Crossing the finish line [Update]

[Gentle reader,
I was so very naive when I wrote this post.  I genuinely thought then that stress from moving would gently melt away.  Ugh...I wish.  The stress changed, but certainly did not melt away.
But, just for a good laugh, I've left this post up, so that we can marvel at my cluelessness. 
Enjoy!]

The tornado of activity for the first weeks needed a goal, else we'd go on endlessly prepping the house...for what?  We have a goal now. We volunteered to host a party for the families of Luke's class (12 boy families only).  That's about 50 people.
Here's the plan:
Our community will lend us tables and chairs from the club house.

(Our patio is shown behind the tables)

Fresh flowers on the tables.

Hire a burger chef to bring his grill and gear and do the cooking.

He'll have wait staff and plates, etc.

Potluck drinks, deserts and snacks.
Decorate with flowers from a local nursery. (Flowers will be the subject of another blog post.  They are out of this world.)

Friends prep the food.

From flower farm to table.

Voila!
Una Fiesta!

Las Madres de Luke's amigos. 

...y los Padres

Some adult supervision...Gaga was visiting from Florida.

Stories, futbol, karaoke, dancing, snowball fights and X-Box keep everyone jumping until dark.

So for those gringos that feared we'd be isolated in this foreign land, fear not.
The house is ready for the next party and there are new friends to fill it.
All we need is you!

The Safest Banks in the World

Colombia has the safest banks in the world.  Don't worry about them losing your money.  If you're able to get money into the bank, it will stay there safe and sound.

Friends have asked how I spend my days.  Easy answer: Waiting in line at a bank.  My daily routine has been to get in line at the local bank, wait in line to get a ticket that indicated which particular queue I was to go and my place in it, and then wait my turn again.  A very polite concierge (Jasmine) helps me get my queue ticket, and the bank provides comfortable seats for its patrons.  I'll be here for a while, and I'll be back tomorrow.

A monitor screen flashes and announces the status of each queue, waiting line, and teller station.  I'm

sure it's quite efficient...because the combinations of queues (indicated by letters), your place in line

(indicated by number) and teller station (another letter) is constantly shifting.  Tellers, bank officers
and clerks are very busy, I'm sure, because they constantly get up, change desks or disappear behind doors.  The training they go through must be incredible, and it needs to be.  It seems that all bills are paid by making a personal appearance at a bank teller.  Your water, electricity, natural gas, home owners association, school tuition, school lunch account, school bus, rent, cell phone, medical insurance, and cable bills are paid at the counter.  (There are ATM-like kiosks to pay some bills, but don't be intimidated, there's a helpful bank clerk to help you with that machine.)

Oh no! Did my attention wander?  Did I miss the announcement calling me to the front of the queue? Whew! No chance of that, it's been only an hour.

I've learned (the hard way) that you can only pay bills for an account at the bank with which the company you owe money to has accounts.  If your school banks at Banco Bogota, you must go to Banco Bogota to pay the tuition.  And if you don't have an account at Banco Bogota, make sure that you bring cash.  Checks and credit cards aren't accepted.  (The 'hard way' is to wait in line, finally get to the teller and then use your very weak Spanish to be told that you're in the wrong bank.  My

personal record is going to seven different banks to pay one bill. Seven.)  Fortunately some businesses use teller kiosks that serve to collect cash on their behalf.  But of course, you must find the right teller kiosk for each business.  (Hint: Look under the stairs at the shopping mall.  Again...This is true.)

Remember to bring the cash!  Because ATM withdrawals are limited in number (2 per day) and value ($200), I've had to harvest cash over several days before I had enough in hand to pay the rent. Plan ahead!

Important notice: I am not complaining.  Everyone I meet is super nice, and the level of service is better than I've seen anywhere else (except maybe some private banking offices in Zurich).  I now know all the bank officers and they greet me by name.  We've grown quite close, as they help me with my Spanish, read my prepared notes, use the translation app on my phone and smile as they tell me that I'll have to come back tomorrow.

I am not complaining.  We are so fortunate to owe money to a very understanding and flexible landlord and other businesses.  They've given us much slack to get our accounts in place.  And local friends have shown us the way too.  Importantly my full-time job is setting up house, so I don't have to miss work to do this.  Everyone's been really great.

Well we finally have an account! And with money in it. $100.  Not much, but it's a start.  And I have a new debit card! So I finally pay our bills.

So let's open up the power of international banking and transfer money from the US to our new local account.  Easy!  I just used my US phone's app to make the transfer, and two emails confirm that the money left the US and made it into my new Colombian bank account.  After all that work, the money transfer went super smoothly.  I transfer more funds. Great.  The funds are in the account.  Next step: pay bills.

Not possible.  The money's in the account, but it can't leave. Safest banks in the world.

After a day struggling, I learn that I must first prove to my Colombian bank, that the money I put into it is my money, prove that I earned it legitimately and that it will be used for legal purposes.  All I'll need is four months of of documentation and letters from my US banks (really). No worries, it's all in the name of anti-money laundering and security.  I'm cool.  My creditors are cool.  The bank officers are super nice.

A couple days later and I have the papers.  Sitting with the bank officer, two hours is all it takes to free up the money.  Oh sure, there are more mountains to climb to resolve online banking, bill paying, and account management.  But after a month of trying, the money's here and we can use it.

Welcome to Colombia and the safest banks in the world!

Best Drivers in the World

The drivers of Colombia are the best in the world.

I have lived in Colombia for three weeks now, and I now know that Colombian drivers are the best in the world. 

They must be.  
Otherwise they'd stay home.

Of course, on Colombian roads are too many cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses.  But every large city has too many vehicles.

The roads of Colombia are not always good and many need repairs.  Again, this is true in all large cities.

Sometimes, it rains.  But New York, Chicago and Boston have worse weather.

But only on the major highways of Colombia you can see:

·         Packs of motorcycles that weave and drive between the lanes

·         People walk and run across the highways

·         Bicycles ride in the highway road, without lights, without helmets, against the direction of traffic…at night!

·         Buses that stop perpendicularly across the road to get a passenger

·         Passengers that go on and off buses that do not stop.  The bus only slows down.

·         Cars that stop in their lane to buy ice cream from a vendor pushing a cart in the road

·         Men stand between car lanes to sell food.  Watch for those motorcycles!

·         Donkeys pulling wooden carts on the road

·         Police stop trucks and don't pull off to the shoulder

·         Cars drive slowly or park in the highway.

Here are photos of a tricycle pedaling in the middle of the single busiest highway in Bogota, the Autopiste Norte.

Although it can take one hour to drive five kilometers,  I never hear a car horn.  Everyone is very calm.  Try that in the US.

And yet, you will see very few accidents.  
That's because the drivers of Colombia are the best in the world.