Day 2: Crash Course Colombia - Part 1

Day 2

Hey there! Welcome back! Did you enjoy day one? Are you interested in reading more?  If so, then please send your email to timmygrom838@gmail.com so I can add you to the email list. I've also been told there is a way to subscribe to the blog if you are signed into a gmail account, but I'm not 100% sure how to do it. I probably should know that one! Oops! 

Day 2 was a crash course on Colombian culture, history and food. Without further ado, lets jump right in!

Arrived

Technically this section is still Day 1, just the tail end! 

My flight to Colombia was much more enjoyable than my flight to Mexico City. (I think I'm done with overnights). I was so wired from my experience in Mexico that I couldn't stop thinking and journaling during the flight. When I got off the plane I was handed an immigration form, but it was all in Spanish, go figure. Unfortunately, they don't have the cool machines like in Mexico City that let you scan your passport and it completes your immigration form for you. Thankfully, the Colombian man in front of me was an English speaker and helped me fill everything out, even the section where you have to write the address you'll be staying at. Thanks Nate for leaving that part out! Over the course of this trip I learned that most locals in Latin America are more than willing to help out foreigners! So don't be afraid to ask for help when you travel! And also if you ever see a foreigner in the US who is confused, show them some US hospitality and help them out! After all the awesome hospitality I received, I can't on good conscience, ignore a foreigner in the US who looks like they are struggling. 

Finally, I made it through customs and was immediately greeted by my older brother Nate!

After our epic brotherly embrace we quickly hoped in a car that would take us down the windy mountain road the airport is perched on. It was here I learned my first interesting facts about ride-sharing in Colombia. Rides too and from the airport require a full car, ALWAYS. You will sit in the car as long as it takes for it to fill completely. In some cases you will be waiting for a while. Your  only other option would be to negotiate with the other riders and all agree to pay extra to cover the cost of the empty seat/s. Luckily, our van filled up quickly and we were off!  Nate and I spent the car ride catching up and it was funny knowing that no one in the car would likely be able to understand our English. And even if they did, odds are they wouldn't know what we were talking about. I mean what parts of "New England Patriots" and "Championship" would they really get anyway.

Pic of my brother and I celebrating Pats SB win last year!

Food Time!

We arrived at our Colombian base camp, which was a typical Colombian house in Medellin where the parents of one of Nathan's friends lived. (Nate has a lot of friends around the world, which you probably are already realizing). We went to bed straightaway due to travel exhaustion. The most tiring/annoying part of traveling is the actual traveling part. Ughh!

I awoke the next morning to the delightful smell of a deliciously authentic Colombian breakfast that was being prepared by our hosts, Ruby and Anibal! It consisted of scrambled eggs mixed with onion and tomato, an arepa (uh-ray-pa), sausage, crackers, cheese and a chocolate drink. 

So, Colombians are big on arepa's, which look like a thick tortilla. They eat them daily and vendors sell them everywhere. They are typically served with a soft cheese, but can also be included with butter and milk based creams. An arepa is made from corn which is one of Colombia's largest exports. They also serve sweeter versions, similar to a pancake, otherwise referred to as an "arepa de chocolo". Also to my delight, Colombian's love enjoying a chocolate drink in the morning. For us, it was served in a little side bowl and I noticed curiously that Anibal dropped his cheese and crackers into the chocolate bowl before consuming it. I looked forward to that bowl of chocolate goodness each morning!

So You Think You Can Dance?

After eating, we headed off to my very first salsa dancing lesson with a friend of Nate's. (Yep another one). He owned a quaint little dance studio above a hostel with a beautiful view of Medellin. Salsa dancing is no joke!  I noticed that I got in my head far too often when I danced, instead of flowing with the sound and feeling of the music like you are supposed too!

