I see why you like it here
I am glad that Medellin wasn’t one of the first places on my itinerary. Though I arrived unwell.. I’m glad I had a little period of rest beforehand. The festive period was busy!
I was so happy that my Airbnb was exactly what it said on the tin. It was perfectly located near shops and restaurants. Flat terrain and easily accessible. And most importantly, it has a kitchen.
With the little strength I had, I managed to go to the supermarket and make rice and stew with fried plantain. So simple yet soothing. There’s just something about it.
Having Medellin further down the list meant that I could hear about other people’s experiences and thoughts of the city as well as receive tips.
The majority loved it. Those who didn’t like it said that it was mainly because it gave city vibes. You either like it or you don’t.
There’s something familiar about Medellin. It’s as if you can pick up where you left off in terms of your urban lifestyle. Everything is there and it just works.
What amazed me is that it is really a city designed for co-working. From when a supermarket has a massive space with desks, equipped with sockets of course, between the deli and dairy, that says something.
One of the tips I received was to go to a salsa night. The first one I attended was free and in a hostel and it was very much a taster. I thought to step it up a notch and go to a more local dance school with an entry fee. It was an experience like no other.
We were taught choreography and the women were required to change partners after practicing each part. So I made my way around the room and goodness me, men can vary.
It was interesting to see how the different men received me as a dance partner. A rookie for that matter. Some were super patient and others not so much. Some simplified the instructions for me so I could perfect the move while others just pushed and swirled me around. After the class, there was a social which is when the door was open to anyone who wanted to dance. My goodness, was it packed! It being the final one of the year also had something to do with it. It was both salsa and bachata night and luckily at the very first class I went to in the hostel, they taught us some basic bachata.
The way it worked was that women would be the ones invited to dance. So I was just sitting there, waiting. Waiting to be invited. I danced twice in what felt like 2 hours. I assume it was because these men wanted women who could dance and knew what to do. That wasn’t me. I didn’t feel any way by it though because watching and seeing how everyone in this room came intending to dance stunned me. Depending on the genre and event, I find it quite rare for men, especially, to leave their houses with the intention to dance. There is chilling to music and appreciating the crowd and vibe but dancing throughout?! Not to so much.
I also realised how technical salsa is. I was humbled. The idea of physically dancing in pairs where there are prescribed signals and men take the lead was just completely new to me. I had to get out of my head and relax my body to get the most out of it.
Before arriving in Medellin, I was invited to join a group chat for melanated people. It was my first time to join a WhatsApp community. It was really for getting local tips as well as information about events. I have to say that was very African American-centric, which is understandable since there is quite a large black American expat community in Medellin. I took the chance to use the group as a means of meeting people. I had coffee with a guy from the US and when he said that his best experiences were near-death experiences, I thought okay…
I attended the opening of a new Jamaican restaurant which was organised by the group, so you can guess that it was heavily attended by African Americans. For the first time in almost 3 months, I interacted with a black British man. And we could both agree that there is a golden thread in the stories of these people. There was very much a push factor to their move to Colombia. A very strong desire of not wanting to be in the States anymore. A new life almost with the definition of undefined.
Speaking to local people and reading on social media, I can sense that there is a bit of an upset. Not specifically by African Americans, just by expats in general. The elasticity [not its economic definition] of the Western currency has inflated the local cost of living. The G word. We see it happen everywhere. That with the combination of lack of effort to integrate through language causes frustration. Surprisingly, I have noticed that there is a lack of empathy around this. The topic is often met with the attitude of ‘Well.. the same happened to us back home’. That is just a stank attitude to have.
One of my highlights in Medellin was meeting up with people who I met in the cities I visited prior. And through them, I met some more people. I had some great experiences too. I didn’t know restaurants did happy hour on food. Nor did I expect the Afrobeats scene in Medellin to be so lit. Afrobeats to the world indeed. I was invited to a Christmas Eve dinner at a Peruvian restaurant and let me tell you now.. it did not disappoint.
Going to Medellin for the festive period was a good decision to make. This was followed by 5 days of rest before the adventures in Guatemala can begin.
