1. People are given clear, plastic gloves at restaurants when they order chicken wings, onion rings, French fries or anything that may leave a greasy feeling or smell
2. Awesome president that uses inventive techniques to change the cities:
a. hired “traffic mimes” to mock violators
b. instituted a “night for women” when men are asked to stay home and female cops policed 700,000 women out for open-air shows and events
c. helped get people to reduce their water use by doing an ad campaign where he steps out of the shower full of suds and turns off the water. Usage went down 40%
3. The metro system is cleaner, faster, wider and prettier then any other I have seen in the world
4. Peoples licensed plates have certain last digit numbers. These numbers are equal to a day. On this day, you are not allowed to drive your car in the cities. It must be parked. This has cut down on pollution and traffic. How cool!
5. A particular place, Andres:
a. They had guardian angels at their restaurants to drive people home so they do not drive drunk
b. They have hammocks outside of their club for people who need to sleep off a bit of drunkenness
c. They have 2 stickers they give to people: a heart and wings.. if you wear the heart, you are taken; if you wear the wings, you are free!
6. When leaving the bus station, you go to a taxi stand with a booth. You tell the clerk where you are going and she gives you a print out with the address and the price so that the drivers cannot cheat you (not that they would)
7. Salsa dancing in Cali – its like a mixture of swing and salsa!! Its AMAZING
8. People walk around in armies. You see families with 16 people taking a stroll down the side walk, everyone is holding hands or hugging and laughing. They go everywhere together and do everything together.
9. People party by dancing. They do not sit down and talk. Everywhere you go you will see restaurants where 1 or 2 couples are up in the middle of the restaurant doing a slow, romantic salsa together or you will find a small mariachi band on the street with a random group of people hanging out with them dancing.
10. Arepas: awesome thick corn tortillas that you eat shmeared with butter and cheese
11. Hot chocolate: best I ever tasted!
12. Motorcycles are like bicycles in NY.. run right through red lights.. so you have to be SUPER careful where you step and when!
13. Obeas? (maybe the wrong name) they are like flat round cardboard wafers and you have 4 stacked together and in between each layer is cheese, arequipe (like dulce de leche) and jam.. interesting and amazing combination
14. Only country in South America where its safe to drink water from the tap
15. The people
16. On the buses in Bogota, people would hop on and play music, or try to sell things. Kind of luck the subways. But here, everyone gave their respect and attention to these people and in many instances even clapped for them when they were finished!
17. Mullets in Medellin.. lots of them, girls and guys
18. Medellin- many of the early settlers were Spanish Jews fleeing the Inquisition. They divided their lands into small haciendas, which they farmed themselves, which was very different from the slave-based plantation culture that dominated Colombia. With their focus on self-reliance, they had little interest in commercial contact with neighboring regions. For this, they became known as hard workers with a fierce independent streak
19. Cocaine:
a. between 50,00 and 300,000 hecatres are cleared every year to grow coca plants
b. processing coca plants into cocaine is a hazardous job requiring chemicals including kerosene, sulfuric acid, acetone and carbide. These toxins are then dumped on the ground or in delicate streams and rivers
c. 1 in 20 Colombians have become displaces since the 1980’s (second only to Sudan) because they are caught in the crossfire between paramilitaries and guerilla forces. About 860 additional people become displaced because of their location on the drug transportation route
d. Colombians, as a rule, do not do Cocaine. Cocaine production has funded the ongoing civil war for decades and consuming Cocaine is perceived as supporting the conflict. The reason the business is so big is because of Westerners who have money who think its “fun” to do with friends, family, business partners, girlfriends, etc. For this reason, so many Colombians must suffer.
e. “Many mid-level drug traffickers because obsessed with mariachi gear. Most of it is kept out of public but if you see a mariachi, you might not want to ask him to show you what’s in his guitar case” – Lonely Planet
What I don’t like about Colombia
1. CHEESE BREAD
2. Getting stuck in the airport because of my own stupidity
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