I can't thank you enough for the amazing trip.  I am recommending that all my friends sign up for this adventure.  It was like nothing I've done before.  It was the perfect combination of tourism, learning about the culture and coffee of Colombia and giving a little back by working with the people there.  It wasn't looking at new landscapes and people, but being part of that experience.  I have never been on a trip where could live in the culture and not just observe it.  I loved being immersed in the language, but more important was to be immersed in the experiences, with authentic, caring people who shared the richness of their country, of their lives and of what is important to them.  

 

Medellin was wonderful and I loved learning about how things are working out even in the poorer neighborhoods by the city working together, making improvements for all.  I wish we could do the same in my city.  Of course, learning details about coffee and sampling and watching the process was incredible and I will never think of coffee or taste it in the same way again.  The deep love that the people have for their land, for the process of cultivating, processing and distributing the coffee and of their dependence on each other was a joy to see.  I thought being immersed in the language was what I was going for but I quickly learned that the more important part to me was getting to know the people.  Being able to help improve the school in the rural community will always resonate as the best part, the heart of the trip - learning salsa steps while painting soccer goals, watching the children enthralled listening to a new book being read and eating a wonderful dinner with those who we worked beside.  The spa day at the hotsprings was not a bad ending either!

 

I hope someday to return to the coffee farm, visit the people who so warmly welcomed me to be part of the family, part of the morning feeding chickens, making arepas, playing games after dinner, sitting around the bonfire.  Those images will stay with me forever.  This is a trip like no other - this is what travel should be, gaining understanding and appreciation for other cultures, learning how we can make improvements in our own lives and simply listening to what the world has to offer.  It is rich and so worthwhile!

 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful experience.  You are both so knowledgeable and kind!  You seemed to know when to help with the language improvement without taking away from the fun.  My skills with the language improved without my knowledge!  You taught me that to communicate was the important thing, not how I said things but how I was understood and what I could understand.  Your connection with the culture of Colombia, the coffee communityy and your love of the people and theirs for you was evident and I only want to travel in this manner from now on.  You can't come away from this experience without a deep appreciation for how people can pull together, work to protect the natural world and their culture and return wanting to spread that caring in your own community.

With sincere gratitude for sharing so much with me,

 

Tammy