Feels like everyday life, only better

So, I'm back again...

I've been in Cartagena for 9 days now and I've already lost my heart a little bit to Colombia.

Everything went super easy at the entry (thanks to the German passport :D) and I was warmly welcomed by my 'host father' José. I have my own room and bathroom here and - hold on tight - an air conditioner. So for backpacker standards, it's pure luxury. The house itself has the typical Colombian flair and to keep it authentic, there are of course holes in the ceiling, ant parties in the kitchen, and small lakes in the living room during heavy rainfalls. But apparently, that's just part of it here. :D It was nice to be able to unpack my bag and really settle down in one place. Of course, traveling is great and exciting, and the time in Panama and Costa Rica was breathtaking, but you must not forget that constantly packing and unpacking, moving on, organizing, and reorienting every two days can also be really exhausting. Of course, positively exhausting, but traveling also has its downsides and it's not always just what you see shining on Instagram and Co. But be that as it may, I was absolutely ready for 4 weeks of feeling 'at home' and the previously organized volunteer work. I successfully (at least mostly) completed my first week of work at the Granitos De Paz Foundation. Initially, I was brought back down to earth because not everything was as the organization had conveyed, but I quickly adapted to all the circumstances. At the moment, there are two other girls from Germany here who thankfully took me by the hand and showed me everything during the first few days. Otherwise, I would have been really lost. However, no one could have expected that even the Uber drivers don't want to drive to the Foundation due to the critical situation and constantly cancel the reservations. Anyway, somehow you always (well, mostly) get there and then you're eagerly awaited by the children with open arms, but it's definitely a different world. (Note to Mom: No worries about the Foundation itself, I'm safe :D) In the end, my task is to assist the teacher in teaching and support the weaker students. Ultimately, there are kids between the ages of 5 and 15 in the class who have completely different levels of learning. It's amazing how the teacher manages that every day. Sometimes a little math is taught, sometimes a little Spanish or English, everything mixed up. But as if that wasn't enough, the seniors behind the cardboard partition also start dancing salsa or singing in between. It's nice to see this endless joy of life. It's not so nice when you actually want to write a dictation with the children. Speaking of dictation, let me tell you that the little ones can be quite strict with me and I immediately get contradicted if I pronounce words wrong. Sometimes I really wonder who is teaching whom here. Speaking Spanish really forces me to step out of my comfort zone. But since no one here speaks English, I'm simply forced to learn it as quickly as possible. And when my ears start ringing too much, I just dance salsa. It's definitely easier than learning Spanish with 2 cocktails in your head. :D The mentality of the people here is generally very open and warm. Everyone sits together, it's colorful, it's loud, there's dancing and celebration. I always thought it was a cliché, but it's actually true. And suddenly, as a usually rather reserved German, you find yourself in the middle of a salsa party and get thrown around. Wild.

So, it's really nice to be here with 30 degrees and the Caribbean in the air. There are worse things than spending your evening on the beach, in a colorful café, or in a cocktail bar. However, I'm also really glad to see the other side of Colombia through my work. If you grow up in Germany, you really have a lot of privileges that you often don't appreciate anymore - starting with education. Do you remember when each subject had its own color and everything was in order? Here, the children come to school with one exercise book and one pen, if they even come to school at all. So, my perfectionist self has definitely been buried for now. But it doesn't always have to be 100% perfect, the main thing is to make the best of it. Although I would really appreciate it if tables were drawn with a ruler in the future, but oh well. :D

I could talk for hours, but that's enough for now.

Small spoiler for the next post: It feels like I constantly have to deal with new challenges here... Unfortunately, the condition of my stem cell recipient (I donated last year in April through the DKMS) has deteriorated again, so a new donation is necessary. And of course, my world trip or my concerns are not in proportion to a life. So, I will probably have to fly to Chile in June to donate again. That will be exciting again. Challenge accepted.

And that's not all, there were, let's say, a few complications in the further planning for my little sister Nadine. But since sisters always stick together and ending the trip is not up for debate, she will fly to Colombia this weekend, sort herself out, get a little motivation kick from me, and then we will continue together after finishing my volunteer project. I'm super excited that a piece of family will be with me in just a few days. Spontaneous changes of plans can be really nerve-wracking, but they can also be enriching. We'll handle it.

Greetings to the world.