One Month In!

View from the top of *Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas*

Hi there! I am writing this blog to document and share my experiences in Cartagena, Colombia, and after a little over a month here jam-packed with so many new experiences, I have no idea where to begin, but here's the skinny: Cartagena is a large vibrant Caribbean city filled with kind people, hot days and warm nights, music blasting on almost every corner, a ton of motorcycles, delicious food, and so much more that I am looking forward to exploring further.

The Sunset at *Monumento India Catalina* outside the historical center of Cartagena

If you don’t already know me, hello and welcome! My name is Octavia Christopher, I am from North Carolina, I just graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry (Summa Cum Laude if I may add!!!) in May 2022, and I am a 2022-2023 Fulbright Scholarship grantee. Through Fulbright I am an English Teaching Assistant at the University of Cartagena and will be here for a total of 10 months. My students just had their first partial exams a few weeks ago, and as I mentioned previously, I’ve spent over a month here already (time flies!), so it feels like a good time to put pen to paper and get this blog started!

*Mojarra frito, arroz con coco, ensalada y frijoles:* one of my first meals here

To give you more context about my location, Cartagena is a city in the Bolivar department of Colombia on the Northern coast, which is also called the Caribbean coast. This part of Colombia is completely different from the rest of the country. And no, I haven’t visited “the rest” myself just yet (besides Bogotá for a couple days), but Cartageneros, Colombians from other cities, and the internet will tell you the same. The culture and environment here on the Caribbean coast is definitely more similar to those of the Caribbean islands than the interior cities of Colombia, like Bogotá. I initially flew into Bogotá when I first arrived in Colombia, and while I was there I wore a coat and carried an umbrella with me as I explored the sprawling urban landscape of tall graffitied buildings. However, in Cartagena, I was welcomed to the city by Caribbean beach-town architecture, palm trees, and I literally broke a sweat as soon as I got off the plane. The heat is omnipresent, and in my month here I’ve learned to embrace the ~shimmer~ of the constant layer of sweat on my skin!

I didn’t have a huge culture shock moment when I arrived here, as I am Caribbean myself, and many cultural elements like the food, the music, and the way people interact feels very familiar, but there are a couple interesting things I think are notable enough for this first post…

Hot days sin aire: There are only two seasons here, dry season and rainy season, and I arrived just in time to feel how hot it can get during the dry period. Some people have air conditioning in their homes to escape the heat, but if not, it is truly essential to at least have a fan. The heat can really tire and dehydrate you if you’re not mindful. I don’t have air conditioning in my room where I am living right now and I probably use my fan more than I use my phone at this point!
Cold showers: Additionally, because it is so sunny and hot, there is no need for hot water. I don’t think I’ve encountered hot water anywhere in the city, and while the cold showers can be a shock sometimes, they definitely feel like a reward after a long day in the heat.
Motos and mototaxis: There are soooooo many motorcycles here, and I'd say the majority of them are mototaxis; guys (and some gals) who take you wherever you'd like to go, quickly and for a good price. The safety level is questionable, and there are a couple different rules/do’s/don’ts that you should know about mototaxis, so I’ll definitely write an entire blogpost about motos soon!
Music: You’ll hear a lot of music here, at all hours of the day and night and in various styles like champeta, salsa, vallenato, cumbia, reggaeton, and much more. I love music and I LOVE dance so this aspect of Cartagena makes me so happy. This deserves its own post as well, so I will circle back to this topic too.
Kind people: This is a huge one. People are generally super kind, friendly, and willing to help you here. I can’t even tell you the number of times that people have helped me navigate around the city, helped me communicate different things when I was struggling with my Spanish, or offered advice or connected me with someone they trust to help solve whatever issue I was facing at the moment. Just today I was a little lost and a woman I asked to point me in the right direction instead accompanied me on a 10 minute walk to get to my destination. While I can’t say that I’ve never run into a rude person during my time here, I can say that Colombians, and more specifically, Cartageneros, really seem to care for one another, and I’ve felt that warmth and care a ton during my time here. People always greet each other with “buenos días” or “buenas tardes” or my favorite that works at any time of day, “buenas!”, among friends, classmates, coworkers, and even people you pass on the street. The people are super close here, and I love that.

So that's a tiny bit of insight into what I’ve been experiencing thus far, and I really hope you come back for more! Thanks for giving my first post a read, and I’m sure that after reading some more I’ll convince you to make a trip to Cartagena too. Nos vemos. Chao!

DISCLAIMER: This site (octaviachristopher.com) is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.

A Challenge for Growth!