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EST. 2011

Doña Aura's Barbershop

November 17, 2011

Renato

Beto

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I was born on March 7th, 1987. The following day, the 8th of March, my biological mother left me at an orphanage. She was twenty three years old when I was born. The events surrounding my birth have always been a mystery. I’ve never been able to hop in on conversations about my weight as a newborn or the exact time of birth. These tidbits of information are intimate parts of my personal story that, for the moment, remain a mystery. My “hajj” or return to my land of birth came full circle with the recent visit of my parents. * * * * * In November 1987, I was adopted and left Bogotá headed for Beverly, Massachusetts. In the airport, my parents were stopped and questioned about the powdered milk that they had bought for me. The cocaine production in Medellin and Cali in the 1980’s - 90’s and the subsequent exportation to North American markets made my parents’ adoption story probably seem like the perfect ploy t...

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Well, it's been more than a minute since my last post. I'm currently writing this from an academic building at the New School in Manhattan, New York but I'll get to that soon enough. I'd like to first share with you some pictures of my last days in Colombia . . . These photos are from my town "despedidas" - going away parties. The ones from the pool party were with my English class and the others are from my MUEVETE class. Both of these classes are highlighted in this blog entry. Domino Helping Marta with her camera. Preparing the meat. DANCE! MUEVETE! And again! The next group of photos are from my "despedida" at the Peace Corps office. In true Latin American fashion, I had to "dar palabras" or give some closing thoughts. JFK. Yes, I'm still talking . . . Finally, I rang the s&#$ out of that bell. Thank you Peace Corps Colombia. It was a wild 38 months wi...

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Just In Case You Were Wondering . . .

The Two Year Tourist

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If you click on the links throughout the blog, it will make for an exponentially better blogging experience. A link can be denoted by green text. Enjoy! I created this blog in the spring of 2011 as a way "for me to share my experiences with the outside world i.e. friends and family" . At that time, I was writing all my entries from the highlands of Guatemala and my day to day routine was very different, if not foreign , from those of my audience. So, I wonder if my audience will still find my day to day as captivating as it once was when I was writing from the mountains of Guatemala or the coast of Colombia. I guess we'll just have to find out. However, as I write you from my apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn , one thing is for sure. While I've returned to the United States of America, I wonder, especially as I'm now a part of the "melting pot of the melting pot", whether I'll ever stop feeling like a tourist? * * * * * ...

Author

Jarrett Carpenter is a South American born, New England Raised, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with an M.A. in International Affairs. This blog was created and is maintained in order to share his experiences with friends and family. Enjoy!

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All of the opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author

and do not reflect those of any organization mentioned within this blog.