Its hard to believe that I've been in Colombia for a week, and the strangest part is I can't decide if time is the tortoise or the hare. It seems so long but so short. Regardless, it has been a week since I left the beautiful California coast and there is certainly an aching in my heart for the love that blows in the cool summer breezes that blew away the fog this summer and the simplicity of life along highway one.
The Colombian chapter of my life started off rocky, with a tearful goodbye and feeling like I was literally getting sucked out of summertime by a vacuum. Then an early morning arrival at SFO where the Delta representative almost didn't let me fly (because I didn't have a return ticket nor a visa.. which I was supposed to get there, but the paper I had explaining the agreement was in Spanish) and then told me that in Bogotá they probably weren't going to let me into the country and if that happened I was on my own and they couldn't help me. Images of being contained in Bogotá unable to contact anyone flashed through my mind and I frantically emailed our program director from my ipod (but it was 4 in the morning). I decided not to postpone my flight despite the rep's encouragement to fly later. I woke my mom up another few times as I sat alone at my gate crying with no desire to leave. Not to mention my flight itinerary sent me to JFK and then to Bogotá, completely out of the way and a long day of flying, plus a 2 hour delay in NY because of storms while we were already all loaded up on the plane. Things got easier once I got to Bogotá though and I had no problem getting in to the country. We had a 5 day orientation in Bogotá which was long, tiring and overwhelming. I felt so strange the whole time in Bogotá, uncomfortable, incompetent and homesick. Tears would well in my eyes every time I thought of home and all my friends, plus being with 27 other Fulbright grantees who have all accomplished amazing things was not the best for my self esteem. But, we were fed good food, we went out dancing one night and got a tour of the city which is freakishly similar to Quito only bigger, colder (the people not the temperature) and more developed, modern and clean. We went up a teleferiqo and to breathe the thin, fresh cool air of the andes while looking over the enormous, expansive metropolis of Santa Fe de Bogotá then walked through the Centro Histórico which was a straight up deja vú of el centro de Quito (Quito's is better.. it has more character and Andean funk).
I can't help but to compare Ecuador and Colombia, but every time I decide I like something better about Colombia I feel like I'm cheating on Ecuador. Ecuador is much more raw than Colombia which is both good and bad. I have seen TWO indigenous people here in Colombia and hundreds of blue-eyed, light skinned and even red-haired Colombians. That right there is a stark difference between the two nations and tells you a lot about their history. I keep reminding myself of the long and close relationship the United States and Colombia have had. This relationship has been both good and bad but it inevitably has made Colombia a wealthier and more modernized country. Furthermore, the woman in Colombia certainly live up to their reputation. My mouth has literally dropped at some of the Colombianas I've seen. How is it possible that they can all be perfectly proportioned, with unique faces and looking as though they just stepped out of a fashion magazine? I must also keep in mind that Colombia is the capital of plastic surgery. haha.
The second I stepped off the plane in Medellín I sighed a huge sigh of relief and a one of the first true natural smiles since arriving crossed my face. Medellín is so much more welcoming, friendly and beautiful than Bogotá (I'm speaking like a Paisa already..Paisas (people from Medellín) think/know that their city is the best in the country and are in a constant competition with Bogotá to be the capital of the country.. in my opinion let Bogotá remain the capital and let Medellín remain the smaller and superior city of the two). I was welcomed into Paisa country by Edgar (my university contact) and his daughter Saray. They both exhibit the typical Paisa hospitality and took me out to a delicious lunch which of course consisted of patacones (my favorite thing in the world), arepas (my new favorite thing) and a fatty steak which was delicious but left me full for over 12 hours. The national airport is about 35 minutes outside of the city and I couldn't contain the smile as we winded through the lush, green Andes passing small farms, armed guards on the side of the road and horses wandering aimlessly along the highway. Edgar took me to his sister's house where I am staying for now and then took me around the University, which is nicely sized with a great view, a TV station and stage and a fabulous pool (two of them actually, and a hottub). Edgar is awesome (and a Jehovah Witness) and speaks fabulous English. His sister Luz Mary is the most friendly and kind woman ever who will do anything for me, and a fabulous chef. Her husband Jairo is hilarious, although I don't always get all his jokes as he speaks very colloquially paisa everyone is always rolling with laughter or rolling their eyes at him. He is also a professional saxophone player, one of the best in the country apparently. I'm staying with them for now in their small two bedroom apartment near the University, I have my own room and a big bed (which is about as hard as sand) but we share a bathroom and are basically right on top of each other, I can hear Jairo snoring at night. For now its perfect as I get settled into the city and try and find my way, but I long to cook for myself, invite people over to my home for dinner parties and unpack my suitcases. One can only eat large portions of meat and carbohydrates and salads that consist of iceberg lettuce and tomatoes for so long before going crazy and getting quite fat. Not to mention the fact that I am gluten-intolerant and lactose-intolerant and very sensitive to food (gracias al Ecuador) is the most bizarre thing to them. They can't imagine that someone couldn't eat wheat and trust me trying to explain it to someone in Spanish is easier said than done. For my mental sanity and metabolism I would like to live more independently. But I think I will definitely be here for two to four weeks, because it is fun to eat deliciously typical Colombian food, chit chat with Luz Mary late at night and watch soccer with Jairo. Furthermore, after having the most amazing family EVER in Ecuador nothing will ever live up to that.
