Some Good Things Must Come to an End

The saying usually goes, "All good things must come to an end", but I'm pretty sure that saying is completely ridiculous. I mean yes, Seinfeld isn't taping anymore seasons, but are sunsets, banana splits, and PJ pants going anywhere? I don't think so (to be said in annoyingly high, sing-songy voice). 

But yes, in this case, it's true - my wonderful South American adventure has come to an end. I had a safe, smooth flight home, and I can't even explain to you how amazing it felt to walk into Dulles Airport and understand everything everyone was saying. I practically ran up to the immigration desk and said, "Oh my God, this is so great. I'm going to understand everything you say!" The guy looked at me and was like, "Uh, are you bringing any drugs into the country?"

And while being back has been a bit disorienting - rediscovering my wardrobe (although that's a big word for such a sad selection), driving again (don't worry, I'm still a potential NASCAR recruit), and wondering how the hell gas prices dropped so drastically!...it's also like everything's just as I left it. I've hung out with a bunch of friends and family, and you just pick up right where you left off - the true sign of real friendship. 

So I guess this will be my last "Viaje a Sudamerica" blog entry :(. I've had so much fun writing this and sharing my experiences with all of you, and thank you for following along. Really! It means a lot to me. I actually had such a good time with this blog, my first, that I'm planning to start a new one. Check it out:

www.itsscrumdidilyumptious.com

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with peace, joy, and much love!

Cheers, 

Cara

Don`t Worry, Be Happy

It`s December 12 today, which means I`ll be home in one week!

During this trip I have met some great people, whom I truly hope to maintain friendships with in the future, and I`ve completely enjoyed being a part of the Matiz family here in Colombia (although God knows my liver hasn`t!). But I must say that I really miss all my family and friends back in VA and beyond, and can`t wait to return and see everyone. 

I went away on this trip for several reasons: 1) I´ve always had a desire to travel and experience other cultures (don`t think I don`t already have a growing list of future destinations! :)), 2) I´ve always been attracted to latin culture (the music, colors, dancing, food, spirit...it really suits me), and 3) I needed change in my life. 

Oh, and I got change! In one month I went from stressed-out legal publisher living in Charlottesville, confused about love and unsure what to do with my life to...free-as-a-bird unemployed 27 year-old, living at home and unsure what to do with my life. Do you see the common thread? :)

The good thing about quitting my job and moving home was that I got the ¨clean slate¨ I so desperately needed.  But as anyone that`s ever been shopping with me knows, I can be extremely overwhelmed and indecisive when there are too many options - which is exactly what a clean slate presents! ¨Where do I want to live? What do I want to do?¨ I didn`t have a clue. 

But after this trip everything`s all good because I still don`t have a clue! :) But the difference is that I`m more okay with that now. Before I left, I felt like I had to make big moves to be happy - move away from Charlottesville/VA/the east coast to a ¨better¨ place. Make a sacrifice to get that ¨perfect¨ job. And I`m not sure when or how, but this trip made me realize that`s not necessarily the case. 

From the places I visited and people I met, I learned a very valuable lesson that I already knew, but couldn`t accept before...that happiness isn`t a result of circumstance, but of attitude. I met people that worked their entire lives only to live in mud huts and barely support their families...but played volleyball with a piece of string and deflated ball and laughed and had a blast! Yes, it`s good to strive for growth and advancement, but it`s more important to pause a bit and enjoy what you`ve already got...however little or great that is. 

I know I know. You are wondering where I`m going with this, and I`m sorry I sound like a pep talk tape you listen to in your car. The point of this little ditty is that now that I`ve been outside of my world for a bit, I`ve realized that I already have everything I need to be happy. Yes, there are a million places to live and jobs to do (and let`s not forget about men to date! :)), and it`s going to be interesting to see where my path leads me, but my focus when I get home isn`t going to be on those things (as it was before). I`m just looking forward to enjoying my family, friends, and life (and the rest will fall into place). That is very much the Colombian spirit here - celebrate everything and anything! I like that. :)

The Colombian Way

Since I last wrote, I've continued to enjoy my time here in Colombia with the Matiz clan. In fact, the little piece of Nana in me thinks maybe I'm having ¨too much fun.¨ 

