I AM ONLY ONE, BUT STILL I AM ONE.
I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT STILL I CAN DO SOMETHING;
AND BECAUSE I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, I WILL NOT REFUSE TO DO THE SOMETHING I CAN DO.
-Edward Everette Hale
We don’t just pass by the locals and wave… We stop to say, “Hola…” We have a laugh, a conversation and wear silly hats for a few seconds;) Read below for a very real account of what happens when you just lean over with your spirit and say hello to a local…It’s amazing what can happen and we want you to have similar experiences.
Cartagena, Colombia February 16th, 2010
Ever sit down next to a man selling sodas out of a foam cooler, watch the sunset with him and have an amazing conversation that brought tears to your eyes and once again changed you forever? Of course not. I did tonight.
Cartagena, Colombia -Historic Center-
I dragged my ass out to the point where I can watch the sunset…Thankfully, I barely made it because my soul needed to have a special moment. I stood there off to the side from the fancy bar that Maria and I had a few romantic moments over the past weeks and had myself a moment of just being…
But my feet started to hurt, I was tired and I needed to sit down. I looked around and the only place to sit down and still see the sunset was right next to a man selling bebidas(drinks) out of his foam cooler. The usual street vendor…always asking you to buy their stuffs…always in your face that so many travelers are rude too.
So I plopped my arse down right next to him and sat there in silence for about ten minutes, smelling the lovely scent of stale urine. Finally, I reached over and said, “Hola…” We started talking…well, trying to talk. My Spanish sucks when it comes to talking about cool things like sunsets. I failed miserably with my attempt to comment on how high the bummer factor is when the clouds hide the sun right before it falls below the horizon here in Cartagena. But we made good conversation afterwards. I learned so much from this guy and again, I am forever going to be different now…changed. And this isn’t the first time, but just like anything you have to beat it in to my head for me to get it sometimes.
This man was a great man. Chill, proud and a good soul. He was 48 years old. He was in the military for ten years when it was mayhem in the 80′s, loves John F Kennedy because as a kid Kennedy stopped the violence here(I Have to check this as I may of misunderstood him), has a family, two boys 15 and 12 years old…he can’t seem to make enough money for the family. It’s very very difficult for him…he gave me that look… He works on weekends thirteen to fifteen hours to make cincuenta mil pesos. That’s about the equivalent of $25 dollars and I spent that much the other night on two glasses of wine for Maria and I. I feel like such a douche bag.
He chooses to sell drinks out of a cooler because it’s tranquilo(relaxed) for him, it’s always hot here and everyone is always thirsty. I like the way this man thinks…But yeah we talked about minimum wages in the states and what he makes and he was in shock. When he told me he can pull the equivalent of $300 US a month and I told him minimum wage was $1500 /month roughly before taxes it was like his heart was broken for a moment. I could feel it man…
It got my head spinning…He was genuinely curious as to my profession, where I have been and what I plan to do…we hung out…the darkness fell upon us…we chatted…I bought a bottle of water before I left and he invited me back to the spot anytime for another conversation…I dared not tell him I have no profession. I just I was an engineer.
Interesting huh? Here are a few things I haven’t commented on. They have the brilliant idea for modern day phone booths. Buy 6 cell phones, attach chains to them and sit on the corner and let people make calls for a few pesos. Called “llamadas” and their popular here. What a great idea right? Well, good if your in a place where so many people can’t afford a cell phone.
Guys carry around about 13 thermoses of coffee in a crate, post up on a corner and sell coffee to the locals. The hamburguesa guy on the corner over here makes a rock’n hamburger and it’s cool to see his son working side by side with him…a good kid, you can just tell. I have no idea what the meat is…it’s strange for sure, but delicious and I don’t care.
Of course there are tiendas (shops) everywhere with locals selling some fruit, avocados, fish, sandals, boogers or whatever…but there is just something to be said about the guy and his on the corner selling hamburgeusas, or the bebidas man today…they are just so awesome.
