Tag Archives: colombia

07.20.13
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Taxis and pedis

Painted toes

I’m always getting told off in Colombia. They seem to be very good at giving a gentle scolding and I always end up feeling like a naughty child.

It happens a lot in taxis, especially at night. They’ll say to me: “What’s a mona [literal translation: monkey, used here to refer to blondes] like you doing out on your own at this time of night.”

They always catch me off-guard  and I tend to mumble something about having been at my friend’s house and now wanting to be at my house, hence being in a taxi. Then I get a lecture about how I should take more care because I’m such a blatant gringa and the baddies are waiting to pounce.

I got scolded again today. I went for a pedicure and once it was over the woman asked me if I’d brought my flip flops. I said no, I hadn’t and showed her my strappy sandals. She was clearly alarmed, but explained that they sell foamy cardboard flip flops for less than a pound. As far as I was concerned this was great news and totally resolved the very minor issue that had arisen.

She helped me into the flip flops to make sure I didn’t smudge her handy work. “Great, thanks!” I said naively. She still looked extremely concerned and told me I must go straight home (I didn’t) and then looked me in the eye and said, “Did you not think of this before you left home?”

What a fool I felt! The truth is, no! I had not thought about it. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell her this so I made up some bumbling lie about how I hadn’t planned to come to the salon and that it was just a super spontaneous, spur of the moment decision.

I left the salon and waddled along the pavementin the DIY flip flops that aren’t really fit for use.

06.27.13
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Spliffs and Sweets

Spliffs and sweets

They say our neighbourhood is only ever dangerous when there’s a “nacional” match at the nearby stadium.

Fans of Atletico Nacional, a Medellin football team, have unfortunately earned themselves a bit of a reputation here due to their behaviour on match days, particularly muggings. One friend of mine – who was robbed a whopping three times in the space of two weeks (hey Yannic!) – was targeted by nacional fans and now whenever I am alone and see one I cross the road or start walking in the other direction. I don’t know if this is necessary or not, but I’m a wuss and would rather not find out.

Many nacional fans can be spotted on match days selling chewing gum and sweets in order to raise a little cash to buy a ticket to the match. On the day depicted in this drawing I was walking along la 70 with Laura, Erick and Yan and it was swarming with people in green and white shirts. We had already bought a few bits and bobs from a few guys when this man approached us.

He asked us for some change and Erick handed over a couple of hundred pesos (less than 10p, I think). The dude seemed pretty pleased and in exchange offered us to choose a goody from his bag. The choice consisted of some individually-wrapped, hard-boiled sweets and a number of mini spliffs. We each took a hard-boiled sweet and thanked him very much.

06.07.13
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US and Colombian jazz groups unite for Medellin festival

(Colombia Reports) Medellin is due to host a three-day jazz festival featuring US and Colombian university jazz orchestras for the fourth year running.

The University Jazz Festival, coordinated by language / culture institute Colombo Americano and the Medellin city government, will present three nights of concerts displaying “different interpretations of Jazz, from the classic to modern,” from three Colombia and three American jazz bands. Read full story at Colombia Reports

06.06.13
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Colombians to replace Russian’s stolen bicycle

 (Colombia Reports) Citizens of Bogota are donating money to buy a replacement bicycle for a Russian tourist whose vehicle was stolen in Colombia’s capital, halfway through an epic trip from Mexico to Argentina.

Tourist Vladimir Kumov was hoping to reach Argentine capital Buenos Aires on two wheels, until thieves stole his bicycle while he was having a coffee in the Colombian capital last Wednesday. Read full story at Colombia Reports

06.03.13
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Displacement rife on Colombia’s Pacific coast: Report

 (Colombia Reports) More than 36% of all forced displacement cases in Colombia take place on the Pacific coast, according to 2012 figures released on Friday by non-government human rights and displacement group Codhes.

Codhes recorded 92,596 cases of forced displacement on the Pacific coast last year and attributed the high level to the region’s strong presence of illegal armed groups, who exploit the strategic location for narco-trafficking and mining. Read full story at Colombia Reports.

05.31.13
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Sexual attacks spur displacement in northwest Colombia: Reports

(Colombia Reports) Armed men have raped at least three women in the northwest of Colombia, forcing their families to flee their homes, local media reported on Friday.

The three families were allegedly forced to leave the neighborhood of La Esmeralda in the town of Apartado due to escalating violence, which began last Friday when armed men broke into their their homes, raped three and sexually assaulted one more. The men reportedly threatened to kill the victims if they spoke out about the crimes. Read full story at Colombia Reports

05.30.13
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Bogota Colombia’s most competitive city: Study

(Colombia Reports) Bogota fought off competition from Medellin and Cali to secure the title of best city in Colombia for investment, researchers said Wednesday.

In the list compiled by the Bogota-based Rosario University and the Chilean company Business Intelligence, five Colombian cities gained top-30 positions in the regional ranking. Read full story at Colombia Reports

04.29.13
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Rainy Season

When it rains it pours

When it rains it pours

This picture is hardly exaggerated. I lived in Manchester and even I am astounded by the raging rainstorms we get here. It can be a beautiful sunny day and then suddenly the heavens descend and I’m left dodging raindrops in a breezy summer dress.

I’ll use yesterday as an example. We were on our way to go swimming in the lovely outdoor pool at estadio, however, as we were already late and the stadium was overrun by aggressive football fans (more to come on them) we decided to turn back. I was really struggling because it was scorching hot so I suggested ice cream –  the second best way to cool down.

Off we went for ice cream, yum yum yum, then on the way home we popped into the supermarket for a quick stock-up. When we went into the supermarket Medellin was all blue skies and wispy clouds. When we came out 20 minutes later it was like a scene from the bible (i.e. Noah’s ark). The rain was going HORIZONTAL and there were rivers streaming down the road. I had flip flops on and my feet were getting submerged by enormous puddles. Our flat was only a 2 minute walk away, but by the time I got home I was drenched. I might as well have been swimming.

This particular image shows an afternoon in the office. I was sitting at my computer a metre or two from the patio door and a violent storm was in full flow. I was getting splashed by rain and blown about by the wind despite being firmly within the building. I felt under attack, like the weather was out to get me! I was also very amused that the weather was INSIDE the building. I laughed and then moaned, as if there was no solution and then somebody did the obvious thing and closed the door. I hadn’t thought of doing that.

It’s not just rain – there’s also thunder and lightning on a daily basis! It’s really exciting! When it rains in England it’s just cold and inconvenient. When it rains here it’s an event. And the best thing is, you know it’ll pass quickly and as soon as it does you’ll be basking in the sunshine again.

As I type it has just started pissing it down. Thunder and lightning are featuring in a big way too – I only counted a couple of elephants between the flash and the grumble!

04.22.13
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Colombian businesswomen shatter the ‘glass ceiling’

(Colombia Reports) Two top businesswomen in Colombia, a country that has just over 50% of its women in the workforce, said Monday they attribute their success to hard work and commitment.

Although gender equality is far from a reality in Colombia, a number of Colombian women have defied the stereotypes and risen to highly regarded positions in business.

According to the most recent statistics from Colombia’s national statistics agency, DANE, a mere 53.2% of Colombian women participated in the labor force last trimester – 22.2% less than men. Of those women within the labor force, 45.2% actually have work compared to 69.2% of men.

But in spite of these seemingly pessimistic figures, a report on gender and development by the World Bank in 2012 states that Colombia has a better participation rate than many other Latin American nations and Colombian women have better access to higher level positions, something that is still a challenge in many wealthy nations. Read full story at Colombia Reports