Juan has been an amazing help since the moment I arrived in Medellin. He was actually the first person I met when I recently came here. He was recommended to me on Facebook. I was looking for help to get from the airport with an overwhelming amount of luggage. Taxis here can barely fit 1 suitcase in their tiny trunks. Juan has an SUV. Mission accomplished. Juan went on to help me with countless other things, including banking and insurance.
Without Juan, opening a bank account would have been a nightmare. Banking is complicated for any foreigner here, especially one who barely speaks the language. It doesn’t help that each bank employee gives different and often contradictory information. I have heard this is a widespread problem. Plus, there’s always a long wait to do anything at the bank. You take a number like you’re in a bakery and wait. I wait a few seconds less cuz I’m a senior. Simple transactions that we take for granted in the US are overly complicated in Colombia. So, it was with unimaginable terror that I went to the bank without Juan on Saturday, my first solo trip. But I ONLY needed to make a deposit. I lucked out and there was no wait. The regular branch in the mall was closed by the time I got there, but there was a satellite branch open in the mall where you can do limited stuff, like make a deposit. It is a holiday weekend here and the paisas seem to have fled town.
I need to back up a moment. The exchange rate is around 3300 pesos to the dollar. [I also lucked out with the exchange rate as it’s been extremely favorable for the USD in the last few weeks.] I found the most cost effective and hassle-free method to move money from the US to Colombia was by making ATM withdrawals from my US account and depositing the money to my Colombian account. I accumulated about 10 days of ATM withdrawals that I needed to deposit. Suffice to say, the deposit was lots and lots of pesos.
I had 9 bundles of bills, 50 bills in each bundle. I stuck it in my underwear and took a taxi to the mall. It’s only a 15-minute walk, but paranoia reigns. When I went to make the deposit, I forgot to take the money out of my underwear until I was face to face with the teller. How embarrassing! I cursed under my breath and felt sorry for her. She had to handle my very personal money.
I previously counted the money 3 or 4 times. The last thing I wanted was to have a problem with a discrepancy in the amount. I wanted to avoid conversation with the teller, something I don’t do very well here.
It took her a half hour to count it. For whatever reason, she didn’t use a machine to count the money. All the while as she counted it, she seemed unhappy with something. I couldn’t figure out what the muttering under her breath was all about. She separated my 9 bundles into 5 bundles. Then the dreaded conversation. I have no idea what she said, but I thought that she was saying that the total was incorrect. I took out my phone to access my translator to get to the bottom of it. I was sure that my count was correct. But that wasn’t the problem. She needed to make 5 separate deposits for the 5 bundles she had. No problem. I left shaking my head. But mission accomplished!
I almost always take my backpack with me on excursions that last more than 30 minutes. A regular backpack staple is now tissue paper in addition to a battery charger for my phone and sun block. The umbrella is no longer required on a regular basis as it seems the rainy season has ended, yay. The tissue paper joined the essential club when I got caught in an embarrassing situation. UPB is an exclusive and expensive university in Laureles. That is now where I meet with my Spanish tutor. I got caught with my, uh, pants down, when I went to use the baño at this university for the privileged class. No toilet paper, no soap AND no toilet seat.
There was a post in an expat forum regarding moving to Colombia. The author stated that moving to Colombia is not simply about relocating but changing one’s lifestyle. How true. But I will NEVER get used to no toilet seats! In all fairness, baños in most decent restaurants and other venues come well equipped with the essentials. But some don’t. I’ve heard the rationale for no toilet seats – germs, fear of theft, etc. – but I doubt I’ll ever get used to it. I should probably add a portable toilet seat to my required backpack items.
On Friday, I celebrated Valeria’s 13th birthday with proud mom Paula. We had lunch at Mondongo’s. Mondongo’s is a casual upscale lunch venue with a great atmosphere that serves gigantic portions of typical Colombian comida. They’ve been around nearly 50 years and I’ve eaten here every time I visited. We ate at the original location in Medellin, open nearly 50 years. There are 3 locations, one in Miami. Mondongo is a soup made from diced tripe, not exactly my cup of tea. I had the tipico antioqueño, also known as La Bandeja Paisa, ridiculously fattening but amazingly good, see photo. I couldn’t eat half the dish – it could feed 3 people. The bandeja paisa is the most representative dish of Antioquia, the state that Medellin is located in.
Last Tuesday, I went to the monthly meetup of expats sponsored by Medellin Guru, the best blog about all things Medellin. I felt like I was back in the USA being among Americans and Europeans and in a food market that resembled the US. It was my first time in 7 weeks that I was among Americans. I was able to let my hair down and not worry about my Spanish. Except when I ordered food, a hamburger, haha. I would be lying if I said the transition is no problema. Truth be told, it gets lonely here. I find it difficult at times being in a strange land and not speaking the language well. I am not complaining, far from it. Colombia is a wonderful country and the transition is happening, albeit slowly.
Sunday has become my favorite day. No class and ciclovia. I road north on the autopista today to the end. It seemed empty compared to the other ciclovias. Did the paisas escape Medellin for the 3 day weekend? Or were they stocking up on cheese dip in preparation for the soccer match between Colombia and Paraguay?
Special bonus… since tomorrow is a holiday. we get to have another ciclovia. I don’t think I will ever tire of it. Or Colombia, loneliness be damned.
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