A Little Bit of Paradise

Upon arriving on a Sunday afternoon in Taganga, a small fishing village, I immediately felt the urge to leave. Herds of locals crowded the small and dirty beach and music blared from the restaurants on the sand. What I thought might be a quiet ending to my trip proved the opposite. I hopped on a boat the next day and headed to inside Parque Tayrona located on the Northern coast of Colombia.

Parque Tayrona is filled with jungle, beautiful beaches and the ruins of the Tayrona Indians. When my boat hit land, I immediately claimed my hammock, my bed each night located on a small hill overlooking 2 inlet crescent beaches and chilled out. I spent the next couple of days floating around in the water since I really don't like to swim, watching the sunrise and set, reading by candlelight at night, listening to the waves crash below my hammock, and laughing under the full moon with Andries, a South African who oddly managed to see the same shapes in the clouds that I saw. A perfect bit of paradise without the city chaos. Unfortunately, I can only chill for so long and needed to get back to civilization after 2 days.

I returned the same way that I came, but the boat somehow transformed itself into the death boat that jumped across the turbulent ocean back to Taganga. I unwisely chose a front seat and found myself bouncing up and down and nearly off the motor boat. Overall, I survived the boat ride, but my back didn't. Despite my pain, my frugality steered me into buying a 20 hr bus ride instead of a 1.5 hr plane ride back to Bogota. Of course, I later regretted that decision. Thankfully, Victoria let me stay at her place when I returned to Bogota.


On the same night that I met German, the politician, in Cartagena at a bar, I also met a couple of wonderful people working for USAID, a US government agency that provides international development support around the world. I loved chatting with Victoria. Three years ago, at the age of 34, she left the US and decided to live in Colombia where her father was born. She gave up her life as a real estate agent in Manhattan and decided to start over because she was not happy. Now she is totally in love and married to a Colombian, about to start her own bar business and completely happy.

Interestingly, Victoria tells me that Colombians often ask people "estas contenta?" meaning are you content or happy whereas one of the first questions an American will ask is "what do you do for a living?" as though a job completely defines a person and their level of happiness. I think that most Americans would say "no" to the Colombian question because they are so busy trying to keep up with Jones. Being surrounded by poverty during most of my travels, I try to keep my perspective and am thankful that I am at least healthy. I, like many, have lost a ton in the stock market, but it is only money and we do have better opportunities in the US to keep ourselves above the national line of poverty than we would in many other countries. Although the state of the economy may determine when I must return to the US permanently.

After a nice evening of conversation, Victoria invited me and Lucy, the Brit, over for breakfast the next morning at her Dad's place overlooking the city. I loved the views from the top of the building! Victoria and I met up again in Bogota and spent an evening attending an opening of a new fashion store, salsa dancing at a nearby club and drinking up at Mark's, another USAIDer, gorgeous flat. Fun times indeed.

My time in Colombia has now come to an end, but at least I have met some extraordinary people, learned a little more about this phenomenal country and people, and created friendships I know will last. I am now back in LA for my 5 year MBA reunion.

Romancing the Stone

Cartagena is the jewel of Colombia for its cobblestone streets, old Spanish style homes painted in various colors and the massive wall that entrenches the beauty of the city. Cartagena often saw its city attacked by pirates and therefore the Spanish built forts and walls to protect their land. The beauty and timelessness of the city still stands and the city is now listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

I spent an entire day getting lost in the narrow streets while enjoying the romanticism the city exudes. At night, I even took a horse drawn carriage with Lucy, a Brit at my hostel. Although, often my enjoyment would be interrupted by a tout trying to sell me something. Cartagena is different from most Colombian cities in that tourism has flourished and the authenticity of the city has taken a toll. Hat, sunglass, CD sellers crowd the streets and bother tourists all day long. I'd close my eyes and imagine what the city must have been like before the touts took over and during the 16th century in its heyday. I then drift away in my imagination only to return to find I am being followed by a line of different sellers.

To escape the touts, I went to visit the Volcan de Lodo El Totumo where the crater is filled with mud that is suppose to provide health benefits for the skin due to the numerous minerals. I walked up a steep set of stairs to get to the top of the crater in order to jump into my waiting mud bath. Due to the consistency of the mud, I floated in the bath along with numerous others crammed into a jacuzzi sized crater. All my numerous mosquito bites stung from the mud and I am still waiting to see the health benefits in action.

