Drew Mendoza
I'm a student at the University of South Carolina. I love to travel. I plan on going to medical school, and eventually doing overseas missionary work for a few years afterward. I love Jesus, and try to live every day for His glory.MrMendoza88
Travel Blog Posts
January 10th 2009
The cabin smells of Bojangle's! Are they serving Bojangle's for our in-flight meal, you suppose? The coastline is growing out of the UV haze. Goodbye Colombia. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 streams to the television screens. Intrigue sweeps through my body. NO! I will not let my masculinity be assaulted by this incarnate evil. Annuals' lyrics flood through my brain. Experimental sounds leak into my ears. Right to left. Left to right. New obsession, I feel it. I'll be taking some other people down with me, that's for sure. They really are similar to Cloud Cult; thank you Last.fm, thank you very much. Words in Spanish. I say "pollo". Reward. Always go with the chicken; I don't caer how good the pasta is. You always go with the chicken. My neighbor has succumbed. The hair ... read more
January 9th 2009
This is it. This is the end; the last day. Tomorrow night I will not be sleeping in this bed....I walk outside to meet with Lili; she lives around the block. We meet up with Leonardo in front of Cafam (a grocery store) to hop on a bus headed for El Candalrie, an older district I haven't visited yet. As we walk around "The Cathedral", Lili looks for a ring in the market and I snack on one of those waffle treats they sell in the streets. It has arequipe, some cream sauce, and blackberry jam. It was pretty good, super sweet and mercilessly messy. Eventually we make our way down the street in pursuit of Cuban cigars. Thank goodness for Leonardo; he finds them. Now we're off to a mall. ATM. Coffee. Shopping. I get ... read more
January 8th 2009
So today, uneventful. Seems that is how my trip will end. Not complaining. Everyday can't be an adventure, and look at all the great things I've been able to do. Leonard picked up me again at 2 today, and we met Lizbeth where she works to hang out for the afternoon. We went to Exito to get another gift, and then returned to Lizbeth's house. Exito is a supermarket, but also like a Walmart. Back at her house, we had homemade grape juice and it was awesome. We ended up watching the Kingdom, which is really intense. Leonardo loved it. Afterward, we decided that I had to go to the all-important Crepes and Waffles for dinner since I hadn't been since I got here. Apparently its the best restaurant in Bogota, and there is always a ... read more
January 7th 2009
How glorious it feels to lay in bed until 11:30. I haven't really slept in since I got here. Not that I've bee deprived of sleep either. Didn't do a whole lot this morning Surfed the web, worked on a mixtape playlist. Diego's dad came back from work and we ate lunch together that Diego's mom had fixed. It was chicken and rice, and I had to force down some more fried plantains. But I'm so thankful for the meals. I don't know what hostess gift can ever repay them. Leonardo picked me up at 2, and we went to the church office; Monica works there, so we sat in her office. While they discussed youth ministry things, I read chapter 2 of Irresistible Revolution and got back in the internet. At 5 we took a ... read more
January 6th 2009
It's safe to say that today was not what I expected. I woke up at 8:30 and got ready, and of course Diego's mom insisted that I sit down and eat the cereal I was going to take out the door. I waited on the street for an hour to find out Mauricio was running late. Went back to the house for another 10 minutes before we finally got on our way. It as me, Mauricio, Leonardo, and Nadia. I was under the impression that we were on our way to the place for paragliding, but I was getting the sneaking suspicion that we weren't actually going there. Finally I found out we were going to Panaca Sabana, the animal farm park. I was little upset and disappointed, but I wasn't going to let that ruin ... read more
January 5th 2009
There is a little yappie dog barking his head off right outside my window. He better hope he's done squealing by the time I finish this journal entry. So at 8 am, I awake to Diego telling me that Leonardo will be picking me up at 10:30, so much for sleeping in. Once I had fallen back to sleep Diego's mom came and proceed to tell me something in Spanish, which I took to be I'm leaving. I wake up again at 9:30 only to find her still there. Oh well, I guess I don't understand as much as I think. I get ready and find a lukewarm breakfast waiting for me downstairs. I told Diego to tell his mom she didn't need to cook for me. I make sure to eat it all before heading ... read more
January 4th 2009
Quite an interesting day. 8:45: I'm rolling out of bed and doing my best zombie impression on the way to the shower. This Sunday, it's Diego who is running late. Diego's parents drop us off at church, and we slip into the back to begin singing as if we had been there the whole time. All the songs except one were familiar worship songs, so I knew what the general ideas were, even though they were still in Spanish. I was extra unfocused this morning. It didn't help that all I could think about was what I didn't like about the service, how midtown did it a different way. It's a different culture; you really can't compare the two. Afterward, we hung around and talked to all the people Diego knew. Leonardo was finally back in ... read more
January 3rd 2009
The days are slowing down, which isn't a bad thing considering that I leave in a week. I don't understand how time can go by so quickly and so slowly at the same time. Perception is an odd thing; I guess it really is all relative. So today, we hung out at the house until after lunch. Diego's aunt and uncle and I'm assuming his cousins came by, and we all ate lunch together. It's always awkward meeting more of his family, but his aunt seemed really nice. We had a traditional soup called ajiaco, which contained chicken, corn, peas, and I think they were potatoes. Rice and a big slice of avocado were on the side. I put way to much salt on the avocado and made it harder to eat than without any salt ... read more
January 2nd 2009
What an easy, relaxing day. so I woke up this morning and ate some breakfast with Diego, and then had nothing to do until about 2. This was actually good because I finally got the rest of my journal entries on the travel blog. I also bought the rest of White Ladder by David Gray on iTunes (why didn't I do this earlier?). Diego was getting his hair cut during all of this, so when he was finished we went to El Corral for lunch. I had a Colombian style burger; it was topped with a fried egg and sauteed onions. I didn't really eat the onions, but the burger was good. However, I don't know what all the fuss was about. It wasn't the best burger I had ever eaten. They're all over Bogota though ... read more
January 1st 2009
"So this is the new year, and I don't feel any different." So this morning we woke up early to head for Girardot, Colombia, southwest of Bogota. That is where Diego's aunt lives. It took about two and a half hours to get there. We drove through even more amazing countryside, winding around large forested mountains. I saw things you only find in the pages of National Geographic. There are some beauties that cannot be captured in pictures. There are some places that cannot be understood in a photo. you have to be there, live it, smell it as the air rushes in the car window, taste it on the tip of your tongue. You have to be able to see it in your peripheral vision. Thus, my pictures will not allow you to see what ... read more
MrMendoza88
| Joined | June 11th 2008 | Trips | 0 |
| Last Login | March 24th 2009 | Followers | 0 |
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