Overall Experience- Life in Medellin

I left home, while confident in my plan, I had no inkling of what awaited me on this journey. Vacationing, spending one - two weeks in a new place - is exciting, thrilling even. Filling your trip with as many experiences as time allows, I know exactly what that’s like.

Yet, living somewhere, emerging myself into the community, beginning to study the language and picking up slang along away, making ‘local’ and international friends, and settling into my routine, I began to feel like this is precisely where I belonged.

When organizing my time in Colombia, I planned on staying three weeks in Medellin, one week in Bogota, two weeks in Cali (& surrounding areas), and finally, two weeks in Cartagena. Plans quickly changed; about a week after being in Medellin.

From the:

Colorful history. Just 30-years-old, Medellín was deemed “world’s most dangerous city” by Time Magazine- in 1988. On my Tour of Medellín, I visually witnessed the lasting effects narcotics and poverty have on less fortunate communities.

PEOPLE; I’ve had the privilege of meeting the most dynamic, resourceful, and passionate individuals. Some situations showed me, I can be a better human. As my friend Gus said so simply, “I do good because I am good." I met Gus after I left my iPad behind. He held it until the next day, tracked me down, and even DM’d a friend back home to reach out to me. When I tried to give him a token of appreciation (money), he laughed and hugged me.

Greenery! Streets flushed with some of the greenest plants & trees. I’ve ever seen. Green reminds me of health & wealth.

Modernity of the infrastructure - Medellín is the only city in Colombia with all methods of mass transportation (Metro (train), Metro Cable (Tram & aerial cable car), and rapid buses.

Welcoming community. Trust me; I’ve lived in a few places, and everywhere is not welcoming to outsiders.

Food - my God, the wide variety of food, my tongue never had a dull moment.

I could add a few more items to the list, but I think you get the point. I LOVE MEDELLÍN AND WILL RETURN. It was my first ‘living out of the states’ experience, and I saw God's Hands running through every fabric.