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Yesterday, el 20 de Julio, was the day of independence for Colombia! There was a military parade in the main square and along 68th street, as well as national police chants. Fun stuff.

I got a chance to stop by the Museum of the National Mint, or La Casa de la Moneda, and see their old coin pressing instruments. There was a surprising amount of 18th and 19th Century heavy hardware that bore American and English insignias. Check these out:

I also went to the nearby museum of modern art. Some interesting stuff:

What’s up next? Tomorrow morning I’m going hiking again at 6:30 in the morning! I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures as e visit the Paramo, or the elevated tundra ecosystem.

Today I went to lunch at 12:15 and wandered around for a couple of minutes checking which restaurants are open. Yesterday was Independence Day and today is a Friday, so activity was not guaranteed. I ended up walking to Dominó on the corner for empanadas, and I bumped right into Professor Felipe Muñoz! So we sat down and we talked a bit about his journey through the industry and academia.

Talking with him, I learned more about what my own goals are and what I would like to do immediately out of college. I think that an experience in the industry before I pursue academia is an experience that will benefit me by exposing me to different environments and perspectives that I wouldn’t otherwise get. Someday I’ll get an advanced degree in business, economics, or a scientific discipline and go on to teach at a leading university.

So I went back to my office after getting a slew of exciting restaurant recommendations and even the offer that I could have lessons arranged at a local cafe to learn to make coffee. It seems like an awesome skill. What happens when you don’t learn how to make coffee the proper Colombian way? Covfefe happens:

Whether I get negative press or not, I should avoid scrambling my coffee and letting a stray “v” in.

As I said earlier, yesterday was Independence Day, July 20th. See my next blog post for some cool images from my visit to the National Mint Museum and the Museum of Modern Art held by the Bank of the Republic. Prof. Muñoz also mentioned that I ought to check out the National Museum nearby, so I’ll try to make it this weekend.

I went hiking yesterday morning with Daniel, David, and David R. Here are the pictures I took of our trip!

With luck, we will return next weekend to take the alternate route and visit the tundra ecosystem that’s higher up!

Recently I’ve been working in the lab to check the electrical properties of starch under different hydration conditions. Here are some pictures of the samples and setup!

I have a really great story from Cartagena that I can’t put here. If you’re interested in hearing it, definitely reach out to me whenever you have wifi.

It all started with this picture:

It’s been a while since I last made a post, so I’m going to start making more and more these coming days to get all the things down!

On Saturday the 8th, I went to the Botero Museum with Daniel and then to 7th street and the governing district at Plaza Bolivar.

This is what it looked like:

We also went into one of the historic cathedrals at the square:

Afterwards, we stopped by a barista school that didn’t permit photography. I managed to get a couple photos of me and their prized Irish Coffee.

It’s made like this:

1. Add about 1 shot of “canela” or unrefined cane syrup
   1. I plan on substituting cajeta for this
2. Add about 1 shot of cheap whiskey
   1. Don’t show the customer this step or the one before it
3. Add about 1/2 cup of strong black coffee
4. Add about 1 shot of cream
   1. Pour it over a spoon so it doesn’t disturb the substrate
   2. Shake the cream with ice to chill and soften it first

I’ll get some more updates in soon, especially pictures from my trip to Cartagena with the graduate students!

So a few days ago Fernando and I went into the city to look at the businesses, squares, and parks. Here are the associated images which were taken on the way to Revolution Park and the National Park:

We also got lunch at a pretty fancy place called Misia. I ordered the Lomo de Res en Bistec along with a tamarind smoothie. Both were delicious.

I haven’t made any posts in a while, so here’s the big catch-up.

On Thursday I went with Sebastian and Fernando to a small and well-known chocolate shop after work. We each drank hot chocolate and I ordered the traditional sides of arepa and mozzarella cheese.

Not only is it traditional to eat cheese with hot chocolate, it is traditional to tear the cheese, submerge it in the hot chocolate, wait until it’s melted, then fish it out with a spoon. That was completely new to me, but it is also delicious. I’m definitely going to keep doing this during the Chicago winters!

Today I got a chance to try Ajiaco Colombiano, a soup native to Bogota! It’s prepared with different types of local potatoes, a cob of corn, and more chicken than I’m used to finding in soup. Quite a pleasant surprise, this soup is a welcome treat on a rainy day like today. Here’s a picture of the soup:

It tastes just like you would expect soup made from corn, potatoes, and chicken to taste. That’s one thing I like about the food here in Colombia, it’ll never surprise you. Unless it’s the fried pork skin. That’ll surprise you.

Finally, I was given a fruit to try by Fernando. This is what it looked like:

It tastes very good, and it seems to be called the “granadilla”. Here’s a final image from the web.

I had a blast yesterday: the weather was amazing and the food was delicious.

I tried the traditional Colombian dish named bandeja paisa, a plate of rice, beans, ground beef, sausage, fried pork skin, avocado, fried plantain, and egg. It was fantastic, but I couldn’t finish it all because each component of the dish is heavy and hearty. I definitely recommend this food – 20 hours later and I am still not hungry.

Even better, this dish costs only $10,000 Colombian pesos at the restaurant we went to!

I also got a chance to take a tour of the campus with Sebastian, the Master’s student mentoring me. Here are some images.

I also got to see the wind tunnel used by the mechanical engineers.

Finally, I got my own little office next to the active learning center. Check it out:

Next on the list is occupational health and safety training. I’ll keep you posted!

I just got to my room; the place looks beautiful and I’m absolutely loving the view. There’ll be even better pictures in the morning!

The flight from Chicago to Panama was a long one, but I was able to get some sleep. The flight from Panama to Bogota, on the other hand, was short (just 90 minutes), but very turbulent. Getting past customs in Colombia’s El Dorado airport was super-speedy and entering the country was generally a fantastic experience! I got a cab to the dorm, and now I’m all set. My room is on the 24th floor, so I have an excellent view of the city. I can’t wait to see what it looks like during the day.

That’s all for tonight. I’m going to get some rest so I can get up early tomorrow and meet Sebastian!