Colombia: “El Riesgo es que te Quieres Quedar”

Colombia: "The Only Risk is Wanting to Stay"

The amount of times I have been called a “Gringa” (an American visiting/living in Latin America) is downright funny – they love this term here, which dates back to the Mexican-American war when Mexicans would shout “Green-Go-Home” to the Americans dressed in green uniforms. Therefore the description “Green-go” was given to foreigners coming into Latin American territory (this I believe is an urban legend, although my Mexican colleague swears by it). I am the only Gringita of my group as I am now stationed with Adela from Czech Republic and Karla from Mexico.

Anyways, the reason it has taken me so long to post an update about my new life is because things are SO different and I have been adjusting every second of every day during the past two weeks. I therefore want to depict everything about this wonderful country to the best of my ability; I want to paint the perfect Colombian portrait splashed with exciting details of the country’s colorful culture, food, people, and language.

My first few hours in Bogota were packed with new sensations. The second I got off my 11-hour plane ride from Madrid I could feel the elevation. Bogota is the fourth highest city in the whole world, and as I was standing in the customs line I found it hard to catch my breath. The open-air Bogota airport blew in warm, tropic-like air – such an amazing change from the harsh Eastern European winter I had been experiencing for the past four months. Pedro was waiting for me to take me to my hotel, and it was so great/crazy to see my old partner from Croatia! I definitely never thought I would be meeting him at the Bogota airport and to eventually work with him again!

Bogota is SO much greener/nicer/more developed than my old home in Sofia, Bulgaria. The entire city is surrounded by large, jungle-engulfed mountains, and the streets are lined with flowers, tropical trees, and grassy medians. (Side note: Colombia is the second-largest exporter of flowers to the U.S.) The streets do get PACKED, however, and many days include up to two hours of sitting in traffic coming from and going to meetings. Cars don’t care about red lights, and there are hundreds of small, dirty, colorful buses that stop for you when you put your hand out, just like a cab.

The first weekend in Bogota was so amazing that I didn’t feel any culture shock at all. I dropped my trillion-kilogram suitcases off at the hotel, and Pedro, Adam, and I immediately went out for drinks at “Zona T” – a T-shaped street full of open-air bars and restaurants pumping Salsa, Rock, and Reggaton. After a couple lulo martinis (lulo is one of the weird/delicious fruits common in Colombia), Pedro and I headed to a rooftop club and ordered a bottle of aguardiente – the liquor of Colombia that tastes of licorice and is chased with water. I found it hard to dance what with the altitude, and had been awake for 26 hours, but it was still the best welcoming night I could have asked for!

The rest of the weekend consisted of sightseeing with Pedro and Adam; we went to the top of Monserat at night, which is a gondola ride to the top of the highest point overlooking Bogota. The city looked huge (around 7.5 million inhabitants) and beautiful, and was another perfect activity for my first weekend there! The next day we walked around La Candelaria, the historical district, and snapped pictures of the Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogota, Simon Bolivar Plaza, and other Spanish-influenced architecture. The street food is also fun to try; carts of hundreds of fruits, fried banana chips, juices, smoothies, empanadas (fried dough balls filled with meat), and arepas (delicious, thick corn tortillas with cheese) are just a few examples. The weather was wonderful, and almost every day of the year the temperature ranges from 65-70 degrees as there are no seasons in Colombia. I even got a little sun burnt (easy to do as you are closer to the sun with the high altitude!)

The cuisine and drinks here are fun and different; there are so many entrees, desserts, fruits, and drinks to try. The girls introduced me to their favorite beverage: micheladas – which include Aguila light (one of the national beers), lime juice, and Tabasco sauce in a salt-rimmed glass. “Tinto” refers to the rich Colombian coffee served in all cafes (Juan Valdez is the national, brilliant brand here). “Aromatica” is a hot and delicious fruit drink that is extremely healthy and resembles a fresh cup of fruit tea coming in any flavor. The fruits here are amazing and probably one of my favorite things about Colombia! Every morning at breakfast there are at least three new fruits and/or juices out, and every street corner holds a stand filled to the brim with odd-shaped and colored fruits. I have tried many kinds but honestly cannot even name some of them! One of my favorites is Granadilla, or “mocos de bruja” (witch’s boogers!! Jaja).

