One Family's Journey: Anticipation

This is my last post before we get to Colombia. As you know my husband Arnold is Colombian and his whole family lives in Colombia. Since we've been together I've been to Colombia many, many times and over the years it has become my adopted second homeland. Like my sweet husband, I carry Colombia close to my heart. This is my list of Top 10 things I love about Colombia. Except for Number One they are not in any particular order.

10. La Candelaria: I love Colonial architecture and I could walk around this Bogota neighborhood taking pictures and admiring the view for days.





9) Ciclovias on Sundays: Every Sunday the main arteries of Bogota are closed so that families can ride bikes, run and walk through the city. I can't wait too spend time walking around with my little boy



8) Beautiful Churches: Churches in Colombia are open to the public anytime. When I lived in Chile I used to wander around Santiago and visit churches to pray at totally random times. Last year I visited many churches and prayed that we would be given a child. This year I will be praying for Elian!




7) Hot Dogs: There is lots of great food in Colombia but I love the hot dogs. They are topped with crushed potato chips and a whole lot of other stuff that I'm sure is not part of the 5 a Day diet. I'm already stocking up on salad to prepare myself for the "No hotdog left behind tour"








6) Empanadas: No explanation needed. Order many, many empanadas. Apply directly to face. Repeat as many times as necessary.










5) Cumbiaaaaaaaa!: I used to teach latin dance. My specialty was salsa. Colombia has the hottest dance and music scene in Latin America. Shakira, Juanes, Cabas, Grupo Gale, La Sonora Carruseles. The list goes on and on and on. Arnold and hope to use any downtime to perfect our footwork. The second CD I ever bought was Pies Descalzos by Shakira. That was A LONG time ago. I never imagined I'd ever go to Colombia, let alone have family there.







4) Christmas Lights: You know the crazy person who puts lights all over their house? All of Bogota is like that house. It is the place where Christmas exploded. I love to walk around listening to villancicos and crashing novenas being held at the malls.





3) Chocolate and Cheese: Take delicious hot chocolate, add one rainy day and some delicious fresh cheese as an oozy treat at the bottom. Savory and sweet, it's a classic combo, like salted caramels. I like La Puerta Falsa, it's more than 100 years old and super-close to Plaza Bolivar .








2) Street Vendors! I love buying stuff on the street. Obleas and aromaticas are especially welcome in drizzly Bogota. In Bogota bargaining to get a good price is half the fun. Not for obleas of course, but always for your "Se hable espanol" t-shirt.








1) My family. Colombia has already given me my husband, my wonderful extended family and many close friends. In a few days Colombia is giving me the greatest gift of all, my first child. Te amo Colombia querida, de todo corazon!


Comments

Jane King said…
What a great list! I agree with all of them. I haven't had a hotdog yet: my favorite street food is the oblea!
Anonymous said…
Thanks Jane, obleas are hard to resist!
Kit said…
Agreed! what a perfect list. it totally embodies all that is good and wonderful in Colombia.
Anonymous said…
Oh what a wonderful list. I never knew Bogota decorated with lights for Christmas. How I would love to see that someday. My three year old granddaughter was adopted from Bogota and oh I love her. Blessings to your new child.
Congratulations on your adoption and have a wonderful trip! We adopted two sons,as babies, in the early 1990's. The four of us went back on a vacation visit to Colombia in 2008. You named most of our favorites, including La Puerta Falsa. Add to that the Corridas (bullfights) and a side vacation to Cartagena, and sigh, there couldn't be better trip.

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