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So this is going to be the first blog of two, as it was suggested to me to talk more about my impressions of Bogota and the people and about my family. The second blog post, which may come up first, will be all about Ecuador.
So firstly I'll tell you more about my family, as come to think of it I didn't really tell you much! So the father, Fabio he is a teacher (not sure of what) by trade but is currently not working, however I'm not really sure why. He is currently doing an English course, so we are having a lot of fun talking about the difficulties of learning a new language. He can now sympathise with the struggles I am facing, but he admits that at least he can take a break when he comes home and speaks his own language, whereas I can't do that. He had planned to take a job a few hours away, which would have meant he stayed the week away and returned only for the weekend. He decided not to take this job, as it was too painful for him to leave his family for the week. He is a very gentle soul who clearly loves his family. He's quite passive, very caring and openly loving to his wife. I love watching him interact with the family and you can often hear him calling Legia his amor (love). He speaks quite slowly with me and is very patient when I struggle to communicate. I find him easier to talk too simply because he does speak slower and clearer. You can see that he is a very well liked man, and he is now involved, as well as Legia with the missions group at their church.
Legia, the mum doesn't work and generally stays at home looking after the family. She is incredibly talented though and makes jewellery (bracelets, necklaces, etc), as well as doing a form of knitting/ cross stitch that I've not seen before. I think she sells them to friends and family but seems to make them as gifts for people to. It's a hobby of hers, but I know that if she wanted to sell them she could and make a decent amount of money from doing so. She's given me 3 bracelets, which are all beautiful and all different. She's quite a dominating lady and I think she deals a lot with the finances of the family. She knows what she wants, she knows how she wants it and she does it that way. She cooks very well though and loves to feed people. She's quite a big lady but I think she wants to loose a bit of weight. It's been quite amusing having her tell me when things are healthy when I know full well that they aren't. For example, they drink a lot of fruit juice here, and add sugar to it. I've asked not to have it and prefer to just have the fruit instead. She finds it hard to accept that, and insists that having fruit juice is healthy. Of course in some respects it is, but having that much fruit sugar put into a glass isn't that healthy at all! I feel that she and I will have our disagreements about some things, but I know it's all good for me to be dependent on someone else and accept a different way of life. She's got a good heart though and again you can see that she loves her family and wants to please people.
Rito my granddad here just chills out all day. Whenever I ask him what he's been doing or what plans he has, sadly he says none. Yesterday he walked with me to the shop and I think that was a highlight of his day. He loves the countryside so when they visit the land that they have, which is about a 3 hour drive away, he will often stay a few days there instead. I think he's taken to me quite well and every now and again he'll tell me in English that I'm beautiful! I love him! He used to work in a bank and has moved around Bogota quite a bit, as well as living in other South American countries. He's a gentle soul to who loves animals. He keeps himself to himself quite a bit reading and watching tv, but is always around.
Juan my 21 year old bro is starting back at university in a couple of weeks and I think he'll be studying engineering of some kind. He had a bit of a tough time and took some time out of university I think. He seems ready to go back though. He's really into his sport and plays football every Sunday. I think he's quite good and I'm hoping to watch him play sometime soon. He loves cycling, playing squash and generally being out and about. You can again see the love that he has for his family, but I get the feeling that he struggles with the way family life is here. He has more independence, but I think he is aware that because he doesn't go to church it has set him apart a little bit. I feel for him, and I hope me going through a similar thing when I was younger (not being set apart from the family, but not going to church) will help us bond a bit more. Last night I went to a friend's house until quite late, and took the transmileno back. On the way I sent Juan a What's app and he came and met me at the station despite it being a 2minute walk back. He's a very good younger brother and I look forward to getting to know him more.
Then there's Mateo my little 12 year old brother. What can I say about him? He loves football, the xbox, films especially Planes and Cars (pixar films), winding the cat up and being a typical 12 year old boy. He has a close friend who lives opposite but apart from that he doesn't seem to do much. His desire is to be a professional footballer and he has assured me that this will happen, except he's not part of a club, but unable to trash this dream I accepted it. I think he's quite smart but just not motivated to work hard, and I feel he is a little spoilt, but hey so was I and look how I turned out :-p! He enjoys coming to church and sometimes stays in the main service, as he prefers it. He's been a little saviour for me though especially at the beginning when I couldn't communicate at all.
Then there's Leena and Daniel who are the son and daughter-in-law. Not really sure what Daniel does but he works in an office and I think he does some kind of promotion work. Leena is a social worker and is currently doing a part time Masters in conflict resolution. Both are gentle and loving. Leena is also pregnant, I think about 14 weeks now. I hope that in time Leena and I can become friends, as I think that we have a lot in common. I don't see her much at the moment but that's okay. Both go to the same church so Sunday is the day we catch up.
Okay so impressions of the country and the people. The people are very welcoming, friendly and lovely, however they can't say 'no', which can be difficult. It is seen as very rude to say no, but not rude to say yes and not turn up. Bit of an odd concept and one that I need to learn more about. So when you ask directions, if a person doesn't know they'll just make it up! Great!
Another thing they do is always ask about the food. Do you like it? Isn't it good? Having come back from Ecuador every single person in the family has asked me about the food! It's a big thing here. However, from what I can remember they haven't really asked me about the food in England.
Everyone wears shoes in the house, which I don't like doing very much. They worry about you getting cold feet, so I now normally wear socks in the house as a compromise.
I've noticed that people are patient when you speak and will tell you if they don't understand. However, they also forget to speak slowly back to you, but its fine to say you don't understand to and it can become quite a funny joke when neither of you understand what the other is saying!
Anyway enough for now, this is a bit of an essay so I'll stop. I'll write about Ecuador another time (it'll also be a long post).
Let me know if there's any other information you want and I'll do my best to include it.
Lots of love xxxxxxx
p.s. the cat is crazy! As you can see she is in the bag quite happily resting. Last night she had a crazy few minutes, went under my bed and decided to attack my feet....she's great.
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