Kickboxing: my new fitness obsession

When I first joined my gym back in March I was really into the latin dance, circuit and spinning classes, which use to give me a great and challenging workout. However after 7 months and losing 20 lbs, those classes just dont do it for me anymore, since my cardio and fitness levels have immensely improved. So I decided to switch up my normal gym routine and try harder a class... low and behold: KICKBOXING.


The first kickboxing class I did was with this super intense, super serious young instructor, where I almost died of exhaustion and wanted to vomit afterwards, it was that intense. However after gaining back confidence to do it again, I went to another class this time with a different instructor, named Javier, and had the best time. Javier is a great instructor, he's easy going, really nice, has a great sense of humour and still provides a physically challenging class... but it's totally fun to do. For now im going to kickboxing twice a week, soon I want to bump that up to 3 times, and then eventually to 4 times a week. During my lunch time on Wednesdays, I go to Javiers class, where I am normally the only girl - this surprisingly doesnt intimidate me, in fact I love it more when Im the only girl, because I feel like I can show off a bit, show how strong I am and physically fit. Normally during this class I can outlast the boys when it comes to cardio and endurance, booya.

Tonight I went to a class after work, and normally to warm up we do these series of jumping squats, pushups, situps, and side jumping for 5 sets. However tonight, Javier changed it up, and we played tag. Yes tag, the elementary school game where one person is "it" and you chase the other people. It was hilarious, so much fun, and surprisingly gave us a great warmup. Javier changed it up a couple times, by changing out positions on how we could run... first we ran normally around the fitness room, next we had to scuffle in a squat position, then came downward dog and walk on all fours, then finally in a position that was like a squat but you had to jump to move. By the end of the warm up, I could seriously feel it in my legs, which actually surprised me, because we were laughing the whole time, and actually really enjoying the warmup exercise. :)

Anyways, Im really enjoying my new classes of kickboxing, and anyone who has never tried it, really should! It gives a great physical workout both cardio and strength training, you use your whole body - and trust me, you'll feel it the next day. :)

The Lives, Passion, and Culture of Latinos

Want an inside look into the lives, passion and culture of Latinos? No better place to find it, than in this music video. Check it out.

"Latinoamérica" by Calle 13.

Just your average Thursday night in Medellín

Last night can be summed up into three things: empanadas, beer and motorcycles.

Last night my friend picked me up on his motorcycle and we headed to Envigado for my favourite: empanadas and beers. We sat and chatted for a bit in Parque Envigado, and then decided to head up the mountain to Las Palmas to check out the mirador (lookout) where you can see the entire city of Medellín lit up at night, it´s an incredible view.


When we arrived at Las Palmas, we were surprised to see so many people there. The side of the road was filled with cars, motorcycles and people standing. We then found out that every Thursday night people gather there to watch other people go up and down the mountain doing various tricks on their motorcycles, everything from pop wheelies, to standing on their motorcycle, and other crazy and dangerous tricks. It was very cool to see, until we saw 2 people lose their balance and fall. :S

I also tried something new last night, brace yourself it´s going to sound disgusting: hot chocolate with melted cheese in it. I know, I know, it sounds gross, I thought so too, but surprisingly it was actually pretty tastey. It´s a common drink people will have here when they get cold. As the further up the mountains you go at night, the cooler it is. So it was 25 in the city, but about 12-15 degrees in the mountains, so the hot chocolate was definitely a comforting drink to have while we were watching the motorcycles go by.

After watching people do crazy and somewhat stupid things on their motorbikes we headed back down the mountain. It was fun to be able to see the city from a different perspective, aka on a motorcyle, and it was a beautiful night to go for a ride. I havent been on a motorbike since my trip to Spain last year, so it was definitely something fun to do again!