I honestly think that one of the main reasons why I am so engrossed in this culture is because of the stark disparity between it and the Eastern Europe mentality. Coming from a cold and closed culture to a warm and affable would lift anyone’s spirits. The “gente” here are some of the nicest I have ever been around; the customer service is compiled of smiling, enthusiastic Colombians eager to make you happy in any way possible. In scheduling business meetings on the phone and in conducting interviews with various companies I have noticed just how forthcoming the Colombians are. Frequent phrases such as “A la orden”, “Con mucho gusto”, “MuchISIMAS gracias”, “Que tenga buen dia, senorita Kenny” are the norm, and everyone claims them with huge smiles on their faces. Alternatively, I have realized just how little Spanish I know! There is SO much more for me to learn, but I am absorbing tons of words and phrases every day. I am attempting to tackle the common greetings, departures, slang, and business vocabulary, and work 24/7 with my colleagues to become more fluid and confident. In just two weeks however I have learned more than I thought possible, and can now make appointments in Spanish and do part of the interviews during meetings as well. I have been putting my heart and soul into learning the language; I have been downloading Spanish music, watching Spanish TV, ordering in Spanish, and reading Adela’s “Spanish for Gringos” book whenever I have free time.

After a transition week in work (which is definitely challenging to say the least), Adela, Karla, and I took a road trip about four hours outside of Bogota to the small pastoral village of Villa de Leyva. A quaint, historic town, Villa de Leyva boasts a landscape of rich green mountains surrounding a cobble-stoned, white-walled Villa. Packed with traditional cafes, restaurants, shops, and churches, Villa de Leyva is a favorite for tourists and leaves one feeling as if they are transported back into the time of colonial Latin America. The actual drive to and from the town was picturesque and eye-opening. Armed forces with huge machine guns lined much of the roads, and our driver would wave at each and every one, giving them the thumbs up. Colombians LOVE their army because they are doing an amazing job with the increased security throughout the main regions of Colombia. Pedro and my friend Juan here would also do the same within Bogota, and the guards are always smiling and telling us good day – a pretty comforting aspect of the country. While I do love the new safety measures that President Uribe and now President Santos is enacting, going to meetings in office buildings requires us to leave around 20 minutes earlier than normal as finger prints, pictures, and registration is required in every business building.

Entonces, I think I have written enough to feel satisfied in explaining the beginning of my time in this new hemisphere. Honestly, I have so much more to share, but that will be for another day. Now I am off to Peru to help Pedro with the project there, and I feel so fortunate to be visiting different countries in the continent I have wanted to always visit the most over all others.

The slogan of my title comes from the tourism campaign below – gives me the chills every time!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxHQO1kXFng&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Czeching out of Europe

Lot’s to do. Lot’s to tell. Lot’s to be sad/ excited/ nervous/ happy/ reminiscent/ anxious about. I’ll start by attempting to replicate my amazing past weekend in Prague, Czech Republic! One of my best friends, Phil Kiselick, is studying there at Charles University for four months, and I have wanted to go to Prague since I started working in Europe; a straight-shot flight from Sofia to Prague was therefore the perfect opportunity to Czech out the desirable destination that many travelers are now putting on the top of their list. Prague is “the new Amsterdam”, the “gem of Central Europe”, where young and eager students can explore an unfamiliar post-communist country, take in the breath-taking sites that cover literally every square inch of the city, and party until dawn at beer halls and five-story clubs. In the two short days that I was in Prague, Phil and I managed to see and do it all! Friday and Saturday nights consisted of dinners with new friends, Pilsner beers at various bars throughout old town, clubbing and dancing the night away, trying infamous absinthe shots, czeching out “street meat” (my favorite of which was a fried cheese sandwich called Smazny), and having a ridiculous time that made me really miss my party-oriented study abroad days! Saturday was utterly beautiful – clear blue skies and relatively warm temperatures allowed us to explore the enchanting city for hours. We walked through Old Town, and looking up and around me sometimes gave me chills as pretty much every building had an exquisite exterior detail. Walking on Charles bridge and listening to street performers work their magic left me smiling ear to ear. We made our way to the side of Prague castle, stopping to Let it Be at the Lennon Wall, a graffiti-enveloped partition that is covered in Beatle’s lyrics and drawings. Snapping pictures the whole way, Phil and I trudged up to Prague Castle and went inside the St. Vitus cathedral, admiring the gothic décor that eerily resonates throughout the entire city. A Pilsner at a café overlooking all of Prague was the perfect way to reward ourselves for all the walking we had done! To finish off the sight-seeing day we climbed the astronomical clock in Old Town city center that provided (if possible) an even more stunning view of the city! Everything I was able to see and do in Prague left me so incredibly happy to have the opportunity to visit Phil, who shares my zeal for the unfamiliar. Needless to say, Prague lived up to its standards as (what I can imagine) is one of the most majestic places on the planet!