The next day, I went out to what I thought would be a hole in the wall bar near my hostel in the poor area of town outside the city walls. Strangely enough, a beauty queen with title sash, the recent ex soccer coach for Colombia, and German Varga Lleras who might very well be Colombia's next President showed up at different points in the night. Of course, I had to meet German and he insisted on a cheek to cheek picture, which I happily obliged. ;-)

German is the grandson of a former Colombian president, popular with the people and is second to the President in the government as I am told.
Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have a bodyguard with him even though an assassination attempt was made on his life last year. People tell me that he is the only person to stand up to President Uribe who is known to take down his enemies. I always had a positive image of Uribe, but locals tell me that he is corrupt and hopes that German will run for President. German seemed very personable and during the night, locals often went up to him to tell them what they thought of the government and German easily engaged in conversation and made time for everyone. I can't imagine this same scene in the US.

saying goodbye

After volunteering for the last month with the daycare center, I finally had to say goodbye to the kids and just when I had learned almost all their names. 60 kids gave me big kisses and hugs on my last day. They even made me a cute thank you card with their thumb prints, while the teachers gave me a bracelet and earrings as my farewell present. I had a difficult time leaving them all since they have all meant so much to me. I have to admit though that I had my favorites like Orlando with his ever running nose, Kevin the bully who is also the most conscientious worker and loves to help clean up, Wendy with her quirky and constant smile, Sophia who is just a darling, Diego who has some social difficulties but is the sweetest child ever, Daniella the super star singer, and Juan who always gave me a kiss hello each morning. I miss them already. I also miss the teachers and cleaning staff who always kept the place so clean; they even washed the teddy bears and hung them to dry.

Sadly, I could not take any photos of the children at the orphanage due to privacy issues. However, I will remember each of them and I'm glad to know that a few of them are headed to happy homes shortly. I found teaching English a challenge, and at the same time so rewarding when I felt like I had made breakthroughs with the kids. Another guy is continuing the teaching and I hope the kids continue to learn. They all gave me hugs goodbye and didn't want me to leave. I so enjoyed learning from them.

I could not leave Medellin without saying goodbye to Virginia's family as well. I dropped by and dropped off some photos I took of the family. They are all so kind and hospitable and Virginia's grandmother spent some time giving me a Spanish lesson on the different words in Spanish for "great". Afterwards, I dropped by the hostel to say goodbye to Max as well as a couple others. Finally, I said goodbye to Luisa and thanked her for her hospitality with flowers. The night before, we went out to my new favorite hole in the wall salsa bar to celebrate my last day in Medellin. I crashed and burned on the dance floor again, but still had fun. I finally created a wonderful social group only to leave the next day.

If I had to chose a place to stay put for awhile, Medellin would be at the top of the list for the sincere and friendly people, great weather, excellent transportation, and fun nightlife. I must move forward though and so now I am in the North on the coast.

Coffee Farms

I'm still way behind on my blog and may just leave out a lot that has gone on in my life or write the clift notes version later. A couple weeks ago, Max, an Italian guy at the hostel, and I went to Salento in Zona Cafetera, the coffee lands. We took an 8 hour bus ride down south. I never realized just how lush and beautiful the landscape is here until that moment. We passed through so much greenery, rivers, and hills and I became dizzy from all the criss crossing through the mountains.

When we finally reached Salento, I immediately took a great cup of coffee at my hostel. The next day, we met up with some other tourists and hiked on through Valle de Cocora, a valley full of wax palm trees. The whole region seems so peaceful and serene and the perfect place to retire. We spent hours hiking and enjoying the beauty of the land while interrupting the beauty often with our discusion of American politics and the upcoming presidential election and our solid fear of Sarah Palin... but I digress.

In the evenings, we checked out the local night life. We played a game in which we had to throw weighted metal balls into a box of mud and hit one of the triangles with gun powder sitting on top of a metal ring. If I hit the triangle right on, it would blow up. I found the game to be loud, obviously. We then hit a local pool bar and stayed there for the rest of the night. We split up into teams of America vs Rest of World in which I, and another American teamed up against an Israeli and a Brit. The other pairs also played America vs Rest of World, of 2 Americans vs an Italian and a brit. America won 2 out of 3!