All in all it was an awesome experience and I hope to continue learning salsa in the US. This is where I noticed a big cultural difference between Colombia and the land of the free. In Colombia and Latin cultures it's basically an expectation to know how to salsa dance. Anywhere a salsa song is played people partner up with whomever and salsa whether it's outside, in a bar, or just among friends. It was very cool and I was mesmerized watching good salsa dancers. It looks like so much fun once you know what you're doing. Even internationals I met who moved to Colombia either knew how to salsa or took private lessons.

I believe the US used to be this way in the early 19th century before TV, cell phones and social media took over our lives. Back then people went out and danced for fun all the time. And I mean real dancing! Not club dancing in the US, which is really more like sex foreplay than actual dancing and is almost entirely based around getting drunk and hooking up with someone at the end.

It makes me sad, but hopefully we can bring a culture of real dancing back to the US someday. Props to Colombians for their dancing culture!

As Nate and I walked down the streets of Medellin we struck up a conversation about the current Venezuelan/Colombia problem, which would become another theme that was constantly in our faces throughout this trip. It's a long story, but in summary, Venezuelan's are fleeing to Colombia in droves and there are so many that there aren't really enough jobs. We saw many, many street performers and people selling candies all over. We were told that most are Venezuelans trying to get by in Colombia. There will be more on this topic in later blogs.

Donde Esta El Bano?

Another interesting note, you can buy water in bags. My brother and I were thirsty so we bought two small plastic bags of water from a vendor. You just use your teeth to rip of the corner of the bag and drink away. I didn't get the impression that it was normal to walk into restaurants and ask them to fill up my water like I do in the US frequently.  In fact I didn't even find out until half way through our trip that you can actually drink the tap water in Medellin! Arghhh. But not everywhere in Colombia is the water ok to drink for foreigners. Also and to my disgust, many places required a payment to use the bathroom! Yep! Usually just $500 pesos, but still! To use the bathroom! I now appreciate the US more for our widely accessible clean water and free bathrooms! And don't even get me started on driving and traffic in Colombia!  (It was still better than driving in India though)

Next, we hopped onto a metro Gandala lift. Nate informed me that the government recently spent lots of money on affordable transportation to connect the city of Medellin. They have a very modern, clean metro system that includes buses, subways, and gandala lift's that take you up the steep hills. Colombian people are nuts about their metro! It's their pride and joy, and nobody and I mean nobody brings food on the metro! They don't want it getting dirty. During the gandala ride up through the hills we were witnesses to beautiful view after beautiful view of the whole city! My brother mentioned that no matter how rich or poor you are, almost everyone has a beautiful view due to the hilly terrain.

Imagine getting to see this on you daily commute

Our next stop was downtown Medellin and the first thing that comes to my mind is all of the fake Nike and Adidas merchandise being sold on every corner! Very tempting! However, I told my self I'd shop another time. We walked around and ordered a couple of fruit smoothies from Colombia's version of Jamba Juice. Less than $2 for a large smoothie beats $4.50 for a small Jamba in the US. "Ballin on a budget!"   For those of you interested in currency rates, 1 US dollar is equivalent to around 3,500 Colombian pesos, making Colombia a retirement destination for Americans and other foreigners.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Stay tuned for my next blog where I will cover the rest of Day 2, which includes even more of Crash Course Colombia! Nate and I embarked on a walking tour through all of Medellin that took up the rest of the day and ended with a lot of new friends. See you next time!

Day 1: Mexico City "Blessing in Disguise"

Welcome!

Hello readers! Welcome to my newest blog! Here, I will be chronicling my recent trip to Colombia! No, not the town in California where some of us panned for gold as kids, but the actual country of Colombia!

Shoutout to my brother Nathan who convinced me to meet him there! He lived in Colombia for a couple years and visits their frequently. I am not a major travel enthusiast by trade, but the lure of spending time with him while having an amazing new experience was too much to pass up. Not to mention we had places to stay with his friends and he already knew the best sights to see.

Thank you Nate Dog! If there was a Worldwide Hall of Fame of Big Bro's, you'd be first ballot! Love you always!

