El Valle De Cauca

Current mood: chipper


For the two months I have traveled El Valle de Cauca of Colombia. It a state of the southern region of Colombia, there which lies Cali, Palmira and Trujillo. I was born in Palmira, my mom and her family was raised in Trujillo and so most of them reside there in El Valle. People say that El Valle is the most beautiful because of the continuous bright green color of the surrounding mountains, the best spoken spanish is from here, the salsa dancers are from Cali, and of course the Agudelo family is from El Valle, ha!


I've been all over the place within couple months. Traveling and seeing family, my mom has eight siblings and she wanted me to get reacquainted with them by staying a week each. It's been super fun, I've loved getting to see everyone and getting to know everyone with the idea that I'm not leaving in a few weeks and won't see them again for five more years, this time I'm here! It's crazy, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm really here in Colombia. It's all happened so fast that it's kind of hard to believe, but all in all I'm glad that I made the move. I've learned a lot in the past two months that I've been here, life here is really different. Of course, a good different though. I've gotten to learn a new perspective on life and learn new things that I can adapt to my life, it's great. And the nature of Colombia is gorgeous, the mountains are breathtaking and the weather makes me sweat but I love the heat! Well, keep in mind the weather in Bogota is a bit more mild so I've really enjoyed my time here in El Valle.


I stayed with my mom's youngest sister first, Martha Liliana, I'm super close to her because she came to the United States for a couple years when I was eight. She also took care of Andres and I when were youngins. She lives in a complex with a pool and I love the pool, I loved the alone time there (although I occassionally got lonely). I love to fall asleep in the sun, regardless of the dangers of too much sun, I can't help it. After my quick nap in the sun one day, I woke up to be 3 shades darker. The nap was amazing and the sun felt so nice and warm but I definately got burned. Apparently the sun in Colombia is a bit stronger…I went to the pool almost everday to swim and layout, one day there were two guys there and they started talking to me. They both live in Bogota as well and were on break from school, we talked about Bogota and then they noticed my accent. Man, I can't get by anyone with that accent, it's bad but it was cool to meet people.


One night we went to El 14, which is like a mall, there was a reggaeton party going on (there is a lot of reggaeton music here) it was the so packed but it was fun. There are different little huts with bars in the center of the food court, which it mostly outdoors, they serve mostly beer, rum and aguadriente. Aguadriente is a liquor that is made here in Colombia from sugar cane, it's light and easy to drink or atleast I think so. It's drank as a shot or neat, with a light black licquorice taste but not like Sambuca. Bars also sell a giraffes of beer, it's like an individual beer tap. It's like buying a pitcher for the table but instead it's like your own little tap, it's pretty cool.


The Saturday that my other Aunt, Marlene, came to pick me up she brought over a bottle of Tequila 1800. It's a really a good bottle of tequila, so I was happy to see itJ I now know that the love for tequila runs in the family! We laughed a lot. Marlene and I are a lot alike, we live life with the same perspective and a smiles. It's really funny because we'll talk about something and end up finishing each other sentances. It's nice to feel close to a family I rarely saw growing up.


June 1, I turned twenty-two. I'm not gonna lie I don't like getting older but the birthdays come anyway! I got incredibly homesick on my birthday. I kept thinking of my friends and my mom, and how much fun my birthday was last year, it was hard. Towards the beginning of the night, I felt a bit better as my family came over. As we ate delicious food, and delicious cake. Alright, the cake and pasteries here are 10x better than anywhere else, well anywhere else I have been. Seriously, not just even the pasteries but the bread is the best bread ever. Anyways, my mom's super good friend Elsa came over with the cake and the coolest candle ever! It was this big plastic thing but when the wick was lit, the big plastic thing revealed to be a flower. The center with the wick ended up being like a sparkler, each petal had an individual candle, it spun around and around and sang happy birthday, it was a stellar candle! It was nice to spend a birthday with people who I had not spend a birthday since my third birthday. I also got a couple phone calls with the familiar voices of Naddie and Charlie which made me smile and made my day (thanks!!!). It made me not feel so homesick anymore…oh yeah I also got my nails done.

