A few more thoughts about our 31 days in the Medellin area . . .

Yays

1. Paisas, people from Medellin and Antioquia, are friendly, helpful, and easily greet strangers. Those who know a bit of English want more experience with the language so they are eager to talk with tourists. 
2. Most restaurants have outdoor seating.
3.  Medellin is known as “The City of Eternal Spring” so the temperatures are very enjoyable all year long.
4. It is safe to drink tap water in Medellin.
5. We discovered the Popsy ice cream store chain and visited there often.
6. The delicious food and tropical fruit juices is abundant.  Most restaurants have quite a few vegetarian menu items.
7. Medellin residents care about their city. Several examples: Shop keepers clean the sidewalk area in from of their stores. Metro stations and metro trains/busses/trams/cable cars are free of litter and graffiti.
8. It is quite easy to get around to the various parts of the city because of the train/bus/tram/cable car metro system. The numberous signs at metro stations are large and in both Spanish and English. (see picture below)
9.  Christmas is a grand celebration from November 30 until the first week in January. It is so grand we did two posts on the Christmas lights and one post on other Christmas events or things to see. (see picture below)
10. We saw an abundance of green: trees along city streets, parks, plants on apartment balconies and on hillsides. (see picture below)

Nays

1. Even with the warm temperatures, the wearing of shorts by men and women is not considered respectful. Men wearing long athletic shorts on Sundays may be an exception.
2. Even though our language skills were improving, understanding Spanish spoken in Colombia was challenging because of the speed of speaking, alternate pronunciations, and different vocabulary. In Colombia an avocado is called aguacate. In Peru it is is called palta.
3. Some Medellin residents do not seem to sleep at night. Sounds of music, laughing, and talking wafted through our open windows all hours of the night. Yes, our apartment was near a very busy street. So other parts of the city may be quieter during the night. 
4. Cigarette smoking is common in Medellin. We even saw high school age kids using cigarettes. 

Observations

1. Women in Medellin tend to use parasols rather than hats for protection from the sun. In Peru women used hats.
2. We saw many shirts, blankets, balloons, and backpacks with US TV and movie characters, especially Disney characters.
3. The speed of two and four wheeled vehicles is controlled or reduced by speed bumps rather than posting signs with the speed limit and enforcing the law with radar guns or patrol officers . 
4. Scooter, motorbike, and motorcycle license plate numbers are required to be visible on the helmet of the driver as well as the plate affixed to the vehicle. Drive by crimes have reduced dramatically since this law went into effect.
5. Low and moderately priced restaurants (I.e. those without tablecloths) provide table flatware to their customers in individual paper packets, similar to paper packets for chopsticks. The knives, forks, and spoons are not placed directly on the table for the customer.
6. Red traffic lights at large, busy intersections can last up to 75 seconds. Lighted timers indicate how soon lights will turn from red to green and also green to red. Sometimes enterprising young people provide free entertainment (tips accepted) for waiting drivers at popular intersections, including magic tricks, balancing acts, juggling skills, and dancing.
7. When entering a room or building, Colombians greet everyone in the room or nearby area so people don’t assume the entrant is angry with them.
8. If you love purses and shoes, this is the place for you! Most women we saw in Medellin wear purses and shoes that match and coordinate well with their outfit. We walked by many, many stores selling these accessories.
9. Juliana, our guide for the Medellin city tour, taught us the phrase “Don’t be Papaya.” This means that tourists should not have their valuables easily available for “picking.”
10. Medellin area farmers grow many varieties of flowers in greenhouses for sale in Colombia and international export. A few days after leaving Colombia we were buying flowers in a Safeway store in the US state of Washington. The flowers we purchased included a “product of Colombia” sticker. Small world!
11. The Lions and Rotary clubs have active chapters in the Medellin area. (see picture below)
12. Both of us had our yearly physicals with an English-speaking physician in Medellin. Not only did the hour appointment with the US-trained physician cost only $25, but also the waiting room had a supervised snack cart which included junk food of the sweet and savory varieties. It seemed a little odd for patients to hear about a healthful diet from the physician and moments earlier/later purchase junk food in the doctor’s waiting room. (see picture below)
13. Colombians love their football teams! Our apartment was about 1 kilometer from the large stadium and in our living room we could hear the fans cheering during evening games. Football fans in Medellin regularly watch matches at local restaurants. Chairs extend out onto the sidewalks to accommodate the crowds. (see picture below)