It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Cali, Colombia for one month already. In some ways, I still feel like a tourist that just arrived and in other ways, it feels like I’ve already been here several months. The ups and downs of navigating a new culture are constant, and a constant reminder that “culture shock” is real (yes, even though I speak Spanish, lived in Costa Rica for 9 years, and traveled to 5 continents). The challenges have been hard, especially dealing with medical issues from day 2, but the moment things get almost too hard to handle, something or someone turns it around and gives me a new appreciation and a positive outlook for life in Colombia. There is no doubt, Colombians are some of the nicest people in the world!
This month has been a test of my patience. My strategy has been to only take on one task a day – the bank, grocery shopping, doctor’s visit, looking at apartments, meeting with my tutor, etc. An errand or appointment I expect to take a few hours, can easily turn into a whole day event, and not because people are slow, it’s mostly me trying to figure out how everything works and what it all means.
The day I set up a bank account took 4 hours. I had the taxi driver drop me at the bank, which already saved some time. Upon entering, a nice woman working there helped me right away. She showed me how to enter my passport number into a machine to get a ticket. I sat in a seat watching a screen waiting to see which window I’d be called to. About 45 minutes later, my number was called. The bank teller was so friendly and patient, like I was his only customer of the day. He looked at all my paperwork, never rushing, and explained how the account would work. That took about 45 more minutes. Then I went to the ATM to take money out from my US account to be able to deposit it into my newly opened Colombian account (they claim the ATM is the only way to do that). Since the ATM only allows you to withdrawal 600,000 pesos ($123) at a time, I did it several times…until…the women said they had to close that machine for maintenance. With trepidation, I went to the machines outside and did 5 more withdrawals, always looking over my shoulder and stuffing the cash quickly into my purse. When I reached the withdrawal limit, I went back inside, got another number in line and waited another 45 minutes. And just when I was feeling like this challenge was too much, a woman handed me her ticket number and said “I have to leave, but my number is sooner than yours, so you can have it”. And I was the next to be called. Again, the new teller was extremely patient as she helped me count the bills with all the zeros and deposit it into my Colombian account. Task completed and time to go home and rest! Next task…how to cross the street?
Do you know the game “Fortunately, Unfortunately”, where someone starts a story with “Fortunately….” and the next person changes the story by starting the next sentence with “Unfortunately…”. I feel like I am constantly living that game. The key is to remember that when an unfortunate moment occurs, there is a fortunate moment around the corner – a friendly Uber driver, a helpful University professor, a passionate tour guide, an unexpected call from a friend, an invite to dinner, a patient mall cop, a doctor neighbor and so many more! I’ve read that Colombians are “the friendliest people in the world” and I have experienced the truth in that statement!
