I arrived in Medellín, Colombia yesterday, and have spent the past 30 or so hours just trying to take everything in. I’ve tried (with an approximate 65% success rate) to participate in the daily activities of a Colombian. I went to a supermarket and stocked up on groceries. I went out to dinner, took the metro, and worked out at a gym this afternoon. After that, I wandered about and went to a soccer game in El Estadio, an incredible sports complex with the best views I’ve experienced thus far–beautiful mountains in view in every direction you look. Basically, I’ve been trying to get a handle on how one conducts life in a South American city. It could be because I haven’t started working yet, or because I came straight from New York, but things move at a much more leisurely pace here. I’m not quite accustomed to that yet–still trying to cross the street with a blinking red light, still trying to schedule every aspect of my day, still obsessing over maximizing efficiency when going about my errands–but I think I’ll eventually adjust.

Thus far the people here have been exceptionally kind and welcoming, but woefully Spanish-speaking. By that I mean they don’t speak any English, and they don’t seem to make any adjustments to their speech (or its speed) once they recognize I’m not quite fluent (and I’m going to assume they recognize that based on my many failed attempts to communicate myself). Not that I view this as a bad thing. I think it’s great and will help my Spanish-speaking skills immensely. It just makes being in a new place a little harder. But then again, if I wanted easy I would have gone to, I don’t know, England or Australia? So to this particular obstacle, I say bring it on, but patiently and with the utmost sympathy for my poor communication skills. Con mucho gusto!

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