I live in Medellin, Colombia. The most common response is “Why?” in a very, very confused manner. I don’t have an answer. One day at the end of last year I had a thought that maybe I’d like to go to South America, maybe to Colombia, maybe eventually in the nearish future. Less than three months later, I was on a flight to Bogota.
Unlike some people assume, I’m not dodging bullets on the street and fending off knife attacks around every corner. Which, to be fair, that is kind of what I too assumed I would be doing when I stepped off the plane in Bogota last January. And I was sure that I would be kidnapped and it wasn’t a matter of if, but when. I was unwilling to admit it at the time, but I was terrified. Absolutely terrified. Colombia is still shedding its infamous reputation. I discovered most of my fears could be attributed to my own ignorance. I had never been anywhere near Colombia before, and all I had to goon was what I had heard. At one time, Medellin was considered the most dangerous city in the world. That’s not the case anymore. Of course there are still precautions to be taken.
Luckily, I received a lot of advice, or rather, mandatory instructions, on how to stay safe:
-DO NOT hail a taxi off the street. You’ll be kidnapped and killed.
-DO NOT take an overnight bus. Bandits will intercept it and you’ll be robbed and killed.
-DO NOT go to *name of poorer neighborhood where at some point in time something bad has happened*. You’ll definitely be killed.
-DO NOT have your cell phone out while walking down the street or while in public. It will be stolen, and for the sake of consistency, you’ll probably be killed.
Last January, I was as vigilant (read: paranoid and scared)as they come. But it’s been 7 months and I’ve loosened up a little…or well, a lot. So I’ve done these things once or twice, or every day in some cases.
Now, to be fair, I do know an unsettling amount of people who have had things, usually phones, stolen here. It hasn’t happened to me(yet…?...?). But all of the instances I’ve heard about were from pickpockets, which seems less traumatic than being robbed with a knife to your throat. Either way, I guess having something stolen is an unfortunate inconvenience.
And the other stuff, yeah. There are some neighborhoods that I’m definitely not trying to go to, especially alone and being the person that I am. Overnight buses do have a reputation for robberies, but the ones I’ve taken have been fine. And taxis. I don’t know. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve stepped into 2016 and finally started using Uber, but I’ve taken dozens by myself, and even more with other people, without any concerns.
But since I’m being as authentic as possible in keeping up with Colombian time and starting to document my experiences after being here for seven months, it’s impossible to sum up. Nothing about any aspect of life here is at all what I was expecting. In some ways it’s much better, in others it’s worse. But every good moment and bad moment have made it what it is, a really bizarrely wonderful experience.
