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.
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