Uncertainty

My trip did not get off to the best of starts. I was anxious, very anxious. Whenever I have an upcoming trip the few days before are usually very hard. Too much uncertainty can reak havoc on a man. A foreign country, a new language, new people, potentially dangerous? What was I getting myself into?! After a day spent watching football and trying to keep my mind off of what was to come, my Dad drove me to the San Francisco airport.  Now what I am about to share with you won't make a lot of contextual sense right now, but when we get to a later day of the blog it will make sense, I promise. 

Something that had been on my mind for a while, before this trip was the idea of tithing. For some background, tithing is a biblical principle that has been practiced since the beginning of time. Tithing is realizing that your money is not really yours, but God's. And in effect people give some of their money to churches, people in need or even just to do something nice for someone they love. Doing this doesn't have a monetary gain, but has a supernatural effect of feeding the soul. Humans, in my experience, are generally happier when they are generous with their money and trust they will be taken care of even with a few less bucks in their wallet. 

So... I'm bad a tithing, it scares me. I am saver, I like to save money. It brings me joy when I discover a new hack of something I can do that saves me money. Too much joy probably. I cut my own hair, make my own deoderant, toothpaste etc. Anyway back to the story, my dad and I discussed this and I asked him to help me tithe, but honestly I was just so freaked out about traveling at the time. So Dad, if I seemed very off during that car ride I hope you can forgive me. I was very agitated and anxious. This will make more sense later I promise.

Blessing in Disguise

My flight didn't leave till 11pm and it would drop me off in Mexico City at 5am. Yes, not Colombia, but Mexico City. I had originally seen this 12-hour layover in Mexico City as a total waste of time. But, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

When I first arrived in the Mexico City airport I was beyond freaked. Not only was I sleep deprived, (sleeping on planes is a joke), but now I had no idea where to go, had no Mexican money and everything was in Spanish. Plus I couldn't even get Wifi. (Millennial's worse nightmare, am I right?) I felt cut off, stranded, and there was a moment where I broke down into tears. I wanted to go home. This feeling visited me more than once during this trip. 

Somehow I pulled it together with a singular focus, "FIND WIFI". Every other concern was cast from my mind instantly and I searched the whole airport. I finally worked up the courage to talk to someone at the info desk and ask, "Yo necessito wifi, por favor." I was directed to a cafe where I could buy something and use their wifi. I also found a place where I could exchange my $20 dollars in US currency for some Pesos. This cafe encounter is where my fortunes changed. I sat down and was trying to order, but I couldn't understand the server. Thankfully, there was a man named Raul and his young daughter sitting next to me. Call it a coincidence or not, but Raul happened to be a US resident from Chicago who was born in Colombia. He helped me order, helped me figure out the wifi, but most importantly helped calm my mind. To actually talk too someone in English who was friendly was so comforting. Raul if you ever stumble accross the blog! Thank you so much for your kindness!

This was a huge turning point for me and I finally felt at home and relaxed in a foreign place. That's when I decided to go and venture into the streets of Mexico City!

Mexico City

I live in America so I've heard all the stories about the Mexican Cartel. So naturally, I was scared to go out into the town. However, I have also been told that although the Mexican Cartel is no joke, some perceptions about foreign places are largely overblown especially if foreigners are vigilant and avoid obvious troublesome areas. There are even places in the US that are dangerous for residents none the less, so just don't be dumb. I prayed asking God for protection and courage, and ultimately felt like an adventure was still called for despite some risk. 

When I first stepped out onto a road in Mexico City one of the first things that struck me was a man trying to climb a barbed wire fence. Seriously!? There was only a road on the other side of the fence so I had no idea what he was trying to accomplish. And of course as soon as I walked past him he climbed down and began to walk my direction. Mierda! as the Mexican's would say. I picked up my pace because I didn't know if this guy was following me or not and I soon reached an overpass that would take me into small town. (By the way there aren't many crosswalks in Mexico City, mainly they build overpasses above busy streets instead). Luckily he didn't follow and I could relax as I began to walk through the streets of a residential area in Mexico City. As you can imagine, it was pretty dirty, garbage on the streets, lots of stray dogs running around. (Heartbreaking) Some streets even reminded me of a war zone. Cars parked all over that looked like they had been dormant for years, graffiti, homes that looked damaged. I was fascinated and it felt like I was transported to another world from a movie. 

