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Life in a Colombian high school

What is going to Colombia highschool like?

Date of writing: March 2000, latest rewrite: March 2000. Author: Melissa

First of all, Colombian people usually attend private school if at all possible.

Its pretty expensive, sometimes, but the Colombians prefer it because public education isn't very good at all. Only the people who can't afford the pension go to public schools.

In Colombia, there are just as many grades as in the States, only they go by different numbers. There is no 12th grade in Colombian schools, but they have an intermediate grade, transition, between kindergarten and first grade. So it all balances out.

At least in private schools, everyone goes to the same school, from pre-scholars to 11th graders.

Students catch their buses at around 6:00 to 6:30. Unlike the buses in the USA, most schools don't use the yellow cheesewagon. They use public buses, which are usually some shade of green. They all have different interiors, so depending on which bus you take, within the same school you have a bus with curtains, comfortable seats, radios, and tinted windows, and buses with plastic coverings on chairs, broken radios, and windows with mildew growing on them.

So being on a good bus is important to students.

Friends compare buses, and rejoice when they get a good one. When they don't, too bad!

After you get on the bus, its a big thing to say "Buenos Dias" to the driver. If you don't, it is considered extremely rude. Teachers, usually 2 or 3, get on the bus as supervisors. (And you can really catch it if they see you getting on the bus without saying hello!) They sit on the front of the bus, and assign seats to people. If you talk to much, to the front and be prepared to sit with the little ones. If you don't give the teachers any problems, you are free to sit in the back.

Most of the time, the little ones (pre-school to 3rd grade) sit in the front, and the other students (4th to 11th) sit in the back. Most of the times little ones go in threes on the bus. The big ones go in twos. I've known some little ones that throw up on buses, if the way to school is full of curves.

Because Colombia has the three cordilleras of the Andes going through it, a lot of it is on mountainous terrain. This is true of Bogota, especially. There is no "straight" street. And the street conditions can be very poor. Holes everywhere. So sometimes the road to school is bumpy and curvy...and the little ones throw up. You just have to put up with them, though.

Anyway, sometime around 7:00, kids get to school. The little ones go to their classes (where they stay all day, except for religion, music, and art.) The bachillerato (high school) girls go to their lockers, take out their books, talk to their friends, and then go to their classes.

Here is a normal schedule for a Colombian student:

1st period 2nd period 3rd period BREAK 15 minutes 4th period 5th period 6th period BREAK 40 minutes 7th period 8th period

The periods are something like 45 minutes. And you thought USA students have it tough?! The Colombian student gets home at around 4:30. Again, when you leave the bus, it is an even BIGGER thing to say "Adios y Gracias." If you don't, you might as well be the rudest being on the planet. Everyone says it the same way, "Adios y Gracias".

Its just a thing.

High schoolers do not get to choose their classes, either.

Classes consist of: Math, English, Geometry, Religion, 20th century, Music, Art, Social Studies, Spanish, Science, and PE Izada de bandera on Mondays, and Church on Fridays.

They introduced Dance class the last year I was in Colombia. Everyday the schedule is different, because of the many number of classes students take. Geometry and 20th century are just for high schoolers. The emphasis on each subject varies from year to year, but Spanish is always a major thing.

One thing that does not change is PEE is 3 hours a week, Music is 1, Art is 2, Religion is 2, 20th century is 1. In my school, Science was taught in English. In other schools, though, every class is in English. This depends on the importance of the language at the school. English is usually a big deal, and teachers regard it as a priority.

Fridays is early day.

You leave right after lunch, two hours earlier. Every class was in a different room, but your classmates remain the same. For most classes, you stay in the "bachillerato" building. The special ones, like Art and Music and PE, were in the same place everyone takes them.

Here in USA, school is only as hard as you make it.

I mean, if you choose Honors and AP classes (while pushing yourself to do very good), school will be tough. But if you take standard classes, it'll be a breeze (hopefully!)

