Connected

Cell phones are a part of everyday life in the US. They're becoming more common here, too, but it's still difficult for many to pay for even the most basic cell phones. Cell phone plans are rare. Most Colombians have cells that allow you to pay as you go, and you're not charged for calls received. I got a cell that sends me text messages letting me know that if I add $ to my phone, it'll triple in value (so if i put $5 down, they'll give me $15 worth of minutes/texts). These deals are great for me, but makes me wonder how cell phone plans are faring in Colombia.

There are still options for those who don't have a cell phone or don't have the money to increase their minutes to make a quick call. It's really quite interesting because even in the smallest towns (those without running water and consistent electricity), you can still call someone from a community cell phone. In Colombia, there are vendors sitting outside at wooden tables operating with a single cell phone...or three. It costs about $150 Colombian pesos ($.08 US) per minute to make a domestic phone call on these cell phones. Lots of Colombians use this method of calling because it's just so convenient. It's also turning out to be a great business for small entrepreneurs. I've seen lines of 4-5 people waiting to talk on these communal phones on every other corner. Hell, they're way more popular than the Juan Valdez coffee shop down the street. I haven't thought to take a pic of these vendors yet, but I'll snap one of my own to add to this blog later. 
I've heard that in South Africa, communal cell phones are quite popular in small villages. These don't function exactly the same way, but the concept is similar. There is a communal cell phone that people can make calls from, but one person will take the role of an "operator" who notifies their neighbor down the street when they have a phone call. While this would be too difficult for a large city like Cartagena, it makes sense for a small village to have some sort of access to the outside world. After all, being "connected" is seen by many as a sign of progression for these countries. Colombians have found a way to stay "connected," in every sense of the word,...and are constantly working hard to change people's perspective of their country. In that respect, they're really not so different than you and me.

Salsa...the salsa (Spanish word for sauce).

Living in San Diego the past 6 years, you might say I have a slight addiction to Mexican food. I eat it on a regular basis and I'm sure you know how much spice Mexicans throw on everything from fruit to tacos. The majority of Colombians I know, on the other hand, can hardly stand spice. All my meals at Casa Sweety, the B&B i'm working at, are prepared without spice. Fish (usually fried), potatoes, a WHOLE lot of rice, platanos (fried, boiled, or sweetened), beef, chicken (usually fried), sancocho (fish soup), arepas (fried food made of primarily corn, egg, and cheese), chicken, beef, or egg soup, and lots of exotic fruits make up my diet here. It's definitely not the healthiest- notice I didn't mention any vegetables, and it definitely lacks a lot of spice. My co-workers (feel weird calling them that since they're more like family now) are always making fun of me because they think it's so strange to put so much aji (spice) on my food. They always have a worried look on their face when they watch me pour aji all over my food! haha
This is interesting to me because restaurants out here serve Caribbean food, which is a fusion of a lot of different cuisines and has so much flavor and tang (the lime and coconut together = YUM). I thought the Creole influence would make for a spicier cuisine, but the majority of people here steer away from it. They tend to stick to what they know, so you won't find too many ethnic foods out here. This is especially true of the non-elite, who must bulk up on rice in order to get enough food in their stomachs and don't have the $ to try these "fancy," ethnic foods or restaurants. 
Last week, my friend Sarah (who's from San Francisco) and I decided to make home-made salsa, guacamole, and chicken tacos for the three that were working that day. I had no idea how hard it would be to find tortillas, jalapenos, and tortilla chips in Colombia (we never did find black beans...). We ended up having to settle for individual-bag servings of tortilla chips (which were butter and cheese flavored, mind u) and pinto beans. Needless to say, my friends at the B&B were terrified to try it. All of them, except one, loved the salsa (which we dulled down quite a bit) and guacamole, but the chicken had "too many peppers in it." I'm talking about bell peppers, which you probably know have no more spice than a regular tomato! One girl didn't like the guacamole because of the spice, which i finally figured out was the garlic we had added.

