10-10-10 Birthday Weekend

Birthdays are a big deal in Colombia, people like to plan and celebrate and so I guess it came as no surprise that our friends wanted to know what we were going to do for my birthday. Our plan was just to go away, the two of us, for the weekend but after all the excitement that was coming from our friends we decided to throw a party.

It was also two other friends birthday so together we decided to rent a finca (a country home)

After much searching we found a big goddy finca. It was huge and a bit run down, clearly it was once in the hands of some narcotrafficers who adorned their farm with a white horse (not to ride but rather as a decoration) a disco ball and dance floor and some pretty over the top decorations. But much time had passed since Pablo Escobar want-to-be's have party hered, things were run down and old but still we had a blast.

 

check out the curious white horse..

 

We all pooled our money and payed 200 dollars for the weekend and in the end it was like 30 people there.

Okay Planning- can be hard here for reasons which I have explained a million times on this blog but really it is so different for us. For example we didn't even have the farm rented for sure until thursday, giving us one day to plan and invite friends. We had to find stereo equipment, plan a menu, coordinate transportation and more, But amazingly enough it worked out. It makes me think that we North Americans are so accustomed to planning ahead that we have come to believe that it is a must.

We woke up early Saturday morning and with a few friends made a huge list of groceries and headed to the cheapest and most crowded out door food market in Cali. Saint Helena. This was the real Colombia, packed full of people, loud and stinky like old meat, and VERY CHEAP!

We arrived at the farm and settled in. Wow we were in shock. The pool, the view, the weather...it was all perfect. And, did I mention we hired someone to cook and clean for the weekend? WHO THE HELL ARE WE???? But since it was so cheap and we were pooling the money, why wouldn't we have someone to help us cook and clean for 30 people! She was so freindly and kind and I am so happy we had her!

We spent the day swimming and sunbathing, listening to music, eating and hanging with friends. At Sunset we played soccer, which was a blast but extremely tiring.

In the evening we made a barbaque at the outdoor fire pit, we danced, we sang and we partied.

Then we got robbed....yes robbed. Someone came into the farm stole some backpacks and ran off. Leaving at trail of  the back packs and their contents. It put a little damper on the party but was also very entertaining. It is hard to explain, but this country home is far off into the country with high fences and guard dogs, leading us to believe that NO ONE actually entered the farm and rather it was someone at the caretakers house. Since they are the only ones who knew where to find the accessible windows and the only ones who knew where our tent was down by the soccer fields. Luckily it didn't totally kill the party and only a few people lost a small amount of money. The bummer was that my closest friend lost all his paperwork like his ID, license and other Colombian documents and this will cost him a lot to replace. The next day we called the police and they came all six of them and I don't think all their ages combined would equal 50. They listened and nodded but they were way more concerned about jumping into the fruit trees to score some oranges. Since I was the one who actually signed and officially rented the farm I was forced to talk to the police and call the Owner on the phone....kind of annoying but really entertaining. 

A very endearing aspect of the Colombian culture is their love for dancing and singing. In the evening I made a joke that I wanted a show for my birthday. And in the end my two Colombian friends danced Tengo (beautiful!) two other friends, one who is in a dance group, danced Cumbia. An American friend did some amazing breakdancing. We sang an Irish drinking song with our Irish friend, and we danced an Italian dance wtih an Italian friend and ofcourse everyone danced salsa all night.

Here in Colombia there seems to be the general notion that sleeping when there is a party is not an option. I had imagined that we would party till 2am or 3am and sleep so we could enjoy the next day but most of the others didn't agree. The music went loud all throug the night. I just got up at 6 am and joined the party. I figured I would be much happier out there. So the party was the longest in my life.

Our Irish friend who, true to his country people, can really drink but I mean with out stopping or getting sick. So at 9am when we just couldn't talk it anymore, we shut the power off so he would stop playing music, screaming and playing air guitar. Luckily he was too drunk to realize the power was out and instead just started at the stereo for way too long.

The sunrise on the surrounding mountains was amazing and we had a sunny day to spend pool side chatting and playing cards. The boys played soccer, amazingly enough with out any sleep at all and we girls cheered them on.

After a big barbaque and a birthday cake we started to head home. Reflecting on the weekend I feel so lucky to have made these friends. Even though I sometimes feel like our friendships here are topical and temporary because of langauge and common interests, the truth is we have found a group of real special people, who are so loving and kind. They say the sweetest things to you and hug and kiss you as if you have been friends forever. And, because of these actions of these friends it was a really beautiful birthday weekend.

me and finca mascot