the morning when they’re on their way to university, and also about the terrible traffic jams when they are coming back home. However, many people at university don’t know about Bici Externado, a new way that our students are helping each other to come to university by bike.

The idea is that there is a route which is organised by the students together and in this way every morning you can join the route at whichever point along the way is closest to your house.

This is a great idea to prevent thefts and at the same time, you can spend time with students from various different Externado faculties. Of course, as well, you are also doing exercise and helping the environment!

One of my friends told me that the people on the route are very friendly and it’s full of enthusiastic students who have decided that Bici Externado is a good option for them. About 30 students are currently part of Bici Externado, and they meet in specific places, at specific times: for example, at Corferias at 6.10am.

You can find more information about this new idea on their official Facebook page: Bici Externado.

Barbie: a negative social stereotype

 

By Daniela Cubillos Rojas (undergraduate Social Communication student, level 4 English)

Barbie has been the favorite doll of girls since 1959, when an American company first brought her to the market. Although this brand has several kinds of dolls and collections, Barbie has always kept her form and characteristics. Her popularity has become so big that she has become an example that little girls want to follow.

Barbie is a social stereotype mainly because this doll represents the characteristics of a perfect female body. Generally, Barbie is a tall woman with long blonde hair, blue or green eyes, a small nose and delicate lips. Her body is very slim and has a flawless form. The controversy is the fact that the perfect body of Barbie is etched into the minds of young girls until they think that this body is what they must have in the future.

Another negative consequence is that the ideal Barbie can produce low self-esteem when these girls become teenagers. This could happen because this doll is promoting a superficial concept of beauty. So the girls, from children to adolescents, who don´t have those specific characteristics, feel dissatisfied with their bodies and likewise their self-esteem starts to decrease.

Furthermore, in Colombia Barbie is a bigger problem. This is because people here have different skin colors and most of these dolls are white. So if a Colombian girl has dark skin, she won’t feel beautiful and she will want to change her skin and her whole body, because all little girls want to become Barbie. 

We can’t make the company stop selling Barbie or change her appearance. The solution is with the parents who can teach their daughters that there are other things that are more important than fashion, a perfect body or superficial thoughts. 

1984: A Comparison between the Book and Now

 

By Patricia Garcia-Marquez (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Recently there’s been a new trend that has gone viral worldwide: the Ice Bucket Challenge. That’s why, for many days you saw many football players, actors and actresses take the challenge for a good cause. Like this trend, there have been many others during the last couple of years all over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; in fact even the Arab spring originated through these channels. Therefore it is impossible to deny the influence that social media, and of course the Internet, have in our common life: as a way of interaction, to check the news and even as a work tool.

However, do we really know who’s watching or monitoring everything we write on Facebook? How many likes have we given to this site? How many times have we googled this word? Who do I follow on Twitter? It is undeniable that we are constantly observed by our governments. In fact, when Edward Snowden, a former system administrator for the CIA, leaked the documents that proved the existence of numerous global surveillance programs with the cooperation of telecommunication companies everyone freaked out. Then, following this, a common question pops up in my mind: Are we living in George Orwell’s 1984?

For those who haven’t read the book or watched the movie, 1984 is a political satire of a totalitarian state “tightly controlled by the ubiquitous Big Brother”[1].  It was written by George Orwell in 1949 and tells the story of Winston Smith, a low ranking member of the ruling party in London, who feels frustrated by the domination the party has over people.

For starters, one of the main topics of the novel is the endless war on a global state.  “In Orwell's book, there's a global war that has been going on seemingly forever, and as the book's hero Winston Smith realizes, the enemy keeps changing. One week we're at war with Eastasia and buddies with Eurasia. The next week, it's just the opposite.”[2]. Currently there are numerous little wars happening all around the world: Ukraine vs. Russia, Israel Vs. Palestine, the bombings in Iraq, etc. It seems, as the book says in one part, that the world powers want to keep the masses in perpetual fear and anger. 

Another thing in common are the telescreens. “In the novel, nearly all public and private places have large TV screens that broadcast government propaganda, news and approved entertainment. But they are also two-way monitors that spy on citizens' private lives.”[3] As I said before, we are constantly observed through our Facebook and Twitter pages, and it is easy to know where we are through our mobile phones’ GPS. Right now, in the UK, there’s one surveillance camera for each eleven people.

Finally, “the fictional, stripped down English language, used to limit free thought. OMG, RU serious? That's so FUBAR. LMAO.”[4] We are destroying language little by little.  Conclusively, it is undeniable that what Orwell wrote 60 years ago is a reality right now. We are being watched and that makes us all suspects, and even if theoretically that should make us more secure, as we can see, we are ever more insecure.

---

[1] We’re living in”1984” today. August 3, 2013. CNN [Online]. Took from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/03/opinion/beale-1984-now/ the 13 of August 2014.

[2] . Ibid.

[3] Ibíd.

[4] Ibíd. 

The Most Anticipated Film: Coming Soon!

By Karen Ramos Castro (undergraduate FIGRI student, level 4 English)

Undoubtedly, the most anticipated film right now is 50 Shades of Grey. Many readers are so excited because next year, we will see the movie premiere of the most controversial book that people have read until now. The premiere will be on St. Valentine’s Day and you can see the trailer online now!

The writer, EL James, decided to choose Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. However, it was really difficult to find these actors, because some of the potential members of the cast didn’t want to appear in the scenes from the book.

Also, I have good news for the fans of the book who are eagerly awaiting the film! If you want to work for Christian Grey at Grey Enterprises Holding Inc., you can download an app through the app store on your cell phone. With this app, you can register and start to work for the company as a fellow. When you do this, you will start to receive gifts and messages from Christian Grey! You can choose to complete assignments, earn badges, access official 50 Shades of Grey content, and climb that ladder of success!