THIS IS CITY IS BRILLIANT; all of Colombia's selling points in one location. The charming nature of Cartagena, the friendly people of Barranquilla, the gorgeous views of Bogotá, and more. Within minutes of stepping out of our taxi, we knew we'd made the right choice of spending 8 days here versus anywhere else.
We already have, and will continue to do way too many things to possibly blog about them all. It's as if our cheap round trip tickets to Medellín came with a complimentary bucketlist that we were unaware of, and we'd just spent our time unknowingly checking things off.
50 MEDE-GENIUS ADVENTURES OF OURS
So far, we've....
We already have, and will continue to do way too many things to possibly blog about them all. It's as if our cheap round trip tickets to Medellín came with a complimentary bucketlist that we were unaware of, and we'd just spent our time unknowingly checking things off.
50 MEDE-GENIUS ADVENTURES OF OURS
So far, we've....
- Made new friends from 10+ countries (Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Puerto Rico, India, etc.)
- Gotten offered jobs teaching English for the summer
- Fell in love with a tiny little restaurant and eaten there 3 days in a row
- Received both a marriage proposal and an offer to carry someone's Colombian child
- Eaten the traditional dish of Medellin - la bandeja paisa - and not been able to walk for a few hours after
- Seen the city from the sky (also known as paragliding)
- Seen the city by day (gondola)
- Seen the city by night (the screen saver of the hostel computer)
- Successfully completed a Wednesday-night Publado Pub District pub crawl through the city , talking our way into free t-shirts
- Reverted to our American ways and became regulars at the nearest Dominos
- Made accidental friends from another Colombian city that invited us to stay for free in their house
- Looked at plane tickets for that trip and made plans to go
- Convinced a local that we are Barranquilla natives (not an easy task)
- Connected with strangers super quickly on the day they were leaving to their next destination, shed a tear
- Decided between paying for Pablo Escobar Tour or just re-watching the movie "Blow"
- Climbed 770 stairs up a giant rock to see the gorgeous views of Guatapé (and looked awful by the time we finally reached the top, but took pictures anyway.)
- Made the conscious decision with our entire group of tourists, old and young, native and foreign, to end our tour after the boat trip due to the insane amounts of sporadic rain.
- Gotten to know Medellín's flooding systems really well by means of falling in the ditches on the side of the road
- Been the only non-drinker (me) with a drunk-like morning after bruise
- Gotten a nasty cold and spend an entire night stealing rolls of toilet paper and waking up our roommates with the sounds of sneezing and sniffling
- Spent the day's disposable income on gatorade and Colombian DayQuil.
- Played a game (or ten) of bilingual ping pong at the hostel.
- Requested Bachata at a popular bar and got back hand-written a note, courtesy of the DJ reading "NO BACHATA!"
- Reunited with our beloved group of Mexican exchange students and took massive group photos.
- Entrusted a relatively strange stranger to not run off with the camera while taking those group photos.
- Considered buying souvenirs, and then remembered how small our backpacks really are.
- Spoke Spanish to someone who appeared to be blatantly Colombian, but was actually German.
- Located a Colombian version of an old favorite game, Parcheesi.
- Taken the cable car to the top of the city, discussing the effectiveness of this mode of transportation and survival strategies were we to fall.
- Took the cable car back down to the bottom of the city with a 5 year old who looked like Romeo Santos's child.
- Taken selfies and filmed amateur music videos when we have nothing else to do on a long walk.
- Fought off some massive Colombian bugs.
- Eaten at restaurants that don't believe in Coke or Pepsi products and taken field trips to find some drinks.
- Visited some incredibly exotic looking churches, and saved the coolest one for easter morning.
- Taken a moment of silence to think about how different our lives would be if we grew up here.
- Been considered "locals" when the team of Ultimate Frisbee players from Oregon needed to find an ATM.
- Made friends with little girls who were utterly shocked that in our country, we all spoke English. They thought Dora was the only who knew English.
- Met a man who was deported from Colombia 10 years ago for selling cocaine, and is now back selling homemade servings of tiramisu - a step up in life.
- Met twin, Canadian models who also work as passionate "pipe fitters", a profession that I never knew existed.
- Met a Mexican man who came to Medellín on accident, dumped his girlfriend, quit his job, and then missed his actual flight.
- Met a girl from New Zealand who bought a plane ticket to the south of France, spent three weeks on a pier asking for a job working on a boat, and now travels the world in a highly-funded scientific research ship with 3 months of paid leave each year.
- Met a half Puerto Rican/half Lebanese girl who runs a very successful juice truck business in Tampa, Florida, yet doesn't know what Tumblr is.
