Susan Mayclin Stephenson

COLOMBIA, DRUGS, ZIKA, MONTESSORI, & ART

When someone asks me what I am going to do on an upcoming trip I reply, “I won’t know till the trip is over.” because one never really knows what will be the most important part of a trip.

DRUGS IN COLOMBIA
For example I never expected a trip to visit old friends to be a short course on Narcotráfico en Colombia or the illegal drug trade in Colombia.

On the 3-4 hour drive from Cali to Popoyan we saw at least 50 police, most flashing us a “thumbs up” signal to signify that there was no trouble with drug traffickers on that day.

Later, when I was leaving for the airport in a taxi to come home at 2AM, we were stopped for a routine check for drugs because the road to the airport continues on to the coast where drugs make their way to the ships. Cocaine is produced at $1500/kilo in jungle labs and can be sold on the streets of America for as much as $50,000/kilo. The statue in the picture above we bought on the road; these little art pieces are made for a fundraiser to provide money for families of police who were killed or disabled during drug wars. Of course my first thought when in a country that has suffered in this way for so long is, how can we help the children.

FRIENDS THEN AND NOW
Here are pictures of my dear friends Denise (from Brazil) and Adolfo (from Colombia). We met in 1960’s when I was an unofficial hostess at The Bechtel International Center at Stanford University because of a relative who was a professor there and we have stayed in touch and visited each other over the years, especially when Cali was a stopover on the way to Lima, Peru when I taught.

LATIN MUSIC
When asked why our son Michael is so interested in Latin music, I for the first time realized that Cali, considered the heart of Salsa, might have had something to do with this. In Colombia in 1979, at a night club called Hunca Munca, I learned to dance the Salsa. And, because of my positive experiences in Colombia and Peru, visited Cuba in 1980 and fell in love with that music. So Michael can maybe credit his love of Salsa/Timba music to Denise and Adolfo! If you are on Facebook you can see more of Michael’s band on the page “Timbata” and he is playing keyboard in this video clip.

MONTESSORI HELP FOR ZIKA BABIES
During this trip, Denise educated me about the horrible situation of the Zika virus, causing babies to be born with unusually small heads if the mother was exposed during pregnancy. Knowing that Montessori has a lot to offer people (from birth to old age) with mental and physical problems I created the Facebook page “Montessori Help for Zika Babies” with up-to-date news and infant development video clips for parents. Also the Portuguese translation of the Montessori 0-3 book, The Joyful Child: Montessori, Wisdom for Birth to Three, is being read free by parents in Brazil on Amazon every day.

For information on this book, with a link to all translations so far including Spanish and Portuguese . . .

CLICK: Joyful Child

MONTESSORI BILINGUE, CALI
Monica Abadia, who was an infant when we were all together in California kindly helped arrange school visits and translated for me. I had been in touch with the owner of the Montessori school via facebook and it was so good to meet in person.

This school, started over 25 years ago, was inspired and helped in the beginning by an old friend of mine. Ursula Thrush received her AMI diplomas in London and Bergamo, Italy, and was the first teacher of both of my daughters in San Francisco! She was the person who inspired me to go to London myself to get my first AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) teacher training. What a small world.

MONTESSORI FOR EVERY CHILD
Montessori Bilingue has received awards as a model for the country because at least 10% of the students have disabilities and they thrive in this Montessori environment.

MONTESSORI PEACE PRAYER
Omar, the 12-year-old son of the school owners, Lyda and her husband, started a school garden project and now the students grow a lot of their own food. When we met, Omar (an Arabic name as the family originally came from Morocco) told me it was his dream that every family on the planet could have a garden and grow food. He said this through a translator, but then recited a well-known Montessori prayer for peace in English.

