Raised in a Different World

Colombia is a country that has always been characterized by its strikingly high social inequality. The gap between the rich and the poor is one of the highest in the world. This certainly means that being raised as an upper class child here is totally different than being raised as a middle or lower class child. There are many reasons for this which the author tells us and that me as a Colombian was able to connect and identify really well.

The author describes really well how the upper class society in this country works. In Barranquilla, se went to the American school there, the Karl Parrish School. She and her friends spoke the best English of anyone in Barranquilla, which was an instant sign of a high socioeconomic status. As in any unequal society, people from the American school would be called spoiled and too American. I can totally identify myself with this, being a student at CNG. Wearing the navy blue hoody with the CNG letters is more than just a uniform. It is a tag, a tag that indicates a high socioeconomic status. CNG is one of the most expensive schools in Colombia (if not the most expensive), CNG students speak the best English in the country, CNG students go to Miami and Europe in their vacations, CNG students are members of Bogota's most exclusive clubs, CNG students only eat American candy, and have all the commodities many kids in Colombia don't have. CNG students have the "you can hit me but my daddy will sue you" attitude. This why we are called spoiled, just how the author describes in Barranquilla.

Another thing that is characteristic of Colombia's upper class that the author describes really well is Miami. Miami is where all of Latin America's affluent people go to during their vacations to tan in the beach and spend hours in huge malls buying all their clothes. As she very well mentions, then people like to show off their Miami-bought clothes here in Bogota. That is another tag for status here in Colombia.

Apparently the author grew in a different situation than the rest of the people which today allows her to see the situation in the country from a different point of view.