Our Arrival in Medellin and Being Tourist

When we landed in Medellin Maria and Bibiana (English department coordinator) were there to greet us.  They were very excited to meet us and wanted to get to know us immediately.  Even though we had woken up at 4 am for our flight it was easy to share their excitement.  The importance of our mission hit home in our first conversation Bibiana.  She said that we have been her project for a long time and that she has been working very hard to get us here, something we share in common.  Bibiana and Maria were incredibly welcoming and they took us to a traditional Paisa (the name for people from Medellin) breakfast.  It was delicious in an open-air restaurant consumed with plants and a fire pit in the center; we later came to realize that this was very common.  Then we drove down the mountain to greet our new city scape.  Maria pulled over at every overlook to show us our beautiful city.  Afterwards we headed to Little Paisa, which is a small reenactment town that replicates an old Paisa town.  We strolled around the town munching on mango and salt.  It was a great introduction to Medellin but we were worn out and wanted to go to our new home.  We pulled up to an apartment and they dropped us off to meet our new housemates.  Everyone was very nice and gave us a tour of our new home.  We live with a brother and sister who started college this week, a medical student who is in his 3^rd year, and an engineer.  Suley, who feeds us and takes care of the house, along with the MANY frequent visitors that come in and out makes for a consistently full house!  It is a little hard to get used to, after living alone for so long, but everyone is so nice and it remarkably remains a fairly quiet atmosphere. 

Dale in our Kitchen (above) Us with Suley (below) View from the Balcony (top right) and the Roommates (bottom right)

Our first week in Medellin has been fantastic! Our classes don’t start until February 6^th so we have taken the opportunity to study our Spanish, compose our lesson plans and to just scope out the city.   We’ve taken full advantage of Medellin’s metro system to explore the city.  The metro is the easiest public transportation that I’ve ever taken and so clean and safe.  Except on a few occasions, during rush hour where everyone packs in like sardines, there is usually plenty of space and seats for everyone.  One thing that struck me on our rides is that the men jump at the chance to give their seat to any of the elderly, handicapped, etc.  That’s just one example of how nice and courteous everyone is.  

We have been to the Botanical Gardens, Lleras Park, Fredonia and a few malls. The Botanical Gardens was amazing.  It was a large park with all kinds of beautiful plants and trees.  We had a romantic stroll and it seemed like a popular spot for a relaxing day with your loved one.  Everyone was picnicking under exotic trees; we will have to bring lunch next time.  There was even a butterfly conservatory where there were tons of stunning butterflies floating around.   One evening we went for a drive with our roommate and a few of his friends.  We held on tight as he zipped around the city in and out of lanes and not stopping for red lights.  We later found out that people don’t stop for lights while driving through bad parts of town for safety reasons but we still didn’t feel too safe plowing through red lights!  We stopped at a mall to walk around and see the beautiful view from the top of the building.  Then we headed to another mall for dinner.  The restaurant, La Bolsa, was a very trendy bar and restaurant unfortunately it was way out of our volunteer budget. We did enjoy a delicious dessert and maybe we will go back for a special occasion.  The design was amazing though and it was so funny to see how trendy 80’s music is here.  Afterwards we headed to the very touristy Lleras Park.  Lleras Park is a strip of bars, clubs, and every nightlife possible.  It reminded me of a mini Las Vegas with all of its thumping music and strobe lights coming from all directions and each bar with it’s own unique theme.  We wandered into a shot bar with it’s walls lined with all kinds of shots.  Would you like to take your vodka on fire and with a lime? Or 10 shots in a line like a snake?  We walked around the strip before calling it a night.  On our second Sunday in Medellin we decided to get out to the countryside with a fellow professor Alex, whom is a native New Yorker.  He took us to meet his girlfriend’s hometown and her family about two hours away in Fredonia.  Fredonia is a large town in the country.  Everyone was enjoying their Sunday just sitting around and relaxing.  The only thing we did was toss the football around with her cousins and it was a perfect day to do nothing!  The drive was beautiful with all the green mountains surrounding us from all sides and her family was so nice and welcoming.  We also did some adventuring on our own to have a typical American day.  We went to a huge mall with a great atmosphere.  We ate our Chicago style pizza and then went to see a movie. Perfecto!

The amazing interior design at La Bolsa

It’s been  a lot of fun exploring the city and doing touristy things. But after 2 weeks off Dale and I are very ready to start school and can’t wait until Monday morning!