If the last 2 months of my travels could be described as ¨a rugged yet rewarding adventure¨, my time here in Bogota would have to be ¨a fun, excessive vacation filled with pampering.¨ 

***FUN***

Last Thursday my cousin Veronica had her first solo art exhibition at a gallery downtown (check out her sculptures and paintings here). I have to say we did work VERY hard during the days preceding the event, and if you should be tempted to ask me to help you wrap something in bubblewrap...don't! I will scream and pull your hair out. :)

The event was a great success. The gallery looked fantastic, there was a very good showing, and she sold at least 10 pieces (the sculptures were very popular). It was also a very nice party with tons of wine, beer, and delicious hors dourves (p.s. that word is a bad spellers worst nightmare).  The Matiz family definitely has the hook ups. They have an aunt who owns a HUGE chain of restaurants here called Crepes & Waffles. There are 53 locations in Bogota alone, and they are planning on opening 2 new stores. I ate there a couple days ago. The menu is all encompassing and Miguel wasn't exaggerating when he said that you could eat there everyday for 3 months and never repeat a dish. It's delicious (i.e. I finished off my meal with a crepe filled with Nutella, bananas and strawberries with ice cream...ahhh). Soooo, Crepes & Waffles catered the event with really yummy crepes and mini pitas. As for beer...well, they have an uncle who owns Bogota Beer Company (a microbrew and restaurant), so that covers that. I'm not sure about the origin of the wine, but apparently my uncle Miguel is involved in the distribution of that somehow. So this family definitely has food and beverage covered!

After the show we drank more wine and danced around the gallery (my selection of Madonna's ¨Nobody's Perfect¨ was quickly vetoed). Then we went out and kept dancing until 6am. Let's just say that Friday was mostly a sleeping day. :) I mean, we needed at least one to recover before renting a mini-bus and heading north to Chai, home of the infamous Andres Carne de Res restaurant. I have never seen anything like it in terms of size, decor, and action. I mean, when you walk in they give you a strawberry and a shot of whiskey (ugh), and it only gets weirder from there. There were thousands of people there, all enjoying gigantic portions of meat, potatoes, and in our case...mojitos. The mojitos were so big that it took me an hour and half to drink it. Just in time to hit the dance floor. So we danced until we got hungry again and then bought soup and empanadas across the street - an Andres Carne de Res tradition. 

***EXCESSIVE***

If my description of ¨fun¨ wasn't ¨excessive¨ enough, let me just tell you that I have never ate and drank more in my life! I did a little kilo to pound conversion and found out a couple days ago that when I get home I'll be spending a lifetime at Lifetime to get back to a recognizable size. But I'm going to fall back on the old "you only live once¨ saying right now. What? We do! :) hehe

***PAMPERED***

Ok, let me describe a day in the life of Cara Unterkofler right now. I wake up whenever I want (10am would be considered ¨early¨). I get online (I have Sebastian's Mac all to myself) and check my email and go on Facebook to see what's new. When I get a little hungry I walk into the kitchen where Carmen is waiting to serve breakfast. I sit down and tell her in my awesome spanish what I would  like to eat, which is cereal (I heart cereal) with fresh fruit, a juice made of fruits I don't know but taste good, and a cafe con mucho leche (I didn't even drink coffee until I got here, but I didn't know how to say ¨no thank you¨ in a polite enough way...so now I drink coffee! :)). And if I wanted...I could have my breakfast brought into my room on a tray. I have never exercised this option, but if I was here long term, I could see cheesy eggs and toast in bed, in my future. 

When I return to my room, the blinds are open, the bed is made, and my dirty clothes are gone. I sit in my room and write in my journal, mess around online, and watch movies until my cousin wakes up or someone comes to get me. Then we go to The Club and work out, shower, have some lunch, return to the steam room for a couple hours (get a massage if you want), shower, and go home. When we return home we'll snack on empanadas and chocolate until either we go out to dinner or Carmen serves up a delicious meal (she is from the coast, so there's always lots of coconut rice, plantains, and stewed chicken or meat...or both!). And we'll wonder downstairs where another cousin of mine lives with her family and drink wine and eat more. I go to bed around midnight...wake up to find my bathroom was cleaned the day before and all my clothes have been folded and put into my drawers...and start all over! 

