It's official, I've been in Colombia for exactly one month! It's kind of an odd feeling because a part of me feels like I've been away from Canada for a long time, then again it also feels like I just got here. After realizing today was my 1 month mark, I thought it would be good to reflect on my time here so far; things I've done, things I've noticed, things I miss about home, and things I'm loving about my new home in South America!
What I'm Loving
What's the one thing I love most about being in Colombia? Everyday is a learning experience... whether I'm at work, interacting with people in the city, or just talking to my roommates, I'm using and learning so much Spanish... everyday. If anyone is ever interested in learning a language, and wants to know the best way to learn... IMMERSE yourself in it. A saying that has become my life philosophy is: Find your Passion, and then Live it. It's the first line of text on my blog, and is something I take to heart. I can't think of anything more important in life then finding something to be passionate about. Finding that one thing, that you are excited to wake up to do every day, or share with others. It's something that you should carefully consider about yourself if you don't already know what your passion is, then once you find it, try to incorporate it in your life as much as possible - this will only make you happier. :) For me my passion is Spanish and traveling. Sometimes being able to live your passion takes incredible risk and hard work, but trust me... the returns are well worth it. During my last semester of school I took a huge risk by not taking grad recruiting very seriously and instead, pursued what I was passionate about, searching for a job abroad in a Hispanic country. This process was frustrating, scary, and took a lot of hard work. BUT, I'm so happy I did it, and am here now.
Another thing I'm really enjoying here in Medellín is my job. I was definitely a little worried before coming here, because you can only read so much into a job description, and what's there sometimes might not be the best indicator of what the job is actually like. Thankfully, my job is everything and so much more than what I expected it to be. It's incredible the things I've been able to do and learn in only 4 weeks here. I've attended conferences, special guest speakers, meetings with clients to develop business models/plans/projects, important presentations with international investors, and been given a large translation project to develop a valuation manual for my entire office to use. One of the best things about my job is that it's 90% in Spanish and I am able to interact with so many different people, so once again everyday is a learning experience.
Other things I'm loving about Colombia/Medellín:
- The weather! Sunny and 25-28 degrees everyday? yup!
- How friendly the people are here ... they're so proud and excited to show their country off
- All the exotic fruit... for example pineapples or oranges taste 1,000x better here
- 2 hour lunches... I have tons of time to go to the gym, or nap and still have time to eat lunch
- The music... whether it's salsa, bachata, merengue, or reggaeton, it just makes you want to dance
Things that I've noticed about Colombia/Medellín
- Medellín is a much more modern city that I originally thought it was going to be.
- Taps in washrooms only have the cold water tap, much like Spain
- Meals here are opposite to Canada... lunch is the biggest meal of the day, where dinners are small
- The city of Medellín is very secure, a large presence of security/police in the city everywhere you go, doesn't really intimidate me, but makes me feel very safe
- Everything is super cheap for me here! Since the standard of living is lower here than in Canada, prices reflect this. Best example? a bottle of beer is around 75 cents.
Things I miss about home:
- The snow... JUST KIDDING! haha
- My mom and my friends
- My kitchen... sounds odd, but I find it more difficult to cook here
- My bed ... beds in Colombia are incredibly hard, and hardly have any cushion
- Showers in Canada ... showers here have little to no water pressure
Places I've traveled to in 1 month:
- Girardota
- Envigado
- Sabaneta
- San Antonio de Pereira
- El Salado
- Manizales
- Nevado del Ruiz
- Termales
Things I've done:
- El MetroCable
- Taught Colombians how to play flipcup
- Climbed a mountain in Envigado
- Introduced Colombians to St. Patrick's Day
- Went up a volcano
- Tried tea made from Coca leaves
- Tried aguardiente (Colombian liquor that tastes foul, but is super cheap)
- Tried lots of Colombian food: buñuelos, arepas, empanadas etc
- Made a ton of new friends from all over the world (Colombia, Australia, Guatemala, England, Uganda, India, United States, Mexico)
Places I want to visit:
- Bogotá
- Cartagena
- Río Claro
- El Peñol
- A coffee plantation
- Santa Marta
- Cali
- .... the list grows everyday
1 month down, 11 to go. Im so excited to see how I grow as an individual over the course of the upcoming year, Im also excited to see the places I am able to visit, as well as the people I will meet. Im definitely incredibly happy here, and so glad I took the risk to come!
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