Name: Cristian Grisales
Affiliation: CAF – Development Bank of Latin America
Journal title: First Lecture in Korea
Date: July 27th, 2022


Dear readers of this daily report, good morning.
The name of its noble rapporteur is Cristian Grisales, Senior Climate Change Executive at CAF, the green bank of Latin America.

We began this wonderful story with a morning jog with our colleague from Costa Rica, Roberto Rodríguez Sánchez, who with great gallantry and tenacity was able to accept the challenge of running 8 km along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, a perfect example of a Nature Based Solution, which we will certainly take as a model to be implemented in our Latin American countries.





After jogging, which is worth mentioning that it involved the use of face masks at all times (we cannot lower our guard against the coronavirus), we had the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful breakfast, provided by the beloved Travis Pak from a company that has excellently provided us with food and other services necessary to be well and happy during each session.





The first adventure of the day started at the Seoul Energy Dream Center, where kind colleague Electrical Engineer Eungwan Lee (in case you didn't know, I'm an Electrical Engineer, as well as colleague from Bhutan, Dechen Pema Yangki) took us through the wonderful world of energy, renewables (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.) and energy efficiency (i.e thermal isolation), technologies where South Korea is already at the forefront and for which we have taken careful note to replicate them in our countries.





Then, we moved on to the world of biology, where we visited the Seoul Botanical Garden and had the opportunity to marvel at the wide variety of plants and trees in its collection, including specimens from countries as wonderful as Colombia (in case you didn't know, I'm of Colombia), where there was representation of Begonias, Succulents and of course Orchids (Colombia is the country with the greatest variety of orchids in the world).





As a dessert for this gastronomic day of knowledge and flavors, we visited the Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center, where we had the opportunity to enjoy art created with our waste and to become aware of the environmental impacts associated with not using it throughout the entire lifecycle, as well as their potential as cultural transforming elements.





To close this journey through science, art, and culture, we visited Gwangmyeong Cave, where we were able to enjoy this wonderful place and its attractions (I won't go into much detail here, since I didn't go in due to health problems).







Coordinator's comments:
I was surprised when I learned during the programme that you ran every morning before breakfast. Didn't know Roberto was with you - it's always good to have a company when a 8km-long running is ahead of you. I am glad to know that you enjoyed the Cheonggyecheon Stream as it is one of Koreans' beloved urban environment infrastructure.    
I also find it very interesting that Colombia has so many kinds of beautiful orchids which makes me to want even more to visit Colombia.
It was regretful that the cave was not the most ideal choice for you. Reflecting your case, I will look for better places where everyone can visit when planning the following years' programme. 
Thank you for your detailed journal with great photos, Cristian!