Closing Car Doors Like Colombians

March 18th, 2011

It’s hard not to stand out here in Colombia. I’m a 6’3” American with a lumberjack beard and a thick accent I just can’t seem to get rid of. With all of the fun Gringo stigmas I get to be associated with as we walk the streets of Medellín, one of my favorite stereotypes (and one that we have for good reason) is how we close car doors.

We’ve discovered that, for whatever reason, the car doors are considerably lighter here, so when we shut them with the same force as we would shut an American car door, there’s the expected loud slam but it’s followed by a wincing sound from the car’s owner. For example, when I closed my first Colombian car door coming off the plane, our cousin Pedro cringed and said “Hey primo, watch it with the door, man. Don’t slam it like a Gringo.”

Whenever we get into a cab here in Medellín, we always notice the driver eying us as we close the door as if bracing himself for the pain-inducing Gringo slam. Some politely remind us to close the door softly while others have taken to posting reminders on the doors (one was actually written in English!). Sometimes drivers have even reached their arm allll the way over the the opposite side of the car to catch the door as we close it and finish the job themselves.

For visitors new to the country, it’s inevitable that they’re going to slam some doors and unintentionally irritate some taxistas. It’s not their fault, they don’t know. That’s why we’re doing our part to inform the Gringo masses of their inevitable future folly and hope that we can one day shed this ugly reputation…one softly closed door at a time.

So fear not, globe-trotting Gringo! The next time you find yourself in Medellin (and we hope that’s soon!), we’ll remind you to “cierre suave” and together we can shock the taxi driver universe!

Going on a Wild Turkey Chase in Medellín, Colombia

December 13th, 2010

WARNING! This story contains brief descriptions of a live turkey being killed in order for us to have it for Thanksgiving. If you find that subject distasteful or perhaps unsettling, you may not want to read on.

Hola! How is everyone enjoying the holiday season? I hope you’re getting to enjoy some time relaxing with family, time away from work, hopefully stress-free travel, and especially some delicious foods. I know it’s about a week too late, but I still wanted to relate to you a great experience that happened back before Thanksgiving. Let me explain…

Back in early November, we were looking ahead to achieving two major life accomplishments in the same meal: both hosting our first Thanksgiving as a married couple in another country and being the ones to put those delicious, comfort foods on the table. We couldn’t do it alone, but we got help in a most unconventional way. Instead of a full house of familial workers sharing traditional recipes and warm stories, our help came in the form of US care packages, hand-delivered from friends traveling to Colombia. They sacrificed sacred suitcase space in order for us to have so many of the Thanksgiving staples we otherwise would be going without. And for that we are extremely thankful.

They brought the classic Thanksgiving staples like green bean casserole, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and stuffing fixings, among others. The only thing they couldn’t fit in their luggage was a turkey, which I could obviously get in Medellín, right? Well, Medellín proved extremely fickle about producing on her end of the bargain.

Getting our Thanksgiving turkey was one of the biggest challenges I’d faced since moving to Medellín 11 months ago. I started out where anyone in my position would: the meat section at the super market. Unfortunately, after a translation error and a quick trip to the sliced meats section, I returned and clarified that I was looking for a whole turkey, one to feed a crowd. He chuckled and told to come back in December (turkeys are big for Christmas here). But then he suggested that if I was up for it, I could just go to the forest and kill one. We shared a laugh.

A few days later, I was downtown and I had the opportunity to investigate with one of the city’s high-end butcher shops. Surely they would have the missing piece to our Thanksgiving puzzle. Sadly, they didn’t. And don’t call me Shirley.

After that additional disappointment, I called the few remaining specialty grocery stores and various out-of-work magicians I thought might have or know how to procure our missing turkey. Sadly, still had no luck finding our bird.

At this point, I was about ready to give up and make the disappointing but still delicious switch to a pork roast. But a fortuitous trip to the local fruit market changed everything and our luck turned around. We were hosting a guest at our bed-and-breakfast in Medellín and during the Fruit Tasting Tour, while getting turned down by the dozens of butchers in the meat section of the market, one of them tipped us off as to where we might find a turkey.