And it's difficult for me sometimes to ¨let¨ someone clean up my dishes or make my bed, because my mindset is, ¨I should just do this so that Carmen won`t have to.¨ But the fact of the matter is that is her job, and that`s how things work here. And while it is only a privilege the upper class have, I can see that unlike at home, no one is fighting over who's going to clean the dishes, no one is overly stressed because they have to run a bunch of errands in rush hour traffic after a long day of work. No, they have hired help and drivers that do that stuff for them. So they get to spend more time with their families and friends...and more time enjoying life. I don't know. I'm not prepared to draw up any conclusions, but it's very different. 

What I can say for certain is that for me to truly enjoy life's pleasures, I need to feel like I've earned it. I'm having the most amazing vacation here (it's incredible), but I couldn't live like this forever (i.e. not have a job and eat and drink all day). I'm actually looking forward to getting home and ¨getting to work¨. I`m not exactly certain what that will entail yet, but I know that after kicking my ass a little bit, a beer is going to taste twice as nice. 

Eat, Drink & Be Merry...Check!

Hola! Greetings from Bogota, Colombia!

 I don't have any profound thoughts or historical summaries to share with you (I know...thank God, right?), but I thought I would let everyone know that I've arrived in Colombia safely and am having a wonderful time here with the Matiz family. 

I've spent the last several days here with mi tio, Miguel, and mi prima, Veronica. And it is so weird because while I met them for the very first time on Saturday afternoon (I can't even believe that), it's like we've known each other forever. Miguel is so much like my dad it's scary (they are first cousins). The amount of food and drink they can consume is one of a kind, and Miguel makes the same ridiculous statements and funny expressions that I'm only accustomed to seeing at home. It's very comforting. haha

And Veronica and I are also very similar...I mean, besides the fact that she's an artist that looks like a supermodel. We clicked instantly and have many of the same tastes and interests. And speaking of tastes...I have NEVER eaten so much food in my life! There are so many delicious Colombian foods to try, and I've been doing my damnedest to work my way down the list: empanadas with fresh squeezed lime and salsa, ajiaco (chicken soup with potatoes, corn, avocado and cream), tamales de pipian (yellow potato tamales with chicken wrapped and steamed in banana leaves and then drizzled in peanut sauce), lula juice (a bitter fruit), oblea con arequipa (two huge thin waffers with a dulce de leche like sweet caramel in the middle), hot chocolate with cheese melted in the bottom, chorizo (and every kind of sausage you can imagine), and for lunch today I had Sancocho soup (with chicken, pork, yuca, sweet and regular plantains, corn, and rice). And I can't forget to mention my favorite - Refajo. It's a mixer of light beer and a sweet soda called Colombiana. Yum and so refreshing! 

And in between meals I've consumed more chocolate that most kids do on Easter. Have you ever seen one of those GIANT Toblerone chocolate sticks? Yea, we polished one of those off in a day! I'm gonna have so many cavities when I get home, which is really unfortunate seeing that I don't have any dental insurance anymore. Cool! The highlights of unemployment!

But other than eating, I have done quite a bit here since I arrived. On Saturday we went to the club, where I got a massage and spent 2.5 hours rotating in and out of the steam room (ahhh). Later that night we had a little fondu and wine dinner with some of Veronica's friends and went out to a club. Yesterday we spent the entire day touring the city and visiting different sites and museums (am I the only one that didn't know who Botero was?). And last night we drank wine and ate cheese and grapes while we decorated the Christmas tree and listened to carols. I enjoyed that tremendously and it made me excited about getting back home and enjoying a fire and egg nog with my family. 

Today we spent the entire day preparing for Veronica's first art exhibition (Thursday is the big day). It's being held at a gallery here in town and is a very big deal. Today we moved paintings and sculptures from one part of the house to the other to take photos for the gallery website and then we had to wrap every piece (all 29 of them) with bubble wrap. You should have seen the size of this roll. It was bigger than me...which for the reasons I've described above, is quite impressive. :)

So now we are waiting for Miguel to get home from work and we'll mozy down to the pub for some drinks and eats. 

Did I mention that my life is hard? TENGO MUCHO SURETE! That is certain. 

Leaving the Nest

I knew this day would come, but now that it's arrived it's a very strange feeling. I've been traveling with the Intrepid group for 2 months (many of the folks for the entire time). Together we've experienced other cultures, seen amazing sights, survived insane bus rides, toasted many beers, commiserated about stomach issues, and...most importantly, escaped the reality of life. But now it's time for many of us to part ways. 

