FYI: Note to Self

I want to make a pause in relating my Colombia experiences and share a few key lessons that I have learned on this trip, which has so far been full of unexpected turns:

1) Never ask for directions in Latin America: get a detailed map of the city and figure it out yourself. Or, instead of being stubborn and walking places, take a cab. This is an observation not just from Colombia, but if you ask several people for directions (usually to a well-known place), every single person will tell you something different, which usually leaves me more confused than before I asked.

2) Invest in a portable tea-kettle: I will still have to investigate this matter further to verify that something of a sort exists, but as I have discovered during several of my trips, people in other countries are not into hot tea. For a tea-holic like myself who drinks 3-4 cups of tea a day from huge mugs, not being able to have good tea every morning or having tiny amounts of flavorless tea have been a little tough to handle. Unless I go back home or to the UK, the land of fellow tea drinkers, I must bring my tea supplies with me.

3) Wear a hat: I know that because of being a tall pale Caucasian with blond hair I stand out like a sore thumb in most countries of the developing world. However, I’m getting tired of the gawking stares and worrying that people will take advantage of me thinking that I’m a clueless gringa. A hat might make things easier. Note to self: stop borrowing Meg’s Red Sox hat and invest in your own.