Differences in Culture: the good, the bad and the ugly

Over the past 7 months ive started to notice a few things about the culture here in Colombia. So I thought Id make a list and comment on each "aspect" of the culture Ive been witnessing. Please note, these are personal opinions/observations, and Im not trying to generalize, just more or less comment on what I notice and experience here! :)

- Cleaniness is next to Godliness
One thing I notice is that Colombians have an obsession with cleaning. They like everything to be clean all of the time, and will clean things more than once a day. For example, at my company and within the University of EAFIT, there are a ridiculous number of cleaning staff all over the university. There are cleaning people who come and clean our bathroom atleast 3 times a day! I mean I get there are a fair number of people using the bathroom, but still, in Canada Im sure it was only once a day, maybeee twice. Here it´s a minimum three times! As well in my gym, there are a ton of cleaning staff, that will come in and wipe down all bicycles before and after each spinning class, and sweep and mop the floors after every class in the studio. Not to mention be constantly cleaning all the mats people use within the gym, as well as gym equipment. Sometimes the level of cleaniness seems excessive or almost OCD, but I´d take that any day over ppl not being clean! :)

- Mullets are a fashionable hair style
Yes it´s true, most young guys (teens, to young adults) have a mullet. It´s like you have transported yourself back into the 80/90s, and trust me, it´s not a pretty sight. Im really not sure why they think having a mullet is so cool and/or attractive, because it´s not. Infact, it makes me cringe and laugh everytime I see one, just because they all look so ridiculous. Not to mention, there are also a lot of guys here who have rat tails (another 80s hair style for people who do not know)... yuck! I was actually warned about this before coming to Colombia via my Lonely Planet tourguide book. I thought it was joking, but alas, it´s true.

- Tardiness
This is one aspect of the culture that continues to bug me on a daily basis. As a punctual person, I find it really hard at times not to get mad, or annoyed with the fact that all my friends, coworkers and roommates are always late. Whether it be the standard 15-20 min, to 30min, or even an hour. It´s something that continues to bother me, and I cannot wait to be back in Canada, where the majority of people are punctual!

- Family is SUPER important
In Colombia, and the majority of all other Latin American countries, there is nothing more important than family. Latinos place an incredibly importance on family, and honestly this is a page North America should take out of Latin Americas book! I find that North America doesnt emphasize the importance of family enough, and no where on the level that Latin America does.

- People in Medellín are slow walkers
Call it a pet peeve, or whatever, but I find here in Medellín people do not walk fast enough. Maybe its the fast paced culture Im use to in North America, but I get super annoyed when people are just casually strolling along at an incredibly slow pacae, and Im behind them trying to get somewhere.


- Business culture is much slower paced than Canada
This is something Ive mentioned before. The business culture here in Colombia and seems for the rest of Latin America, is on a whole other level, and this level is not a fast one. In Canada I think we pride ourselves in the fact that we move at a fast paced, we get things done, and it´s ingrained into our working habits to be on time, to respect deadlines, and to keep the pace going because well, "time is money". But here in Colombia, everything feels so much more casual, and therefore for me, less professional. At first it annoyed me, but now Im use to the fact that scheduled meetings often dont happen, people forget to do things, people dont answer emails in a timely manner, deadlines arent really deadlines and its ok if you dont finish on time (actually im ok with this one), and it´s completely normal to answer your cellphone (which isnt on vibrate) in the middle of an important meeting when someone is talking to you.

- One cheek kiss when you greet or say goodbye to people
Now this wasnt a huge culture shock to me, because I did it when I was in Spain. However in Spain it´s one kiss per cheek, in Colombia it´s just a one sided kiss on the cheek when you greet people or say goodbye. People even use this in the business environment with people they´ve met before, which was strange for me at first. When meeting someone for the first time, you normally shake hands, especially in a business setting. But after the first meeting, kissing is fair game. **Please note, that the one sided kiss, is used between women, and men and women, but not between men. Between men is a regular handshake or hug.

- OBSESSED with cellphones, especially Blackberries
Now I thought Canadians were cellphone fanactics, boy was I wrong. Almost everyone here has a cellphone, and Id say 80% of those people have Blackberries, which I like to kindly remind them is a Canadian invention. Colombians are constantly, and I mean constnatly attached to their phones, whether they´re walking down the street, working, AT THE GYM (this shocks me the most), at home, or in school. People are always communicating with each other via their cellphones. As just mentioned, the biggest aspect of this that shocked me is at the gym, Ive seen people answer their cellphones during a spinning class, WHILE cycling, or while doing other exercises like on a treadmill or lifting weights, it´s actually ridiculous. Like, put away your cellphone and concentrate on your workout for an hour!


