Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

226 OUT OF CAPTIVITYeracy. Like nearly everyone on the planet, I had heard of the books andthe films that followed their publication. I hadn’t read them, but afterI got the book at Caribe, I carried it around thinking that since it was akids’ book, it might prove helpful in learning the language better.I read the book and kept my journal with me. It seemed as if onevery page I was coming across fifteen or so words that I was unfamiliarwith. I’d jot those words down in my notebook and look them up laterin Gloria’s dictionary. Sometimes I read aloud to Tom and he helpedme get through, but not surprisingly some words didn’t seem to translate.As Tom read with me, we were both sucked into the world J. K.Rowling had created. I’d started out reading it with an agenda—to learnmore Spanish in order to cut through some of the clouds of deceptionand doubt that our communication with the politicians had produced. Iended up almost completely forgetting about all that and just enjoyingthe story.In early September of 2004, I learned via radio that my motherwas in Colombia. By then, Orlando and Ingrid had worked out a systemto share the radio. I found out that one of the reasons why Ingridwanted a radio in her possession was that she received messages fromher mother nearly every day the programs were broadcast. She wasextremely close to her mother, and her mother’s devotion to her wasclear from the frequency of the messages. When I heard this, I felt alittle bad about the whole radio ordeal. My mom and Ingrid’s momwere a lot alike in their desire to stay in contact with their children. Iheard messages from my mom far more frequently than anyone elseamong the three of us.When I learned that my mom was in Colombia, part of me wasafraid because it wasn’t a particularly safe place for her to be. At thesame time, though, I was thrilled just to know that she was that muchcloser to me and proud that she’d come to Colombia to meet withpeople in the government and family members of other hostages. The