First week in Medellin

I arrived safe and sound last Tuesday to the beautiful city of Medellin! Nestled in the Aburra Valley, Medellin is the capital of the state of Antioquia and is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in South America. If you can imagine taking an ice-cream scoop out of the Andes, and building a city in the gap, that's a bit what Medellin looks like. The towering mountains surround la ciudad and their lofty peaks stick out above gray, misty rainclouds. It's pretty majestic here, despite the fact that there has been a constant drizzle since I arrived. Some people tell me the rain is typical of the winter season, others blame global warming. Either way, I was surprised to find the temperature so cool and am starting to think I packed more for Cali or Cartagena where its super hot and sunny. The sun rises around 6 am and sets around 6:00 pm - which, as many of you know, is the type of natural rhythm that suites me best!
The people from this region of Colombia are known as paisas and are renowned for being hospitable, generous, gregarious (and of course - perhaps most famously - for having very beautiful women). The family I'm renting a room from is really wonderful. Its a single mother with two daughters, 23 and 26, both of whom are in the process of becoming doctors. They have a simple apartment in a very central part of town and about a 10 minute walk from EAFIT University where I'll be studying. Included in my rent, aside from nice company and good spanish practice, is breakfast, dinner, laundry and free internet access. Not bad. Gloria, la dona de la casa, is a very sweet and motherly women who speaks no english and is an amazing cook... I can already feel my pants fitting tighter after 3 days. A common side dish here which is SO GOOD is chicharrones... basically greesy fried pig chunks- not unlike bacon, except thicker, fatter, juicier and... well tastier. That combined with avocados, fried plantains, sugary coffee, postres...shoot. At this rate it wont be long till I start rockin' only stretchy, baggy clothes. Tonight I was going to hit the town with some people I met at school, but ended out staying home to chat with Gloria and her daughters. We talked for hours about Medellin and how it has transformed from the days of violence and kidnapping to a very safe and stable city. From what I understand, when this city was Pablo Escobars stomping ground it was a total mess... people couldn't leave their homes without fear of getting killed. By the way, a great movie to see about Colombia/Medellin/narco soccer/Pablo Escobar, etc... is "The Two Escobars" a documentary made by two brothers from Northampton actually. Really incredible. It is going to air in Medellin for the first time on Sunday which will be interesting.
Last Thursday I went to my first Rotary lunch. My host sponsor, Tamila, is a fascinating woman who is going out of her way to make me feel welcome here. Originally from Azerbaijan, she came to Medellin after marrying a Colombian man 20 years ago and taught physics at a public university here for many years. She is clearly very well connected in the city and runs in the most upper crust circles. The Rotary here, and in Latin America in general from what I understand, is a very elite club. This definitely came through during lunch yesterday. The club that is sponsoring me here is comprised of predominantly very wealthy, fair-skinned, older, and male members. The class divide in Colombia is so strong and its fascinating to have access to such a powerful slice of society. I know the Rotary will be a great resource for me throughout this year and I feel indebted to them for providing me with this incredible opportunity. At the same time, with such a built in network and with so many people already reaching out to me, I know i'll have to be conscious of creating a diverse experience with a community of people around me who I can really relate to.
I had to give a short and scary speech in front of everyone explaining how I got the ambassadorial scholarship, why I decided to come to Colombia, etc. Luckily everyone was super friendly and sweet though and already several people have invited me to their fincas (country homes). One young Rotarian man offered to take me around town tomorrow via public transport in order to give me a sense of the bus system, metro, etc.
Alas, its almost midnight and I'm ready to collapse. Might be hard cause there's loud Karaoke music and the sounds of drunken laughter from the streets below floating through my window.

Tomorrow night I'm on a mission to find a good salsa bar.