- Generally, people don´t wear sunglasses
This is something that surprised me because well, Medellín is normally quite sunny, but people don´t really wear sunglasses here! No, they prefer, it seems, to squint all the time in the sunny climate of Medellín. I personally love to wear sunglasses, and prefer not to squint while outside, but here when I wear sunglasses I feel almost awkward, and definitely easier to spot as a foreigner. :( Now Im not sure why people dont really wear sunglasses, but I guess it´s just apart of their culture not to.

- How to spot a gringo: shorts, flip flops
So Ive learned how to easily spot someone who is not from South America.... aka North Americans.... aka "Gringos". (Note: apparently Gringo is a word for Americans, and Canadians do not fall into this category. Woo! However for this example I will generalize and use the word Gringo to refer to all North Americans). When I got to Colombia, and specifically Medellín for me it´s just like a Canadian summer (minus the humidity), therefore my instinct is to break out my capris, sunglasses and flip flops, however this is a no-no for Colombians, because they dont wear things like this. The majority of people will wear jeans, and regular pants in 30 degree weather, personally I cant do it, I need something cooler to wear. I also love wearing my flip flops all the time because they´re such comfy shoes, and I only get to wear them for a maximum time of 3 months in Canada, however in Medellín, 12 months of the year baby! This is something Colombians dont wear either, is flip flops. Yes they wear sandals, and other summery footwear, but flip flops generally no, unless youre in a beachy area. So now that Ive learned this, and I see "Gringos" it makes me laugh, because I can see how easy they are to spot. Now depending on where Im going, I will dress differently, meaning I will wear flats, and maybe pants (Depending on how hot it is), just to blend in more, and not be such an obvious foreigner.

So there it is. Things ive noticed over the past 7 months. Differences in culture, it what makes travelling so fun, because for me the point of travelling is experiencing something you wouldnt normally experience in your country, and experiencing new cultures, and how they differ from yours! Another pet peeve of mine, is when people go abroad and expect everything to be the same, and when it´s not, they complain. If you want everything to be the same, then dont travel and stay in your respected country. Now granted, I know Ive done my share of complaining, or being annoyed with different aspects of the culture, but Ive also adjusted to them, and learned to just deal with it, because it´s my life here. That´s the beauty of travelling, experiencing something completely new, and living differently.

1st Haircut outside of Canada

So Ive officially been here for 7 months, and my hair was starting to get pretty "ratty" as my mom likes to refer to it, meaning the ends of my hair were becoming unhealthy, and I was seriously due for at least a trim. So my roommate has this woman come to our apt about once every 2 -3 weeks to normally dry and straighten her hair, and also sometimes cut it. So the last time she was here, I asked her if she would be able to cut, and colour my hair, she of course said yes. So one Saturday recently she came over, I remained in my pjs, and she got started on my hair.

I recently and randomly decided that it was time for a change, and I didnt want to have dark hair anymore, and go back to my more natural hair colour, which is a sort of dirty blonde. I was super blonde as a child, then progressed to just a simple dirty blonde as I got older. ANYWAYS. So the basis of the story is that I was able to get my hair cut and coloured all in the comfort of my home! Here are some pics of the process:




So the final cost to have my hair cut, coloured and highlighted all in the comfort of my apt? $60.000 pesos, which is about $30. Aka ridiculously cheap! Definitely a huge difference as to what I would pay in Canada! And the final result? ... check it out!

Día del Amor y la Amistad (Colombia´s Valentine´s Day)

Not everywhere in the world celebrates the infamous Feb 14th day of "love" like we do in North America. Last year in Spain I learned that April 23rd is the Spanish equivalent of Valentine´s Day, known as St. George day, and now ive learned the Colombian equvialent:

On the 3rd Saturday of September, Colombians celebrate "El Día del Amor y la Amistad" (The Day of Love and Friendship). During the month of September before the 3rd Saturday of the month, many Colombians take part in a tradition which is similar to what we do in December for Secret Santa, but is called "Amigo Secreto" (Secret Friend). Basically you get a group of friends, coworkers, or family memebrs and have each person choose a piece of paper from a hat which has another´s person´s name written on it. This is their secret friend for the month, where each day or week they will give them a small treat (normally is candy, chocolate, food or flowers) until the actual "day of love and friendship" where they are normally presented with a small gift. This whole time the person receiving these little gift, they have no idea who is sending them, and on the day of "amor y amistad" they have to try and guess who their "secret friend" is.