But in Bogota, school is moderately hard no matter what. Tests were a big deal, and we usually did not get a few days notice. More like a few weeks. If you failed, you'd get another chance to take it "recuperation", and it would take place in class, along with everyone else who did badly.

The grading scale changes like every year. Very hard to keep track of it, but last time I checked it was E- excellent B-Bueno R-regular (later removed from my school because dear, comprehensive, sympathetic, Miss Principal declared "we did not have mediocre students at Marymount school! It was either A or B....or a failing grade. Thus even more struggling students emerged) I-insufficient. Very bad if you got this.

On the report card, everyone writes their own personalized comments. Subjects that are tough in my school were- English (not a problem if you know it) Excruciatingly boring if you are American. Or know English or something. They make you read dull stories, and test you on rules. (Which I had no choice but to memorize.) The English teacher was never a native speaker for me, which annoyed me to no end. Bad accents are a pet peeve of mine.

Science (not much of a problem if you knew English, but still...it could get tricky) Just plain boring...what’s to explain? The fact that it was in English was tough on some people, though.

PE (very, very, very hard if you're not physically fit or willing to become.) This is a subject I failed practically every year. Sorry, if you're not a star athlete or very flexible, you will more than likely struggle in this class. 2 hours was more than enough, I was disappointed when they raised the requirement to 3 hours per week. Teachers will NOT have pity on you if you're not in great shape, the drills are very tough, and you have to pass challenging fitness tests. Not a nice prospect.

Church (Dios, so very boring. You don't get a church grade, but sometimes it was torture just to attend.) Our church wasn't very big, it had a dark stained glass thingie, and that was the only window. The pews were wooden, and church period was right before snacktime...so a lot of students were starving at that time. I fainted once, in that church. Very dramatic. Hehe. It was a regular catholic church, they made you comulgar and stuff (sorry, forgot the name for that in English), and confess to the father...face to face! Humph. That was really embarrassing.

Lunch was yet another easy target for more torture time, especially among the little ones. Maybe only for the little ones. You see, like in USA, the food was less than top quality, and I've found hairs, and even small worms (NO JOKE), in the food there.

If you found one of these items, you were exempt from Lunch Patrol examination. The Lunch Patrol were the teachers in charge of seeing that you clean everything off your plate. For the high schoolers, they did not do this. They were free to throw away their food, or just plain skip lunch. (While sometimes having guilt trips because of the sinful deed) That’s all I have to say about a high schoolers lunch time.

The little ones...it's just too bad about them. They'd have to pass through the Lunch Patrol with their lunch trays and plates up for inspection before being allowed to go out to recess. You'd finish, or you wouldn't leave. During my earlier years, I became a master of the Art of Spreading my Food around the Plate.

I was always a picky eater, and that meant trouble for me by the Lunch Patrol.

Most teachers were sympathetic, and when it was their time to be in the Lunch Patrol (teachers rotated), they'd usually let me pass without a look at my plate. But if the teacher hated me, they'd make me eat it all. Colombians have a strong conviction that food is not to be wasted. "Just imagine if a little one from Choco grabbed a hold of your leftovers. *HE* would eat it" was a phrase I heard waaaaaay too often. Made me sick. The food, too.

The food always included rice. Hard, undercooked, in lumps, always in one of these three groups. "Hairy" could be considered another group. Meat, fatty, gross looking, with weird sauce on it. Fish, with spines. I was scared of the fish. I never, never, ate the fish again after I discovered the spines. Mango. Where the worms could be found. 'Nuff said? Chicken. Not that bad, not that bad. Ajiaco. Everyone loved this, except me. Ajiaco is a regional Colombian food. A soup made with chicken broth, Chicken, potato and herbs. But I was suspicious of it. And it just looked so sloshed-together and gross..... Ravioli. So, so good. The only food I loved. Too bad it wasn't served very often. Desert- usually yummy.