I kept walking until I reached the center of town. They had a beautiful park that was painted in all sorts of colors, especially pink. They had a dog park and a play structure for kids. It was Sunday so a lot of people were out and about. Then I found what I was looking for, STREET TACOS! For those that don't know Mexican food is my personal favorite. I sat down and paid a few pesos for some delicious tacos. Sadly, and what would be a common theme throughout my trip, was that although I would have loved to strike up a conversation with this taco vendor, my level of spanish was and is woefully "poco" or "little" in English. So I had to sit mostly in silence while I ate my tacos. I was still hungry so I found a food place on a corner nearby that had a few Mexican men standing around the outside. Like a lot of food places in Latin America, they have open air restaurants where instead of walls they have their cooking apparatus and serve you food directly. A man ordered something that looked good so in grunts and pointing I had him help me the order the same thing for myself.  I'm still not even sure exactly what it was, but all I can describe is a large oval shaped, thick tortilla that was fried. They then spread meat, garlic sauce, cheese and salsa all over and served it. It was delicious!

What is this????

The coolest part however, was what happened after I got my food. I thought it cost $50 pesos so that's what I gave to the owner and walked away. After getting halfway down the block I heard someone shouting "Senior! Senior!" It was the owner and he flagged me down so he could give me back some change. Apparently what I ordered was only $25 pesos. I thanked him and he jogged back to his store. I was very surprised and embarrassed. I'm sure they all thought I was a dumb foreigner, but regardless the owner's integrity made me feel conflicted. I had heard stories and been warned that Latin cultures would try to rip off foreigners. I'm sure that still happens sometimes, but not in this instance. 

I continued to walk, and walk, and walk, and walk some more. I passed many outdoor shops and vendors. I also noticed big lines of people everywhere. They were all waiting to board buses or vans. Maybe to take them to work? Home? I don't know for sure, but there were a lot of lines. The coolest part was when I got to a certain area of town I nicknamed "tent city". Not house tents, but vendor tents. They were all yellow and all connected in big sections along the sidewalk. You could walk through this city of tents for 5 minutes without seeing the sun because it was just tent after tent. Food, juices, electronics, shoes, makeup, anything you could basically think of surrounded you as you walked through cramped tent after cramped tent. I literally felt like I was walking into someone's living room every time I would enter a tent where food was being served. It was madness, but so cool at the same time. It was like this for a at least a couple of miles. I stopped at a vendor and ordered a papaya milkshake which wasn't bad. Papaya is very plentiful in Latin America, but I've rarely encountered it much in the US, so I figured it was worth trying.

Knowing this area came in real handy during my layover on the way back to America. Which is a crazy story in and of itself and I almost missed my flight. But you'll have to wait till the last blog for that one. 

I walked until the yellow tents died out and then started to make my way back to the airport since it was nearing time for my next flight. Now, my smartphone only works on Wifi, (I went back to a flip phone in the US) so I had to retrace my steps back to the airport by memory. However, as I was walking back I noticed a neighborhood market set up in the middle of the street, so of course I had to go check it out. This was similar to "tent city", except for it was mainly food, produce and meat being sold. Still very cool and surreal,  I did my first bartering to grab an apple for a couple of pesos on my journey back. This detour did get me lost (Which is the best part of any trip), so it took me a some extra time to find my way to back to the main road. I also stumbled upon a Walmart, which was the most packed I've ever seen a Walmart before and that's saying something. I made it back to the airport with enough time to change my dirty, sweaty clothes and charge up my phone before I was on my next flight to Medellin, Colombia. Anybody watch Narcos on Netflix?

And that concludes Day 1... stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow