Shorter Por Favor

On Friday and Saturday night, these are the best nights to go out in Colombia. Of course, this is a standard for many countries, especially USA. This country was a little different though because this city defined "true parties." People start at 12am and they go out until 5am.  

When it came to going out, I planned to go with the receptionist(super nice and perfect English), but she had to work late.  This was fine because my only intention was to go out and people watch. Of course, I had interest in seeing some hot Colombian man-I am a woman and I am allowed to look. 

The main party area was in El Poblado about five minutes walk from my hotel. From my room, I could hear the bass.  While I had no desire to go out, I came to Colombia and it was a must to go see the nightlife.  The best part for me is people watching therefore I decided to take a stroll through the park and party area. It's full of amazing restaurants, lounges, roofs, fast food, sushi-everything you name it.  

          

            Waiting for food 

I thought if I found a good place I could check it out for an hour or two. Although, I was completely enjoying myself on the street. The high numbers of people on the street and the open patios where you could watch people dance. There are some underground incredible salsa places, but I felt like staying in the area. Taxis at night-no bueno.


With my magnetic gravitation to luxury, I had to check out this fancy hotel I had heard about. When I got there it reminded me of one of my favorite NY restaurants, it was gorgeous. There was only one guy ahead of me who went up through the elevator. The party was happening on the rooftop-my favorite place to be.  When I got dressed, I actually put on makeup, did my hair, wore my black and flower jumper and gold wedges. I received a good amount of attention, which came unexpected. The women in Colombia are stunning and beautiful. 

I was feeling pretty good, but I did not fit the part for this bouncer at the door. 


"You're wearing pants."
"Yes, but this is a jumper with gold wedges."
"Still those are pants."
"Yes, but it's a nice jumper."


He was being quite respectful and didn't look me up and down with that horrible "rejected" look. He was just doing his job, which I understand.  I am standing a bit outside the door just glancing at a couple girls standing outside.
He points to this girl who is dressed in a black mini dress with everything exposed and 6 inch silver platforms.


"That's what you need to wear.  A short dress and platform shoes. The shorter the better."


While I mentioned these girls are beautiful, they don't always dress the part.  Many follow the expression, "the tighter, the better" and fortunately they can pull it off.  Their cleavage is exposed, their skirts are high, and platforms a must.  There is nothing I can really say to that other than, "Let it be."
This guy was serious about "looking a certain way." While I really wanted to go upstairs, I was not willing to look like that ever.  Not to mention that dress and those shoes are nowhere in my wardrobe. 


After this experience, it was disappointing, but I was not stuck on it. I walked around and talked with some locals, checked out a salsa place for 15 minutes and went home....

That party desire fuel is not running in Priscilla's engine. 

Arepas

Oh how I love the Arepas

Let me count the ways

One-cheesy

Two-corn taste

Three-Crispy on the outside

Four-dipped in Mantequilla (butter)

Five- Per my friend Gabe-“pure deliciousness”

At breakfast, I would eat two each along with some eggs, fruit and yogurt. 

Every morning I looked forward to these Arepas. The Chef even made me some fresh ones to go on my way to the airport. The waitress (adorable) must have told him how much I like them. 

Museum of Antioquia

This square of Plaza Mayor(same name as Madrid square) had a gorgeous back drop with the Palacia del Cultura ( unfortunately closed upon my arrival). There were the standard vendors selling souvenirs and food, and plenty of benches. 


Perhaps, it was the usual museum  setting with the park and the souvenirs, the hot dogs, and snow cones, but it had a special charm. Families walked with their children, tourists walking in and out of the museum, the sky bright, bright blue-it was spectacular.  

 There were a few museums in town to see, but this one was suppose to be the “must see.” 

It was interesting seeing the eras of Colombian art over time from romanticism to modern artwork. They had all different rooms on three floors with impeccable architecture. They had the Botero sculptures right in the entrance and featured in these paintings with the "large bodies," which is not common to see, but Fernando Botero pulls it off. 

From Wikipedia: 

Fernando Botero
While his work includes still-lifes and landscapes, Botero has concentrated on situational portraiture. His paintings and sculptures are united by their proportionally exaggerated, or "fat" figures, as he once referred to them.^[10]

Botero explains his use of these "large people", as they are often called by critics, in the following way:

"An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it."^{[citation needed]}

Botero is an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense, choosing colors, shapes, and proportions based on intuitive aesthetic thinking. Though he spends only one month a year in Colombia, he considers himself the "most Colombian artist living" due to his insulation from the international trends of the art world.^[10]

In 2004 Botero exhibited a series of 27 drawings and 23 paintings dealing with the violence in Colombia from the drug cartels. He donated the works to the National Museum of Colombia, where they were first exhibited

Various works

Feeding Mouths

Serving others never stops. It doesn’t stop because I’m in a place for three days or when I’m too busy.  It continues on day to day and moment to moment and need to need.

On my way to the museum, I came off the train to the church square where, again, the homeless were sitting there near the stairs. There was a man that was laying down and not moving. His friends were next to him.

How do people just leave these people completely unacknowledged? There are street vendors selling juice, tamales, fruit, and no one acknowledges this man behind them?

It starts to rain and he is still just laying there. I buy him a hamburger, a soda, and I tap him-it takes more than one tap.  His friends say he is sleeping.

“Are you sure he’s just sleeping?”

Finally he bobs his head up, his face is cut up and filfthy. I wish I had a hot wash rag to wash it off.  He was missing a shoe and he was not drinking alcohol. He ate the food and slopped it all over his face. When I was watching him eat, I thought he would like some Colombian pastries. I went back in the same place and got some random pastries. When I came back again, all of them were surprised. 

While I always have a need to help, it’s significantly increased in the "giving food" department. When I’m abroad helping others, I feel the most alive. When I am helping these people, it’s me, but it’s not. It is his spirit that comes through with focusing on serving others at times of need.  

Always remember there is someone less fortunate. Do not allow your own personal agenda get in the way of a human life. PRIS

Truth About Crime

Lets get the facts out of the way so there is no confusion.  With crime and drug cartels, Medellin did play a big part in all of this. Per Wikitravel, Medellin was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world for it’s size and highly disproportional homicide and kidnap rates. It was the home of Pablo Escobar and the so-called “Medellin Cartel” who took over the city at that time. Since his demise in the 1990s, the cartel was disbanded and the city changed tremendously. The city went from 6500 murders in 1990 to 2900 in 2009 to 184 in 2002 to 38 in 2013. (Wikitravel). The US did issue a travel warning in 2014 for narcotic trafficking. The paisas(locals) are proud of the cities improvements overtime, but there is still lots that needs to change.

When you look at the homicides going down significantly, this tells you that something is going right. The crime initiatives, the community efforts, the Mental health or jail systems-a city came together for increased safety in their home.  When you compare these homicides to the US, the results are an eye opener for the US Customs who label Medellin and cities of Colombia “dangerous.”

In New York in 2013, there were 333 homicides in comparison to Medellin at 38. In Los Angeles, there were 250 homicides in 2013. In Chicago, there were almost 2400 shooting = more homicides than New York City and Los Angeles (Huffington Post).

When it comes to a city like Medellin, there will probably be many people who don’t visit it because it’s history and current crime.  People needs to realize that their own major cities also have this terrible crime. Chicago is one of the most Gang infested cities with shootings on the news every other day.

When you see that a city used to have terrible crime, but it has significantly improved-it’s time to reevaluate.  If you are coming from New York or Chicago, it’s not much different when it comes to crime. The population is almost 4 million, which is not the same size as Chicago and New York City, but it’s in double digits-38. 

Doesn’t anyone get curious about this improvement and think maybe this city is now doing something good? Perhaps the leadership is different, perhaps the security has become better, perhaps tourism is on the rise, perhaps they care for the Paisas(locals) and want better safety. 

If you ever saw the nice area of this city, you would forget any crime exists. If you crossed over town, you may see a bit more action and real life.  Regardless, this city deserves a pat on the back for their developments within their communities. They should be Proud Paisas and love their people and city without getting discouraged by people labeling or stereotyping what they are.  The locals of Colombia and South America know it’s beautiful.  Do the Americans and Europeans also know this?

The Best Medicine

Laughing on the plane, laughing in line, laughing in customs, creating entertainment again on the bus. What could ones life be like living in Colombia?



Clearly, there is a lot more components to life than laughter, but laughter is one of the best medicines in life. The Dalai Lama says that one of his core values is the ability to lighten things up with laughter. When one starts with a base of happiness, they have a whole lot more to build on.

While Colombia has its political, systematic problems, huge drug cartel history, and some pretty dangerous areas-this does not define the overall character. These  are people who have been impacted by a negative environment, a rough upbringing, a lack of support, and role models. These are people who stuck in a cycle of violence with their family and friends being involved in crime and drugs.



Again, this does not define the character.  The values are different from the stereotypes they are given.  These people have a strong family base, honest, caring, funny, and smart. They have many great things going for them that should be paid attention to rather than headlines of crime and danger. The same goes for all countries in Central America. There is much more good than their is bad. These people have warm hearts and sincere smiles. They have good intentions and their core being is good. The laughter is not a mask to their real person rather it is genuine, free spirited, and fun. The humor makes situations easier.


For example, in the airplane the bag was stuck in the overhead and five of them were all laughing.  If that was New York, someone would have pushed their way through or been feeling completely annoyed. This laughter makes the air lighter and easier to breathe in.  It releases pressure to be a certain way or be so serious and straight faced with no real communication.  It's just a horrible way to live. A life rushing forward each day with no ability to stop in a moment. No ability to laugh in a genuine manner and take the time to smile. These people are not just happy, but they are smart, efficient, and educated.  It's possible to take a dose of the best medicine and live a healthy, productive life.  You can have both and the Colombians prove that it's possible. Those who have nothing still show they have happy spirits and kind souls. 


In this lifetime, I want to live like a Colombian free spirited, happy, and loving life. I want to be healthy and take care of my body. I want to work hard and build a nice family one day. I want my base to be happiness and not working 50 hours a week with a Mercedes and no awareness into the true self and soul.  I want to be free. I want to be a happy Priscilla.

Dream Come True

For years and years and years, I have wanted to go to South America. For some reason I just never get there. I told my new South American friends about how much I wanted to visit Colombia. Between Panama and Colombia, there is a boat that costs about $600-$800, which takes about 4 days. The second option is to take a flight for about $500 and I would have to come back to Panama City for my flight on August 28. I had done plenty of research and I did not have another idea on how to get there.

Until one day when Carlito said to me, "Don't you know about Viva Colombia?" They just started flights between Panama City and Medellin, Colombia."

"Yeah, I know about those $500 flights." Pris

" No, they are running a special where it's $50 or $60 each way."

"What? This is seriously the best birthday gift I could ever ask for!" Pris

"Well, you still have to pay for it."

" Of course I do." Pris

"The website is pretty complicated because they want you to get all these add ons, but we can help you."

After an hour of my flight information expiring and starting over again and again, it finally went through and I was ready to go Medellin for three whole days and come back Monday just in time for my flight. Seriously, I was so happy to finally get over to South America. Literally thinking about visiting for a good 8 years.  

Any travel dream you have is possible if you keep the faith and stay positive that one day you will make it happen.   JUST SAY YES!