Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Medellin





Wow. Medellin is a beautiful city on a whole new level. Bogota was ugly to me. I didn't want to say it like that but after seeing Medellin I realize the big city thing is not an excuse. Medellin is big, it has poverty and desorden, but it also has a strong identity. And it's beautiful, welcoming.

"Paisa" culture is unique--they have their own accent, customs, food: the infamous bandeja paisa. It's good but if I have one more bandeja I will have a heart attack. NO QUIERO MAS PIZZA (inside joke!). See photographed below.

The hotel, another Hotel Estelar, is amazing. And I have a room to myself which is a nice change. And a wonderful view. Unfortunately, pics of the view are on my phone, since I had issues with my camera. As a result, I might have to post those pics on a later ocassion.

The first night, Emma, Ana, Rommel and moi went to the mall, it was ok, VERY expensive. We were starving and decided to go to McDonald's for dinner, for a change. DELICIOUS. It's always interesting to see the different items on menus for Mickey D's around the world. For instance, this one had Lulo Sundaes and Arequipe Ice Cream. Lulo (which in Chile means turd, by the way) is a really yummy fruit here in Colombia. Greenish, sweet and tart at once. Can't describe it. Arequipe is what they call manjar or dulce de leche. NO CLUE why. I'm eating some right now. True life.

In Medellin it rained and rained. Just like it did in Ibague and Manizales and Armenia. We were all so sick of the rain!!!! Cae agua de luna en Macondo I guess. Must be an IMMENSE pecado immortal que se limpia. (Gracias Rubén).

The concert went really well apparently. I say apparently because at this point I'm walking around during concerts (I've already sat for several concerts by now, can get repetitive...especially when they are each THREE hours long). Emma, David and I sat to drink beer during the concert. A little boy approached us and started talking. To me he looked like he was high on something...he wasn't older than 8 but he was acting strange. They entertained conversation for a while but I was distant. It's weird. Por un lado, soy muy sensible a la pobreza y miseria. Pero por otro lado intolerante hacia los niños de la calle. I have seen street kids act so obnoxiously and violently, particularly DR and Brazil. It's not that I don't feel sad about it, I'm just careful. After about half an hour we got rid of him. Emma said she knew a little boy who was shaken really hard as a baby and had wobly eyes, just like this kid did. That made me sad.

While in Medellin I talked on the phone with Adriana Angel, a long-time friend of my mom's and the mother of my childhood friend Amaranta. It was nice to be in touch with someone in Colombia, and she showed appreciation for the work I'm doing, which was really sweet. She said to remember life is a circle, just like Gabo said in 100 años....how appropriate!

Medellin was not a good place to take pictures because it's a little rough and one does not want to look touristy. To make up for the lack of pictures I decided to post videos taken throughout the Colombia tour. I will try to post them tomorrow!

Medellin was a nice break in terms of travelling--we were there for three nights. But it FLEW by. Before I knew it, it was time for CARIBE....my favorite part of Colombia. I will tell you guys about that next. Can't wait for you to see the gazillion pictures I took!

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