- Taken REAL hot showers with REAL water pressure, something Barranquilleros barely believe in.
- Added about 50 new friends on Facebook/WhatsApp
- Ran into random people we met on the bar scene more than once in our 8 days here, including a Native American kid from California named "Tree".
- Discussed some brilliant business plans and life goals amongst the group
- Taken a taxi no further than 1 block for the sake of safety.
- Modeled with the voluminous Botero statues.
- Had some solid, strategic conversations with non-natives who moved to Colombia about how to make this a reality in our own post-graduate lives.
- Missed our "homes" in Barranquilla and looked forward to going back as much as we looked forward to being here.
Some corresponding fotos...
#5
I made 3 new friends from different parts of Colombia, went with them downtown, had to pay more than them because I wasn't Colombian, and as expected, got caught in a rain storm. But, they did take me to eat the traditional dish of Medellín, along with a famous drink called refajo - a mix of Colombian soda and beer.
I made 3 new friends from different parts of Colombia, went with them downtown, had to pay more than them because I wasn't Colombian, and as expected, got caught in a rain storm. But, they did take me to eat the traditional dish of Medellín, along with a famous drink called refajo - a mix of Colombian soda and beer.
#6
Went paragliding with the team. Met three little kids who each gave me a balloon to release into the air for good luck. I did as they wished, with a smile on my face, and crazily enough, the balloons came back and got stuck in our parachute. We landed with them still tangled up in the rope. The kids told me the balloons came back to me because my luck is in my own hands. Food for thought.
Went paragliding with the team. Met three little kids who each gave me a balloon to release into the air for good luck. I did as they wished, with a smile on my face, and crazily enough, the balloons came back and got stuck in our parachute. We landed with them still tangled up in the rope. The kids told me the balloons came back to me because my luck is in my own hands. Food for thought.
#14
It's crazy how quickly you can make friends with people you've just met, and will likely never see again.
It's crazy how quickly you can make friends with people you've just met, and will likely never see again.
#16
It was way easier than it looks, though the altitude will get to you really quickly.
It was way easier than it looks, though the altitude will get to you really quickly.
#18, 19
In the process, I busted my knee cap and ripped my favorite pants of all time.
In the process, I busted my knee cap and ripped my favorite pants of all time.
#24
North America taking on South America.
North America taking on South America.
#28
Just sitting on the table in a Colombian living room. I had to take a picture.
Just sitting on the table in a Colombian living room. I had to take a picture.
#35
When you see things like 5 people on a motorcycle, kids selling mangos for money, or indigenous people living homeless in the street with their starving children, it makes you stop and think about your childhood, count your blessings, and feel 10x more willing and interested in giving back to the world.
When you see things like 5 people on a motorcycle, kids selling mangos for money, or indigenous people living homeless in the street with their starving children, it makes you stop and think about your childhood, count your blessings, and feel 10x more willing and interested in giving back to the world.
#48
The same guy who does all the "fat people paintings" made statues. They have a huge plaza full of them in Medellín that we thoroughly enjoyed posing with.
The same guy who does all the "fat people paintings" made statues. They have a huge plaza full of them in Medellín that we thoroughly enjoyed posing with.
MORESO THEN JUST BEING COOL, this city is a great teacher. I learned some really valuable things in my time here, but the biggest one I learned about is relatability. It was my first time staying in a hostel, but you realize being here that everyone, though from different continents, social classes, racial backgrounds, religions, mindsets, and approaches to life, has an insane amount in common. Life has brought each of us here, to the same tiny hostel in the scope of this insanely massive world. It has taught me how much I have in common with total strangers and has reinforced the value of talking with people I don't know. People here are not afraid to say hello, having no clue which languages you speak or if you even have a single language in common. Even with the very present possibility that you can't communicate, the intent is there, and quite inspiring. It makes me want to never again sit next to someone I don't know at a bus stop, a restaurant, a dentist office waiting room, or a coffee shop and not say hello. Based on my experience here, I'm setting out to approach the world with a hostel mentality.
It's been a crazy 12 days.
I'm 58% of my way finished with this journey and it's only getting realer.
Stay tuned for my next adventure - featuring a good friend of mine, Stephani Calderon. We interned together this past summer at TJX and she's currently studying abroad in Brazil. She's spending her spring break here in Colombia, and I couldn't be more excited.
It's been a crazy 12 days.
I'm 58% of my way finished with this journey and it's only getting realer.
Stay tuned for my next adventure - featuring a good friend of mine, Stephani Calderon. We interned together this past summer at TJX and she's currently studying abroad in Brazil. She's spending her spring break here in Colombia, and I couldn't be more excited.