5 things I already miss about Colombia

 

I’ll be honest up front: I’m only visiting my family in England for a couple of weeks, but I’ve been living in Colombia long enough now that even that is long enough to make me miss certain things about my adopted home country. British culture and Colombian culture are vastly different in so many ways, and there are certainly things I miss about England when I’m in Colombia; however, there are many elements of Colombian culture that have captured me so fully that even a couple of weeks away has me pining for music, dancing, smiling faces and many other things…so here are the 5 things I’m already missing about Colombia…(and you can read what previous editors Paul and Azzam missed about Colombia while they were away as well: this is a post that all Colombian bloggers end up writing at some point!)…

 

 

1. Tienda beers

This one is economic as much as it is emotional – the drinking culture in general is very different in England and Colombia overall (I don’t miss England’s binge drinking culture in Colombia, that’s for sure!), but the thing I really miss is being able to go into what is essentially a corner shop, pull up a chair at a little metal table, order some cold Poker beers at 2.000 COP a bottle, pop some cheesy llanero music or vallenato on the video-jukebox and chat with friends for a few hours before either going on to a bar or club, or just heading home. Throw in a cheeky half bottle of aguardiente for the table and you’ve got the recipe for the perfect ‘pre-drinking’ session – it certainly beats spending £20 on just a few drinks in a rammed London bar, at least in my book…

 

 

2. Dancing the night away (or at least watching people dance the night away…)

Anyone who knows me might be surprised at this one: I’m not famous for my love of dancing to be fair! However, after a few nights out in England since I’ve been back, I do miss the easy and casual attitude that Colombians have towards getting on the dancefloor…in England dancing seems to be viewed as a necessary evil that sometimes has to be included on a night out, but certainly isn’t to be participated in with too much enthusiasm! Whereas in Colombia most people view a night as incomplete without taking a few turns on the dancefloor (or tienda shop-floor). I might not necessarily be pulling shapes with too much enthusiasm, but it’s the laid-back attitude to the fun of it all that I really miss (and the music, especially cumbia and, yes I’ll say it, vallenato!)

 

 

3. Delivery…

Sure, the classic pizza delivery is a pretty standard thing in both England and Colombia, but it’s Colombia that has really taken delivery (or domicilio) to whole new heights of excellence – you can basically order everything for home delivery here. Run out of rum at the house party at 3am…order it in; wake up from said house party with a hangover…order in some remedies from the pharmacy; don’t have a washing machine…order one in for a few hours – this list goes on and on…think of something you need and chances are it can get dropped off at your place for not much of a charge!

 

 

4. Street fruit

My morning routine basically has to involve a stroll down to a nearby street corner to a street stall run by a lovely smiling lady (see below…) who prepares delicious cups of fresh fruit for the measly sum of 2.000 COP per cup: I usually opt for papaya, mango and pineapple, but occasionally throw in some kiwi, banana…whatever takes my fancy really. The variety of fresh fruit is astounding in Colombia, and I really do appreciate the wonderful convenience of fresh street fruit whenever I leave Colombia…

TAKE OUR INTERACTIVE FRUIT QUIZ TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF COLOMBIAN FRUITS…

 

 

5. Smiling happy folks…

That smiling lady from the fruit stall is really indicative of what I most miss about Colombia when I leave: Colombian people! Sure, there are those who say that people in Bogota aren’t friendly…but that’s only because the rest of Colombia has set some impossibly high standards. Even in the capital the people are, certainly compared to much of the UK, incredibly smiley and friendly, especially to new people and foreigners. It makes settling in to life in Colombia easy and, when you do have cause to leave, it really makes you look forward to going back…

Chris