Its been 3.5 years since I studied Spanish in Guatemala. I studied for 6 weeks there and it was just at the very end that I was getting to the point of understanding and being able to have conversations. I had the best of intentions when I left to keep studying, but after about 2 months of keeping up with learning, I stopped. Before going to Guatemala, I'd had about a months worth of beginning classes from studying while in Austin, and that was all.
So here I am in classes again in Cartagena feeling like I'm back at the starting point, but not quite. Slowly, what I learned is coming back, faster than it would if I'd never taken it I suppose.
The school and the teachers are very good. Still, the cost to take Spanish classes here in Colombia is more than double what it is in Guatemala and the classes are group here rather than private too. There are also much fewer options for studying, though I think more language schools will become available as tourists continue to come to the country.
After 4 hours of group Spanish with a really great teacher and two other students who are definitely beyond my level, I kind of felt like a wet rag - so saturated with "palabras" and the heat of the city, that I retired to my room most of the rest of the day to nap and do design work. I also promptly ordered rosetta stone level 1-5 to compel me to keep up with the studying when I return to the states again. I really do love learning another language, and I have no excuses not to keep learning Spanish living in Santa Fe. I think they even offer Spanish classes at the Travel Bug Cafe.
It does feel really great to be in classes and have some structure and community to the rest of my time in Cartagena, which is 3.5 more hot and sweltering days. I met a fellow student from Brazil who happens to be staying at the airbnb place I am, so we walked back and forth to class together. He doesn't like Cartagena's heat and traffic either and is doing the same thing I did and rebooking his flight to leave at 1 week instead of two. He has already studied a few weeks in Bogota and Medellin and preferred both of those cities. He said Bogota was still too crowded for his taste and it was impossible to get on public transport because there were so many people on the buses. About Medellin, he said it was extremely clean and the metro system was great, and it also has eternal spring weather. I met a girl from Michigan in my class and she has been all over Colombia and likes Salento, Tayrona National Park and Cali best.
Yesterday, I rearranged my itinerary, so I head to Cali on Saturday for only 5 days now, then on to Salento, a small town in the coffee region for 4 days, then Taganga (outside Santa Marta where I can book day trips to Tayrona National Park) for 5 days, followed by 4 days in the mountain villiage of Minca, and finally a few final days west of Santa Marta at a more quiet beach cottage. I'm much more excited about the rest of my trip now and looking forward to having more time in different parts of the country.
The change of pace feels like the right amount, not too sedentary, and enough time to relax in each place. Now that I think about it, I always start out trying stay longer in one place, and I get restless right away and find it much funner to hop around. When I first went to Guatemala, I was likewise only planning to go to Antigua for a month and Xela for a month each, but immediately found Antigua to be too touriste and ended up leaving after a week and proceeding to stay in a different place every 1-2 weeks instead. So, I'm not surprised really about my reaction and turn of events. Traveling requires being flexible and having a loose plan you are not afraid to reset.
Of course, if I were traveling with another person, resetting would be more difficult. I would compromise on the pace and that would be fine, because the trip would be equally about enjoying the places and the company of the other person.
I will take advantage of this solo travel, for reflections, for processing, and yes, for being selfish. It is different from other trips I've ever taken in that it is the first long solo trip while in a relationship. I am blessed that my boyfriend is so understanding and not the jealous, overprotective or competitive type. I have to say I've surprised several people by saying I have a boyfriend back home. Why are there so many male travelers with girlfriends back home and thats normal? There are also a lot of older divorced men here, doing their midlife crisis thing.
So, there is that thread back to connecting with another, letting them know you're still alive :) and this is especially relevant in this less polished country, different than if I was just away in Hawaii or Canada for a month. My dad has expressed a need for me to update them every few days for example. Having feelings of worry for someone can be a foreign feeling for some who don't often feel that emotion for another, but places like this can bring a caring kind of protectiveness out in the ones you love and bring you even closer together from far away.
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