I'm Here!

I made it! Medellin is an absolutely beautiful city! The idea that this place is a "third world county" may be accurate in some parts (that I haven't seen yet), but Medellin has absolutely everything you'd ever want or need. My apartment is out-of-control. It has three bedrooms, another 3 bathrooms, and a killer view of the city that can be seen from all three bedrooms and the kitchen. I'm on the 7th floor, and it also has a great balcony that I love to sit on (and in the future, drink beer on). The weather has been a little strange, lots of rain, but it's hard to take it seriously. I'm still waiting to see what the city looks like when the skies are clear.

Yesterday, we spent a couple of hours at "Exito", which is the local superstore. IT was a crazy place! They served brandy and had a band to advertise it. Good thing I don't like brandy...

It was a bit challenging to shop for two reasons. One, I don't shop well and two, everything was in Spanish (obviously). There were several occasions where the workers would try to help me, but that always ended awkwardly. Actually, I have been able to use quite a bit of Spanish with moderate success. I'm learning a lot though, and every time I do pick something up, I try to write it down for future reference.

Last night was my first official night out. We went to a place called Parque Lleras, which is definitely the party place. It's a city square that is completely surrounded by bars and restaurants. Even last night, with all the rain, things were still pretty active. It's a happening place, and I will be spending a lot of time there. We went to a nice restaurant, where I ordered a steak, based on the waiters suggestion. Since it was dark, I couldn't quite see that it was covered with gravy, eggs, and ham, but it was absolutely delicious (or maybe it was just the Mojitos)...

Today, we are at school doing an orientation. In the city, we're at about 1500 meters, but when we come up here, we climb another 1000. It's WAY on top of the city! Later, we're going to check out our classrooms, and tonight we're going to go out again. Should be interesting...

Please, keep in touch. I know that in the future, I'm going to really need and want an email to help me keep sane (OK, maybe it's a little too late for that). I will also keep checking my various email accounts, so you can write to any number of those. Also, I have a phone number if any of you would like to give me a call. I'm two hours ahead of most of you (one hour behind the East coast) and this has something to do with daylight savings time, I think.

The number is:

011-574-311-1095 (dial it just like that)

Ben