This week is Feria de las Flores here in Medellín. Which is a 60 year old week-long celebration of being Paisa. Saturday I went out with Saray and her friends to la calvagata ( the calvary) a day long parade of thousands of beautiful horses with beautiful riders and one fiesta/concert after the other. We went to a Reggaeton one where we threw back aguaridente to the beats of Colombian reggaeton and classics. As i stood in the crowd of beautiful Colombians in front of the stage watching the performers singing with so much national pride and the crowd singing along and screaming at the top of their lungs, a feeling of nostalgia for Northern Californian summer reggae festivals overcame me. There is nothing I love more than standing in the bowl with all my best friends and favorite people with a smile plastered to my face and singing along to powerful songs as the music washes over us cleansing our souls. I really missed out on that this summer and I partially contribute the lack of those necessary moments to feeling unsettled in my life as I departed on this adventure.
Today, I spent the whole morning 8:30 am-2:00 pm trying to file the paperwork to get my cedula de extranjería (my residence ID). Although any normal Northamerican would have been ready to kill someone after all the different instructions we were given (completely different from what Fulbright had told us to do), the 3 times I went to the DAS office before actually having success, the hour I waited to just get into the office to be told I didn't have any of the proper paperwork, the 1.5 hours I waited to turn in the paperwork, the 25 photocopies i had to make and the 6 taxi rides I took to various banks around the city it barely phased me as I am quite used to the way bureaucracy works in South America and nothing that happened today surprised me. Except the appearingly genius con-artists who hang out outside the DAS office waiting for extranjeros who have no idea what they are doing. As part of the process you have to deposit money in a bank account and then bring the receipt to the DAS office with your application. These guys however make it apparently simple and have bank slips in this little random store/photo shop so you give them money and they fill out the slip and "turn it in to the bank" but probably never do that and just run away with the money and alas you are out 150,000 pesos and your Cédula never goes through because of failure to pay the dues. I believe this is how it works and its genius, however there is a slight possibility that they might have actually had a legit thing going.. this is south america, but it seemed WAY too sketchy to me. Now i only have to wait a month and a half before I actually have the physical identification card.
I don't work this week, which is both good and bad. I know I will spend many hours sitting in my room, on the computer and descansando due to boredom, but it also gives me time to wander around the city and figure it out, deal with all the little things that need to get done, and try and connect with the many contacts I have been given through previous Fulbrighters. But I am looking forward to working, except that I work on saturdays (who has class on saturday's this is crazy). But Edgar told me that if I need some saturday's off to travel thats ok, but in general I do not think I will be able to spend the weekends roaming around the country like I did in Ecuador, also apart from my commitments Colombia is ENORMOUS compared to Ecua.
Well this has been my first blogging experience and the first time I have put words to my Colombian experience so far, it is synthesizing, relaxing and very beneficial to write for me. And since I can get my fingers to click away on the keyboard about as fast as my mind can form complete sentences it is easier to write on the computer than in my journal but also makes me blab away and by the end of everything I have to say I have written a novel. But for those of you who know me well, this shouldn't come as a surprise as I always tend to have something to say, and not much of a filter. For those of you who have read to the bottom of this post, thank you for sticking through it and I promise they won't all be this long. Sending my love from stormy but warm Medellín. <3
No comments:
Post a Comment