Day 2

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Day 2

So Brittany, what did you do during your second day in Colombia? I ate – a lot.

Fresh fruit, delicious fish, yuca, empanadas…

At every house you stop, they offer you a fresh fruit juice, coffee or tea. Every single one. And then of course comes food, which – how can you say no?! It’s delicious – always. I am almost 100% positive that I am going to return to the US at least 20 lbs heavier. My mission for this week – find a gym.

Fun fact about the streets here, they are all numbers, there is a calle 40, Carrera 40, and avenida 40. They also have streets called Calle 26 B (I’m sure there is a 26 A too) and inexplicably, Carrera 38 runs right into Avenida 40 and they become one, I think? My already horrible sense of direction is going to be put to the test. Needless to say, I will not be travelling alone anywhere because I will get lost immediately.

Another thing that’s really cool here, basically everyone works. No one just stands on the corner and asks for money unless they have a severe handicap. They have people who paint themselves and act like statues until after the light has been red for a little while when they come alive and collect the pocket change from the people stopped in cars. I saw a guy jumping on a slack line tied between two street lights who would take a break to collect money from pedestrians and the people driving. Everyone is selling something all the time.

People walk through the streets with fruits, vegetables, ice cream, hot dogs, empanadas, tamales, arepas, gas,flowers - literally anything and everything you would consider buying to eat, or cook, someone will pass by your house and sell it to you. As they go down the street they yell out what they are selling. However, they all have distinct ways of announcing what they sell. Some of them use a really nasal voice and speak really quickly, others almost sing what they are selling, and one guy recorded his son and plays his young son’s voice on a loop trying to sell the lechona (I’ll make a whole food entry) his dad is pushing around in a cart.



While it seems chaotic and crazy, it is quite refreshing that at least these people are working for money as opposed to all the beggars you see by bridges and intersections in the US. A lot of the things that we have replaced in the US with machines and computers, they still have people for. They have fresher food, more human interaction and less unemployed people. I’m not saying that it’s perfect here, and that there is no poverty, but it’s a completely different culture and I think it’s pretty cool.

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