We celebrated our last day in Santiago by making a visit to the largest Chilean wine producer - Concha y Toro vineyard. You may recognize one of their popular and moderately priced wine labels, Casillero del Diablo (The Devil`s Cellar). The label received it's name from a story that the owner made up many years ago to prevent thieves from pilfering his finest wines. He spread a rumor that the devil lived in one of the cellars. The story spread, the cellar became a legend, and not another bottle of wine went missing. And so the name stuck. 

We did the tour and tasting (btw, I was amazed to learn that even thought they export over 20 million cases of wine a year, they still hand pick all their grapes!) and then ended the afternoon with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a cheese plate in the sun....ahhhh. We then went back and enjoyed a couple more glasses of wine in the hostel courtyard before heading out to our last supper at a restaurant themed after one of my favorite movies - Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). If you have not seen that movie, you should rent it! The atmosphere of the place was very fanciful and the dishes were extravagant and delicious. I had a mini cauldron of linguini in a spicy seafood sauce that was to die for. And because I like consistency...I also had several glasses of wine. :)

The following day was a new beginning. I said my good-byes. Of course I had to write a couple cards and give out flowers and chocolates to the folks I'd been traveling with for awhile. Some people in our group REALLY looked out for me during this trip, and I wanted to make sure they knew how grateful I was for their generosity and friendship (good people...). But the day was all a bit of a rush (as I also squeezed in a visit to the Frida & Diego art exhibit), and before you knew it the group leader started his kick off meeting for the next leg of the trip, and my friend Braden and I were standing in the hotel lobby waiting for a cab to take us to the bus terminal. 

***

The morning my mom dropped me off at the airport to come on this trip, I had the closest thing to a panic attack that I've ever experienced. There I was about to get on a plane and go to a country I didn't know...and thanks to my great planning I didn't even have a hotel reservation in Quito! As we put our bags into the cab in Santiago I had a similar feeling come over me, but it wasn't fear. I just realized that at that moment I was starting a new chapter (one closer and closer to me having to face reality again). But I was ok with that. It's time to move on. And...I've still got 3 more weeks until I really need to figure out what I'm going to do with myself. :) Back to you Bob...

***

Because of our flight schedules, Braden and I both had a couple days to kill before flying out of Santiago. So we booked a hostel, bought some bus tickets, and took off for Valparaiso and Vina del Mar (two coastal cities right next to each other). It was so weird making our own arrangements after having a tour leader do everything for us for so long. We really had no idea how everything was going to turn out, but it went perfectly. 

Although, I will tell you that I was truly scared out of my mind when we arrived in Valparaiso at 10:30pm and the cab drops us off on a street corner and tells us that the hostel is down a windy, dark alley. To get an idea of where we were we asked where the beach was and he said, ¨There aren't really any beaches here". So there we were at the beginning of our "beach chill out trip" standing in the middle of the street with all our belongings and wondering if we were going to get mugged/killed before we actually found the hostel. Not a good feeling! Luckily a neighbor popped their head out and showed us that the hostel was in fact down the alley. 

Once we got into The Yellow House hostel everything was fine and Martin and his wife Lissett were the sweetest most helpful people we'd met at a hostel. Martin is an Aussie who came to Valparaiso for work, but stayed after falling in love with his spanish teacher. A cute and common story I'm sure. 

We had no real plans, but our days ended up being filled with fun and relaxation. We walked around Valparaiso (the hills are so steep that you have to take little wooden carts up and down to get anywhere), visited one of Pablo Neruda's houses (wow, that guy was out there!), ate TONS of seafood, took a boat ride around the harbour, went to the movies and saw "Body of Lies" (which should be called "Pile of Crap". I didn't like it and it makes Americans look like friggn' morons), went to the beach in Vina del Mar, ate a TON of mexican food (finally I had a real mexican meal!), and finished off the second day meeting Lissett's 5 baby bulldog puppies. 

As I write this, I feel like I'm describing some romantic vacation, but it couldn't have been any more opposite. Braden and I have become great friends and our conversations are usually centered around his love life (he's newly engaged) and what we both want to do when we grow up. The whole trip was great fun and a perfect segue into the next portion of my trip - Bogota!