If you could bribe the maid-person (empleada, whatever you call them here) into giving you an extra dessert, good for you!

Here's how you do it: Become well-acquainted with the empleadas in charge of lunch. Say "Gracias/Porfavor, Senora/Senorita" until they recognize you as the polite young lady. (Hey, mine was an all girl school, but whatever. A polite young man works too, I guess.) Then say "Aaaaay, Senora/Senorita, porfa me da otro postrecito? Mire que tengo artisima hambre!" She'll hopefully say "Claro, Mijita."

If not, swipe one when she's not looking.

More trivialities about schools

Unisex schools usually have the uglier uniforms. Boy schools get to wear ties. Girl schools have Britney Spears-type uniforms. This was especially true of my school, Marymount. But this is not a plus in the mornings-too cold for short skirts! Way too cold. And they were strict with regulations- if you took a school sweater without a badge to school, they would make you take it off, regardless of the fact that you were usually freezing your ass off.

But they didn't mind the alarmingly short skirts. Heh.

For PE, we had shorts. Short shorts. Religion was an easy A class, so was 20th century. And if you must know, staying behind a grade was a big deal. It didn't happen that often. Having no uniform was considered "una mamera" by older students. We all loved uniforms, and learned to even like our own. Little ones embraced the idea of no uniform. Innovative to them, I think.

And most students are EXTREMELY neat. Neat as in they cannot bear to have a crooked line under their title heading. So they take out their ruler and do it with that. Get the idea?

Its scary.

Teachers were referred to by their first names. Usually an affectionate nickname.The teacher/student relationship is very precious there.

Teachers genuinely care about students, and same goes for students. Parties everywhere in schools, too! For a teachers birthday, there is almost always a party. Everyone chips in, and the party lasts all period. Fun. If there is an extremely popular student, for their birthday there will be a party. And when you leave....like to another country, which is becoming common...very sad....there is always a surprise party. Well...not always, but usually.

Tearjerker parties, since classes are always very close-knit, and everyone becomes friends.

In this case, all your friends, regardless of what division they’re in, go to your party to say goodbye. And some teachers too.

Other party occasions are: teacher leaving to another school, student leaving to another school, and parties for no reason. Colombians like parties!

Now that we've gone over the basics of school (OK, beyond basics), I'll write a bit about attitudes in Colombia.

Especially Colombian schools. Colombian people are extremely nice people. If you're new, you'll be the school celebrity for weeks. Everyone will want to get to know you and become your friend. Sometimes the new-ness will never wear off. People asked me to no end about myself, and life in USA when I returned to Colombia. It never stopped, either. Their attitude towards American people is a curious attitude. They want to know, know about you. They find your stories about living abroad amusing. They want you to speak in a different language. They want to know what it was like in another country. They want to know which place you like better. Amusing.

This applies to Americans most of all. An unfriendly term for Americans is "gringos." When they say gringos, they are talking about the ignorant Colombian's stereotype of an American- blonde, unfashionably pale, can't dance, things like that. NO offense. I know its not true in most cases. Gringo can also become a friendly term, though, if you know the person. But mostly they will just refer to you as "coming from Estados Unidos."

In any case, Colombians may bear a teeny, tiny, little grudge towards Americans because of their prosperity. As a country, Colombia has many problems. And USA has just apparently breezed by and taken a place as a world power. And kept the drug problem in check by keeping close eye on Colombian imports. Not good for Colombia's economy.

Students are all aware of USA's power. Most students keep in touch with the current events in history, and care very much about the future of their country. They have been taught that their country is bad off because they, as uncaring citizens, have done nothing to better the situation. So a seedling of guilt is in everyone. This attitude applies to students as well as "grown-ups."

Do not call USA "America", though! Technically, America is the whole package, North and South America. By calling USA America, Colombians will feel you are intentionally leaving them out, thinking of them as insignificant. Its an insult for them.

