The Differences

Current mood: grateful

The tranistion at first was smoooooth but through the last month everything I've learned from my expirience so far is super different. I always knew the culture and the life style here was different than the U.S., I must say I'm glad I moved down here because it definately has changed my perspective on a lot of things. I realized that I was living in a lap of luxury in Ames, everything was at arm's reach…like hot water, internet, phone calls to anywhere, beds are different, dryers for clothes…..

House phone are only used to call other house phones in the same town or some people pay more otherwise, but cell phones are crucial to have here. Cell phones are the only way to contact another cell phone or someone in a different town. And cell phones, plans are so different as well. A lot of people use prepaid phones and if you call a cell phone with a different company than the one you have or a landline you use up more minutes. Or if you have a plan and you use up all your minutes for that month, you have to wait till the next month to recieve more minutes…rollover doesn't exsist here. I was lucky to have a cell phone plan that offered me 1000 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, and the whole nine yards.


So far I have become accustomed to cold showers (unless I'm in Bogota), hard matresses (I'm not sure why people don't use thick mattresses, but literally everyone uses like multiple futon mattresses--well probably because they're cheaper), prepaid cell phone, not being able to call anyone from a normal phone, for my clothes to be hung out in the sun to dry (this is actually ecologically smart, since there is not winter and a lot of sun, no one has a dryer), and the money (it's crazy cause i'll think oh it's only so and so dollars, cheap! But the catch is that pesos run out faster than anything).

Also the lack of education here boggles me, not necessarily that people are dumb because there are actually a lot of intelligent people who work hard. But about world issues, other countries, diseases, etc. Almost everyone here is Catholic, which means sex, homosexuality, birth control, abortion is all taboo. It's hard to defend myself and defends issues that exsist in other parts of the world. There are a lot of teen pregnancies because kids aren't educated about sex or protection again pregnancy or disease…and people complain of this. The reality is a lot, if not almost all teenagers, are having sex -- abtinsence has become ignorace, more power to the people who remain to be true to their religion or morals and actually wait but reality remains to be true. But because Colombia is a Catholic country, talking about pre-martial sex, the use of condoms or birth control is shut out. Abortions, forget about pro-choice it's illegal to pretty much talk about it. Homosexuals, it makes me sad that people are so ignorant and live with so much hate…I was sitting at a table with politicians and they were cracking jokes and gossiping about who was gay. I felt so appalled by the way they were talking, I couldn't believe that people who wanted to run a community was bringing down individuals they didn't even personally know. As a ruler of a community, evere individual should be treated as an equal, eh? People talk about homosexuals are if they are contaminated. I've never had a problem with people living their own life their way, I believe every human being has the right to happiness and not to suffer. I know life in the United States isn't exactly just to all human beings, since racism and sexism exsist but atleast it is toleranted and moves a step forward everyday. Now in Colombia, I see it lacks a certain tolerance but it's not because some of the people are cruel and unjust. I believe it's a lack of certain education, not education from a text book but from learning from another person or a group of people.

I have found myself between two types of people in Colombia, there are a lot of people who are open and will greet about everyone who passes them on the street, but there are the few who look at every stranger as if they were lesser than them or evil…it's strange. I don't feel unsafe here, regardless of how worried some people can get, I know I can't trust everyone like I'd like to but I also like to think of the good in people. I know it may be naive to not think anything bad will happen but I like to keep in the positive light. There has not been one moment in which I have been scared or felt unsecure about my safety (well except for when in a car, driving is crazy). I also find myself incredibly fortunate to have been raised in the Ames, Iowa and have graduated from one of the hardest schools in the state, because all in all I learned a lot. I learned things I may have never learned anywhere else not just from school, but from all the people I met in Ames and all the experiences I lived.

At the same time, I'm also fortunate to have been born in Colombia, to have a big family here. A family that I have seen twice in the last nineteen years, and yet everytime I'm with them it feels comfortable. I love how close I have become with my aunts and uncles within weeks. I've always been a pretty closed person, but I do open up to people I trust. And I have been able to trust each of them within days. To bug my uncles or cousins and be able to laugh about it, to feel close enough to my family to be able to cuddle while watching movies or talking. That is the family love of Colombia and I love it! I feel home…although at the same time I miss home. In all honesty, I do love being here-- I love the sun and trust me in El Valle de Cauca it is always out and it's hot but it feels good even when I can't stop sweating. I love that I've never been a religious person but I could sit in a cathedral here for hours. I love being able to see the mountains all the time, especially when they're really bright green. I'm been eating non-stop the fabulous food, being able to see my family and how it's been growing. I love the way I feel instantly comfortable. Everthing is breathtaking. Colombia is seriously beautiful, there is a quote…Colombia is passion, and it's true. I fall deep into scenery, people and nature, I love it!

I can't wait for my mom to come join me. Leaving made me realise a lot of things such as feelings I had appeared stronger, I started to miss things that I didn't know took up so much of my life. I've learned to appreciate and seize moments even more, because now that I'm here without anyone of the people that I have laughed with and loved over the past nineteen years I wish I had one more night! It's always a sacrife though, leaving friends who were my family in Ames to get to know my family here in Colombia.

Come visit! I'm falling in love...