I met Carlos and Catalina from Columbia during grad school. They spoke to me about how Americans seemed so cold and distant. It was difficult to adjust to life in a large midwestern university. The warmth and openness of Columbia appeared missing here as they struggled to find a niche. This view was echoed by Pepe from Ecuador, Javier and Corina from Venezuela, and Franscec from Spain. I was embarrassed about how we Americans treated them when I wrote this.

Where do you want to go?

I’m a stranger to this land				
I’m a long long way from home			
There’s a danger close at hand				
and I feel so all alone					
There are people talking to me				
In words I do not know				
Their eyes, they see right through me			
Like a man without a soul				

A feather in the winds of change
I feel like I am tossed
Priorities are re-arranged
And I can’t assess the cost
I speak my words to strangers
But they do not seem to hear
Living in a crazy world
where a man can’t shed a tear


Columbia…I think I hear you calling			
Won’t you call my name				
Columbia…I fear that I am falling			
Please catch me once again				
Please catch me once again