The Colombian Shuffle

---

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 Bogota. Him and Mauricio (Andres) were trying to figure out what all they were going to do with me since Diego has to go back to work this week.

Eventually, Diego's parents picked us back up, and we all went to Cali Mio for lunch. We had a mixture of fried chicken and "broasted" chicken, which was kind of like roasted. I tried another plantain dish, and didn't like it; it incorporated cheese, which had me skeptical from the get-go. Since it's Sunday, we spent the rest of the day chillin' at the house. I finally sent a bunch of emails and messages I had been putting off. Then before I knew it, Diego was telling me to get my things together because we were going to Mauricio's for pizza. This coming week I was to stay at the Bunch's since Diego would be busy all day.

Andres Bunch Sr. is the pastor for their church; I like him alot; however, it was strange seeing him off the stage and out of a suit. Also at the house was Grandma Bunch, Senora Bunch, and Nadia (although I think she goes by something else, haha), Mauricio's girlfriend from Argentina. Overall, I felt less awkward at the Bunch's; I think because there were just more people in the house. Although, Mauricio and his girlfriend were all over each other though, haha! And I seemed to be the only one that noticed. I think PDA is more common and acceptable in Colombia as a whole.

Moving on, Nadia began cooking pizza for all of us from scratch. During this time, Mauricio fixed a traditional southern South American drink (mainly in Argentina) called Mate. I enjoyed it, especially when he added some coffee. It's fixed in this tradition little pot that you can only really get in Argentina and with a bomba (basically a filtered metal straw). Soon, Mauricio and Diego started acting sketchy and moving around the house a lot. I didn't say anything because I figured they would tell me in time...and they did. So apparently the Bunch's were already full, and they had to go to a last minute funeral tomorrow, so I'm back at the Colmenares. I feel like such a burden; I hope Diego's parents don't hate me. I was looking forward to living with Mauricio too, but I need to be grateful that I have a place to stay at all (free at that).

Anyway, the pizza was delicious; it had ham, onions, corn, and boiled egg. I had never had corn or boiled egg as a topping before. Once Diego and I finally returned home, I got to talk to Traylor a while online. It was much needed and helped me sort out all the ways God has been doing work on my soul this trip. I truly understand how distorted America's view of wealth is. We are so rich we don't look at things the way the rest of the world does. Most of the middle class neighborhoods here would not look middle class in America. This was even my initial reaction. However, as I've lived here and seen how life works, everything is just more efficient. They have just the right amount of space, just the right amount of food, etc. And the house is really decorated and detailed inside. We think we know, but we can't understand until we actually experience another culture. God is working in many other ways, but I'll save that for future entries. For now, it's good night.

---