Half excited but still a little skeptical based on my string of failures up to this point, I heeded their advice and went to the live animal section of the expansive market. Within seconds of arrival, a nice young man named Ronal came up and asked me what I was looking for. (I’m telling you, great service in this country!) I told him “pavo” which is the Spanish word for ‘turkey’. Well apparently “pavo” also means something else because he led me over to a confused looking peacock. I had to convince him I hadn’t come to the Minorista to find a peacock and after that, much to my surprise and sincere delight, he showed me what I had searched the entire city to find: our Thanksgiving Turkey. Increible!

From there, it was a simple matter of negotiating the price and Ronal told me I could come back whenever to pick it up. A week later, on the actual day of Thanksgiving when most of those now reading this would probably have been enjoying their own Thanksgiving turkey, we went down to the Minorista market on what was for us a normal Colombian Thursday and picked out our turkey much like one would pick out a lobster. Ronal let me hold several different turkeys by their legs to see which one was heavier and I picked the winner (or loser if you’re the turkey). While Marcela opted to look at puppies, hamsters, and ducklings, I went with Ronal up some stairs to a back room and watched the turkey get “prepared”. Without getting into too many details, I’ll just say it was certainly brutal to watch but it was completely humane, and Timmy the Turkey went with dignity. The fact is that most humans eat some sort of meat and in order to have that privilege, at some point a live animal needs to become a dead animal. After the butcher finished with the turkey, he wrapped it in several large, plastic bags, passed it over, and I went to share the long-awaited spoil with Marcela.

We returned home in a cab with Timmy sitting between us, still warm to the touch. Timmy’s death was not in vain, nor was the exhaustive search throughout Medellín. Timmy was delicious and juicy with a crisp exterior and made the perfect centerpiece at our authentic American Thanksgiving in Colombia.

Happy Holidays y feliz año Nuevo!

*A special Thank You! to Alexis, Jon, and Rin for taking the risk to traffic food into Colombia on our stomach’s behalf!

Feria de las Flores Day 5: Orchids, Birds, and Flowers

August 25th, 2010

We are in the middle of the Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) Medellin’s biggest annual festival, and one of the most popular in all of Colombia. Everyday we’ll be bringing you multiple blogs and videos about the events we’re attending, such as concerts, parades and exhibitions. Viva la Feria!

The event everyone recommended we checkout during the feria was Orquideas, Pájaros y Flores (Orchids, Birds and Flowers) at the Botanical Gardens.  We beat the crowds by attending in the early afternoon on a weekday but still had to compete for space to see the thousands upon thousands of gorgeous flowers.  I never realized how many varieties of orchids existed, but I’m sure I saw just about every single one of them after an afternoon at the gardens.  In addition to the orchids there were tropical flowers, roses, lilies, gerbera daisies, chrysanthemums, and I could go on and on.  Take a look at some of our favorite flowers and don’t forget you can see more on our Picasa page.

Check out our Picasa albums to see our Feria de las Flores gallery as well as pictures from our other adventures in Colombia.

Read more about Feria de las Flores here.

Feria de las Flores, Day Two: Pet Parade

August 6th, 2010

We are in the middle of the Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) Medellin’s biggest annual festival, and one of the most popular in all of Colombia.  Everyday we’ll be bringing you multiple blogs and videos about the events we’re attending, such as concerts, parades and exhibitions.  Viva la Feria!
Get ready for a post that will break your heart with adorableness.  Day two featured the Desfile de Mascotas (Pet Parade) which was a torturous place to go for a girl that wants a dog sooooo bad.  Enjoy the cuteness!

Check out our Picasa albums to see our Feria de las Flores gallery as well as pictures from our other adventures in Colombia.  We’ll write about experiences after the craziness of the fair is over.

Read more about Feria de las Flores here.

Feria de las Flores, Day One: The Horse Parade

August 5th, 2010

We are in the middle of the Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) Medellin’s biggest annual festival, and one of the most popular in all of Colombia.  Everyday we’ll be bringing you multiple blogs and videos about the events we’re attending, such as concerts, parades and exhibitions.  Viva la Feria!

There’s no better way to kick off a weeklong festival than with 8,000 horses and their possibly inebriated riders gallivanting down the highway—let the festivities begin!

Check out our Picasa albums to see our Feria de las Flores gallery as well as pictures from our other adventures in Colombia.  We’ll write about experiences after the craziness of the fair is over.