Thirsty Thursday Thought: “The urgent does not leave time for what’s important.”

I left Bogota almost two weeks ago and landed in Bucaramanga.

 Until last night I had felt like this: Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line

 I definitely felt as if “everyone’s saying different things to me, different things to me.” By everyone I mean, the university and the Tutors I’m working with. They are responsible for my class/work schedule and professional enrichment while in Colombia. WELL, I’ve yet to get a confirmed work schedule or clear responsibilities, which is messing with my MOJO yo. This is a very relevant thought so keep it in mind, as I will refer to it later on in the blog.

After being away from home for almost four weeks it’s evident I am beginning to feel a bit homesick. I’m beginning to miss my loved ones, especially Odysseus Maximus Prime (that short little brat of a corgi). I transferred more than 5,000 pictures from my iPhone to my MacBook. Most of them from the trips I’ve gone to in the past two years: places in Arizona, places in Utah, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, and of course… Tijuana/San Diego. One by one these pictures transferred and I stayed glued to the screen on my laptop.  The images shooting by brought a sense of familiarity, which, oddly enough, manifested itself as a warm feeling running through my chest and moist spots on my shirt where tears had once dripped. Yes, I cried. 

Of course, in true Colombian nature, all of these negative experiences have a silver lining. I randomly met a co-ed group of talented, smart, witty, cute, and sassy Bumangueses, people from Bucaramanga. Since Thursday was a holiday we resorted to bond the only way a group of 24 to 27 year olds now how – Wine Wednesday. At the time I wondered whether the lush had me smitten by this group and whether I was going to enjoy them as much in my sobriety. When I got home I wrote the following words in my journal “nobody said this experience was meant to be lived alone.”

(Jose Pablo, Melissa, Jose Quevedo, Jose Rojas, Camila)

Speaking with strangers over, politics, poetry, literature, film, music, constructive social criticism, and philosophy is one of the best ways to bond; especially if they share your views… What fascinates me is that we have different upbringings, belong to different cultures, live completely different lifestyles, and yet we perceive a very similar worldview. Can it be generational?

Alongside this group of amazing people came another group of amazing people. Johsep Diaz, a young professional in a senior position within the Colombian Fulbright Commission came to visit his family in Bucaramanga and,empathetically, invited me to tag along. We did some mini traveling around the outskirts of the city. 

– Giron, where I had my first Colombian Tamal in an amazing place named "La Casona"

– Mesa de los Santos, where I had my first Arepa Chocolo… and evidently where I became a gastrophiliac.

– Canyon de Chicamocha, where I rode a cable car for about 25 – 30 minutes down and up canyon as big or bigger than the Grand Canyon. Chicamocha is enigmatic natural beauty.

Side note: Johsep, thank you very much for this experience and for the opportunity to meet your sweet, loving, and hilarious fam! 

Monday it’s back to reality; a reality where Eddie’s schedule doesn’t exist. Am I even here? I was so fed up with the University that I decided to make other plans on Tuesday. Yes, I skipped work Tuesday night. How can one skip work one’s not actually scheduled for? Good question. I haven’t a clue, but I decided to take a four-hour lunch with my new friend Camila, who is part of that Wednesday group. After that Jose, also part of that Wednesday group, invited me to go the FestivalInternacional del Piano at UIS (Universidad Industrial de Santander). 

While I was watching this Italian pianist (Edoardo Torbianelli) stretch his fingers in an almost acrobatic way to play the most impossible arrangement of notes, I reflected on something Camila had said during lunch. Mostly everyone in the U.S. is familiar with the existential Calvin & Hobbs cartoons. In Latino America, there exists this little girl who looks like she can be Kristen Wigg’s SNL Character Gilly’s lost cartoon twin – Mafalda.

One of the most popular quotes attributed to her is “the urgent does not leave time for what’s important.”  (In Spanish, “Lo urgente no deja tiempo para lo importante.”) Camila had mentioned this quote during our lunch conversation regarding her humble upbringings in a town where the Colombian conflict was present and therefore her schooling (very important and high in priority) was left second after the day-to-day urgencies.

In Colombia you live in two realities: that which you would ideally want to do, and the possibility of something interposing the prior... which ultimately shifts priority, but not importance. I thought to myself about my frustration with the university and thought about my current situation in this country. 

For me having a working schedule is supremely critical, yes. Knowing what my duties and responsibilities are is essential, yes. Having the courses I will be teaching at hand is highly imperative, yes. However, creating a sense of community to surround myself with is urgent, meeting my friend’s family is urgent, sharing a wine bottle with strangers (turned friends) is urgent. I was not meant to have this experience in isolation.

So what if I don’t have a set schedule? After all… I’m on Colombian time.

Eventualmente tendre tiempo para la importante, pero ahora, toca lo urgente; creating and maintaining a community of support where we can exchange/recharge our energies.

Goodbye Homesickness & Hello Nesting. 

Hello home – Bucaramanga.