Emi's Visit

So my friend Emi who I met while studying abroad with in Argentina, and who I later lived with senior year, came to visit me here in Medellin last week. She was here for a week and I am just not getting a chance to write about it because we did so much, I was overwhelmed! I think the best way to capture our experience is through photos and talk of food:

Starting off, Emi arrived with lots of goodies she brought me and what my mom had shipped to her. Literally half of her suitcase was filled with stuff for me including: peanut butter, tampons, cheese (5 kinds including cottage, brie, and Colby Jack!), yogurt covered raisins, shirts, a pair of socks, a camera case, an external hard drive, among other things. I was bursting with joy like it was Christmas when I saw her pulling out all of this stuff. We immediately broke open the brie and I offered it to my roommates.

After she got settled, I took her to try a typical Colombian arepa de chocolo (corn arepa) with cheese on top. She had a list of fruits that she had to try given to her by her Colombian friends, so we got started right then with a Guanabana juice which she enjoyed. I got a tomate de arbol (tree tomato) juice so she could try, which kind of looks like a tomato, but taste a lot sweeter. On the way back the streets were crowded and I could tell was a bit overwhelmed with all of the hustle and bustle of the city. Even living in DC or Chattanooga, Emi wasn't really used to how crowded it would be. It's hard to have a conversation while walking because you're constantly dodging out of the way of people, food vendors, homeless people lying in the sidewalk, and buses. I live literally right smack dab in the middle of the city, the Times Square of Medellin, and Emi just had to use that walk to take it all in. She got used to it by the end though I think, and really ended up loving Medellin.

The next day we went with my roommate Checho to Guatape, a town a few hours away, where we climbed this hugeeee rock! We stopped and ate lunch first as this awesome place where the chef had studied in France. We shared some amazing crispy crepes filled with eggplant and cheese and brie and ham.

Then we drove to el Peñol, the name of the 5000 ft rock. We climbed the 629 steps, stopping a few times along the way to catch our breath, and got some amazing views at the top. The rock is surrounding by this giant river that has been dammed up creating all of these little rivers, with islands and bridges connecting them. It really was like a little paradise up there. On the way back to Medellin, we stopped and had some warm yuca bread and coffee. Yuca tastes like a potato on the inside but with a bit of a different texture, and it's used the same way as a potato (i.e. to make chips, yuca fries, in soups, etc).

el peñol-that's me jumping in front of it!view from the top of el peñol

Other things we did in Medellin included: climb to the top of a mountain in the middle of the city to catch a great view of the whole city, see a sloth while visiting the botanical gardens, hang out with my roommates giving Emi the chance to keep up her Spanish and introduce her to Medellin slang, witness some blonde American missionaries spread the word of Jesus with a huge cross and banner while walking up and down the streets of the center, buy typical Colombian food and drinks to bring back to her Colombian friends in the U.S., and walk all over this city. I think Emi really enjoyed it here, and that made me really happy.

On her last day she made a Spanish tortilla to thank everyone