Colombia is a land of contrasts in every sense. It is a nation that clearly displays disparities as stark as black and white, Fiats and Ferrari's, opulence and destitution. The contrasts in nature and humanity are part of what makes this country so fascinating to me. The terrain encapsulated by this country's borders offers the curios soul everything from the Caribbean sun to snow peaked mountains.

However, what I really want to talk about are the social contrasts. Colombia is a country that experiences classicism like almost nothing that can be imagined by most of those who have only been exposed to life in the west. Hopefully this will not expose my own ignorance or innocence on the issue, but I wish to explain a little bit about what life is like here. As far as I know, all people with the means to do so have a maid who takes care of the mundane details of life. It is not uncommon to have a maid that lives full time with a family. When my friend Antonio was growing up in Colombia his family had two maids to take care of the young family. It is amazing for me to be here and have a maid look after everything. I leave my dirty clothes on the floor in the morning and they are cleaned and folded by the evening. The family tells her what they want for lunch and dinner and it is ready by the time they specify. Not only are there maids, but there are also copious amounts of private security who monitor the many residences in the city. This is not so much a consequence of the civil war as it is from the noticeable difference in class. The images of life here that I am absorbing are super interesting. For example, I just came back from a walk through town in a fairly posh area, complete with a TGI Fridays, cafes and clubs. Parked on the side of street was an armored SUV with two private security guards who had returned from escorting their patron to the safety of a nearby club. However the most stunning example of the class structure is one that I experienced on my last expedition here. I had the great fortune to visit a city called Ciudad Bolivar. It is a city of 2 million people who have little or no access to electricity or clean water. Many of them have been displaced as a result of the Guerilla and have a quality of life that can easily be described as wretched. This is a city of residents who live on less then $1 per day. The thing that is hard for me to fathom is that this city is only around 20 kilometers away from my current location in the 'comfy' part of town.

The point I want to make is that the disparity is so apparent across this miraculous country, and a large part of classicism is being apathetically aware of the issues. The sad thing is that there is definitely 'a blanket' of arrogance that the rich have towards the lower classes.

I look forward to shedding more light on the subject as my education increases. For now I am really appreciating this lifestyle and all that I am experiencing!