The next day, we hiked for a couple hours to Emille's coffee farm. I thought I met Juan Valdez himself when a little gray haired man appeared out of the bushes and greeted us so warmly. He then spent the next hour explaining all the intricacies of working a coffee farm. I honestly don't remember all the details, but I enjoyed the tour.

My last day in the coffee lands, I chose to just rest, chill and read a borrowed book from a woman at the hostel. All my friends and my family do not think I am able to relax since I am always on the go, constantly multi-tasking and involved in way too many activities. I made a conscious effort to slow down for the day. I found a durable hammock overlooking the valley and set up camp for the day. I watched as cows roamed the fields, horses grazed right by me and the clouds greeted me in their various forms. I also finished the book that day, 3 cups of Tea about how one man persevered to set up schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I love reading non-fiction books about ordinary people who do extraordinary things; they inspire me, fill me with hope in humanity, and confidence that one person can make a difference in the lives of many. That night, I took an overnight bus home-content, inspired and rested.

Making New Friends and Couch Surfing

For various reasons, I no longer am at my hostel;numerous individuals have had items and money stolen from their bags, the hostel pretty much is only men who spend all day talking about how to score drugs and women, and the tourists are becoming drug addicts. I met a great group of single female travelers when I first arrived, but have yet to meet any since. The other hostels in the area are even more a fraternity. So, I moved out and made new friends.

Compared to my usual self, I have been pretty anti-social and have not gone out during the week; partly because I am not interested in hanging out with drug addicts and partly because my work and salsa lessons wipe me out (more about that later). But, last week, I decided to make a concerted effort to meet the locals instead and create a new friend base here in Medellin. I joined an on-line community forum of locals and have met some wonderful people. They invited me to watch a folk ballet and I loved it! Although, at times, I wondered if Carmen Miranda had joined the show. The next day, I went out to watch a tango show on my own since the rest of the group chose to watch a free jazz concert in the park. I joined up with them for salsa at a salsa bar after and sadly crashed and burned on the dance floor.

Although, I didn't bother learning salsa in Guatemala because I didn't have a real interest in it, I chose to take lessons here. At first, I thought my salsa teacher might give up on me because I seem to lack any smooth rhythm. Thankfully, she kept teaching me. I guess I didn't give up on myself and I kept paying for more lessons. I thought I had learned enough to brave going to a salsa bar with the locals, but I soon found myself way out of my league. The locals salsa differently than how I have been taught; more with their hips. However, they didn't seem to mind that I couldn't remember how to count properly or really know what to do with my feet at such a fast tempo. They kept telling me that I was receiving free lessons and not to worry. Soon, I let go of my self-consciousness and just had fun. That night, I also met Luisa, my first couch surfer host.

For awhile, I have wanted to try out couch surfing, a world-wide phenomenon where people stay for free on other people's couches. There is some inherent trust needed for this to work and every person must register on the site and be verified as to their actual home address for security reasons. Some people travel around the world only using this site as their search for accommodation and therefore save tons of money. The host, in return, has the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. It is the couch form of social networking. Couch surfing is also my way out of the hostels.

I found Luisa's listing on the site and emailed her. She gladly agreed to host me for a couple days. After trying to get together for a drink for a few days, we finally met up at the salsa bar. I immediately liked her energy and spirit. We went out for bowling the next day with a group of her friends and last night, I stayed at her house for the first time. Granted, she really didn't have a couch, and so I brought a soft top mat that a couple left me for my hard bed at the hostel. I met her mother who is sick and staying with her while she gets better, her sister, and Juan, a guy who is studying at a nearby university and paying rent. I had no idea so many people lived with her and I love the opportunity to practice my Spanish even more. I have lost a couple of amenities in my move such as hot water, internet, and space, but I really like my host, I trust that my things will not be stolen, and my conversations can be of more cultural topics. I only have a few more days in Medellin before I head off to Cartegena and I plan to spend them at Luisa's place.

