The Other Side to Colombia

Hola!

Just a quick update on my current life and things I've found interesting thus far.

Last Tuesday I joined a gym. It's called Body Tech, and it's right on my way home. More than anything, I wanted a dance/aerobics class, and I most certainly found just what I was looking for! No joke, this is the best gym I've been to in my life. The machines are in impeccable state, everyone is super nice, the classes are wonderful, AND, this is the best part, there are saunas and steam rooms. It's also cheap, and I bought a pilates packet as well. And not just mat pilates, but the big, machine pilates. At my gym in LA, one pilates class starts at $50. In Bogotá, I get the same classes for around $12. I had never been the biggest pilates fan before, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm also going to a class called "Super Rumba," which is the best group exercise class I've ever been to. Salsa, merengue, tropical something or other, and, my favorite, reggaeton. I have a great time every time I go, and I've met some really lovely people. Speaking of great people, I take pilates with one other woman who is a bit older. The instructor is around my age, and tomorrow I'm meeting her for pilates and then we're going to some evento at the gym. Today the three of us got coffee together afterwards, and the other lady (I'll need to learn her name) invited me to her house for lunch sometime soon.

BUT, as I experienced at the gym in Mexico, it can be a place for some unwanted attention. Yesterday I went to sit in the sauna after working out, and I was sitting there very peacefully in my towel...nothing else. Then, Leonardo, this guy I met the day before who commented on my accent, strolls down and opens up the door. Keep in mind that Leonardo works there, so I don't know why he was hanging around the sauna. Anyway, he wouldn't stop talking and kept letting in all the cold air. Finally he went away, but then Raul, another employee, came to chat and opened the door even wider. Not only did I end up getting cold, but it was super awkward since I was sitting there practically naked. In any case, I'm bringing my bathing suit next time...

Finally, and this is something I'll be writing about more in the future, I'd like to comment quickly on Colombia as a whole. I've always known that the media can be quite sensationalist, but being here has really emphasized the point. If you ask someone from the US what he knows about Colombia, a couple of words will be mentioned: Cocaine, Drugs, Pablo Escobar, Guerrillas, FARC, Kidnapping, and, of course, DANGEROUS. As I was riding Transmilenio, Bogotá's ultra-modern transportation system, I was thinking about how we never think about Gabriel García Márquez, Fernando Botero, Shakira, José Asunción Silva (amazing poet), Manuel Patorroya (discovered the first vaccine against Malaria), and countless others. When we think of Colombia, we never think of its beautiful people, its rich culture, its biodiversity, or its incredible landscapes. Many Colombians ask how I'm liking their country, and when I respond that I love it, they usually say that other people from the US don't think the way I do. Anyway, I don't mean to preach....all I'm saying is that there is another side to Colombia that most of us have never imagined.

I recommend for you all to watch this short youtube video. It's perfect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgW8Y7F8DN8&feature=related

love,
gina