I offer you peace
I offer you love
I offer you friendship
I feel your pain
I see your beauty
I hear your cry
My wisdom flows from my spirit within
I salute that spirit in you
Let us work together for peace. amen

As he finished tears glistened in my eyes. There are many schools around the world isolated and in need of contact with other Montessorians. Since returning I have put Lyda in touch with some via Facebook and already an AMI Montessori teacher trainer in Mexico has offered to give an introductory “assistants” course in Cali hopefully sometime in 2016. And when Lydia requested an audio file from me to share with the teachers I was able to send this link about the Montessori Model United Nations and a little video of the keynote I gave there in 2013. If feels like being back in Cali with the teachers:

Montessori Model United Nations:

CLICK: MMUN

INTO THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ANDES
One of my favorite memories of my first trip to Cali years ago was leaving the hot and humid valley below to drive up into the foothills of the Andes where the fog rolled in just like our home in Northern California. So one day we went. Looking back we could see the city laid out below us as the air became cooler and cooler.

CHOCOLATE CON QUESO
(Chocolate with Cheese) We ordered large cups of steaming hot chocolate accompanied by plates of fresh goat cheese for dipping and softening in the hot liquid, something we would never do down in the hot Cauca Valley. We had seen many of the goats on the road up the mountain and little stands selling goat cheese.

HOT SAXOPHONE! 

As we ate we listened to a really good saxophone player who soloed with recorded music. No matter what era or type of music came on the CD player he could immediately play along beautifully. Above is a little iPhone video clip to capture a bit of this magical moment.

REMBRANDT
Back down in the valley Adolfo took me to something I didn’t expect and was thrilled to see: an exhibit of 68 etchings of Rembrandt. Three rooms, all packed, with small magnifying glasses provided to guests so we could examine closely the great works, which was really helpful as some of the etchings were only 2-4 inches wide. It is amazing to think of these creations being shared across the world 400 years later.

COLEGIO BOLIVAR
Colegio Bolivar is the school for children from age 6 through high school where Monica’s daughter (Adolfo and Denise’s granddaughter) goes and it was a pleasure to see this beautiful place. We visited the “nido” which at this school means 2-4 year-olds, and the primary classes, which are very much influenced by the Reggio Emilia program from Italy that incorporates a lot of art with every subject. In this picture there are two art projects, one from a primary class, and the other, a fountain made out of “trash” cup and saucer, from the atelier which is an amazing art studio used by all ages. They insist upon using the word trash, rather than recycled materials, because these things have been thrown out, or “trashed” then found and creatively used by the students.

The picture on the left is one of several sculptures by young children exemplifying what they want to be when they grow up. This student wants to be a drummer and had made this drum set, about 12 inches in height from trash. The picture to the right shows the outside area of one of the classes. At the primary level classrooms have only three walls andare open to the outside year round.

CALI AT NIGHT
There is so much beauty in this country. I have not even touched on the magnificent  churches and cathedrals, the mountains, the sugar cane fields and orchids, the central plazas in all of the small towns, the amazing nightlife full of clowns and dancing and music.

The first Friday night as I had not yet located my earplugs I was able to document in person the fact that salsa music is played at least until 4 in the morning. The same thing on Saturday night. On Sunday things became quiet a couple of hours earlier. But I couldn’t complain because the noise was music! So that means music and dancing on 3 or the 7 nights of every week.

TROPICAL FRUIT
In the evenings, as people gathered at St. Anthony Square (as in the pictures above) to watch the full moon rise, people were selling the luscious tropical fruit of the area. I always look forward to the fresh, seasonal, fruit and there is always something in season. Here is a link to a list of fruits, some of which you will recognize from stores in your own country, and some you still have to look forward to.

Tropical fruit CLICK HERE

If you have access to FaceBook there are more pictures from this trip,
Facebook pictures CLICK HERE

I hope you enjoyed the small part of this amazing trip. If you would like to receive blog posts in the future please sign up with your email address near the bottom of this page. Look for a small colored rectangle or circle (depending on your computer) with the word “follow” or a “+” in it and follow directions.  You will then be sent an email to confirm the fact that you wish to follow this blog.

Take care,
Susan

Susan’s Home Page CLICK HERE