Teaching English at an Orphanage

For the last week and a half, I have been teaching English to kids at an orphanage in the afternoons after working at the daycare in the mornings. Most of the kids are not disciplined and with an overly short attention span and so I am taking my own crash course in patience. On one of my first days, my cab drove up to the complex and 5 boys aged 6 to 10 wearing the same standard orphanage outfits of a blue shirt, sweat pants and boots surrounded the cab and wanted my bag of stuff. They then just ran off around the neighborhood. One of the staff told me that the boys are being aggressive and instead of trying to catch them and bring them back into the gated area, they rather have them exhaust their aggression by running around. I found that to be an interesting and probably effective method. The boys always return.

The orphanage hosts about 70 kids that range in age from infants to teenagers. However, about half of them are staying there temporarily due to home issues of a variety reasons. The other half are up for adoption, however, the infants are only adopted by Colombians and the older children mainly by US and Italian parents. I asked to only teach a small group at a time because I figured that I could not handle more than that. The number of children I teach ranges from 4 to 6 and they rotate depending on how motivated the kids feel that day to learn English since this is totally optional for them to attend rather than play in the playground. I can't imagine that I would be more interesting than a game of soccer, but I have managed to keep the same students for the most part with drop ins each day.

When I first arrived, the kids all referred to me as “mami”. Every female figure is “mami” at the center, and I felt a little weird to have inherited that title automatically. The kids I work with range from 6 to 10 and they all learn very differently. I try to keep the 10 yr olds together when I teach since most of them can read and write. So far, I have taught them some children's songs, the numbers, colors, greetings, the alphabet, and am now onto basic verbs. We play a variety of games to enhance their learning and when I ask them to write down the information, I lose their attention. I find the 6 year olds, the fastest learners and with the best pronunciation. However, they need to be constantly entertained and often run around the room. I don't feel I have the time nor the role to discipline these kids and so I just try the best I can since I know they all want to learn the language. So, I adapt my style accordingly.

The children placement status all vary. A few of the children are part of sibling groups of 3 and 4 and I think they might be the most difficult to place. Sadly, Tatiana and her brothers had parents adopting them until the week before the parents were to pick them up, the parents bailed out. Angie, 10 years old, has parents coming and we review the photos of her new family often. Lina, age 10, who is the most eager to learn English, is still awaiting to find parents and she attends my classes regardless.

I met a lovely couple from the States who is hoping to adopt 4 or 5 kids from Colombia. They are in their 40's and decided that they wanted to stop living the DINK (dual income, no kids) lifestyle and give children in Colombia a chance at a better life. I so respect their efforts and wish them luck in their journey.

Colombia a Tourist Destination

Colombia is known for their two major exports, drugs and coffee, and their one major import, political prisoners through kidnappings. However, I have come to find Colombia much safer than what the media or movies might suggest. Yes, the FARC is still alive and active in Colombia but they tend to target specific high profile and political people for kidnappings. The average tourist is not at risk unless he directly enters into known FARC territory. In fact, I have found Colombia much safer to travel in than all the other Central and South American countries I have visited mostly because the people are so friendly and because of the high police presence.

The police are always visible. Medellin has seen an 80% decline in crime over the last 5 years due to the increase in police presence in the city. The police are incredibly helpful as well. At one point in Medellin, a police man personally escorted me for 15 min over bridges until he felt that I was in a place where I could easily make my way to the museum without making a wrong turn. Since I didn't feel that I had entered into a bad neighborhood,Ｉquestioned him about the safety of Medellin. He told me that some places are not safe and the locals agree. (I learned later that the street with the transvestite prostitutes really isn't a street I should visit again. I could probably have figured that out on my own.) The police set up stop points along the road to prevent hijackings as well and so taking night buses is once again safe. I have even run into the police at the local botanical garden doing their own sight seeing and they warmly greeted me and quizzed me. The police are often surprised to find an American woman traveling alone given the bad press Colombia has received in the states. But compared to other countries I have seen, and given current US relations with many countries, I think Colombia is one of the safest countries to visit these days in Latin America.

Colombia is becoming a tourist destination as my friend Dave told Colombian President Uribe at a luncheon in NYC last week. He used me as the example! It is true. Although, I do not encounter many Americans traveling here, there are plenty of Australians, Israelis and Europeans I have met along the way. And every tourist I have met has absolutely loved Colombia and Colombians. I do recommend visiting before tourism really strikes and steals some of the beauty and authenticity away as it always inevitably does with every country.