Monday, October 22, 2007

Wrapping up in Medellín

0.5 hours writing, 4 hours researching, 2 hours interviewing, 2 hours travel prep, page count = 140

Never try to buy a plane ticket from Avianca over the phone. Better yet, don't fly Avianca, their customer service is a nightmare. I'm taking Satena back to Bogotá tomorrow night, and am happier for it; they use the downtown airport instead of the far-away one - like the difference between National and Dulles. But that was a couple of hours wasted getting all of that together.

On the positive side of unexpected things today, I was able to set up and carry out an interview with a retired Major in the National Police who lives in and is from Medellín, and who came into the institution during the period I study. It was a very helpful conversation, as he saw the police firsthand before and after it underwent a militarizing reform to counteract the prevailing politicization during La Violencia. I also met with another retired Major who's involved with the association of retired police officers, and his historical and cultural perspectives were most useful.

In terms of researching, I completed gathering data on the three different sources regarding security-force configurations and conflict between 1945 and 1955. Now it's time to analyze all that good stuff! In terms of writing, I began writing up the data-collection I've employed and the plan for analyzing it.

Tomorrow, I have another interview with a retired officer in the National Police, a meeting with a local historian, and a few more hours to do at the library and in the archive before I catch an early-evening flight to Bogotá. My next post will be from there; it's been a great trip, and I'll always remember my time here!

2 comments:

Geordan said...

Well it sounds like your trip so far is paying off. You've gotten in some good research and interviews that should cue you up for the last big push over the next couple of months to finish up. Keep up the good work!

Unknown said...

HEY!!! Sounds like you're doing SUPER WELL down there! Awesome!!! I'll keep the airline tips in mind. =) Safe trip to Bogota, keep up the excellent work - and keep churning out those pages, my friend! We're on the road to victory!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Not really sure why I'm coming up as "fred" and Kapi's in a flight-induced fog, so can't help me out!)