The other day, I passed my two month anniversary. Yes, I have been in Colombia now for two months. So I thought instead of introducing you to restaurants or people, I’d write from the heart and tell you about myself.
So how have I been doing? Overall very well. It is definitely the best move and I haven’t looked back once. But I’m also in a state of transition as I adjust to my new environment. Yes, I have been here loads before, and have lots of family here, but I have never lived in a place as an adult in quite the same capacity. I am also starting to look forward to getting my life sorted and getting a job so I can get some independence and really feel like I’m living like a local.
Until then, I am loving life and taking each day as it comes. I have been learning lots of Spanish but there are still times when I’m in large groups and my mind starts to lose concentration and wonder. This is when I feel detached from the family group like an observer watching a programme with the volume turned off. So I just go make a cup of tea and switch on an episode of The Big Bang Theory to make me feel at home. I still haven’t got my iPhone set up yet with a Colombian network, so am left with a rather antiquated mobile with bad reception and repetitive strain injury from the effort it takes to text someone. This will also explain my ‘on/off’ bogging. It’s a bit hard to write, tweet, Facebook without wifi, so apologies for my absence. I hope you’ve missed me? I’ve missed you.
Back to 2001
Especially you, my parents and friends….and food. That’s what I miss most about the UK. I speak to my mum daily and try to speak to one friend a week. This is by far easier when I’m not working as the six hour time difference means that I’m tucking into my frijoles for lunch, whilst my friends are cooking their dinners after a long day at work. I expect I will look back on these small things when I’m working and think how blooming lucky I was! I have started to make friends here in Colombia, and I am definitely making the effort. Thankfully, the Colombian spirit of introducing you to people and their immediate warmth makes making friends easier than in the UK. I once wrote that these types of friendships usually happen in the pub back home… after far too many glasses of wine and a drunken story that bounds you together through sheer embarrassment.
So I have been learning Spanish during the day, writing my blog, reading, and travelling around. My self-imposed ‘mini-retirement’ is coming to an end and I have loved it. Before you ask, yes I do have plans to travel further afield that family fincas. I have an idea to go on a little trip before I start working. It will be a couple of nights in Medellin (where I have family), a week in the Zona Cafetera (where the coffee is grown) followed by a couple of nights chilling in my aunt’s apartment in Santa Marta. I plan to go alone, as I honestly have never travelled alone before. The whole backpacking the world experience completely bypassed me. I also plan to buy a car. Yes, that’s right, I will be driving in Colombia. For those of you from Colombia, or have been to Colombia, you will know that driving here is completely mental. I mean insane. So much so, that I will tell you about it in more detail as a blog post. Yes, it deserves that much attention.
I also have a plan to buy a bread maker. Hmmmm, I mentioned that I miss the food from home (mind wonders off…). Good bread seems to have bypassed the Colombian market. Yes, there are specialist, posh shops around that will happily sell you bread for the price of a restaurant’s main course, but in the local supermarkets, the standard bread is pretty dismal. So, I had a brainwave. Buy a bread maker. Yes, I think this will be a decent solution to having a simple ham and salad sandwich we take for granted. God, I miss Hovis. And biscuits. And pretty much anything from Waitrose. But, my tea consumption has gone up tenfold. I have feeling I will also lose this when I start working too. Electric kettles don’t really exist here….After boiling my water in a pan for the first few days on arrival, I was handled a kettle for the cooker. This was a leap in evolution.
Hello monkey
Me and tea are inseparable
So, if you know anywhere which sells British food in Bogota, please let me know. My fab friends from home are sending me some goodies, but I have not seen a Colombian postal service. I haven’t seen a post office either. I have no idea how to send or receive letters, or where to buy stamps. The porteria handed me a letter once (from the Registraduria), but I have no idea how it go there; bike, van, horse?
For all its advancements and progression in the world economy, there are still lots of things that make Colombia stuck in its way. Like for example, a horse and cart pulling rubbish outside an apartment building so swanky, Blair Waldolf would have felt at home. Yes, it’s going to be interesting when I start working. I can’t wait to share with you my experiences.
Thank you for joining me along on the ride.
yeah, i remember when i first went to Germany I would come over to England twice a year and return with a bag full of cheddar cheese, PG Tips, Rose’s lime juice and Marmite… it takes a decade or so to get the idea that you don’t actually have to have these lifelines all your life…
Hi Reader Uncle Malcolm
My parents are coming over in November and I am already compiling a big list in my head…
Just hearing the word ‘chedder cheese’ is making me hungry!