Speaking very fluent English in class, too, insults their pride. They can get very annoyed if you "flaunt" your dual-language prowess. Its like "Ooooh, so I see. You can talk English, so I can't? And you're showing me that? Isn't the way I say it good enough for you?" Even my closest friends could never tolerate it if I said English words the right way.

Am I making this sound too negative? I don't mean to. And its not.

Colombians are wonderful, wonderful, people. You'll make closer friends there than in USA, I guarantee it. Most people there are so friendly, and would love to be friends with anyone! Compared to USA schools, Colombia has got the sweetest people, the nicest teachers, and is a place where you can forge the strongest friendships.

The schools are great, despite the terrible things I've said about them..sure, the food sucks...but school is just great, in its own special way. Everyone is family there. So if you're moving to Colombia (Bogota especially), you now know practically everything about school! You've gotten a true account of what a school is like there from first-hand experience. I hope this essay (of sorts) helped you get a picture of what its like for a Colombian student!

By Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) on Mar 11, 2000, 13:20 in Friendly Talkzone.

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Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:22: Que bacano By Lindis "monacreida", monacreida at hotmail.com 2002-04-09 You made me laugh, I'm from Bogota, 18 years old, and I have been in Florida for almost two years, I'm a senior in high school and while i was reading your essay, i remembered how was everything there, all the activities that we did, and I miss it very much and because I'm in high school here, i think that "gringos" sometimes are cool but son una mamera!!!! bacana tu pagina oye! Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:22: Cool and funny By Gabri 2002-05-18 Your essay truly describes some of the events that take place in a high school. They may not matter to grown ups, but when you're a teenager, food, recess, the bus, uniforms and other details do matter. You are so right about private school in Bogota being hard always, I attended The English School for 10 years and then moved to the United States and attended 3 years here. In Colombia I had to study every day, homework until 10pm every night and no way of gettin g 100% every time. In the USA I was in California and Kansas schools, and it was soo easy compared to homework in Bogota. In the US I coould get straigh A's and still have time to develop a social life, even work after school. Totally unheard of in Colombia for private school students. Anyway, I'm glad you wrote this essay, I thought it was just me that though these things. However, at the English School the food was delicious.... Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:22: Crazy Colombians By Brennan, badname423 at yahoo.com, tkedog305 at hotmail.com 2002-05-23 i lived in Barranquilla (northern port city of Colombia)for 11 years and i found them to be the best. the people are definetely the best and their care free attitude towards life lets them enjoy it to the fullest (especially during the carnaval were everyone gets off work). high school(bachirerato) was awesome and its definetely hard having to leave friends that you have always known. i left in 93 and i went back in 98 and there is so much that does not change. i was always part of the family and after the first 5 minutes all teh fuzz about the US goes away and i go ack to being the kid from the neighborhood. i think your article is very informative to people who dont know about the colombian culture. the part about the food is wrong (i think) colombians do know how to eat and we make plenty. thank you for letting me share my thoughts. rodrigo Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:23: The essay was str8 By Brennan, badname423 at yahoo.com, tkedog305 at hotmail.com, colombianpimp86 at hotmail.com 2002-06-21 reading this essay took me back in the days. u see like many other people i lived in bogota untill like 7 years ago. and on the real this essay has kinda taought me hat ive missed out on. and the truth is i would like to go back to bogota where i was born 2 live there and come back tought, i mean Colombian is str8 and all but miami where i live now is paradise. i mean ima get my ryde in a lil while and thats something i wouldnt be able 2 in colombia. i have a hose in bogota el norte next to el Marymount and if i aint wrong it probably is ur school? well mt house is right next 2 some new store , its called "carrefour" or w/e i dont remember. i went 2 colombia last summerand i didnt go now, cuz i might go 2 paris at the end of june. so i said well its all good, and i can still go for december no biggy . well it would be funny if the school by my house its the 1 u talking about if it is holla at me u got my e-mail and who knows maybe well meet up. u know wat im saying so u can tell me and show me all the spots. well im out Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:23: Right on! By Ana 2002-07-31 I've lived in the USA for 13 years...boy I miss "locombia" after reading your article. When I moved here there were no hispanic kids in the school district so I did not face any prejudice because no one knew what to expect. On the other hand no one could say my name right. So, I gave up. Now, in my job I have to deal with people from all over the world in a daily basis and they insist on saying it right. After so many years of high school here, listening to people saying my name every which way but the right one....I catch my self saying it wrong some times. I still get people that tell me I don't know how to spell my name because it only has one "N"! HAHA! I love the way you explained things. My brother 23, has to go back to Bogota. I am trying to help him catch up with what life is like for people in their 20's in Colombia. I wish I could find someone that would explain it the way you explained high school. Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:23: Happy memories By Sean Richards, seanchile2 at hotmail.com 2002-08-09 I lived in Bogota from 1980 to 1984 and went to The English School. Your essay brought back many memories of my time there and of the people and atmosphere of Colombia. I lived in Chile for 16 years after leaving Colombia and it is very different, beautiful in it's own way too. I am now back in England, married to a Chilean, and I want to thank you for writing an essay that made me relive, if only for a moment, my experiences in Colombia. Sean. Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:24: You got the picture By Sean Richards, seanchile2 at hotmail.com, aloariza at hotmail.com 2002-08-11 Every word you said is just the truth about "colegios bilingues" in Colombia, but you know something? it might sometimes change from city to city, your experience was in Bogota, and remember they all here think this is the best city of all not only in Colombia but in "America" if you go to some other regions you'll see how different things are... specially Barranquilla. anyway, you described things in such a perfect way that I can no believe it, you should write more about "Id on't knows tuffs" congratulations Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:24: Great essay - I love it! By Denise 2002-08-23 Melissa, let me thank you because that was a great essay...I am from Colombia, I did all my hight school and my bachelors in Colombia and one year ago I move to the USA. To tell you something funny I studied in "Gimnasio Iragua" which is the school that is next to yours "Marymount", I used to go to your school to play bolleyball, because Your scholl and mine were the best of all schools in this sport, I am kind of surprised that you didn;t mention the sports. Although everything you mention is true, the word GRINGOS does not mean blondies and superficial people. The word GRINGOS came from "GREEN GO". When the american army was entering into colombian and southamerican territories many years ago, the farmers use to say Greengo!! Greengo!! to them in order to take them out of the country, and since they didn't know how to speell the color "green", the word became "gringo",,so Gringo = American, with out any characteristic only AMERICAN. Anyway great essay,,,Congratulations, and enjoy more in Colombia...Go to party to Andres Carne de Res, San Angel, el Humero, Sayaca and so on, before you come back to the states. Bye!! Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 11, 2003, 13:24: Very good By sharon 2002-09-09 Thanks for you work,is good;iam a Colombian. I want to let you now that experience is only about 1 place in small towsn children go to school walkin and class star a 7 and finish aroun 12 12:15 pm. 1 pm. and we dont have lunch at the school .Wath you say about warms in the food is a lie!! i never now about anybody with such experince and i went to 3 diferent school.about gringo it means north american that is it. Yes we are American too you have to be and ignorant to no understain this we feel is arrogant to call American the NorthAmericans. America is the name of our continet,you dont want a call europians to Ingland only .Do you?? Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 10, 2003, 12:20: :) Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 14, 2003, 17:45: thats wussup rite their Mind giving an illustration of a decent-looking columbian girl in the "alarmingy short skirts" hehe. seriously though thats a nice image. Your article was great. im doing a school report on colombia and this really helped me. Thanks a bunch Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 22, 2003, 18:06: Deppends of the way you look at it Sure going to private school sounds like an excellent idea. But public school, that is a whole different world. Lets put it this way, you get to go less time to school while the professors are protesting about their salary. If you're good( smart ) you're on, if not you are screwed. There is no way to catch on the time missed, the good thing you didnt have to go to school for a good couple of days. Now, the subjects on public school are as tough as they can get. In "primaria" you learn a lot about social studies ( e.g Colombian history, colonization, spanish history, basic geography, etc..) and in "bachillerato" you go from basic arithmetic all the way to calculus and statistics, not with out first getting involved with chemistry, physic, and french. So opposite of what you think or have in mind, it is tough but it does not have consistency. Also, not just the people who are not able to afford private schools go to public schools. There are some of us that didnt, dont, and will not like the idea of going to class with "gomelos" ( young kids who belive they are omnipotent, richer than every body else and talk like if they have a potato stock in their mouths at all times in any given language. That is probably a reason for those hideous accents you described ) that think going to class with so called "americans" makes them one of them or better than the other kids. And what its all about this transportation stuff?. There is nothing wrong with trying to get the "buseta" or "bus" at that specific time so, the beautiful girl you want to talk to but you wont is riding on it. In this way, glances at each other fly all over and at the same time you check out other girls or guys wichever is your case. You ride with your real friends not the people in your route and you decide where to get off, if willing to walk to school. Food sucks probably for you, because in public school you get to purchase your lunch and you pick what you want. Perhaps you are looking things from your point of view, wich sounds very subreal. Almost like if you were there but didnt get to see the two sides of the coin. Kind of superficial yet funny and entertaining. Do you call that student exchange???. Sincerely, Nelson Poor but snappy 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dan says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:26: interesting to see this type of insight. I normally spent my school time (where ever in the world it was at) doing homework and classes, not much time for anything else. God Bless America! 0 funny, 0 helpful.

