A Visit to the Country Without Leaving the City

''Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.''

Gary Snyder

Last week our new friends from a local English/Spanish club invited us to their home for a visit. Located twenty minutes from our apartment, I was excited to visit another barrio of Medellín, but I did not imagine the amazing experience that awaited us. Beatrice and Eduardo's home is surrounded by a garden of nature's abundance that Colombia is famous for. Trees producing avocados, mandarines, and limes. Herb gardens full of basil, parsley, and oregano (along with many more herbs that I would love to learn to cook with). Garden plots bursting forth with onions, celery, and carrots just waiting to become a part of a fresh soup ...

or in our case, a delicious breakfast omelet!

We were pleasantly surprised to take a visit to the country without leaving the city!

It's personal visits like this that you won't find on tourist websites. Visits like this are the result of friendships that form when we get out of our comfort zone. Learning a new language and living for an extended time in another country has given me a fair share of anxious moments. There have been times when I wonder if I will ever get to the point that I can freely share my many thoughts, ideas, and stories in another language.

But it is people like Beatrice and Eduardo who welcome us and make us feel at ease while we are visitors in their beautiful country. They live in a planned community in the foothills of the city that is surrounded by lush vegetation and two mountain streams. They and their neighbors worked together to develop a space where nature and community bind together as intricately as this thatched roof of one of the community buildings.

After our delicious breakfast, we took a walk around their neighborhood. While strolling along the paths and sharing stories in both Spanish and English, we quickly forgot that we were still in a large city.

Chickens at the community farm eagerly accepted a ''green'' treat from us

... and in return, they supply the local residents with an abundant daily supply of fresh eggs.

A community workshop not only encourages residents to create beautiful objects out of local materials, 

... but also encourages creative ''re-purposing'' of common household garbage.

The common areas that host exercise, dance, and music events were designed and built by local indigenous people in order to preserve and promote the natural balance that is an important part of Colombian culture.

A community fish pond provides hours of entertainment for Beatrice's 96 year old mother, and occasionally she will also joyfully gift them with a ''fresh catch of the day'' lunch in return. 

As we walked, we were serenaded by the many song birds that also call this oasis home. Because it's prohibited to use any pesticides on the trees or plants in the community, Beatrice had to come up with a creative way to keep the birds from feasting on their avocados.

She is hoping that the new ''scarecrows'' do the trick ... if not, at least we shared a lot of laughs as the women completed the project while the men ''supervised''.

 

It is during special experiences like this, that I realize that laughter and kindness shared transcends any language barriers, for it's ...

''Not the ones speaking the same language, but the ones sharing the same feelings that understand each other.''

Rumi

We have enjoyed so many beautiful experiences during our time in Colombia, and our final two weeks here in Medellín has flown by! Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions ... serving as volunteer English teachers ... sharing meals and saying ''good-byes'' to so many new and dear friends. More stories to come even as we return to the United States tomorrow.

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