Getting to meet the people at work - July 23,2013

So it was time for the lunch meeting but before we went to lunch,we took a group photo of some of the persons from work.

I thought we were going to have lunch in the cafeteria or in the auditorium of the school. However, they directed us to a lovely restaurant with a long table so that all the persons of staff could dine with us.They knew I was a vegetarian and I was glad that they actually remembered and arranged for only meatless dishes for me :D

I had a very delicious vegetable soup that was thick and full of flavour. My Spanish teacher from El Salvador said that the food there is bland, but oh no, she was wrong, as this soup was full of flavour! Next I had spaghetti, mushrooms, cheese and tomato sauce :) Everyone else had beef I think. Then for dessert I had ice-cream with some sort of fruit syrup.

We got a chance to meet and hear about each member of staff as they introduced themselves and we did likewise.The albino Colombian guy in the photo was seated next to me and he was very friendly and welcoming. He asked general questions about me and my likes and at first it was hard to understand him because he spoke in a low voice. When I asked his name, I thought he said, "Perro". I thought, wow, why would his mother name him "dog". Then eventually I realised his name was "Pedro!"^^ He was rather nice and made me feel welcomed. He told me about something called arequipe and I had no idea what it was. Later that day, he brought me a little container of arequipe :) It is some sort of boiled milk with sugar. It looks like caramel but tastes like condensed milk.

not my photo

In the evening we needed to convert the US dollars we had to Colombian pesos. We went to this mall called "La Sabana" and we waited for quite a while for our turn to speak with the lady at the front desk, so we could convert our money. During the wait, I was observing the Colombians, their features, their dress and the way they spoke.Also, this man in a construction hat was sitting and waiting in line too and almost every 10 minutes his phone would ring. Well, I think it was a message alert, but it sounded like some sort of Amazonian tribe playing a flute. I thought stupidly, wow, even the ring tone here is South American ^^.
It was new for me and almost everyone wore make-up and high heels and were dressed very trendy. I thought there was no way I would fit in with the dresscode here.

After finally changing the money, we took a long time again to buy groceries. I think we took about 1 or 2 hours! We browsed the aisles and picked out things we wanted and then when we got nearer to the cashier, we took out some things and kept only things we needed ^^. Of course, we had to be realistic and not just buy all the things that looked amazing.

Then we had to get a Claro SIM card. I was very confused. I don't know if it was because I was fresh from Jamaica and I haven't spoken Spanish in months, but I could barely understand what the lady was saying about the SIM card. I just wanted to get credit to call my family in Jamaica and Manuel. However, I soon found out that credit for that was too expensive and it is better to pay for minutes at a shop with many phones and just buy credit for my phone to call and text Colombians. With the new SIM card, I received free credit or saldo as they call it. I tried to call Jamaica, but it didnt work. I called my penpals in Colombia and they were all so glad to hear from me and I was too :)

After getting the SIM card, we returned to Sr.Leyva's car and decided to get dinner. We stopped at a place called Fruity Parilla where I got a tuna salad meal which was quite delicious! It had rice, tuna, vegetables, bread and a salad dressing drizzled on top.I remember the waiter and I thought, wow Colombian guys look nice! I am not one to look at other men, but it wasn't easy to not look at the good looking guys that passed back and forth lol.

my dinner that night 

One of my co-worker's, Dennis, went to buy chicken for Arita while Sr.Leyva, Arita and I looking around at our surroundings. In the meantime, I secretly wished I could dig into my meal, but I had to wait until we were at Dennis' home so we could all eat together. Finally, Dennis returned with the chicken and we drove off to her home. It was in a neighbourhood with narrow streets and it was dark.Persons were hanging out at the corners of the streets and at the doors of houses.

We went inside her house and we were greeted by a pregnant cat called "Tita". Her fur was velvety soft!We met her husband, who by the way was wearing a poncho, very South American! He even looked like the people from South American countries that we saw in Spanish books at school :P.
In my mind, I kept thinking, wow, I am actually here in Colombia! I saw her two lovely kids (Valeri and Jhonathan) and their little cousin. Her children were adorable, playful and friendly, especially her daughter who was such a smart and active girl. She also had birds and fish.

Then it was time for dinner. She distributed the food for everywhere and I was so eager to get started on that delicious looking tuna salad. She shared some Colombian spices, like some sort of chili powder with me and and I actually liked them after shaking some on my food. Then she offered me something from a bottle. I was curious and willing to try any new Colombia thing, being the eager tourist that I am. It looked like red maraschino cherries and I was quite pleased that someone was offering me that (as a child I always loved them but rarely ate them as they were expensive)! However, I also thought, why would someone offer me something so sweet with tuna, rice, vegetables and spices. Anyway, I gladly took some and put it at the side, to avoid the tuna portion getting sweet cherry syrup on it. I took my first bite, awaiting that sweet, delicious maraschino cherry when a sharp and acrid taste hit my tastebuds. "What the hell was that!?", I thought. After chewing a bit more, I realised it was little pearl onions soaked in a red dye with vinegar. She asked with a broad smile, " te gusta?" " Si !" I replied, though I was quite surprised that it wasnt cherry. Maybe if I knew it wasn't cherries, I wouldn't have taken them. It's not that they were horrible, because I do like onions, it's just that I got quite a shock when I didnt taste something sweet. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner and she showed me around her house which was very different from the houses I have seen. It's like she had an inside garden and an opening in the ceiling. For sun and fresh air I thought, but when it rains, what do they do ? I didnt want to take pictures of inside the house, as I thought it would be seen as being impolite. However, you can see a part of the house below.