caritocc says on May 1, 2005, 15:25: nice, but im going to complement it I liked your essay a lot, Im now at 11th grade at the Marymount school in Bogota and everything what you said its true, but there are a few things that have changed....in first place, the food is delicious; they have heard our complains and now there's no other school in colombia who can compare their food with ours, .... something else is that now with the IB you have to study more and there's no 21st century class anymore( because the class was 21st century, no 20th). Sports class isn't as rude as you show it, the teachers are very nice, they mae you work but according to you habilities.I don't know what might have happened to you, if you returned to USA or if you remained until 11th grade in school, but anyhow I think you should review this essay to complement it. I can say that I love my school and it's really one of the best private schools in bogota and your work shows that. If anyone is interested in aquiring more info about this school,you can do it at www.marymountschool.edu.co .... bye! 0 funny, 0 helpful.

Colombia2 says on Jun 20, 2005, 17:25: The Word "Gringo" The word Gringo did not originate from the U.S entering S.A countries. There a few versions of this but they all seem to point to the mid 1800's when America was at war with Mexico. "green go" is one of them, however, most sources coincide in saying the gringo comes from a taunt song the americans used to sing to their rivals which included the words "green grow"; U.S army uniforms weren't even green, they were blue. Apparentely the mexican army heard this in occasions and turned it into gringo to refer to U.S soldiers. In my experience with the word, it can be used for both derrogative purposes as well as endearment terms. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

MeLoNa says on Aug 3, 2005, 12:46: Great! but there are more things to know... Your essay was great, I'm from Bogota and i'm in 10th grade of the School: Santa Francisca Romana (actually a private one) and what you said was great even though the thing about the food. its not that bad...well at least in mine! The other thing is yeah we are really friendly, hahaha if you come everyone will drive you crazy asking you things and everyone would love to be ur friend! About the gringo thing...don't feel offended its just a word we use to refer to north americans (usa) as we do with the people from medellin for example who we call "paisas" (pie-sas) so don't feel offended! And reffering to FUN HERE! man that's what we're characterized for! you listen to any radio station here and you get informed about all the school or university's parties coming up!!!! friday and saturday nights here are TURNED ON!!! if you come to Bogota DON'T YOU DARE GO WITHOUT GOING TO all the "RUMBIADEROS" (slang for dancing places) that are located on the road to la calera...go to COMPOSTELA, SAMERON, MASSAI, go to LA ZONA ROSA ( the rose zone) which is full of bars and places that party till 6 am! Go to ANDRES CARNE DE RES! SAN BARICHARA! gosh so many other places you can't miss! ANYWAY IF YOU COME..HAVE FUN! and just do all that you can't do in any other place that is not COLOMBIA! 0 funny, 0 helpful.