View of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

Old Town Square from the Astronomical Clock

Phil and I at the Lennon Wall

A short couple of days in Sofia following my weekend trip led up to big news for the Bulgaria team. Wednesday we got word that I would be traveling to Moldova again for some meetings, and Abbie would be moving on to another project in Kosovo the next day. The news was unexpected and shocking, and we had no time to even process it. I hugged Abs goodbye thinking I would see her in a few days, when in reality we have realized it might be a little longer than that…

I spent the entire day Wednesday traveling (Chisinau, Moldova is extremely difficult to get to!) but was lucky enough to have landed first class again! I spent seven hours in the business lounge of the Bucharest, Romania airport; let me tell you, the free snacks, coffee, alcohol, desserts made the wait actually quite delightful. That evening, I had the shocking/amazing call from my coach, who explained that I would be moving to COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA the following week! I will be joining the pre-existing project with Karla, a colleague whom I really love. Adam explained I will be finishing the project there and then possibly moving on to Peru, where my ex-partner Pedro is currently opening another project. The emotions I felt and still feel are indescribable; not until now do I realize just how much I have wanted to get to South America. I cannot stop smiling, dancing, thinking of how to say certain things in Spanish, and imagining my new life in a completely new world.

With this ecstatic joy also comes sadness, at the realization of leaving Europe and all of the friends and memories I have made here. It has been my home for the past nine months and I haven’t had time to truly understand I am leaving the European culture and lifestyle in a matter of days.

I am currently in a café in Chisinau, Moldova, and the past four days in this city have been so eventful that I am taking this Sunday to rest, write, practice some espanol, and prep for my last few meetings in Bulgaria. There are five of us here, so we have had a good time at the meetings, eating Moldavian fare, and going out together. Yesterday we took advantage of the cheap luxury that Eastern Europe has to offer and had a spa day – I got a quite interesting one-hour full body massage for 15 euro (I didn’t expect amazingness but come on, did the masseuse really have to answer her phone during my foot massage?!) We are staying at a hotel named the “Maxim Pasha”, the only five-star hotel in Moldova, and it is also quite interesting. They put me in a room the first night complete with a red-sequined bread spread, an enormous chandelier, complimentary champagne…only to knock on my door five minutes later apologizing that they had accidentally put me in the “sexual room” and that I needed to move. At breakfast Michael and I ordered muesli (granola), and the waiter brought us noodles in a milky cheese sauce - gross! I also had to go to the eye doctor here, which was a whole other adventure; the doctor prescribed me about seven medicines that I didn’t need, which I luckily figured out before making it to the pharmacy. Moral of the anecdotes: Moldova is a small, bizarre little country, but amusing nonetheless, and I will always remember my time here!

Tomorrow I fly out for Bulgaria for my final couple of days with Slavy, and then leave early Wednesday morning for Belgium. I will probably spend one or two days in the office, get vaccinated and organized for COLOMBIA, then fly over to the part of the world I am meant to take on next! Ciao Europa, Hola Sudamérica!