In my opinion, an Adventure is not just a way of seeking an adrenaline rush through your body for a short period of time (whether it be skydiving or trying a type of food that you didn’t even know existed), but rather, it is of feeling a sense of touch and fulfillment unexpectedly. An adventure in which I had felt like I had discovered the New World was three summers ago, when I traveled to Colombia, South America for the first time in a long time. I know, many of you may wonder why or how this categorizes as an adventure for me, but reality, it had been my first time going in over 8 years. I guess you could say I was pretty anxious to see what had changed since I had last been there, if the same people still kept in contact, etc. All of these unsolved questions just made this experience even more meaningful, yet mysterious.
On the day of my departure, I was just inches away from approaching the gate entrance into the plane and on my way to a place where it left me puzzled and excited. However, all of these questions led to me believe what if something was to happen in the midst of this flight? Would this trip be like I hoped for so long it would be? Only time would tell if it was. That same afternoon, I had arrived to the José María Córdova International Airport in Medellín, Colombia. My heart literally dropped as the plane was descending from the clouds of the Andes and onto the runway. Obviously, I looked like a tourist by the clothes that I wore and my slow-walking into the airport. I then knew that this was the beginning of my adventure to Colombia. Aside from the fact that crime and drug-trafficking were on the rise, I was easily able to avoid being identified as an American Citizen in public. The reason I took this precaution was because in many countries where kidnappings of American Citizens for money were common, like Colombia, it is always best to blend in with the people, even if you don’t know a single thing about their culture. Thank God that nothing happened to me during my visit.
So, from the airport, my grandfather was waiting for me and it was a great moment because I had not seen him ever since I was a little boy. As we left the airport, I was traveling through the country-side, taking it all in on my way to the city, when all of a sudden, “CRASH”! An unsuspecting car drove past us with such acceleration and the car that was in front of ours. It was so close that it almost hit the car I was in, causing a fatal accident. All I could think was how some (not all) of the Colombian people got their license to drive. As the sky began to shroud itself in darkness, so did my mind. I was exhausted by the time I had arrived to my aunt’s house. But of course, a celebration of my arrival had been set up and I had to stay up and meet everyone (Oh God). As the days went by, I actually felt like I was living there, even though I have never lived there. Just feeling this way made my stay an absolute dream and I was just shocked at the fact how my departure date came so quickly.
It was definitely bittersweet to think about it, especially after only being there for a week. But I knew that this was only the beginning and that I would encounter more adventures each time I would travel to Colombia. The adventure of this adventure was definitely the anticipation of everyone’s state of emotion and just thinking about what I would do during my stay. With this experience in mind, I think anyone with an open-mind to embracing different cultures would feel the same way I did, unlike others who do not wish to know any life outside of their own country because with much tension going on in the world, not many people wish to travel to countries with a history of drug-trafficking and kidnappings. I guess you could say traveling to Colombia is a task for risk-takers and for those who love the Spanish language, as well as the history behind this country.
