Life is funny/interesting

1) Colombians eat A LOT.....for lunch at least.  Typically there is a LARGE bowl of soup and a large plate full of food.  And yesterday even included another bowl of casserole.  I never can finish my food!  Lucky for me I am married to the human garbage disposal who eats all of his food plus about 1/3 of mine.  I want to take a picture to show you...but there's a fine line between naive newcomer with a fascination and rudeness so we will see on that one.

2) I made a funny and didn't know it!  I was at the dinner table with Diego and 3 other people trying to keep up with the conversation.  I heard something about being together for 40 years and thought Diego had said we had been together that long.  I gave him a "Are you kidding look?!?" for suggesting I'm old enough for that.  Only when everyone started laughing really hard did I realize they said something along the lines of can you imagine being together for 40 years (like the boarding house couple).  Therefore, my look was seen as...."hmmmm with this guy....40 years....I don't think so!"  Hahahaha!  I made a joke in Spanish without knowing it!

3) I am living in Oz.  Seriously, we are somewhere over the rainbow!  Those were a couple pictures that I took on Wednesday.  NO PHOTOSHOP WAS INVOLVED IN ANY WAY!!!  I have never in my life seen a rainbow so well defined.  The sun was shining so bright and there was just a light sprinkle of rain.  (BTW Mom, if you want to retire here know that it rains quite a bit, but usually just a little each day.)  And the building on the left in the picture to the right is where Diego works....it's all glass on the other side!  Quite fancy for Manizales.

4) If you notice at the bottom of the picture (Gramma, you can click on the picture to open it in another page and click it again to make it really big), there are a lot of statues painted in bright colors.  These are found throughout the city along the roads, on buildings, in parks.  I once saw a naked man sitting on top of a building and was quite surprised....I thought maybe that was the art college or something and it was a live action kind of art project.  Diego said it was a statue, but since I haven't found it again I am unconvinced.  If I do see it....I will definitely take a picture for proof so that you will believe me.

5) Random moment the other day consisted of Diego giving the night sky a thumbs up with his arm outstretched.  Then he said, "Hmm, my thumb is ALWAYS bigger than the moon."  He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world to notice such a thing.  I love my husband and the strange way his mind works.  It brings a whole new world for me to look at in a different way.

6) Finally, Diego and I are hopefully going to talk to the real estate company that we have been working with to see about renting an apartment that we like (that I found...thank you Mom for the hundreds of Sunday house viewings as practice).  We tried to go yesterday, but Diego got off work late and they were leaving for the day.  Take a look at the site with a couple pictures....the description can be easily translated by an online translation site.  And yes, it does say that it is 550,000 pesos per month.  That comes out to be about $305 a month.
http://castrorosero.com/castrorosero/?p=1861

Whew.....so many things so few days

We are in Colombia!!!!!!!  After a emotional and stressful travel day, a brief rest with the in-laws in Bogota, a beautiful yet exhausting 9 hour bus trip to Manizales, and one very long, tiring, but still exciting day apartment shopping in Manizales I am filled with so many emotions I don't even know which ones to write!

TRAVEL DAY

I woke up on Thursday after a night of random late night packing, I woke up only to have to fix the weight in my bags and hurry out to the car without any sentimental feelings (better that way) and with a lot of help from dad with all my bags.  When we pulled into the airport garage, we immediately saw Colleen and Sara who came to see me off and be my personal pack horses until then.  Lol! 

However, laughs were quickly gone when I realized the booking website that I used was a piece of $%!#...and the two airlines that I would be using do not communicate with one another.  Therefore, I learned I would have to get my bags in Orlando and recheck them in to get my ticket to Bogota.....after I had gone to Chicago.  I have to say when the Santo's pull together we can do just about anything.  I had one sister writing down my itenarary, one on the phone with JetBlue, my dad and Colleen on the phone with CheapOAir.com, and the others (Michelle Greg and Mom) trying to keep me from freaking out.  After exhausting all efforts, I realized I would just have to suck it up and have an awesome work out trying to cart around my 4 suitcases and computer bag and purse in the Orlando airport by myself.  So with many tears from I think just about everyone, I went on my way hoping that both my suitcases and myself could make it to Bogota.

After taking off an hour late from Chicago, I arrived to Orlando sprinting to get my bags, put them on the cart and sprint to the JetBlue Check-in where I was the last person allowed to check-in for my flight.  Due to the graciousness of the check-in guy for United I only had to pay the extra baggage fees once.  By the time I had made it to the gate I had time for quick phone calls to say I will make it to Bogota and scarf down a McDonalds plain double cheeseburger.

BOGOTA

Once I made it to Bogota, I met my wonderful husband in the customs line who waited for me there in case I had any problems.  It took 2 cars to get all of our stuff and persons back to his parents house for a couple days rest.  I have to say that while be separated from Diego was very difficult at times, I completely forgot about all that when we were together again.  It felt like it was completely normal- a good sign if I say so myself!

TRIP TO MANIZALES

Anyway, we got our things together for the most incredible bus trip. I was excited to see what buses are like in Colombia after all my trips in Mexico and I have to say the are comparable.  I watched The Shooter in dubbed Spanish and understood most of it, except for those key couple lines that let you understand a major plot twist.  Everything is practice.  

Anyway, I have to say the paisaje... Give me a minute.  What is it in English? I have to look it up.  Aha!!!! Landscape!  The landscape of Colombia is just incredible.  Everything is so green and alive here.  There were tropical looking plants high in the mountain and waterfalls along the side of the road.  And when the sunsets (including in Manizales) it is absolutely incredible.  The sun peaks over the mountains to highlight the terrain and the organized chaos of all the buildings and roads.  