Dennis is the lady above. Yes, I thought the same, Dennis is a male's name,right? I told this to two Colombian girls and they were quite surprised ^^ After dinner, Dennis showed me typical llanero shoes that belonged to her daughter( Villavicencio is knowns as llano, since there are mainly plains there) and dress for doing a dance called joropo, a typical dance from that region.

Then it was time to go home and Sr.Leyva took us home after a long day and we got ready for bed. :)

Arriving in Bogota and travelling to Villavicencio - July 22,2013

I have never been less excited about a trip to a country as I was when I had to travel from Bogota to Villavicencio. It is certainly not that I was not happy to here and enjoy the life in Colombia, but it was the most uncomfortable and seemed to be the longest trip I have ever had, despite having travelled by car already for 10 hours! You will see why. So let me get started. I was quite excited to be in a plane again and I made sure to take lots of pictures this time, as I didnt when I was going to Belgium.

 As the plane took off, I was impressed with how beautiful the aerial view of Jamaica was.It is the main reason why I love the window seats when I go on the plane.

After arriving Panama City, Marlene, Jonanthan (my 2 other colleagues who were going to Pasto) and I met up with Arita from Antigua and Barbuda, my future co-worker in Villavicencio. We are all amazed and happy to be in Panama City and more than anything, I was eager to arrive in Bogota.

 Now, I had to take 2 planes. It is custom to chew bubble gum when the plane is ascending and descending and so I made sure to chew when the plane was ascending to go on its way to Panama City. All was well. I had a meal of Lays potato chips and a pack of 4 Mexican sandwich cookies( which was very nice by the way), as I couldn't have the other meals they were serving. They had offered turkey and cheese sandwich, and ham and cheese sandwich. Ah yes, I also had a lovely cup of apple nectar con "yellow"! The air host asked, " yellow?" So, I said, what the hell is yellow ( in my mind). I asked, "que ?" He then replied, "hielo, ice".My friend Roxanne and I responsed, ahhh, hi-elo!"

 It was time to arrive in Panama City and I refused to chew a new strip of bubble gum and I already discarded the old one which lost its flavour. I thought, hmm how bad can it be to not chew gum while descending. I don't think my ears will be filled with air. Well, what a HUGE mistake I made! I experienced extreme discomfort in my right ear. It felt as if someone was pushing a sharp pen inside and squeezing the back of my ear. It was terrible and my friend Roxanne quickly gave me a bubble gum to chew! I decided, next time the plane ascends and descends, I will surely chew gum.

 So it was time for my flight to Bogota. I wanted to reach as quickly as possible. That hour and a half was the longest, especially since I got placed beside a man who didn't look friendly at all. I had to listen to music mainly to kill time.
I chewed when the plane was ascending and chewed again when the plane was descending and then it finally hit me! I was getting filled with gas! I became so sick and uncomfortable and had a stomach ache. I longed for some tea to fix this problem.

We finally arrived in Bogota at the airport and it was very cold. I made sure to put my sweater on to prevent mosquitoes feasting on me and to be warm. The airport was huge and it seemed to be the longest walk ever even with the travellator (moving walkway). I went to the area where they were supposed to stamp my visa and the lady was giving me a hard time. She was being difficult and checking my passport intensely and in details as if I was some sort of fugitive. I also couldn't understand some of what she was saying -_-. She also gave me a piece of paper with some instructions to do something about my visa. No one else got this paper and so I thought, perhaps it's not that important.How wrong I was and I found out about 2 weeks later that it was indeed important! Anyway, I put the paper in my bag and proceeded to the area to collect our suitcase. We thought that we were supposed to collect our bags at area "1" and so we stood there watching bags pass us and seeing the same bags pass us again.  We wondered, hmm, maybe they will add new bags soon since we haven't seen ours, yet we kept seeing  the same bags pass us at each cycle. We realised this was ridiculous and so we looked at the electronic board again and realised that it was actually area "6"! We felt so stupid( Jonathan, Marlene and I, as Arita was detained in the immigration area because she didn't have a visa). Then we found our bags and Señor Leyva was there on the other side of the window waving to us excitedly. I was eager to hurry out of the inside of the airport and to meet him. However,we had to go through customs first. There was a fairly long line at the customs area and with my overbearing luggage and I had to join a line. I got to the front, only to realise that I had to fill out a customs paper. I had to leave the line with all my baggage passing in between people, bouncing them with my huge suitcases and then taking a good while to sign up that paper and then return to the line again. Finally we passed there and had to let our bags pass through the x-ray. I met a guy in torn jeans, shaggy hair and a huge backpack. I asked if he went backpacking. He seemed like he didnt understand what I said. So I asked in Spanish if he spoke English. He said yes and we spoke a bit more. He said he went backpacking in USA and that he is from Colombia but he lives in Brazil. However, now he is spending some time in Bogota. He said in a Spanish accent " ...Welcome...to my country" with a smile. Then he helped me with my suitcase on and off the roller thing before and after it passed through the x-ray.

