Headed home

Wow. It's actually here. For 2 months I've had the date of April 3rd in my mind as the end of my trip but it always seemed soooo far off. And now it's here. And I have to go home. And I don't want to. It may sound strange, or even perhaps a bit cold, but I don't get homesick... ever. That doesn't mean that I don't miss PEOPLE but that, during my two months here, I can honestly say that not once did I wish I wasn't here or wish to be back home instead. I don't know if that's normal or not, but that's how I am. BUT, now that the moment is actually becoming a reality, that it's nearly tangible that I'll be back in my own cushy bed at this time tomorrow (and that I'll get to have a HOT shower!) and since I've been in contact with my friends/family about making plans for this weekend and the coming week (it still seems totally surreal to me that THIS weekend I'll be hanging out with people in PA), I am getting really excited to see everyone! Especially the kiddos. I had a conversation with my sweet niece Alison via IM last nigth and it made me REALLY miss her... and all the kids. They're good stuff, I say!

As for my last day in Bogota, I spent it dreading the trip home, organizing my stuff and buying coffee. Lord only knows how I will manage to carry what feels like 150 pounds of coffee beans but no doubt I'll find a way and it will ALL be worth it once I'm home and drinking a fabulous cup of cafe with the official seal of Juan Valdez on it.

This evening Lina had a meeting to attend so one of her friends that I had met previously, Cristian, took me out. We went to a cute little outdoor place in a historic section of town that I hadn't seen before. And I had a brownie! It's been a mighty loooong time since I've had a brownie and it was goooood. I also had a glass of hot, steaming wine. Mmmmm.

I've made a few observations since I've been here. Of course, I have forgotten half of them (why, WHY don't I write things down?!) but here are the ones that come to mind at this point:

1. Here they have a soup man. Think of the ice cream truck but instead of a truck with ice cream and tinny piped-out music, it involves a guy on a bike riding around town tooting a bicycle horn vending piping-hot, homemade soup. Not sure why, but it cracked me up.

2. Because cell phones are very expensive here and most people can't afford them, some very ingenious people have come up with the idea of "selling" their cell phone use on the streets. Everywhere you go, you see people just hanging around, with a sign advertising the price they will charge you to use their personal cell phone per minute. The first time Lina used one, I wasn't really paying attention and all of a sudden I see her walk up to a stranger and he just hands her his cell phone and she starts chatting away. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a complete stranger would just hand over his cell phone and I just stood there, incredulous at the kindness of the Colombian people. And then I saw money being exchanged.

3. From Lina's own lips, if you are told something will take one month (for example, if you place an order from a store or for a service to be done), it will take at least three. Time seems fairly irrelevant here, as it was in Chile. It seems the same rules apply here in that if you invite someone to your home for dinner at 8, you would be shocked if they showed up before 8:30... and you sure wouldn't have anything prepared until then. Yeah, I can dig the way time works down here.

4. I've already mentioned the 'pico y placa' thing (the driving restrictions) and the system of paying all of your bills in person at each office. But they merit mentioning again since I can't get over either of them (and because Betty spent a couple hours this afternoon going around to the various places to pay her bills so it made me think of it again)!

Also, the random picture of the food is of the breakfast I had most mornings here: FRESH squeezed orange juice, eggs, FRESH bread from the neighborhood bakery, arepas (a traditional item here made of cornmeal: oh so good), caldo soup and coffee. Sho' beats Corn Flakes!

I dig Colombia. And, mostly, its people. Lina and Betty couldn't have been nicer or more welcoming and hospitable to me. They went out of their way to accomodate me and offer me a great experience while I was here. They provided me a place to stay, cooked for me, drove me around, took me to their country house, showed me how to make the Colombian hot chocolate and arepas (oh so good) and they gave generously of their time to spend it with me and include me in their lives. It just seems innate to them to be hospitable and to make guests feel both completely honored AND like a part of the family, all at the same time. It's a great quality to have. I will certainly miss them... but I will just as certainly be back to visit them! For now, back to Lancaster....