Real Life — Molly Wanders

I keep forgetting to post because of two reasons: 1) work, and 2) Remote Year is now real life. As much as I feel like I'm on a constant vacation, I'm not, and I'm working, and I'm sleeping, and I'm being lazy some nights (I'll explain the magic of Rappi later), and a lot of it is just too boring to write about. Immediately I feel guilty using the word 'boring,' because none of my days are actually boring, but I'm acutely aware of my braggadocio when I recount every amazing detail of how things are going over here.

I also feel like I've come out of my work coma. As in, now that Q1 is about to end and I'm a bit behind- I feel the work stress setting in. It's possible that this week just seems overwhelming because I've had a few things sprung on me that are begging for me to fail, or I've finally realized that I need to buckle down and focus more. Either way, it kind of sucks, but I'm on Remote Year because I'm a working professional and digital nomad, not a wanderlusting expat bopping from hostel to hostel (though I'd like to be this expat at some point in my life).

Monday - Friday are normal workweeks with a bit of fun sprinkled in at night: Dinner and drinks at a local speakeasy; checking out a Medellin art gallery and eating edible flower salads; mid-week hostel bar crawls; and nights playing Cards Against Humanity while drinking too much wine. The weekends go by fast, but are packed with activities since this is when I'm able to do most of my cultural exploration. I think this coming weekend *foreshadow* will be one for the books.

My two cents this week:

1) If you go on a coffee-farm tour, don't overdo it on the coffee juices, the brewed coffee, and the panela-covered-coffee beans, or you will be completely wired for the horseback riding portion (that is VERY intense on a steep/rocky/muddy mountainside) and be scared you're going to have a heart attack.

1b) Also don't fall in love with the coffee-farm kitten because you'll want to go to the local pet store where cats are for sale, buy one for the month, and try to return it later. (Don't worry, I haven't done this....yet).

2) I've said it before, but on RY (or normal life), take a night a week to have some wine, chill on the couch, order RAPPI (as in rápido, not pronounced 'rapey,' except it's more fun to say it that way because people think you're serious), the Colombian version of UberEats, and watch Harry Potter in Spanish with your roomie. #FeelsLikeHomeToMe

2b) Rappi is amazing. They will even go to the grocery store for you. Or the ATM. Or bring you wine if you run out.

3) BRING AN UMBRELLA TO MEDELLIN. It rains every. single. day. Not always in the morning, but like clockwork around 2pm: dark clouds out of nowhere, flash of lightning, crack of thunder... downpour. Luckily I love thunderstorms and it reminds me of summertime back home in Raleigh- but you don't want to get caught walking to the workspace when it hits and have to run down the flooding street with your phone on mute praying no one calls on you because you are in the middle of a GoToMeeting... :)

4) The traditional Colombian meal called Bandeja Paisa (Bandeja=platter; Paisa=region of Antioquia, where Medellin lies) is a super high calorie plate of food intended for consumption by 'mountain men' after a strenuous day of work on the mountain, likely coffee-farming. You can also eat it at home for lunch after a non-strenuous day and clog all your arteries. Totally worth it. Bandeja Paisa includes rice, beans, chicharron (fried pork belly fat), chorizo sausage, fried plantain, arepas, avocado, and usually a fried egg but we threw on some grilled tipo queso (mmm more saturated fat). I've had this meal twice now in Medellin, and both were muy bueno.