We went out of the customs area and we were greeted by Señor Leyva with a big smile and a hug after which he gave us  little gifts ( food) and sweaters for Marlene and Jonathan as they were going to Pasto which is very cold. My stomach ached a lot and I wasn't hungry as I felt sick. I drank some water and ate half of this type of bread they gave us.

 He then told me that my father called him and some minutes after, my father called again and I spoke to him to assure that I was ok and all was fine.

We arrived in Bogota at around some minutes to 11 I think. A man was supposed to pick Arita, Señor Leyva and I up at 11 however we waited and waited and finally decided to take a taxi at around 1am! It was cold in Bogota and many persons were waiting outside the taxi asking for passengers and some persons standing with cards with names on it, just like you can see in the movies. The main thought in my mind was "please don't let me get robbed...!"

We took a taxi to a place where we could take a bus to Villavicencio. It felt like the longest trip ever as I was experiencing such intense belly pains due to gas! At the ticket office, he asked if we wanted anything. Finally,it was my chance to get something warm and I choose a hot cup of the best milo I have ever tasted! It was perfect! Maybe it was due to the fact that I was sick, but really, it was great ! Arita got one too.

 We waited a bit for the bus and then we boarded a huge orange bus called " Cimarron Macarena". The driver put our luggage in a section near the wheel of the bus.

(not my photo)

Normally I am excited at long trips and seeing new places, but due to that horrible bubble gum- gas problem, I was so miserable and feeling so much pain and that is what made my trip to Villavicencio less exciting. It was dark and so it was lovely to see the many lights of the houses on the mountain side. Señor Leyva and I had a long talk in English and Spanish about various things and it was quite interesting. We spoke about my family, my fiance Manuel, my studies, my hobbies, food I like to eat and the history of Jamaica. Arita slept for most of the way.

I couldn't bear the pain anymore and I really wanted to hurry and get to my bed in Villavo (Villavicencio) and so I went to sleep. Occasionally I would awake and look outside making sure to not pass the stop as Señor Leyva was asleep too. However, I had no idea where to come off! Anyway, I hoped for the best that he would wake up in time and we wont pass the stop. I enjoyed looking at the empty streets of the towns which looked like the typical Hispanic towns you see on tv. Some were very vintage. I felt so amazed at the idea that I was really in a Spanish-speaking country! Also seeing the country side, the mountains and the trees, was very lovely and I had to keep reminding myself that I am really not in Jamaica. I remember seeing a sign with the name "Puerto Lopez" and so I knew we were was close to our destination. I fell asleep again and then Señor Leyva woke me and told me that we arrived. I thought in my mind, great ! However, I was annoyed to see we had to take a next taxi! Oy! I hoped it wasn't too long again. It was very early in the morning and persons were requesting that we come in the taxi but Señor Leyva sent one of them away and we took one that he chose. Spanish music was playing in the car and I now fully realised that I am actually here in Colombia. The music was typical to hear in a Spanish country, those old type of Spanish songs with the old man singing and the guitar. Then we passed a gas station and soon arrived at Sr.Leyva's house to use the bathroom and to use his car to take us to our new apartment. He had 3 cute cats! The house seemed very different than typical homes I have seen in Jamaica. His neighbourhood look very nice and homely and I remember seeing an old man riding a bicycle. He looked harmless but in my mind, I couldn't help but think he would kidnap me, because of the ideology that was presented to me. So I was very timid when I saw anyone!

He drove us to our neighbourhood. I was impressed to see that it was a gate community that was very up-scale. We had trouble opening the door to our apartment and had to ring the doorbell which woke our flatmate Gissell who came down with a sleepy face and a mouth full of braces. She opened it for us and Sr.Leyva bid us farewell after assigning our rooms and we went to bed. He left around 6am and we arrived in Villavo at around 5 something am. He then told us something which made us look at him as being bizarre! He said ok, we will have a lunch meeting at 12:30pm. We were so tired and weren't going to get much sleep, but who were we to say no to him lol, when he made it clear that we should be there. We went to bed after that long day and woke early for the lunch meeting.

The room looked very nice and I was pleased, however a little disappointed that there was some dust on various places but everything else looked clean and well organized. The room had a bed, many shelves and cupboards, closet, bathroom, air conditioner and a lovely patio on the balcony outside my window. There is also a swimming pool there ;)

In the end, I was relieved to finally sleep and hoped that by morning, the pain would go away and indeed it did and I was ready to start a new day !