A Love Letter to (Part of) Colombia

For Semana Santa, I spent a whole week in Medellin. My second time. And I've already made a few trips to the coffee area as well. I've gotten to know the region a bit, and it's been my favorite place in the country. So while I was there, I thought, why not right a love letter to the paisas of Colombia for my blog? I should, after all, say something nice about Colombia for once.

You win. Congratulations. You're my favorite, and I hope you can accept this simple token of my esteem: My undying love. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

First, you have Medellin, and Medellin is by far the most fun and pleasant major city in Colombia. The metro is a dream compared to Cali's MIO and Bogotá's TransMilenio. It gets crowded, but after the other two systems, anyone would take crowded over squished-like-a-god-damn-sardine. It's also pretty darn clean. I could eat off those floors. Well, as far as public transportation goes. So not really, but thanks for making me think that I maybe kind of could if I were homeless and I had to.

Medellin also has all sorts of fun stuff. That Universidad stop is action packed with touristy goodness: First off, there's the Parque Explora, which is the first thing I have ever encountered that could rival the Indianapolis Children's Museum--I hope you understand what kind of compliment that is because that museum is the shit. I suggest taking my niece sometimes just so I can go and enjoy it myself. There's also a planetarium, an amusement park (Parque Norte), and botanic gardens that you could lose yourself in complete with wandering iguanas and a butterfly garden.

And even if you're not the city type, right outside the city but still accessible by public transportation, there's Parque Arvi, which is a village-park combo that's perfect for getting away from the city if you need a breather. The ride there in the cable cars is kind of an attraction in and of itself. But if you wanna party it up at night, you can do that too. The bar scene and especially the gay scene in Medellin overshadows what little they have in Cali. WannaIce beats the heck out of Queens with its more open space and alcoholic icees. And that's probably not even what most people in Medellin would even list as a "good" gay bar. There's more open social spaces in general, such as Parque Lleras, which makes it easier to meet strangers to talk to... or hook up with, whichever. I suppose the San Antonio Church is a bit like that, but Caleños are too busy trying to force their English down your throat and acting like their cultural is some sort of mystical thing you will never begin to understand and then something about salsa.

Wait. Positive. We're staying positive this post.

But, I know, mis paisas, there's more to you than Medellin. There's the coffee region, with lovely farms, towns, nature, and people to see. And the people are the best. That's why I'm even writing this! Paisas are the most polite Colombians I've met. Not once is some asshole trying to talk broken English to my face or responds back to me in English when all I want to do is buy a damn empanada and go about my business. They're not exempt from the things about general Colombian culture that most Americans find bothersome, but at least it's turned down from eleven to a manageable six. I think this is because I've seen signs of, get this, people actually thinking about what they're going to say before it just steamrolls out of their mouths and over your face, leaving you feeling violated and bruised. You treat me like a normal person, paisas, instead of like an animal that you want to poke and examine and then ask for free English lessons from and maybe get to buy you lunch. You make a guy feel special, mis paisas. You make him feel welcome, and you share your culture without assuming that it's beyond me to understand how good a bandeja paisa is (the perfect combination of flavors for lunchtime, by the way). You are, in comparison with Cali, completely unimpressed than I'm foreign, and that totally impresses me. You don't make me feel special but normal, and that's what I appreciate most of all.

I just wanted to let you know that, mis paisas. You're super groovy, and someone needed to hold you tight in the night and whisper sensually in your little ear, "Thank you, mis paisas, for being you. Thank you."

I'll visit you soon. Once more before I go.

All my love,
Adam