We've been here five full days, and at best, our comfort level can be described as fluctuating. There are times when I (Leah) feel at ease - like learning Spanish and living here is something not only doable but also throughly enjoyable. And then there are times, when it all goes to shit. Often, these moments happen within the same day, if not the same hour. Yesterday was a perfect example. Most of the day was wonderful. We relaxed at the hostel before visiting a few apartments in search of our new home. At the last apartment, the one we would ultimately decide on, we met a fantastic couple who have been living there for a few weeks who had some great stories and advice. We met our Spanish speaking landlady, who was not only kind but also talked slowly enough so that we could both understand her! And the apartment has a roof! Everything was coming up roses. To top it all off, after leaving the apartment we were planning on having our first night out on the town with our new best friends, two Colombians our friend from Texas set us up with.
Things began to fall apart shortly after we left our new home, when Matt and I learned a new phrase, "horas picos," or rush hour. Valuable lesson number 1, do not ride the metro during "horas picos". The metro was packed, an easy rival to Times Square station at 5pm. We had to wait for two trains and even then, only squeezed on. However, we got there in perfect time for our appointed 7:00 meet up! We don't really have phones yet, but no problem. After waiting for 15, then 30, then 45 minutes, we finally decided to go in search of internet, to see if we got the time or place wrong. We didn't, but our new friends were stuck in a meeting, so we had to reschedule. By the time we figured this out, we had both shorted and were so far past the point of being able to make decisions that we wandered aimlessly for another 15 minutes vacillating between terrible restaurant options in the most touristy part of town. We eventually decided we needed to range further afield and found a recommended middle eastern place a few blocks away. There, we had decent food, and our first experience of Colombians being anything other than friendly - probably because the have to put up with people as clueless as us on a regular basis. Brain-fried and starving, we fumbled through our order and ended up with a hilariously huge amount of expensive food. The below is just the pre-meal salads.
We ate under what felt like withering stares and in near silence, our desire to eat trumping our ability to converse. After getting food, all we wanted to do was go home and forget. This is when we learned valuable lesson #2. In Colombia, do not slam car doors! Matt and I, so proud of ourselves for hailing our first cab and giving directions, climbed in the car and immediately earned the hate of our our driver by banging his doors shut as he called out futilely, "softly." I quickly and profusely apologized, he grunted, and we rode home in silence, ashamed.
When taking our language placement test today, our coordinator Juan asked what we had been up to. We had only begun to mention that we took our first cab ride when he cut us off and said "A word of advice, don't slam the taxi doors here." Only a few hours too late. We still are not 100% why this rule exists, but man, we intend to follow it.
Things began to fall apart shortly after we left our new home, when Matt and I learned a new phrase, "horas picos," or rush hour. Valuable lesson number 1, do not ride the metro during "horas picos". The metro was packed, an easy rival to Times Square station at 5pm. We had to wait for two trains and even then, only squeezed on. However, we got there in perfect time for our appointed 7:00 meet up! We don't really have phones yet, but no problem. After waiting for 15, then 30, then 45 minutes, we finally decided to go in search of internet, to see if we got the time or place wrong. We didn't, but our new friends were stuck in a meeting, so we had to reschedule. By the time we figured this out, we had both shorted and were so far past the point of being able to make decisions that we wandered aimlessly for another 15 minutes vacillating between terrible restaurant options in the most touristy part of town. We eventually decided we needed to range further afield and found a recommended middle eastern place a few blocks away. There, we had decent food, and our first experience of Colombians being anything other than friendly - probably because the have to put up with people as clueless as us on a regular basis. Brain-fried and starving, we fumbled through our order and ended up with a hilariously huge amount of expensive food. The below is just the pre-meal salads.
We ate under what felt like withering stares and in near silence, our desire to eat trumping our ability to converse. After getting food, all we wanted to do was go home and forget. This is when we learned valuable lesson #2. In Colombia, do not slam car doors! Matt and I, so proud of ourselves for hailing our first cab and giving directions, climbed in the car and immediately earned the hate of our our driver by banging his doors shut as he called out futilely, "softly." I quickly and profusely apologized, he grunted, and we rode home in silence, ashamed.
When taking our language placement test today, our coordinator Juan asked what we had been up to. We had only begun to mention that we took our first cab ride when he cut us off and said "A word of advice, don't slam the taxi doors here." Only a few hours too late. We still are not 100% why this rule exists, but man, we intend to follow it.
Leah & Matt,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad ya'll decided to start a blog! I love reading about your adventures and seeing your pictures, and hearing your voice in your writing. love love you guys!!