We stopped for lunch (a few hours after we exepected due to traffic....although our bus driver did everything he could to pass many trucks (in a 2 lane road) going around hair pin turns.  I think there is a system of honking to help out....but they could mean something completely different.  Anyway, our lunch consisted of a huge bowl of soup, a huge filled plate of food and a drink for a whopping total of $3.  And this was good food!!!  I love that part about Colombia.  After lunch the trip went pretty quick and we arrived in Manizales at about 7:30-8pm (we left at 10:30am).

MANIZALES

 We went to the same boarding house that Diego stayed at before with a woman named Isobel.  She was so nice (which is something I can say about everyone here in Manizales) and had us stay in her daughters room, because her other rooms were filled.  The picture to the left is the view from her window at night.  Need I say more?

I have to say it was sweet/funny how much Diego was loved by everyone is that house.  Isobel was excited and even the older, very sick senora was happy to see him.  Isobel's helper, Cesy, I think has a crush on Diego because she kept giving me strange, appraising looks.  They all joked around a lot which I am noticing is the hole that I am missing.  I can't really understand most jokes and telling them is just as difficult.

We moved to Luz Marina's house the next day (Isobel's sister) and her house is HUGE!  She has probably about 8 rooms of tennants.  I think it's a good business in Manizales since all the universities are here.  The house is nice with meals and laundry included, but I have issues sleeping because out room faces the very busy road.  I have decided to go to sleep every night with my IPod as my savior.

So after spending a whopping 12 hours in Manizales we start apartment shopping.  I can honestly say that in that first day on Monday we went down 6 floors to see the gates of hell, but we also went up 6 floors to see heaven.  Hell was moldy, dark, no air, and just plain scary.  Heaven was perfect except it was a studio apartment with no separate bedroom (apparently studios can have a separate bedroom here).  Another interesting thing is that because the terrain here, you can enter the building and have your apartment on the first floor, but on the other side of the building there are 4 aparments below you that have large open windows to the street on the other side.  So it's difficult to judge what you will see when it says you are on the 3rd floor...that could mean you have to go down three floors.

After seeing many more places over 2 days (including a house) Diego and I decided to go to a company for help.  Diego works from 6-5 with 1.5 hours of lunch and the sun sets about 6:30 so it just doesn't leave us a lot of time to walk around, call the owners, get the keys to check it out.

I think I will end this post (it's already too long) and talk more about the city on the next one!  Love you all and wish you could see this with us!

Tomorrow is the Big day!!!

Just a few more hours for us to get to the place and time we have always wanted to be. It is as exciting as it sounds, however is a feeling hard to describe using words...
Now I can only say that Sharon and me are feeling very happy, very anxious, a little scared, but over all of that we are feeling a lot of love!!!

Well, tomorrow is our big day. And for sure, we will bring us many new experiences and adventures!

We will let you all know...

Diego

How fast things can change...

"I have to admit I am not sad to leave."  I said that a very short 6 days ago.  My how fast things can change!!!  After a wonderfully social week seeing my friends from high school, college, study abroad programs, and even a grade school reunion; I thought that I would make it through these last few days easily without too much emotional termoil.  But right now I am breaking down in tears every time I turn around (as I tear up right now....seriously this is ridiculous!)

So what's up with this?  Well, the combination of mother nature's gift to women, lack of sleep, struggling with packing, last visits with Gramma and Kari, little talk time with Diego, and the realization that I am going to be gone for a very long time has hit me like a ton of bricks.  Don't get me wrong....I am sooooo ready to be with Diego and I am still very excited to go to Colombia, but the thought of a more permanent home away from all my annoying but love-able family and great friends is tough to get used to.

All I have to say is that the next 4 days should be a very interesting roller-coaster!!!

10 Days and Counting

Due to my ever-spinning mind, I am awake at 1am and like usual I am obsessing over what is to come in the next couple weeks.  As the title of the post suggests....I have 10 days until I board the plane to start my new life! 

I have to admit I am not sad to leave.  This summer has been very difficult.  Originally, I expected to be in Colombia by mid-June, then beginning of July, then mid-July, late-July....I can go on, but I think I would bore you.  Needless to say, my Colombian adventures with Diego had continually eluded me.  After my incredible experience in Mexico and my Colombian adventure just around the corner, I think it has been hard for me to fit in and get comfortable here.  Something about only having 10 days left makes me realize how close I really am and therefore much more optimistic.

Diego, on the other hand, has been in Barcelona for the past month.  He has visited Paris and Rome and had a lot of fun experiencing the night life of Spain...which is amazing yet exhausting in my own opinion.  While I wanted to visit him in Barcelona, I didn't want to have to share a room with one of his coworkers nor could I escape the grown up inside my head that said the money saved by not going will be well spent on a lot of mini trips in Colombia and setting up my new life.  I'm a grown up?  When did that happen? 

I will say that Diego going to Spain without me was the best thing that could have happened for us.   After my adventures in Mexico which was difficult for us at times, we both completely understand what the other one was going through and therefore are much better at the separation this time.

Anyway, I am starting this blog for those who would like to keep up with my adventures with Diego in Colombia.  We have a lot coming up.....finding an apartment, moving furniture from Bogota, completely my paperwork, finding a job for me, and simply experiencing marriage life.....and we can't forget Colombian food!  I'm sure there will be tears....of joy, of frustration, of exhaustion, but I welcome the time when they come....it means I'm in Colombia!!!