Monday, August 14, 2017

MDE

MDE

A city with intention
The people so helpful and friendly
Bustling with activity
Developed and yet still full of arts and culture
Library parks and fitness complexes present
Environmentally aware
Exitos saving me from the dearth of greens
And yet avocados the size of sweet potatoes.
An authentic social evolution
From the murder capital of the world
To a cultural centre.
Mountains framing her heart
Bridges and metro connecting the city.
Music and flowers abound.
This is Medellin.
The hilltops still fighting combos
as combo takes a new meaning among the youth playing music in the city.
Escuelas de Musica, the true centers of the neighborhood.
The combos defending them, protecting them.
The smell of carne roasting on the camioneta
arepas served with all
The only bland thing in the city.
Kids so curious who I was and where I was from.
Lomas abound, like a roller coaster, but with the steeper incline
Comes a steeper violence. Complejo as they say.
People treating me only like family.
and bringing my emotions to the forefront.
Tears have broken free
Cheeks have been kissed
Minds have been sought
And most of all, hearts have been connected.
Our paths will cross again.
This I am sure.

No cars on the beaches.
Only pure nature.
A hiatus from surveys, compiling data.
Only me and the trees.
That is this weekend!

I want to write more because it's been so long. Stage 1 is complete, and the most thorough. Now it's mostly observation with a few surveys and interviews spattered in there. Part of me wanted to stay in Medellin the whole time. I don't think it's possible for me to become more impressed, but I am trying to keep an open mind and see other models-less intensive, for sure. Readjusting takes so much energy, but Couchsurfing helps with that. And I'm excited to meet Liliana, Natalia's aunt and see ATK in BOG. What a small world. This is the part of the trip where I get to do more artsy things. Talleres, who knows, but the majority of the data has been collected. Now it's just me and salsa dancing. Me and conocering. Me and some heat-for sure. I know it's gonna fly by as this second week certainly did. But I can believe it's been two weeks, and I still have three more! Here I come Tayrona. And I'm more or less in a routine of waking up at 8 am, despite bedtime of 1 am. I'm so excited to eat fish on the beach with coconut rice and go to bed early tonight. These two days I get to do what I want, on my timetable. And I Haven't talked to anyone back home, aside from text messages. They've actually been pretty minimal.

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