We need to find a few more people beyond the Marketing WG for the “Other” slot, whether at OpenCraft or somewhere else.
Sounds good – so one last slot still open, if any other interested core contributor from OpenCraft is reading this :)
Hey @gabriel,
I’m off on my Summer holiday from Thursday and my appointment for my US visa is booked soon after I get back. I would like to start organising my documents before then if possible.
I wanted to ask you about the number of hours that will be allocated for this (and for applying for the Colombian visa)… I have already spent almost 4 hours on the process for my US visa and still have a way to go. I haven’t started the Colombian application yet. I know budget is limited this year, so am happy to do the rest of the application in my own time.
Hi @Ali! Good question, thanks for asking. I ran some calculations. For budget reasons, as you pointed out, we’ll need to restrict it to 2h for both the US and the Colombia trip. It’s fine to leave your logged time as-is, since I hadn’t provided instructions. I’ll mention this budget when I schedule tickets to arrange travel plans (soon!).
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Thanks @gabriel. I’ll make up for the 2 additional hours I spent by spending less time on any future tickets linked to the conference budget. 
Good luck for all the planning!
What are we doing for accommodation and coworking in Bogota?
Has anyone talked with eduNEXT about where in the city we should/shouldn’t stay?
In previous years we filled in a spreadsheet listing who was and wasn’t coming, who wanted a private room vs who was willing to share, etc. EDIT I see we already have one started, yay! See Con 2023 spreadsheet > Bogota Attendees.
Are we going to try to find a place big enough for all of us? coliving.com has some crazy good looking working + living spaces that could hold us, though they’re all per month (and I assume, per person?). AirBnB has some nice looking huge houses that could maybe host us all, or there may be hotels that can accommodate us all at a good rate.
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I did not follow this thread much closely lately, but wow! What an amazing effort in organising everything! 
Unfortunately, I’m in a similar situation as Geoffrey, (if everything goes as expected) I’ll be on the other side of the planet, so I won’t be able to join. However I’m eager to meet you all, hopefully, this year it will be possible as travel restrictions left behind. 
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+1 to this!
@gabriel You probably already have a lot on your plate, so I’m sorry to add more! For both my US and Colombia visa applications, I require a visa letter (I’m sure there are a few of us in the same boat). I requested a visa letter from Eden, but she says she can only provide letters for people who already have conference tickets. Would you be able to help?
The requirements for each visa letter are as follows:
US visa letter:
- The purpose of your trip
- Your intent to depart the United States after your trip; and/or
- Your ability to pay all the costs of your trip
- If you cannot cover all the costs for your trip, you may show evidence that another person will cover some or all of the costs for your trip
Colombia visa:
- The purpose of your trip
- Your ability to pay all the costs of your trip
Do you perhaps have a template that you’ve used in previous years?
I have – and the prime/safe locations are Usaquen and the north end of Chapinero (where eduNEXT have their offices). So I’m looking for a coworking space in those areas, as well as accommodations.
I’ve looked at a few coliving/coworking spaces (the exact same list, actually), and the monthly pricing is non-negotiable, unfortunately – which take them out of our price range. But your list of Airbnbs looks great! I’ll review the listings and populate the spreadsheet with the viable options. Thanks a lot @jill 
And @Ali, sure I’ll schedule a task to draft the letters, and ping you once done.
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I’ve also found a cool coworking space in the Usaquen area: Cola+Bora. I’ve checked other spaces (including WeWork), and this one is the best option IMO, and fits within our budget. It’s right in the heart of Usaquen, and has tons of dining options around (including a food hall right next door). We’d have dedicated desks across two rooms in the same building.
@antoviaque if this works for you, I’d proceed with booking asap.
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Here here! Thank you so much @gabriel !
You are more than welcome! I’m happy to help with this part too, just let me know.
This place looks amazing! And I appreciate your food-first approach. I mean, we’re here to work, but… we gotta eat, right @pooja ? 
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Thanks @gabriel. My US visa appointment is this coming Tuesday (17 Jan), so I’m not sure you’ll get the chance to draft the letter before then. In that case, I will put something together and ask you to sign it. Sorry, I really left this to the last minute!
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I have built a list of Airbnbs on the spreadsheet, and now I think we have enough listings for everyone to find somewhere to crash. I also indicated a budget limit in case you find something else/better and want to book it independently. I’ll be scheduling tasks for people to book (or add their name to a booking) next sprint.
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@gabriel Sorry for missing your first ping :( Yes it’s all good for me for the coworking space! Thanks for finding it, it looks great.
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Sadly, I won’t be able to go to the coworking week this year. 
Me and my wife will be moving to Europe at the end of March (we’ve already been planning this for a few months). I was waiting to finish some immigration bureaucracy to comment about it here.
I’m sad to miss you this year @giovannicimolin , but happy for you and your wife! Best of luck with your migration! 
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@gabriel Do I need an OpenCraft t-shirt for the conference? I have a Core Contributor one so will bring that along.
@Ali good point! I had forgotten about the tshirt task. Normally I have them printed and bring them along with me at the conf (I’ll do this for Bogota) – but this time I’ll ship one over to you. I can either have one done and shipped in a few days to SA (will it make it on time, if the shirt ships from Europe?), or I can have it shipped to Cambridge, where someone from tCRIL can bring it to you. What works best, you think? And what size women’s tshirt should I send?
@gabriel Whether or not it makes it to SA on time depends if you’ll use a courier or the postal service. I would definitely not trust the SA postal service 
. I’m happy with whatever’s easiest for you. You can send it to someone in Cambridge, or perhaps to any of the OpenCraft team members coming to the conference. I’ll get it somehow!