Fun experiences:
-I’m going to start this update with one of my favorite
Colombian experiences yet. Let’s start
off by saying Colombia’s food service health standards definitely seem to be
lower than America’s. Do I know this for
a fact? No. But I am making this assumption based on the
amount of plastic, hair, etc. that we have found in our food here (in
restaurants AND in food purchased from the store). And there’s this experience…We were at the
mall the other day and James decided to try Frisbys, which is like KFC. While we’re waiting in line, a lady was
putting food on someone else’s tray. A
piece of chicken fell off of the tray, bounced off of the counter, and landed
on the floor. She froze for like 5
minutes. Her back was to me, but I could
tell by her body language that she was trying to figure out what to do. She ultimately decided to go back to what she
was doing and place the rest of the items on the tray. Then she quickly leaned down and picked up
the floor-chicken with a napkin, placed it on the counter while trying to block it with her body. She went back to arranging the tray, with the
floor-chicken sitting nearby on the counter.
THEN HER TONGS DARTED OUT AND GRABBED THE FLOOR-CHICKEN AND PUT IT ON
THE TRAY! Then she rearranged all of the
chicken on the tray and covered the floor-chicken piece with fries. I’ve got to give it to her, she was sneaky and determined to poison someone. Needless to say, I will not be dining at
Frisbys anytime soon. It’s too late for
James, I didn’t tell him what I witnessed until after he had already ordered J.
-James finally took a motorcycle taxi. Even better, he was in a dress shirt and tie
(which no one EVER wears here).
There are cop blockades (for lack of a better word) pretty regularly
here. I’m not really sure what they are
looking for, but they randomly stop buses and motorcycle taxis and check their
licenses. Occasionally the people (both
passengers and drivers) get frisked. But
it really isn’t a big deal. In fact, I
am kind of disappointed that we have never seen anything come of these. But back to James…he took the motorcycle taxi
(which the bourgeois Colombians at his interview scoffed at) and got stopped. He
didn’t get frisked, they just checked the driver’s license and let them
go. But I kind of feel like he has been
through a rite of passage now. And he
loved being on a motorcycle.
-One day we came upon a burro eating trash. I decided to document it with a picture.
Differences between Colombia and the US:
-There are stray Dalmatians here. I have rarely even seen a pet Dalmatian in
the states, but they just run free here.
I don’t know if it’s because of 101 Dalmatians or what, but I was under
the impression that Dalmatians were expensive?
Guess we’ve found my new job!
-Most of the buses here look like party buses. I keep
forgetting to take a picture, but I found this one online:
They are decorated with crazy paint jobs and the interiors
usually have fringe, neon lights, etc.
They are pretty sweet looking. Unfortunately,
I have yet to get on one because I don’t think I can handle the guys that get
on at every stop screaming “AQUA, AQUA!” I just know I’m going to lose it
and punch one of those guys in the throat.
-I am always fascinated by the different body language and
hand gestures in different countries.
Picture how we would tell someone to “come here” with our hands in
America. Palm facing up, pointer finger
bending repeatedly towards you. In
Colombia, they have palm down, and they bend all of their fingers. I hope that painted a good picture for
you. If not, here’s one from the Matrix
that is just upside down.
-At the grocery stores, they ask you how many "quotas" you want. It’s like a payment plan. Like if I spend $30 at the store, I can tell
them I want 3 quotas and I will only have to pay $10 right then. We’re not really sure what happens if you
pick more than 1 quota, but it’s fun that people have the option.
-When some of the Colombian men get hot, they will just pull
their shirts halfway up and walk around like that. And, of course, it’s usually guys with huge
bellies. I like that people have
social freedoms like that.
-This is usually what we eat when we go out to eat. Chicken, fish, or “carne” (which doesn’t
necessarily mean beef, people), white rice, lentils, and some form of fried
plantain. Sometimes it comes with soup
(just what you want in 100 degree weather) and horchata. This was the first time we had beets.
Things we like…and things we don’t:
-All of the soda machines are behind the counter. And refills are generally not free. It’s changed us.
-It’s winter here, but it’s blazing hot. But apparently just for us…we heard a
Colombian woman saying business was slow one night because it was cold. The low for that day was 81 degrees. And with the 100 percent humidity, it was
about 120 degrees. Then when we were
pouring sweat as we walked to church, someone said “I love it when it’s BRISK
like this”. Pouring sweat.
-And finally, the potentially grossest thing…One day while I
was napping, a giant moth the size of James’s hand flew into our
apartment. James thought it was a bird
or a bat, but it was a moth. He was able
to shoo it out of the apartment before I woke up, but that also means there is no
witness for his story…
-A family from church invited us over for FHE. We had berry soda and played UNO. It was very sweet, and I’m glad to know that
the rules for UNO are the same in Colombia.
-Have I mentioned that we LOVE living by the beach?
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