So this a tradition that Ive seen observed between my group of friends here (which ive taken part in), as well at my workplace. I almost like it better than Valentine´s Day in North America, because it focuses more on the "Friendship" aspect, than the "Love" aspect. It´s all about appreciating who you have in your life, and is way less of a Halmark holiday than in North America. :)

Quick life update

Hello blogging world. Ive been lacking a bit on blog posts for about a month, oops, but i promise to get back into the swing of things again.

The month of September hasnt been overly exciting, as I havent travelled anywhere due to the fact that there are no festivo days (long weekends) in the month of September. However my life between Oct - Jan will be filled with excitement and travel.

In October Ill be travelling to the beautiful city of Cartagena with my friend Leo. We´ll be going during the festivo long weekend in the middle of the month, and be staying for about 4 days.

First of all November is going to be a kick @$$ month for 3 reasons: 2 long weekends in the month, a visit from a very special friend, and a trip! At the beginning of November (during the 1st long weekend of the month) my best friend Lauren will be coming to visit me in Medellín!! Im very excited to see her, as this is the longest we´ve ever gone without seeing each other. Im also excited to show her around the city, and some places just outside of Medellín. Then during the 2nd long weekend of the month Ill be heading back to the caribbean coast with Leo and my friend Sara to visit Santa Marta. A popular beach destination especially for Colombians, since it´s pretty cheap (Cartagena is not).

Then comes the best month of all for me here: December. December is going to be an amazing month for a few reasons:

1. Christmas celebrations in Medellín are incredible. The city decorates itself with thousands of colourful lights, especially along the river, where the entire city is lit up during the month of December and a part of January.

2. I get a month off (paid) from work. booya. Ill be off work from the 17 of Dec and til the 10th of January. This is due to Christmas vacation, and since I work within the university, the university is closed during this time, and we are unable to work (what a shame... haha).

3. San Andrés & Seeing my mom. During my month off in December/January Ill be spending 2 weeks on a Colombian island with my mom! My mom is going to fly down and meet me in San Andrés, so this will be her first time in South America as well as in Colombia!

And finally, as of yesterday I know the date when Im coming back to Canada! Ill be flying back on the 9th of February 2012, and since it´s an overnight flight, ill be back on Canadian soil on the 10th!

So that´s it for now, a quick life update of whats to come over the next couple of months!

The 6 month mark!

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).

La Feria de Las Flores - Weekend 2

This past weekend was the final few days of La Feria de Las Flores in Medellín, one of the most important festivals in all of Colombia, and also one of the most impressive. After the first weekend of the festival I was left feeling excited, impressed, and genuinely amazed by the culture of Antioquia, and how hardworking and happy paisas (people from antioquia) are. Gives you this kind of warm fuzzy feeling inside :).

On Saturday, I didnt have to go very far to see a parade of classic and antique cars, as it was right outside my house infront of EAFIT. I met up with a bunch of my friends literally outside my house, and stood under the sunshine watching old cars, army vehicles and parade floats go by. It was a beautiful day, sun shining and the temperature in the high 20s, Medellín doesnt get better than this. Here are some photos from the parade:





After the parade my friends Mariana (from Brazil) and Sara (from Colombia) and I walked to one of the malls next to my apartment as there was a flower display there. Entering the mall we saw the main floor just COVERED with flowers, and it's not until you take escalators up a couple floors that you realize there's a design and pattern within the hundreds and hundreds of flowers. It's impressive to say the least. Check it out:



On Sunday, was the mother of all events, the most important event of the ENTIRE festival: El Desfile de los Silleteros .... the parade of the flower carriers. This event literally attracts THOUSANDS of people, and I was warned beforehand, that there would be a LOT of people, but i didnt realize just HOW many people:


Luckily AIESEC had a tent reserved along one of the streets the parade would be passing by, where we could stand. However I had to fight my way through the crowd still to get a good spot to be able to see and take pictures of the Silleteros (people who carry the flower displays on their backs). So there my friends and I stood in a huge crowd, anxiously waiting for the parade to begin, and for my first glance at the silleteros!