The following week I ended upgoing across the city of Cali to stay with my uncle, Ruben Dario. He's the politician of the family, he was running for govenor but dropped out of the race because of current circumstances. He is still running to be a part of the counsel and remains to be a lawmaker of El Valle de Cauca. His wife, Gloria Amparo, got the political fever is running to be mayor of Trujillo. It was different to see how politics worked here in Colombia but it was nice to see it first hand. Politicians or rich people get kidnapped here quite often, it's almost become a part of everyday life which is incredibly sad. My uncle's fellow lawmakers were kidnapped five years ago, my uncle was saved because he has the bad habit of arriving late to everything and he arrived late to work that day. Since that day he has not been without a bodyguard, it's a sad way to live everyday but it's safety and security. Evertime we traveled long distances, the bodyguard (Julian) would have his gun in his lap, I don't like guns…they make me feel really uncomfortable but at the same time I felt somewhat safe. Julian is young and really cool to talk to, he is taking english classes so I would help him with his homework every morning while my uncle was getting ready. My cousin Laura Camila had her first communion while I was there. Since most of the country is Catholic, first communions are a big deal here. Most are usually a school related event, considering most schools are private and Catholic as well. Laura's school provided her with an attire and she looked like a cute lil nun! It's pretty much a normal thing to have in life growing up in Colombia, I probably would have had a first communion with the white dress, the party and such if I had grown up here. One of the days I was with Ruben Dario and Gloria, we went to a business lunch at the restaurant in the middle of nowhere, it was beautiful. I wish I would've taken pictures…it was surrounded by flowers, fruit trees (no I didn't climb a mango tree), and a river. It was really beautiful, I kept thinking it was the perfect date place to eat, aw, yeah I might be lonely sometimesJ I also accompanied Gloria to a local speech in Trujillo, it was really nice to see how people reacted to her and applauded her. These were people who are really struggling in Trujillo because of the lack of jobs and income in the town. I got to pass out the snacks and drinks, it was super. The rest of the week, I spent by the pool reading or listening to my killer ipod that my wonderful friends gave me!


I noticed that the swimsuits here are a bit skimpy! I mean with mine next to some here, I'm covering up a lot. It's normal to have a thong swimsuit in South America, my aunt almost bought me one but I convinced her I wasn't ready to show off my butt to the world…no way dude. Plus in Bogota I wouldn't do any swimming considering the weather isn't as hot there. Maybe in a few years or when I go to San Andres, or Cartagena I will be a bit more comfortable in my skin. The same week I was with my aunt Gloria, they live near by La Universidad del Valle, which is a public university. And every other week they would protest, make signs out in the front of the school and throw potato bombs. No one is ever hurt but it was kind of scary to see the bombs go off or hear them at five in the morning. But this is what students do in protest to the government, the war and the president. It's neat to see the signs though, although I don't believe that interwining violence into beliefs is really protesting, I think there's a fine line between protest, standing up for one's beliefs and boredom. Oh I also got my nails done again...


