As of today, August 24th, I have officially been in Colombia for 6 months (or 25 weeks, or 181 days)! This is marks the half way point of my contract here in Medellín, which makes me both a little sad and excited, as being abroad is a lot of fun but it can also be tough when you miss your family, friends and events going on back home.
So what has happened over the past 6 months? Well if you havent been keeping up with my blog here's a summary of the things that have happened since arriving at the end of Februrary.
1. Ive been working at CICE: El Centro para la Innovación, Consultoría y Empresarismo, a consulting firm located in EAFIT University in Poblado. This is the main reason Im here, to work (which I SWEAR ive been doing... see point #2). For those of you that dont know, my job started at about 60-70% in Spanish, but as time progressed and Ive gotten more comfortable with my language skills, and improved A LOT, my job is now about 90-95% in Spanish. I now conduct meetings on my own with clients, or other consultants that Im working with (all in Spanish of course), as well deliver the majority of all my work in Spanish (unless they want it in English which happens from time to time).
2. Ive discovered that Colombians have a ridiculous number of days off work, which are called "Festivos" and long weekends are called "Puentes". Apparently these "festivo" days are suppose to celebrate a saint, but everytime there's a festivo, and my friends and I try to ask exactly why we have the day off, NO ONE ever knows. So we've given up asking, and just enjoy the fact we have the day off work, which we use to relax, sleep or travel. No a bad life style.
3. Ive been learning my way around the beautiful city that I call home: Medellín. The majority of my time has been spent in Poblado, my barrio (neighbourhood) that I live and work in, but Ive also spent time in the center (the downtown) to see museums, markets, plazas, and basically soak up the culture. As well as the west and east to go up and down the Metrocables, as well as the north to catch buses and see soccer games. Ive been to 2 soccer games - one which ended in a stadium riot (not such a great experience) and the other for the World Cup U-20. Finally I was spending a lot of time in Envigado, which is technically a separate town that is attached to Medellín, where a lot of my friends use to live, but now they've moved apts and live in different areas of the city.
4. Ive gotten use to the insanity that is South American driving, whether Im dodging cars to cross the street, holding on for dear life in a bus or taxi, or trying not to vomit while in a friends car and whipping around the curvy mountainous roads. Canadian traffic will be so boring for me when I get back (read: it will be a lot safer).
5. Ive maintained a pretty normal Canadian diet here, with a little bit of Colombian tweaking. For breakfast everyday I still eat maple brown sugar oatmeal (long live Canadian breakfasts!!), and I now try to make lunch my largest meal (which is typically Colombian), and have a smaller meal for dinner. I dont eat a ton of Colombian food, since I cook for myself the majority of the time, but I do enjoy bandejas (which are typical colombian dishes which consists of meat, rice, beans, salad, arepa etc), as well as pan de queso and empanadas. Arepas, which is kind of the Colombian tortilla have grown on me. At first I didnt like them, but now I eat them a couple times a week with scrambled eggs or chorizo. Basically its made from corn, and is round, and when you toast it on your stove it basically tastes like popcorn. So it was strange for me at first, but now im more accustomed to the taste.
6. Ive been taking full advantage of my gym membership, which offers full access to my gym, fitness classes, FREE personal trainers, a nutritionist, a doctor, and FREE physiotherapy. I go about 5 to 6 times a week, and have lost about 17lbs since I got here. I love working out and using my Spanish in this kind of environment, because it's a different way of thinking and using my language skills when I have to concentrate on doing a fitness class, or doing weights with my personal trainer. It's a good way to challenge my brain.
7. My Spanish has become way more fluid, and ive started to use slang, and other words that native speakers use. Most recently my new favourite word has been "pues", which actually doesnt translate into anything in English, but to explain it, it's kind of like when we say "like", "umm" or pause while speaking. Ive picked up on the accent of Antioquia (says my Colombian friend Jorge, who lives in Canada. He mentioned to me one night while skyping that I had a Paisa accent). I also find myself not having to think as hard when speaking with people, my Spanish just flows, and I find myself even thinking in Spanish. :)
8. Ive had the chance to travel around Colombia both inside and outside of Antioquia. My trip to Bogotá was interesting to say the least, as it was suppose to take 9 hours to get there by bus, and ended up taking 18 on the way there, and 20 on the way back. Let me be clear, spending 38 hours on a bus within 4 days is NOT FUN. But luckily I had an excellent travel partner, Leo, so the trip wasnt so bad afterall. My favourite trip so far has been to Guatapé, which ironically looks a lot like Canada. I went with Sara, and we climbed a HUGE rock, which gave us the most stunning views of lakes and islands. Ive also been to Manizales, Jardín, Girardota, San Antonio de Pereira, and a small town called Santiago which had beautiful waterfalls in it. I have some awesome trips planned, all of which will be in the Caribbean. In October ill be heading to Cartagena with Leo, in November Ill be going to Santa Marta with Leo and Sara, and then in December over Xmas and New Years ill be spending 2 weeks in San Andrés (which is a Colombian island) with my mom!
9. I now like reggaeton. Reggaeton, which is like Latin Hip Hop, is the music of choice at the majority of all the bars and clubs here in Medellín, so since I hear it all the time, it has grown on me. Ive also improved my latin dancing skills such as salsa, bachata, vallenato, and merengue, but still miserably fail at samba (good thing that's brazilian and not colombian!).
10. I was able to experience one of the best and most impressive festivals in all of Colombia: La Feria de Las Flores. This has been one of my favourite things so far during my time here. It gave me a great insight into the culture of Antioquia and how proud they are of their country and region, and how beautiful the flowers are here in Colombia. The silletas (saddles of flowers which are carried on people's backs) were breathtaking, and so impressive to see them being carried throughout the crowds of Medellín. Not to mention the ongoing parties for 2 weeks straight throughout the city, as well as music/culture events and parades. Anyone who is planning a trip to Colombia MUST come to Medellín during La Feria de Las Flores, it's an event you do NOT want to miss!
11. Finally Ive made some incredible friends here from many different countries. That's the beauty of an experience like an AIESEC internship is that youre constantly meeting people from all over the world. So far Ive met people from: Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, France, England, Uganda, Denmark, India, Australia ... the list grows everyday. funny enough Ive only met one other Canadian while being here, and when I met her it was like a love fest. I was so happy and excited to meet/see someone from my country, it was definitely a nice reminder of home.
Im excited to see where I am with my job, language skills, and travels in 6 months time when Im on my way back to Canada. i know it will be bittersweet, but so far it's been one of the best learning experiences of my life, and also one incredible adventure. I came to Colombia with an idea in my head, but living here has completely changed my mentality and opinion on the country. What a surprising place it is - the people are so friendly, happy and proud of their country - and so they should be! Colombia has seen some amazing changes over the past 10-20 years, and not to mention what a beautiful country it is with mountains, exotic plans/flowers/animals, beaches, and jungles.
So there it is, my short summary of my 6 months here. I cant believe how fast time has flown, but at the same time i feel like ive been here for a long time - it's a weird feeling because there are no seasons, as it's the same beautiful weather 24/7. Long live "La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera!" (the city of eternal spring).