I was so excited for this parade because i had heard, and read so much about it before attending the event. It's one of the most famous things about Medellín, and since im feeling more and more attached to the city everyday, this was going to be an event to remember, and to feel so proud of! I wasnt sure how long the parade was going to be, or how many silleteros there were going to be, because the silletas (flower saddles that silleteros carry on their backs) are so heavy, so once the parade began, I started taking pictures like a mad woman, because I wasnt sure how many opportunities of the silleteros I would get to photograph. Little did I know the parade would last for about 3-4 hours, and there were SO many silleteros. It was impressive. Silleteros of all ages, and the majority of them were quite old (which made it even more impressive), yet still carrying up to 70kg silletas, packed with flowers, beautiful designs, and the pride of their region.






When the silleteros walked by, everyone applauded them, for their work, their effort of carrying incredibly heavy silletas on their backs, and for the pride of Antioquia. Everyone is so proud of this festival, the parade, and the tradition that is still kept alive through the Silleteros. It was such a great feeling to be there, applauding the silleteros as their walked by, and calling out "vuelta! vuelta!" for them to do a twirl so you could see in the full, the design of the silleta on their back. Here are some of the most impressive silletas:






Now this is going to sound nerdy, but one thing that Colombian companies do for the parade is branding, where they brand various silletas, to promote their company, brand, campaign etc. They pay big $$ to be able to have their company name displayed on a silleta, however the silletas are VERY impressive. Here are a few examples:






The parade also consisted of musical bands, dancers, and floats. It was probably the longest and most impressive parade I have ever been to or seen in my life. If anyone wants to come and visit Medellín, they HAVE to come during La Feria de las Flores. It has hands down been one of the BEST things Ive seen and done here in Colombia. So impressive, you dont even know. The flowers are incredible, and the people are so happy and proud of their region, it's such a great atmosphere to be in! I am so lucky I have been able to experience it.




Finally, here's a group pic of all the AIESEC people at the end of the parade. Amazing network of people from all over the world, experiencing one of the best festivals in Colombia!

World Cup U-20: Argentina vs England

Well it finally arrived! This week I went to the World Cup U-20 game in Medellín with my friends Sara and Leo. We saw Argentina play England each other.



Upon arriving to the stadium, which was a sold-out game, we found the buses of each team, so we were taking pictures next to each bus. While we were doing this, a bunch of colombians were doing the same, and one of them noticed me, and then asked in broken English "can I take a photo with you?".... apparently he thought I was British, because I wearing red, blue, and white (colours of England´s team),and I was speaking English. (Meh, Canadian... close enough. So I agreed, and we took 2 photos together, then afterwards I busted out my Spanish and said "Alguien más? 5 mil cada foto"... which means "Anyone else? 5 thousand pesos each photo". The guy was shocked, he didnt know I spoke Spanish, the expression on his face was priceless. I love that I can joke in Spanish, it´s so amusing.




It took a while to find our seats because there were SOOO many people, but it was great to see the amount of people there and the fact the game was sold out! Glad I bought our tickets super early (back in April). Our seats were on the upper level, but perfectly centered so we had great views during the game.




The game started out with Argentina having the most posession of the ball, which I immediately thought... great we´re going to lose (I was cheering for England by the way...given my mom´s whole side of the family is from the mother country). However in the second half England stepped up their game and started to play much more aggressively, and have more posession than Argentina.



The game was good, not crazy exciting like I thought it would be, but still good. There were a lot of shots on net, and at one point a shot went in, and it appeared that England had scored against Argentina. So Sara and I went nuts along with the other England fans in the crowd (note... there werent many). At one point I think i even yelled "Suck it Argentina" out of pure excitement, but then realized that the goal was called offside, and it didnt count. My expression and mood quickly changed from pure excitement to pure disappointment. Haha. Unfortunately for the rest of the game there were no other goals, and the game ended 0-0.


However, even though there werent goals, it was still a great experience to go to a World Cup U-20 game, and of course see 2 countries play, that bred some of the best soccer players in the world: England and Argentina. After the game, Leo, Sara and I went to grab some good old Colombian street meat. Now this is much different than Canadian street meat, as it´s more delicious and you get way more food.

For example... for $8.000 pesos (around $4 CDN) you get, a huge piece of bbq chicken on a stick, with an arepa, salad, and french fries. Not a bad deal, plus it was delicious. Check out a photo here:




Here is a video I took while at the game: