Advertisement
Published: December 7th 2006
Edit Blog Post
I am leaving behind places of incredible splendour and awe-inspiring beauty, I am leaving behind people who will remain dear to my heart and friends for a life-time, I am leaving behind great times spent in Colombia's most beautiful cities , I am leaving behind EAFIT,a great place to work , a great environment and great colleagues. I am leaving behind good times, as well as bad ones, great memories, and not so great ones!
I am leaving all these behind and I am taking all these with me. Colombia, with all my experiences here will always be part of me, part of my personal and professional growth, I owe sooo much to this country and to her people!
I am leaving behind my Colombian mother Ofelia who honest to God! made me feel in her home like her own daughter, taking care of me and worrying about me and my well-being.
I am leaving behind my Colombian brother, Nevy who is the funniest and sweetest Sanmario alive and I will miss gossiping with him and going dancing with him!
I am leaving behind the AIESEC chapter in Santa Marta with nice people who still have
a lot to learn about dealing with trainees and learning about multiculturalism.
I am leaving behind my best friend on the coast Sindy, whose name I have always spelt Cindy, although it is Sindy.( soory for that :P ) Enjoy Turkey!! I know I did!!
I am leaving behind La Puerta where I used to go dancing every single Friday and Saturday night and where I used to shock everybody by dancing on the tables and window frame and where I would get a big hand of applause for being a European costeña :PP!! and Rene, the nice French owner who would indulge all my whims 😊).
I am leaving behind my kids who I loved and hated , who made my life a living hell and made me smile so many times saying the sweetest or nastiest things on Earth. I will miss even Paulina and Victor.
I am leaving behind Tatiana, Adriana and Gloria and our recesses together, gossipping and talking all day long about men and men and then some more about men!
I am leaving behind the sand and the beaches and my eternal phobia against water .
I am
7.12.2006- Los Alumbrados
I just love this cosmopolitan photos - Muntenegro, Colombia, Holland, New Zealand, Romania :) leaving behind costeños who shamelessly expect women to pay for drinks when going out and if married, women to support the family.
I am leaving behind Colegio Bilingue, a zoo in the literal sense of the word, with spoiled brats that I grew to love and care about.
I am leaving behind a macho culture where the woman is not respected and which I will never understand.
I am leaving behind noisy , loud people, all speaking at once and nobody listening.
I am leaving behind a culture where getting pregnant at 14 y.o.is quite normal, but where topless on the beach is outrageous!
I am leaving behind great strolls on the beach late at night and drinking beer , watching the sunset and feeling a bit melancholic.
I am leaving behind a life of hell in Santa Marta where the only things keeping me going where my Mom , Kathrine and La Puerta.
I am leaving behind costeñas girls so eager to land a foreigner, that they would sleep with whoever looks a bit gringo , hoping to escape this country.
I am leaving behind 6 months of misery that I
don't regret, because I grew so much and even if I am merciless when it comes to talking about the culture on the cost, I realize Colombia is much more than the cost and the relationship with Colombia is one of love-hatred , it can't be only love, it can't be only hate, I have to be honest to myself when I write all these and to the ones that know me or the ones who got to know me through reading my blogs.
I am leaving behind Medellin and I am taking Medellin forever with me in my heart. I am leaving behind the great parks and the beautiful quiet barrios and the the hills and the skies and the weather which made me feel so happy , the sun smiling at me every day, making me feel safe and secure and confident .
I am leaving behind true happiness , working or hanging out with friends.
I am leaving behind good friends from Sweden and Holland and Germany and Switzerland and Canda and US and England and New Zealand and...so many other countries, great times going partying or just hanging out.
I am
leaving behind EAFIT, a great place, where I taught and where I learned a lot, where I felt really appreciated by the coordinators and the students and by my fellow colleagues.
I am leaving behind Caro, my Colombian alter-ego and our never-ending chats about men.
I am leaving behind my Spanish classes with Dora and Miguel, two great Spanish teachers.
I am leaving behind Thaico, my favourite place in Parque Lleras.
I am leaving behind arequipe which made me put on sooo much weight.
I am leaving behind the Spanish Subjunctive which is a pain in the neck.
I am leaving behind Colombian men who I will never miss , honest to God I am not trying to be mean or obnoxious, it is the mere truth, maybe I just wasn't lucky enough to discover any interesting ones.
I am leaving behind AIESEC EAFIT and AIESEC EIA , two of the very best chapters in Colombia,and very likely, in the entire world, with great people, clever, dynamic, and helpful. Way to go, guys!
I am leaving behind Paula, my friend and student, who made many of my afternoons a nightmare and tested
my patience to extremes , but whom I have to thank a lot for being an extraordinary friend and a brave girl!
I am leaving behind Samuel and Ranko, two great guys with hearts of gold, trying to help Colombia with the little that they can and achieving great things!!!
I am leaving behind my sweet kiwi friend, Andrew whose company I really enjoyed my last days in Colombia.
I am leaving behind Angela, my crazy mentor , great fun and a great woman!
I am leaving behind vallenato and salsa and merenge and going back home only with a tiny bit of improvement.
I am leaving behind so much and I am taking all of this with me, every little thing, every little flavour and smell and touch, and smile and tear and hand shake, I am taking with me a year full of happiness and sorrow, so very well defined, 6 months on the cost, hating Colombia and 6 months in Medellin, loving Colombia. Was it God's will? Was it destiny? Was it meant to be? I don't know, these are endless topics, I am leaving with
ganas de volver, hoping to get back in the near future, I don't know what tomorrow might bring, so I can only say for now that I am happy and I had a great experience here, and if there is somebody I really need to thank to is myself- what a big head, right?? no, seriously, for being a Taurus, stubborn, but optimistic in my stubbornness, not giving up on Colombia and discovering what Colombia is really all about. Colombia has made me go through different phases and experience a wide range of feelings, feelings which I would have never imagined I could go through... despair, passion, distress, rage, love, admiration, excitement, thrill, happiness, bliss, awe, it's almost like a list, but sometimes I guess it is difficult to put feelings on paper...
Just 2 more weeks left in my dear COLOMBIA....
Advertisement
Tot: 0.331s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 68; dbt: 0.0908s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Sarah Stafford
non-member comment
hola de la costa :)
Hey Mona...great post! ahhhh, for better or worse, we have all come to love Colombia, haven't we? When are you leaving the country? Will you still be here for Christmas? I am coming down to Medellin...hope to see you if you are still there! If not, keep in touch, I'm so glad that I got to meet you! besitos de Barranquilla, Sarah