First there is Renata. She is the owner of the house and is originally from Italy. A right lovely lady with three kids and an independently powerful life-style which is often at odds with this machismo city / culture. She is a yoga fanatic and one could call her somewhat of a new-age hippy with her books on Reiki littering the house among other flower-power relics and alternative medicine texts. She is always willing to engage in discussions about the state of the world and takes a keen interest in humanitarian issues and the like. She is my outlet when I need to unburden some of the heaviness that I feel after watching the news about Zimbabwe (or Sudan or Tibet or SA or or or…) for instance. Having lived in Italy, she also knows what its like to try and learn a new language and what it takes to fit into a place full of people who know very little about where you’re from. We have chats about Jungian Psychology and how people think that our aspirations are a little peculiar to say the least. Sometimes, as a treat, I cook for the house and Renata is always the one who shares the most ideas with me about the world cuisines that fascinate us most, like Indian food, Mexican treats and different teas. Generally, talking to Colombianos about Indian food is like trying to describe life on Mars. No entenden nada! She personally seems to take so much satisfaction out of my journey of discovery here that I get downright soppy seeing the beaming smile on her face when I describe the latest treasures that I have unearthed. Fiercely practical and feisty to boot! In the last week there was a poetry festival in Medellin and having heard my account of the Congolese poet that I enjoyed the most, she promptly dragged some nieces and nephews along to see a follow up show also featuring a Zimbabwean poet in one of the other spots around town and was delighted to share the experience with me.
Then there is Renata’s brother, Ivan. He’s a particularly amusing chap who I suspect might be a little loopy. He smokes 3-4 boxes of cigarettes a day and drinks sickenly sweet coffee by the thermos. He is somewhat of a handy-man and has his own workshop downstairs, but it looks more like a place that time forgot after a fearful explosion took place. Lord only knows how he finds his way around in there. The man is somewhat messy as is plain to see with his permanently blackened hands, dirty clothes and the trail of filth that he to leaves behind in the kitchen. The coffee gets remade so often in the little Italian coffee-pot, that cleaning it and all the areas in the kitchen and lounge with coffee stains, has been forgotten completely. This includes the 5-6 teeth he has left from the excess of sugar, caffeine and nicotine. He has a big, if not always sensical, sense of humour and literally cried from laughter one night as we all watched a animal planet program on a Kalahari Meerkat family, which I referred to as my own. He knows Madiba as a man ‘who killed many’ (???) and has some way-out perceptions of the dark continent, and this, despite reading the paper everyday and also watching a good portion of the news too? Since my arrival in Medellin, Ivan has also been building a charming apartment upstairs. The place seems to be getting there and I wouldn’t mind moving into this little pad complete with its own kitchenette, etc. Ivan also has two noisy cuckatoo’s in a large cage just inside the back door. The coincidental likeness with his mental state is striking. I can’t seem to get on with these stupid birds as they start chirping loudly and flapping as if I’m trying to strangle them every time I walk past. What is worse, is that Ivan sits outside my bedroom window in the mornings, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and incessantly whistling at the birds in the most aggravatingly monotonous manner. I have timed the whistles as happening every 10-15 seconds and he seems so unaware of this infuriating repetition that he surely would not know what the hell I was talking about if I brought it up! As I’ve mentioned before, Colombia is a noisy place and one obviously becomes more used to it with time. That being said I swear that between Ivan’s bloody whistling and the damned avocado salesman who, with his loud-haler, prowls the streets only at 7:30 in the morning yelling as if there has been a natural disaster just up the road, I have come seriously close to asking them if they know exactly how freaking mental they are?!