At the end of the week, I ended up going to Trujillo. I love that town, I feel comfortable and at home when I'm there. I think it might be because my mom and her family grew up there, it's a good feeling to be in the same place as my mom was at the same age as me. I was dropped off at my aunt Dalila's house and it was super good to see her! When my grandma died, Dalila and Martha Liliana were 13 and 14, they came to live with us in Palmira and my mom continued to raise them. Dalila took care of me a lot when I was a baby, she was the only one I would let brush my hair when I was little, I would cry with anyone else. Dalila is super funny, and made me feel inredibly welcome the second I walked in the door. She lives the exact house that she grew up in, the house was split into two and one half was sold, she couldn't bear to sell the other half and so she ended moving into it. It's an old house but regardless of how the years show on it, it's so beautiful. I enjoy a history of a house or of a place, I like old rather than new…if walls could talk, I like to think of the stories they would tell. Dalila is a teacher one of the local schools along with her husband, Freddy. I went all week to the school with them, the kids were way too cute. I was followed around and asked to speak english all the time, they asked me to translate silly things and then they'd laugh because it sounded so funny. They would hug me and greet me everyday I came to the school, aw I loved it. I would have ten kids if I could…I ended up going to the english classes to answer their questions about the life en Los Estados Unidos. My broken spanish got a lot of laughs during the fiestas we had at the house, we drank rum (they call here ron) and aguadriente, we dance-well I attempted- and laughed many nights. I also got to swim in a river called Culebras which translates to Snakes but ha, no worries no snakes to be seen. But a bit of a waterfall which felt awesome, it was hard to get under it because it came down hard! It almost hurt but it was too fun to hurt. The current was also really strong, at one point I tried to get in the middle of the current so Freddy could take my picture but I about lost my balance and the bottoms of my swimsuit. I loved every second of it. The weather is great in Trujillo, because it's hot-super hot but there's always a nice breeze from the mountains that comes down to cool off. I did a ton of walking up the mountains, down the mountains, towards the end of my two weeks there I began to despised walking up any mountain. Walking was good though, it kept me from getting chubbier and chubbier, although the truth is I left Trujillo a bit chubby, yes no joke, I definately gained a few pounds. It was all worth it, I got to eat all of my favorite food and multiple times, but I realized how can I not eat these great meals? If I died tomorrow, atleast I would have a full stomach of good food and die happy! Like platano maduros asados con mantequilla, arepas con queso, empandas, any kind of plantanos, pan de bono, almojabanas, etc. YUM. I loved waking up to the sound of the town, the mountains, the park to see the old men playing cards or just people watching. I went up into the mountains to my uncle Fernando's farm, he recently bought a coffee farm, and it was gorgeous up there. We walked the land and through the coffee plants, it was a sight. During the championship of the Colombian soccer league, there were fireworks, everyone playing their music loud and cheering. Then Copa America began…man oh man, I love soccer…the Colombian team and soccer. I made a vow that if Colombia made it to the World Cup 2010, I would go. I better find a job and start saving up. I loved staying in Trujillo, I can't wait to go back. Oh yeah, I got my nails done again.


I made it back to Palmira for my final week…L There are always random festive three day weekends, Colombia has many festive days which usually land on Mondays to make the three day weekends. For the three day weekend, Marlene, Mono, Diego and Martha Liliana got together and decided to head out. We ended up drinking two giraffes of beer, that thing is really neat. Then we went to a bar called La Cantina de Lucha, it was a coolest little bar! I loved it. I did realice that I would have a lot of adapting to do though, the music is all Colombian or Latin songs. And all the people there cheered when they played an old classic song, sang along to every song like my friends and I would do in Ames when songs that were popular back in high school were played in bars. At the bar there were mostly people my age and they were all with their friends chugging bottles of Aguardiente (since you buy don't buy drinks but bottles at bars at the bars here), singing and dancing. Aw at that point I got a bit homesick thinking how much fun me and everyone in Ames would have at this bar!


Thursday of my last week there were Peace Marchs (Las Marchas de Paz) all over the country. I went to Cali that day with mi tia Martha Liliana to participate in the march, it was mind blowing. Literally thousands and thousands were at the march wearing white, many had made signs, banners, balloons, brought flowers, whistles, etc. To protest against the violence in Colombia bought on by the government and the Farc, to spread peace, the remember all the 3,000+ who remain to be kidnapped and the 11 diplomats who were recently killed. All kinds of people participated in the march, I was overwhelmed by the unity of everyone. It was a great experience and an awesome feeling to gain among people I didn't even know. Nothing else mattered but peace during the two hours. There were also marchs in Bogota, Barranquilla and of course Cali (where I was). I don't think people expected such an outcome but it's come to a point where people are fed up with fear and constant sorrow of their lives and their country. I'm fed up with it being here only two months and I have faced nothing like the citizens of Colombia have faced within the last decade+.


Finally, after a couple hours of delay in the airport, I made it to Bogota.

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