Don't even get me started on how they feel about sushi here! I was lucky enough to have found a very good sushi place here called Tabetai. It's owned by a Venezuelan guy who is super friendly and ended up making me a mojito on the house last night (Cartagena is known for their delicious mojitos). If you're ever in the San Diego area, i highly recommend Tabetai. They have an awesome fusion of foods- next to try is their Temaki (cone-shaped sushi) filled with ceviche! The Colombians I know won't go near sushi though since it's relatively new around here and they prefer their fish fried.
Anyway, Sarah and I devoured our portion of the Mexican food we had prepared. It was a nice treat, which I doubt i'll be having more of in the near future. It did make me happy that my parents raised me to like all types of foods, or at least give them a try! I wonder if I would've ventured out to try ethnic food if i was raised by my Colombian family...
Viva Salsa (the sauce)!

Festival de Tambores

The second weekend I was here, I went with new friends to San Basilio de Palenque (a little village about an hour and a half from Cartagena) for their annual Drum Festival. What we discovered in this tiny pueblo, I will not soon forget! 
Palenque, a Spanish word for a fortified village of runaway slaves, is unlike Cartagena in MANY ways. They are trying to salvage their culture from outsiders and do so by hosting this drum festival every year and by continuing to speak in their native lengua (tongue), Palenquero. Palenquero may actually be the last resemblance of a Spanish-based lingua franca, which was used long ago slaves in South America.
Unfortunately, I didn't learn much about the language and definitely could not understand a word of it, but I learned a lot by watching and listening to the music and accompanying dances. From Afro-Colombian to Colombo-Indian, I learned about the progression and origin of styles of dance popular here in the Caribbean, specifically Colombia. It was absolutely beautiful- even through the rain (only rained for about 1 hour).
My friends and I watched the dances from 1pm - 2 am (some watched til 3 when the music seemed to take a break). Around 5am, a procession of drums went around the town waking up anyone who went to bed. We also saw races...not your ordinary races though. It looks difficult enough to balance a 10 lb container of water on your head, but try RUNNING with it on your head! ! These women actually had a race to see who could make it to the finish line the fastest without tipping the bucket over! Incredible!! The men had a potato sack race, which wasn't nearly as difficult; they were pretty quick though.

Palenque is out in the middle of nowhere, so there was NO breeze and it was SUPER hot there- I'd say 95-100, plus humidity. To cool off, my friends and i ventured to the river nearby. It was pretty muddy, but definitely worth a dip. I ended up being the only girl to jump off a 40ft cliff (estimation) into the 8-ft deep water below. Man oh man was it worth it! haha A bit scary climbing up to the top, but this trip is all about new, exciting experiences so i thought, "why not??" The way up is slippery from the mud and it's hard to secure your footing b/c it's steep...oh, and there's a fun little patch of barbed wire to cross too. I did it though, and about 5 minutes later (after several deep breaths), I proceeded to run and jump off the cliff...twice. :) 
Sleeping in hammocks with mosquito nets, meeting world travelers, learning about new cultures, taking bucket showers, dancing my a$$ off, swimming in muddy river water, hanging out in private drum circles away from the stage, and testing some of their (all-) fried cuisine was all part of the experience, and I loved every second! 

Cartagena

Finally made it Cartagena, Colombia after months and months of talking about it. Talking about doing something risky and actually doing it are very different. I realized that there are two types of people in the world- those who take risks and those who don't. I figured out which group I wanted to belong to, and went for it. I quit my job, sold most of my belongings, moved out, and left San Diego (maybe for good).

I started working for Casa Sweety, a small, gorgeous Bed and Breakfast in Cartagena, and taking classes at Nueva Lengua as soon as i got here. The deal I made with Sir Anthony (the owner of Casa Sweety) is that i'll live and eat here for free plus earn commission in exchange for updating his website, S.E.O, giving his clients free 1-2 hour orientation tours of the city,  teaching the staff English, and helping the girls to write emails to clients in English. I have plenty of ideas to improve Casa Sweety as a whole and have been exploring the possibility of opening a tour-guiding business.

I've been busy here while trying to get my head around the city, taking 4-hour Spanish classes, and finding myself a sofa bed, closet, air conditioner, cell phone, etc, so i haven't had much of a chance to start concentrating on the tour-guiding business. I hope to dedicate more of my time this week to figuring it out. It has been nice window shopping at small "shops" along the road to furnish my room, but I want to get started already! I see a lot of potential in this city if i just play my cards right.

Cheers to possibility! ;)