Renata and Ivan sharing a laugh with a friend..smoking and drinking coffee!Then there is Eyver and Edison, Eyver is Edison’s aunt and they both live in the same room across from mine. They hail from a poorer city closer to the coast and Eyver is looking after Edison while he finishes studying at a local university. He’s a youngster and we thus sneak out for a beer at the local watering hole or to smoke a joint skelm sometimes. He’s a good kid and wanted to take me to his home town in the school holidays, but that fell through seeing as I returned from Mexico the day he was leaving. Nevertheless, he kept in touch with me even when I was away in Mexico and has been great to talk to about what life is like for a poorer section of the Colombian people. He represents a newer part of the culture that listens to reggaeton (like some form of Latin Hip-hop) and has dreams that are not plagued by a history of violence and pain. Its great to see how a new generation can move beyond the baggage of the past in such a short time. I wish it for SA. I also take him running every now and then, but he seems to have become a little frightened of the sprint-jog-lift weights-tailor-made-rugby-fitness regime. What’s really cool is that I live close to the local stadium where there is a running track and outdoor gymnasiums with weights made from concrete and other goodies. Its quite cool and seems to be the sporting hub of the city with indoor soccer fields, fencing facilities, roller hockey parks, cycling tracks and even a motor racing circuit. This city is seen as one of Latin America’s most progressive and with good reason too. The Pan-American games (not really sure what they are) will be held here next year and you can see why.
Edison's mug shot. Seriously, the kid loved this photie!Eyver works doing I don’t know what at a local surgery for one of the doctors. To say that she is motherly would be an understatement as she is hands-down the person most concerned about my well being on a daily basis. She asks about everything from my health to my family almost daily and when I got sick recently the level of care reached new levels with constant sms reminders of how dangerous the rainy weather is for me and how I should be taking care to ensure that I’m dressed warmly and god bless me….etc. Whenever I travel there is a call to make sure that I have arrived / travelled safely to my destination. She has at the same time included me at all meal times with Edison which is great. She loves a nice gossip and also won’t miss an opportunity to talk kak about Ivan’s supposedly new girlfriend or how he apparently tried to blame me for some dirty plates in the kitchen. She seems fascinated by the fact that I left home (as did my brother and sister) at the age of 18 and innocently asked if this was because something was ‘wrong’? My talks about the state of the world and problems in Africa, for instance, seem to now get an audience in the house with Eyver usually asking all the questions and Renata concurring from a philosophical point of view.
The nightly TV scene...view the size of that pitiful excuse for a tele!Last but not least there is Pacho who can only be described as a scholar and a gentleman. He does not actually live in the house but comes over for a visit on most evenings (except Sundays when he plays Billiards) when the family is religiously gathered around the pint-size TV, watching Colombian soapies or history/discover channel. He also chain smokes and drinks too much coffee with Ivan and Renata. He is the only member of the group who can speak a little English and, even though its not great, he checks my blog and loves reading about my perspectives on this way of life. He seems to know something about almost everything and, having watched how he works, it all seems self taught. He knew about the Rugby World Cup, much to my delight, and even rattled off facts about the best players of New Zealand, Australia and SA. He likes George Gragan though! When I was travelling the Coffee Belt recently, he would send me SMS updates on the score between NZ and SA. I have gone to him for help with my Spanish too and he will invariably return the following day with a print out from the internet which answers my questions more clearly than he believes he was able to. He has taught himself music which he amusingly tries his hand at with an electronic keyboard while watching TV. He is also learning Italian and even helps Ivan with the building project upstairs. He loves trying new things like the ‘weird’ curries I’ve made and was also the first to sample the chillies and Mezcal that I brought back from Mexico, although, it must be said, he was a tad red-faced and well-liquored after two shots of the golden liquid. At the moment he is teaching me how to play Billiards and that is no small task I can tell you! The game is super complicated but we meet about twice a week at a local billiards hall where the old regulars try their best to hide their staring at the gringo. He patiently teaches me all the little nuances and even resets the balls for me to try again when I’ve fluffed my shot badly. Its quite an experience, but I seem to have picked it up quite quickly. When we’re done he lifts me on the handle bars of his bicycle to my house as we discuss the upcoming SA rugby game or the fact that Eyver strangely called 7 and not 6 times that day to check on my well being. He is also the most well-read person in the house and constantly refers me to something he read about SA, Africa or the other things that he knows interest me. A good man!
Pacho teaching himself knitting with Eyver obviously amusedAll in all I have settled in really nicely with many an amusing moment transpiring on most days. Lucky guy right?!
