Before everything there are a few technically(s) about this post. Hahaha. Technically, its supposed to be "semana tres" since I was here a week before internship started. And technically no. 2 it should be "semana cuatro" since I am writing this in the fourth week. But no matter I shall just write anyway its only for people who are interested, and I doubt there aren't many! :)

But apart from all it has been increasing good thanks to my Lord who made all things smooth and possible. A few things to blog about so let me just write about work first. Work has been by far, fair, though I really wished I could do more rather than what I am doing now. Its starting to become easier to understand the victims and their complains, definitely due to the Spanish lessons that I have been taking since the start of the week. The agency does a lot more than what I initially expected; while many victims are suffering for displacement through force and threats, a huge number also suffers from deprivation of rights. Such rights enshrined in the constitution of Colombia for example, the right to healthcare. There have been many cases whereby the family members of the patient seek assistance because the hospitals deny treatment and care due to their inability to pay. Others are the lower classes seeking legal assistance and advice because most of them could not understand what the government or relevant agencies are writing to them. I was looking at one of the documents that they presented and it was related to the humanitarian aid and assistance that they were allocated. Apparently there are so many victims that application for aid required one to queue; these victims meanwhile have to eke out their own existence under the circumstances of forced displacement. Honestly, I do not think that the government is weak or bad, its just that the amount of people involved bores down the entire bureaucracy. It is just a vicious cycle repeating itself day after day.

That said, it sometimes seems like the hands of the government are pretty tied. I was speaking to one of the lawyers working there and he said that most of these armed groups are not what I imagined: robbers with guns but actually real guerillas living in the mountains at the peripheries of Medellín. They raid the communes from time to time, force people out of their homes and occupy the houses. Sometimes they sell it to get cash to fund the illegal groups, and sometimes they just turn it into their base before the police comes cracking them down. Due to the topography of the region, it is extremely difficult for the police to maintain a strong foothold in these regions. Indeed, while the downtown is not exactly the safest place, most of the police I have seen in Medellín are concentrated at the downtown because it is a relatively flat area in the valley. The top public university here, University of Antioquia happens to be rather left-wing and is constantly clamouring for changes as their basic rights. Quite a few times i was told that the area at the workplace was going to be unsafe and chaotic because of the protests that are taking place. There was a day when the other interns heard an explosion from one of the student-made "potato bombs". While these events are more disruptive than dangerous, it kind of formed a part of my experience here since my workplace is near and it would usually be blockaded, rendering it difficult for us to get it and out. Thank God that we have yet to experience such a situation yet, but my heart goes out to both parties, the victims and the reformers who all desired more changes to be made in their progressive country.

The interns got to enjoy a break over the weekend in the day trip to Santa Fe de Antioquia. It was supposed to be the capital of the Antioquia department very long time ago and was one of the staging areas for Simon Bolivar and his revolutionaries when they were fighting for independence against the Spanish. I was quite looking forward to it because it was a day trip and we got to do a fair bit of horse riding like the paísas living in this region back then. But most of the time on horseback I was just cautious and praying to Jesus Christ to calm my horse down. Seriously, it looked rather shaky and jittery. And it always wanted food like grass, leaves, everything. To treat it nice so that it would treat me nicely, I just brought it to the closest grass patches everytime we stopped so that it could graze. The highlight of the riding was crossing the river which I kind of almost fell into the water because my horse tripped. LOL. And after a long while in the countryside it was lunch which I found to be rather extravagant but paid for already. The prearranged tuk-tuk trip around the town didn't really happen till it was dark so I only got to see the colonial setup and architecture after dusk. 

In the meantime, we travelled to a iron-cast wooden bridge called Puente de Occidente which apparently was an engineering marvel when it was built in the 19th century. But the gem that really caught my eye here was the Iglesia de Santa Bárbara. I was glad somehow that we did the tour at night because it would have looked very different in the day. Approximately one hour around the town with the exciting stories and myths about the various buildings. Essentially much of it still looked like it was three centuries ago. :o

It has been great as well, being able to speak with my dear girl every night before I sleep and every morning before I wake up. The talks of going on an internship or a NGO volunteering, or just a trip (my graduation trip) really keeps us looking forward. I know its early but I just have to say it first: I must go to the Caucasus region this May! :D Its like a full stop to a fruitful 5-year to a place that I have been dreaming over and over again.

Meanwhile, preparing for a weekend out to Bogotá and I guess I will write more when I return, hopefully with new and joyous stories! All glory goes to Lord Jesus Christ!