A Week in Colombia... Upgrade / Downgrade

We've been here for about a week now and have had a taste of several areas of this experience so we thought we'd share our feelings about several parts in an upgrade/downgrade style.

The housekeeper on our floor - UPGRADE

We have the most wonderful housekeeper ever. Stacy has to fight back the urge to hug her on a daily basis! She's very grandmotherly. She watches for when we go to breakfast or head to the pool so she can come in and clean up while we're gone. She's always engaging Elkin and she has the biggest smile we've ever seen aside from our little boy. I wish she could come home with us.

The sounds outside - UPGRADE

We might not have always said this, but the honks and the music and all the talking outside nearly all day long is actually quite soothing. It's like a state fair meets interstate traffic. Sounds horrible but it's actually quite nice to listen to.

When it gets dark - DOWNGRADE

Maybe someone can explain this to us, but it gets dark really early here. We're in about the same time zone and looking at a map, Colombia is directly below the middle of the States but it gets dark by 6:00pm. Really dark. So we have to be in early.

Café con leche, fruit and arepas - UPGRADE

The café con leche (coffee and milk) is very good. Colombian coffee is generally more mild than what we have in the States. Café con leche is that great coffee mixed with very hot milk. No sweeteners. It might not sound that great but it's very, very good. Trust us. The fruit is amazing too. Lots of choices, some we've never seen before and it's all available in juice form too. The pineapple and mango here is especially good. Arepas are white, fried, cornbread type things that are really, really good.

The wildlife - UPGRADE

There's iguanas and monkeys everywhere in the park. Iguanas and monkeys!

Our hotel restaurant waiter - UPGRADE

One of the waiters at the hotel restaurant has kind of become our personal waiter. He's learning English so he likes to talk to us as much as he can in English (which isn't much). It's actually quite funny - we'll talk to him in Spanish and he'll talk to us in English. Needless to say, the conversations are short and to the point, lacking any sentence structure. He's awesome though - he knows exactly how we like our coffee, always runs over with a high chair when we show up, and has even started bringing a plastic cup full of orange juice (Elkin's favorite - there are lots of crazy juices available here).

Two English-language TV channels - UPGRADE

They're Spanish subtitled, but we do have a WB channel and E! that are mostly non-dubbed. It's very nice. We brought some TV-on-DVD shows on our laptop to watch which has been a lifesaver but the TV is great too.

Several Spanish-dubbed US TV kid's channels - DOWNGRADE

Don't get us wrong, we love that there's stuff for Elkin to watch but we're really getting tired of hearing Barney and the Backyardigans and [name any popular kids show] in way-off-the-mark Spanish dubbing.

The park - UPGRADE

The park is great. Lots of food stands, lots of sidewalks, iguanas, monkeys, sloths (we're told), a big river to watch and a huge playground. We really don't know what we'd do without that park.

The language barrier - DOWNGRADE

This part is way harder that we thought it would be. Yes, pointing works but only if there's something to point to. Most people are nice about it but many are annoyed. NO ONE speaks English here. Montería isn't an international city like Bogotá. English speaking people don't vacation here (According to many locals on the Internet, Montería is kind of a joke of a town even to other Colombians). Little to any international business goes on here so there's no incentive for any English at all. Not that we think anyone should speak English here, it's just really hard for us.

Living in a hotel - DOWNGRADE

Imagine vacationing alone in a foreign country with your three year old nephew that you've never met. That's best how we can relate to friends and family back home. The kid doesn't know you at all and you're stuck in a hotel room. Especially here - we're literally stuck in a hotel room. Like we've said above, it's a huge challenge just to go out to eat or visit the grocery store. It's too dangerous to go out at night. It's so hot outside the room - yes, outside the room. The entire hotel is "open" to the elements so it's hot and humid even in the hallway. Our room is the only public place in the hotel that is air conditioned.

The weather - DOWNGRADE

It's very hot and very humid. Very hot. Very humid.

Having a 3 year old boy - UPGRADE

We have the greatest little boy ever. He's so cute, so lovable, and has the best smile and laugh ever!

Having a 3 year old boy - DOWNGRADE

I'm guessing anyone who's ever had a three year old can ad lib this one.

Being the only gringo y gringa in town - DOWNGRADE

We didn't stand out so much in Bogota - at least we didn't feel like we did. We sometimes feel like we're in a zoo here. We're the only gringos we've seen in the entire town and it's not that small of a town. There's always a minority somewhere so anyone who's ever been in that situation can surely relate.

Changing Internet passwords - DOWNGRADE

It's hard to say "What's today's password to the wireless internet?" in Spanish when the Internet doesn't work and you can't use Google Translate. (We have it written down now)

Machine guns on street corners - DOWNGRADE

Guards sometimes stand on the street corners with machine guns. I don't think I need to expand on this to stress the need for downgrade status. And before anyone asks, no, I will not take a picture. I'm assuming that's a no-no.

Machine guns on street corners - UPGRADE

They are Colombian military and not terrorist (we think) so they are here for our protection. Leading us to wonder... protection from what? I mean, we know about the terrorist groups but why are they only here on some days and not others?

Our interpreter - UPGRADE

Our interpreter is awesome. She even went to Exito with us one day. She's available 24x7, knows everyone in town, and is always super helpful.

Dreams of Bogota - UPGRADE

Wow do we wish we could go back to Bogota. If all the information we have is correct, the strike won't effect us so much or not at all because we are where we are so that's awesome but the weather and the people and the ease of moving around is being missed terribly.

The judicial strike - DOWNGRADE

We still aren't 100% certain that this won't affect us and at very least it's a downer to hear horror stories from other adoptive families here right now and stress about what that might be like for us. We really hope it ends soon.

Some Colombian tendencies - DOWNGRADE

In Colombia, showing up on time is not important. It's a culture thing. Colombians also think it's best to know things only when necessary so as not to worry about them in the meantime. We're control freaks so this is really, really tough for us.

We're sure there's lots of others but hopefully this gives you all a good idea about how things are going.