Tag Archives: travel

Barranquilla – Where North is West-ish

Posted on August 31, 2012 | 5 comments

Ever since Gio and I began contemplating a move to Barranquilla, we were told to live in “El Norte”, the northern part of the city. Our neighborhood, Torcoroma — named after a Romanesque style church in the area that I have yet to see — is definitely considered to be smack in the middle of El Norte. When we take a cab toward El Centro, the center of town (I know, I know, you never would have guessed that “El Centro” means “center”!), everyone says we are headed South.

The orange pinpoint is Torcoroma, our neighborhood. “El Centro” is the area sort of between “Boston” and “Bolivar” on this map.

So imagine my confusion when one afternoon, on just such a drive, I realized that the sun was in the wrong place. Continue reading →

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Posted in Daily Life, Uncategorized

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International Relocation Meets Major Home Renovation

Posted on August 23, 2012 | 13 comments

Just over a week ago, we finally moved into our new place! If you’ve followed our quest to sign a lease, you’ll know just how big a sense of accomplishment we felt when we actually had the keys in hand. Of course, our 1-year old son Marcello also took the keys in his hands, which resulted in THIS. (Side note: if you are thinking of moving to Colombia, do not use a rental agency. Rent directly from the owner.)

Our new apartment is lovely. Continue reading →

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Posted in Making the Leap

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Café en la Calle

Café en la Calle

Just about anywhere in B’quilla, you can get a cup of coffee right on the street. Vendors wheel carts with several thermoses. Using a wooden paddle like the one you see here, vendors can prepare several cups, large and small, at once. There’s milk and sugar to add in and you can get a pancito (small piece of bread) too. Who needs Starbucks anyway!

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Posted on August 21, 2012 in Daily Life, Food & Coffee, Photography

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Show me the money!!! Or at least explain the exchange rate.

Posted on August 20, 2012 | 2 comments

$20,000 peso bill, back and front. $1,000 peso bill. $5,000 peso bill. My niece recently gave me a lesson in how to tell if bills are counterfeit.

One of the challenges for a NorteAmericano in Colombia – at least for one like me who is not so great at mathematical estimates – is the exchange rate. Right now, it’s roughly 1,800 Colombian pesos to the dollar. So a bottle of Coke might be $3,000 (the symbol for the peso is the same as for the dollar – $) and your groceries might cost $248,000. We bought a queen size mattress the other day and the cost was over $1 million. It’s hard not to feel an initial sense of shock when you hear the number. Continue reading →

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Posted in Daily Life

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We Won the Shipping Lottery, or How I Lessened My Attachment to Material Things

Posted on August 10, 2012 | 3 comments

The process of establishing our new home continues. Our shipment from Miami arrived, but the entire crate (they build a crate for your boxes when shipping internationally) was accidentally left outside at the Port for two weeks. It rained heavily on Wednesday. Our customs agent (you have to hire this person to get your stuff out out of the Port since you are not allowed in) called with the bad news that everything is soaked.

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Most likely the bulk of it is ruined.  The rest, we have been told, is already growing mold. Continue reading →

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Posted in Making the Leap

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Uh, which movie is that? And you wanna sit where?

Posted on August 9, 2012 | 1 comment

Movie theater at the Buena Vista shopping center.

This past Tuesday, August 7th, was a “día feriado” – a holiday – and so Gio and I headed for a late afternoon movie. Here are a few things we learned from our first Colombian movie experience: Continue reading →

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Posted in Arts & Culture, Daily Life, Sports & Leisure

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Driving Mr. Baby – In Colombia

Posted on August 8, 2012 | 3 comments
The infamous baby car seat and Gio installing it.

The infamous baby car seat and Gio installing it.

Ah, the baby’s car seat. Rarely does such an accepted feature of toddler life in the U.S. raise so many issues when traveling abroad. Like most parents, Gio and I are extremely vigilant about the safety of our baby. After being informed by a pediatrician friend and fellow mom that motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of accidental death for children traveling abroad, we committed ourselves to using the car seat during our time in Colombia. Continue reading →

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Posted in Daily Life, Parenting

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Barranquilla’s Pretty Birds

Posted on August 5, 2012 | 3 comments

I have no idea what kind of birds these are, but they are very lovely.

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Posted in Daily Life, Photography

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“It’s Almost Like He’s a Colombian Citizen!”

Posted on August 3, 2012 | 2 comments

If you’ve been following our apartment quest, you’ll recall from this post that we got permission from Citibank in Bogotá to open an account here in Barranquilla. We filed all the paperwork last Friday (a week ago) and were told that it would be open by Tuesday. On Tuesday, the bank representative told us Wednesday. On Wednesday, we were told that there was still no reply. On Thursday (yesterday), my husband Gio decided to do what generally seems to work best – go ask in person.

When Gio walked into the banker’s office, she was on the phone with Bogotá concerning our account. Apparently, they declined to open it because Gio did not have his cédula, or Colombian ID card. Continue reading →

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Posted in Making the Leap

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Holy cow, we all have health insurance!

Posted on August 1, 2012 | 11 comments

All three of us – my husband, my 1 year-old son, and myself – now have health insurance in Colombia. Even with top-of-the-line full coverage, our monthly payment will be less than half of what insurance for my husband and son alone (not including me) cost in the States. We are self-employed, and so insurance in the U.S. has always cost us a lot. It’ll be interesting to see how well this insurance works, but the coverage and available doctors and facilities seem excellent and the immediate savings are a huge weight lifted from our shoulders.

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Posted in Health, Making the Leap

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