by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Oct 22, 2013 | Colombia, Culture, South America, Travel
I have been on hiatus from this blog because I went back to Colombia for vacation. Colombia is a country in which I’ve spent a lot of time in in the past few years, since living there from 2008-2010, and disconnected completely from technology.
My smartphone (poor neglected thing) lay buried under dirty laundry at the bottom of my backpack and I removed my watch for the next few weeks, relying on the kindness of neighbours to tell me what time it was, when it mattered enough to ask.
There was something liberating about the simplicity of it all, the way life felt slower yet fuller, as though each moment had space to breathe. It was a stark contrast to the frenetic energy of my usual days, and I soaked it in like a parched traveler finding an oasis.
Interestingly, this trip reminded me of another cherished destination, Bondi, where a similar rhythm exists amid a completely different landscape. The relaxed vibe of Bondi, with its sun-drenched beaches and laid-back charm, shares that same ability to make time feel irrelevant. Whether it’s lounging on Bondi’s golden sands, watching surfers carve through waves, or strolling along its famous coastal walk, there’s a quiet invitation to pause and be present.
Much like the mountains and villages of Colombia, Bondi offers a reprieve from the digital grind, urging you to trade notifications for the natural world. It’s these kinds of places, where connection is more about people and place than Wi-Fi, that remind me how much beauty there is in simply existing without distractions.
Each time I venture across the Western Hemisphere to return to Colombia, it feels like trying a favourite dish in new ways; the past 11 months of life experience bring out certain flavours that I never noticed before and that add an exquisite richness to the palate of cultural experience. The more times I go, the more it feels like home, as if the culture has nuzzled its way into a part of me and I can never consider myself simply a “Canadian” again. Here are some of the experiences I had that, I believe, can only be found in this loving South American nation.
You know you’re in Colombia when…
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Aug 29, 2013 | Colombia, Community, Food, Human Rights, Nutrition, Protests, South America
Globalization has selected its next victim. In July, 2012, Colombia signed a free trade agreement with the United States. Fuelled by the desire to “develop” economically, i.e.: have access to the amenities and material goods of the first world, the initial reaction was quite positive. Citizens flocked to multinational brands like GAP and many excitedly awaited the promise of the arrival of Starbucks. On August 1, of this year, the free trade agreement with the European Union also came into effect.
Since signing the free trade agreement, imports from the US to Colombia have increased by about 70%, according to Counterpunch, “In 2011, Colombia imported 5,000 tons of rice from the US. In the year after the fta came in, 98,000 tons were imported.”
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 18, 2013 | Colombia, Dessert, Diet, Digestion, Food, Health, Jungle Medicine, Nutrition, South America
While traveling in South America, people sometimes ask me what I do for a living. Unlike some of the reactions I sometimes get in North America, when I tell people from South America that I’m a naturopathic medical student, I usually get warm, excited responses.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 14, 2013 | Art Therapy, Community, Culture, Healing Stories, Health, Music, South America
In Paraguay, South America there is a village, called Cateura, whose main industry is collecting and recycling the waste from the rest of the country. Being from a poor village that acts as Paraguay’s dumping grounds, the citizens of Cateura subsist mainly on sorting and recycling garbage. The documentary Landfill Harmonic, tells the story of Favio Chavez, a music teacher in Cateura, who decided to create a school music program using instruments made entirely of recycled garbage.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Nov 30, 2012 | Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Community, Guatemala, South America, Travel, Travel Stories, Volunteering, Volunteering Abroad
So, in February of 2013 I will be packing up my medical equipment and heading to Panajachel, Guatemala to embark on my first ever medical brigade with Naturopaths Without Borders (NWB) and Naturopathic Medicine for Global Health (NMGH)!
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Sep 10, 2012 | Art, Colombia, Nature, Nature Cure, Photography, South America, Travel
Treat yourself to some visual nature cure with green scenes from Colombian towns around Bogotá and Medellín. 2012.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Sep 3, 2012 | Balance, Colombia, Cooking, Culture, Diet, Digestion, Elimination Diet, Food, Food Sensitivities, Gluten Free, Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Photography, Restaurants, South America, Travel, Travel Stories
It´s been a while since I´ve talked about food on this blog, which is a shame, since this blog is about naturopathic medicine and, as Hippocrates said, “let food be thy medicine.” Any naturopathic doctor will tell you that a great diet is the key to health, happiness and longevity. I´ve just gotten back from my fourth trip to Colombia and have decided to reflect on my most recent experience with Colombian cuisine.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Aug 23, 2012 | Balance, Colombia, Community, Culture, Emotions, Family, Music, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Politics, South America, Summer, Travel, Travel Stories
The first thing I notice about Bogotá, when descending the rickety stairs of the airplane, is the smell: a strange mixture of damp clay, lush green vegetation and diesel smoke. The altitude provides a lightheaded feeling of well-being and forceful palpitations of your abdominal aorta begin somewhere between your sternum and navel.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 14, 2012 | Art, Beauty, Colombia, Culture, Finding yourself, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Love, Photography, South America, Travel, Travel Stories
One of the realities of human suffering is the sensation of time passing us by. It is one of the pains of being alive and aware of it. Oftentimes we live on autopilot, bored with our present circumstances and rushing through life to the next good thing we have scheduled. When times are good we can experience the anxious feeling of attachment, knowing that, like all good things, it can’t possibly last forever.
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by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Mar 8, 2012 | Art, Balance, Colombia, Culture, Empathy, Family, Healing Stories, Listening, Love, Naturopathic Philosophy, NGOs, Photography, Psychology, South America, Travel, Travel Stories, Volunteering, Volunteering Abroad
As mentioned before, naturopaths are not necessarily defined by our toolbox of modalities. What, then, does define us as a profession? As we witness a rise in the demand for complementary and alternative medicine, and with it, the rise in something called the “Holistic Medical Doctor”, what sets naturopathic doctors apart?
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