Gracias y un abrazo
x
hi there
let me enlighten you on a few points you mentioned….maybe it’ll cheer you up!
kettles – go into any Falabella, Exito, Carrefour and you can pick one up for as little as $30.000 pesos. perhaps going to a large chain national supermarket would be a “leap in evolution” for you here! ;)
bread – you can get some really nice bread BETTER than british bread, like bread made without corn flour with coconut (not everyone’s taste but I love it!) but again, in any Exito, Carrulla etc if you look closely you can get the kind of bread you’re more used to in the UK, there is a brand from the PAN FACTORY which says its german bread (!) and doesnt have sugar in (as all colombian bread does) and is more UK taste. Its not that pricey, maybe more than BIMBO but certainly worth it!
if you do do it, good luck with the breadmaking….remember to adjust your ingredients for high altitude cooking!
driving – it’s really not a big deal, just mind the holes and beep your horn alot!
post office – the colombian mail office is called 4, 72; http://www.4-72.com.co/ they have offices EVERYWHERE. also you may have noticed on practically every major street, there is a FEDEX, DHL, UPS etc postal service isnt cheap (I think the last time I sent a letter to the UK it cost around $20.000, 5 years ago) but they are very easy to find.
about colombia being stuck in its ways, do you know the reason why people go around in horse and carts? they did try to ban horse and carts but weren’t able to….you should look into that story…..alot of those carts are going around the city collecting recycling material; remember that a horse and cart does not create any pollution or have pico y placa….
sounds like you are getting quite homesick…… stick with it :)
Hi Reader Sarah
Thank you so much for your kind, in-depth and helpful comments. I will certainly look out for the bread you mentioned, and thanks so much for the reminder re. high altitude cooking!
And the postal tips are most helpful too. Thank you.
Muchisimo besos
gringaColombiana
x
PLEASE let me know when you are coming to Zona Cafetera. I’ll be there in two weeks.
Haven’t been tweeting much being so busy getting ready. Today was spent with esposo at JFK Airport (2 hour drive each way) dithering with cargo company about shipping arrangements for four pets. They threatened not to take one of the dogs because the crate was 2″ small, or so they said. So eventually solved by buying, for cash of course, one from them. Oh well. I’ll be happy when they get there safely, ojala.
Hola Reader Charley
Yes, I will definitely let you know when I’m the Zona Cafetera. Will you be living there? I can’t remember where it is you’ll be living…
Well done on getting your pets off safely…
You must be getting excited / nervous / and a little bit stressed the closer the date gets!
Besitos
x
Well besides selling one house, two cars, getting married (to officialize an 8 year domestic partnership), getting 4 pets examined and approved for travel by US. Government, shipping or selling all my belongings, I’ve been pretty idle. Living on Xanax & ibuprofen.
Will be living in Armenia, which is due west of Bogota, south of Perreira, in Quindio department, in Eje Cafetero.
Oh great! I don’t know much about the geography, but think that’s around the area I want to go?
Xx
Yes it is. Near to the National Coffee Park.
Great. I will let you know when I have a date in mind.
xx
Great to be a part of your blog, although I still haven´t started mine.
Having a full time job and a family has a lot to do with it. One day soon
I´ll take your advise on starting a blog for mine here in Ecuador. There
is plenty to talk about with places to experience every weekend.
Again, great to have your feedback and that of Gringosabroad too!
Stewart
Good luck Reader Stewart, and let us know when your blog is up and running!
Hi!! Love reading your posts! I am leaving to Colombia next Wed (7-18) for an extended tour of South America. I have been very excited about this, but now that its time to go, I can’t believe I’m really doing this. I will be in Santa Marta for 2 months before heading to Bogota. Will be volunteering with Colombia Sin Fronteras, and I am very excited to get a chance to settle in and learn about a place and the people there before moving on. If you haven’t already traveled to Santa Marta, please get in contact with me and I would love to meet up with you while you’re there. I am doing this whole trip solo- going to try to backpack from Colombia to Brazil with 8 countries total on my itinerary. I would even love to chat with you over coffee about how to start up a blog for my friends and family at home. If we don’t meet in Santa Marta, I’d love to say hello while I’m in Bogota. Thanks for the interesting reading!!!
Jaime Tully
jailyntully@gmail.com
Hi Reader Jaime
Sorry for the late reply….Your lovely note got lost in the deluge of horrendos spam emails I receive (you don’t want to know…)
Yes, I love Santa Marta and plan to go there myself very soon. I’ll be staying near the airport at my aunt’s apartment, and it would be lovely to meet up. Perhaps we can swap numbers?
If I don’t get to see you there, we can definitely meet up in Bogota.
Your trip sounds amazing, and so much fun! I bet you’ll cry for the first night then will have an absolute blast. I love the sound of your trip!
Take care and best of luck!!
gringaColombiana x
PS. Thanks for following and enjoying my blog.
PPS. I wrote all about how I started my blog here:
http://www.gringacolombiana.com/2012/06/05/how-to-start-a-blog/