aJARAMILLO says on Apr 7, 2006, 15:57: Attending Marymount next year!! i will be attending marymount next year for 9th (sophmore USA equivalent??), and this essay was great! it really informed me about what i'll expirence over there. :) !! i cant wait!!thanks so much! peace. love. ANDREA peace. love. ANDREA 0 funny, 0 helpful.

s_bla says on Jun 9, 2006, 19:49: ... 1st period 2nd period 3rd period BREAK 15 minutes 4th period 5th period 6th period BREAK 40 minutes 7th period 8th period You said students change classe room, how could they change if there's no break between 1-2-3rd period, either 4-5-6th period? Is there numbers on the report card? only A-B-C...? Are Colombians students competitive between each other? 0 funny, 0 helpful.

KaReN_larolita says on Jul 15, 2006, 16:48: awww memories :( Holitas... i loved your essay!! it brought back old memories when i used to go to school in bogota in el agustiniano ciudad salitre... i got to say that i miss it alot .. especially all the good friends that you make. Now i live in USA and yeah in school here you don't have to work as hard as you do in a private school in Colombia. Anyways about the little kids that throw up in the bus lol that happened to me :D jeje In a school over there people are like family and like all typical colombians you have to have parties.. colombians are happy and fun people to be around!! Well hope to go back soon !! 0 funny, 0 helpful.

COLOMBIAenlasVENAS says on Jul 25, 2006, 19:21: Now Talking About Public schools first of all I'm jaime , I live in florida , I came to U.S.A. 1 year and a half ago(so excuseme if i make any grammar mistakes) I'm 15 I did 10th-11th here and i'm going to 12 , I went to school in a small state called QUINDIO (i think is the smallest)so for all the colombians that might start saying "it wasn't like that" it may be beacause of that Well public school in Colombia isn't that bad !! and most important you DON'T HAVE TO BE POOR to go to public school , ( i decided to go there instead of private ) first thing there were no buses , we had to walk all the way to the school, wich started at 7:00 am (some times 7:30, and the low grades satarted at 8:00) there were no lockers either but they weren't neccesary beacause you stayed in one room all day , the teacher came to the room to teach you , and your classmates were the same , all day and all year. HOW GOOD DO THEY TEACH ?? well that depends mostly on you , if you are a good student who want to learn then you can really learn, if not you won't, it is harder than here in USA, when i got here I found school really easy and i started getting straight A's , these are all the subjects you are going to have in a normal public school in "EL QUINDIO" -math -algebra -arts -social studies -physical education -religion(in some schools) -ethic(were you learn about good behaviors ) -science -technology -estadistics -spanish -english -geometry These others are the ones that I missed when i came to this country -physics ( i don't know if I spelled that right) -pre-calculus -calculus -chemistry -trigonometry *those are obligatory to take -and one elective class that you take in 11th grade,it depends on the speciality of the school *by the way you are not allowed to use calculator on math, pre-algebra , and something of algebra The social thing in these schools is really different , from USA and (aparently from private schools here in Colombia) first of all you don't have to dress the best , or have the coolest car, mp3 or cellphone , (even thought if you do you'll be known as the "rich kid of the school) is enough with having a lot of frineds be fun to be with , or if you are handsome or hot (in the girls case) you can also be the popular kid The food , well there are 2 breaks one of 15 minutes and the other of 30 minutes , there is one or more sotres , where you can buy snacks , candy , and some other things. You might be thinking that we don't eat well if that's all there is to buy at school , but that is because we go out of school at 1:00 pm , and most of us eat luch at home ( HOME-MADE MEALS ) at the afternoon kind usually do homework and go to play soccer with some friends.... 0 funny, 0 helpful.

nazca says on Oct 4, 2006, 08:42: NAME THAT SCHOOL OK - GOTTA HAVE SOMETHING TO GO ON AND SINCE I HAVEN'T A CLUE AS TO WHAT SCHOOLS ARE COOL IN MEDELLIN I'M ASKING YOUR HELP. GIVE ME A LEAD TO PRIVATE/PUBLIC UNIVERSITY-ORIENTED SCHOOL THAT ROCKS IN THEIR CURRICULUM - LOOKING OUT FOR A 10 AND 9 YEAR OLD. THANKS! MILENA 0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Mar 27, 2008, 16:19: Hey, peter...not fair; you have to pick some one elses post. You can't nominate your own post for 'most favorite ever'. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

MaFe says on Mar 27, 2008, 16:36: My ex went to high school (actually all school) in Pereira. When he was brought to this country- his parents had him do junior and senior year here. He always told horror stories about the teachers in Pereira. He hated the way the system was there, and said he was thankful his parents brought him here. He and his brother felt that the most teachers there didn't care for the student, and were mean. "All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle 0 funny, 0 helpful.

pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 27, 2008, 16:44: Reply #2 - "However, at the English School the food was delicious...." The first time in history those words have been spoken in the same sentence? (referring to The English School in Bogota) "this may seem a strange post but it is not...when in colombia men need to be aware that colombia women may try to be seductive and entice a travelling gringo to have sex with them..to be forewarned is to be forearmed..." -- pow wow 0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Mar 27, 2008, 20:31: Quote: An unfriendly term for Americans is "gringos." When they say gringos, they are talking about the ignorant Colombian's stereotype of an American- blonde, unfashionably pale, can't dance, things like that. NO offense. I know its not true in most cases. Did I nail this or what !!!! When pronouncing gringo the STUPID is silent. Colombian Chickens are crowing about the new President of the U.S. who will assure that From each according to their ability to each according to their need. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

tinkerbellita181 says on May 15, 2008, 09:57: This essay was pretty much 100% true..! I went to the Anglo Colombiano in Bogota between 1991 and 1996, and I do admit, it was kind of funny. I also had a blast, still speak to my friends from there, and hated going to school in St. Louis, Missouri, where I did my last two years of high school....and? Actually, the lunches at the Anglo were pretty, pretty good! One of the biggest differences: wide, open campuses where class subjects are in different 'bloques', or buildings....vs. a BUILDING. All entrances/exits? Heavily guarded with rent-a-cops, and metal detectors. Depressing, no? Ah. And if you try to skip out of school here, and get caught doing it, you're in trouble mainly because of the liability the school faces if something happens to you on school hours. All in all, I do miss Bogota, the people, my friends, the food, going out, etc. And I wish I would have stayed there until I finished school.... :) 0 funny, 0 helpful.

mr_angel72 says on Oct 8, 2008, 17:37: The first essay describes mostly middle clas and high class (social status) experiences. Keep in mind that most of Colombia is formed by middle-low and poor class people; your experience is not a typical Colombian high school experience (maybe typical to those who can afford high payments) it is a typical Colombian high clas high school experience.... 0 funny, 0 helpful.

rockchalkjhawk says on Aug 13, 2009, 12:34: Peter, I am currently a high school student in the 10th grade. I am looking for a school to study in Bogota Colombia. As you have posted on your note that you studied in kansas I want to know what school you studied at and what town you lived in to see if it measure up with my current school. If it does this knowledge will help me to desipher studying abroad. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP :) 0 funny, 0 helpful.

rockchalkjhawk says on Aug 13, 2009, 12:35: Oh sorry, I live in kansas by the way. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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