I have moved all my past blogs (except for a few I deleted). I canceled the old WordPress account. it was a pain to use and keep up with. This Google blog is not only free but is much easier to use. So possibly that will translate into more frequent postings.
What is the point of my blogs? To share my life with you as an expat in South America. No hype or BS, just the experience I have. In the blog, I am more open than in the videos. I have said many times but it still remains true… I really do not like being in the videos, and to this day, even after about 350 of them, I am still uncomfortable with it. When I watch back to edit, it is obvious to me that I am rarely myself in them. I am stiff, even awkward while in person I am nearly always smiling and talkative. I notice my use of “crutches” that I rarely use in real life, such as “so”. It kills me to hear how much I say that, or even “Ummm”. Yes, I am aware of and hate it.
But in a blog, I am just doing steam of thought. no prep, no outline, just typing what I think at that moment. I like that.
So what is my life like now in Colombia after 7 months or Armenia after 5 months?
I am really enjoying it. I noticed that when I read back on my original blogs from when I first moved to Ecuador, how “rosy-eyed” I was. Coming off a death sentence and an illness for so long, and being restricted to a bed for a few years, I will forgive myself. However, to be fair, it does take a while for anyone to get the good and the bad. That is how I got into the videos and what I try to do for people before they commit their life and fortune to someplace they do not know. I was not aware of the food problem in Ecuador. I didn’t know about the poor quality and all the chemical use. I mean, why would I know that? All you ever read is how awesome it is. All the great fruits and veggies! In the end, much of what I would buy was actually imported. Sadly, many that live there either do not know or will deny what they don’t really know. It took an Ecuadorian to teach me what was going on.
Even so, I still loved my time in Cuenca and in Giron. Especially Giron. That time there was life changing for me in a personal way and helped me overcome some issues I struggled with. My own South American Walden’s Pond!
Now with Colombia, I had a massive advantage. I was already healthy and not blinded by the sheer fact I had not died! It is amazing how much you will look past in that situation! But I also made a number of trips over 2 years to visit Colombia to re-learn it after the 16+ years I had been away. There were no surprises really. I enjoyed the 2 months in Manizales, especially since it just confirmed things I loved about Armenia.
Is Armenia a picturesque beauty? Not really. Few things can compare to the “El Centro” of Cuenca Ecuador. But day to day, that becomes less important to me. It is like seeing the Grand Canyon. Amazing. A jaw dropper! The first time I saw it was nearing sundown. At the moment I stepped up to the edge and looked over, the sun got low enough to splash down the canyon walls. It was a natural light show of indescribable beauty! The timing was amazing. Yet, I would not care to live there.
Armenia is modern in a way I missed. Colombia in fact is modern, at least as you move north or Popayan. I like having everything available. I grew up with nothing and for me, glamorizing that life has no value. I have no need to “get back to nature” (I never left it) or feel the need to live in a hovel with nothing to attempt to prove my worth to people I do not know. I enjoy having access to good food, entertainment, and decent sheets to sleep on! As an added bonus, I enjoy living in a very low priced economy. Now Giron, and many places in Ecuador are quite cheap to live. But Cuenca certainly isn’t. Newbies always want to judge that based on lower rents than the USA and cheap lunches. But due to some mild socialist policies, the economy does not directly correlate with other economies. while one item can be 1/10 of the cost in the USA, another can be 400% more than in the USA. That makes it hard to get a handle on and takes quite a bit of time to realize what your real costs are. One thing I like about Colombia is that most things are about the same. if something is high in the US, it will likely be high here, and the same for low costs.
In Armenia, living a very decent lifestyle of middle-class or higher, it will cost you about 1/3 of the USA. You have to love that. I can live well in Armenia on about $1000 a month while In Cuenca it was $1400 or more. In fact, to equal the actual lifestyle I have here, it was more like $2000 in Cuenca and would be around $4000 in the USA (excluding high priced places like San Fran, etc).
That turns out to be a huge benefit to me I never expected. I had quite a bit of income when I first moved to Cuenca, and over time that dwindled for various reasons. By the time I moved to Colombia, that ended, but to add to the issue, I had a series of unexpected expenses that put me in a near disastrous situation. Had I not been in Armenia when all this hit hard, I am not sure what I would have done. Fortunately, even with the problems, I am able to live OK in Armenia. But it was a real eye-opener for me, and a lesson everyone should pay attention to.
We cannot count on the future. You never know the turns it can take, so it is really important to have back up plans. I actually thought I did, but a series of events eroded that plan and I am probably on plan G now. I realized I can no longer afford to spend my time doing things out of pocket, and I must make my efforts bring in funds. So I have been hard at work setting up the framework for that over the past 4 months. Now all I have to do is actually make some money!
I am not complaining by any means. I am sharing my experience because others may benefit from it. I was not able to work long before I was eligible for retirement. You cannot do much from a bed. Year after year, that ate away my savings. So to do this, everything needed to go well. When that fell apart, I needed to essentially return to work (video projects). I considered returning to the USA to work, I know I could find a good job as I have some unique skills. But the move, setting up a car, apartment and all I would need is simply unaffordable. Truth be told, I really do not want to lose the life I have made either. So like anytime we find ourselves down, we just fight to get back up. I spent a lifetime doing it, so I am confident it will happen.’
Do I regret coming to Colombia? Hardly. I am very grateful and happy to be here! Do I regret going to Ecuador? No. There are some things I regret. A few “If I had known” type things that would have gone a long way to prevent my situation now, but that aside, no I am glad I spent that time there. I made some very dear friends and moments I am very glad I did not miss. Life is all about ups and downs. My life is no different. I think the advantage I have is that having been through some pretty horrible times in my life makes the issues of today seem like just a problem to work through. I retain my optimism and happiness with my life. A far cry from a very dark time a few years ago. Today I not only want to live but I am loving every minute of it.
Moral of the story? Life laughs at your best efforts to plan! Never forget that.
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