Thursday 7 September 2006

¡Que Pena!

This week I moved out of my glamorous one bedroom, two bathroom apartment with open kitchen and fireplace and into my friend Melissa´s lounge room. It has a fold out bed which if you sit in the middle of it, as I did this morning, collapses on you.

I have LOVED living by myself. I have relished in the solitude, enjoyed the chilly weekends in front of the open fire (yes, everyone, I build a fire!) reading my books and drinking Colombian hot chocolate. I had tears in my eyes as I left my little haven, and it wasn’t just from hauling 60kg of luggage (I have no idea how I´m going to get it all onto my next flight!) into the foyer.

I´ve included some photos of Melissa (I´m trying to repress my Aussie urge to shorten her name) and I looking gorgeous at a night club last weekend. This nightclub is in downtown Bogotá and has an awesome pharmacy theme (like the Croft Institute in Melbourne) and one of the best DJs I´ve heard here; he was able to mix the best of the 80´s glam rock with all the Latin rhythms, and that is why we all look so happy.

So Melissa and I have been staying up late having girly chats, she doesn´t eat chocolate, but I´m trying not to hold that against her. This morning she had an exam that started at 7am, can you believe this! At RMIT we complained and arrived late (still in trackpants with sleep in our eyes) at our 9.30am classes. So while Mel was sitting her programming test, I was still dancing at a friend’s house which we followed with Crepes and Waffles. On the taxi ride home (which took a while as it was peak hour traffic) I was listening to a radio interview… and understanding it! Of course it wasn´t world news or anything intellectual, but more about movies and ice-cream and dating, but I was com-pre-hending!

As most of you know, I haven´t fulfilled Tomas´ prediction of having a debate with him in Spanish after 4 months of living here, I guess he over estimated my intelligence, or more poently, I under estimated the intelligence of every Colombian friend I have – who all speak perfect English and also sometimes French when they feel like being trés cosmopolitan and thus I have had no need to converse in Spanish.

I´m still having those awkward moments, like this morning in the hall way as I was trying to get to the bathroom. The maid burst out of the kitchen and into my path. I naturally (remember I´d only had a few hours sleep) stepped to the left, but instantly remembering I was in Colombian I counteracted this with a quick step to the right.

¨¡Que Pena!¨ she exclaimed as we knock arms. We came to a polite stand still. A poetic still frame. She´s quiet hoety-hoiety, you know. This morning when she came in to work, and saw me sprawled on the couch, I know what she was thinking – lazy rich foreigner, sleeping till midday. Where really the truth was I had only had 2 hours sleep because I had been supporting the Colombian economy into the wee hours of the morning. Anyway, she obviously decided that I should wake up because I had never heard so much slamming of pots and pans in the kitchen since I lived in Moree and Mum used to give me the kitchen utensils to play with when she was cooking.

So, now we´re face to face in the hall. Actually, she´s about half my height. And we both just push scramble past each other in a very undignified and un UN fashion. Both deciding simultaneously that we had the right of way.

So, yes, I´m not at work as you´ve noticed. No I wasn´t fired for my poor Australian work ethic or for encouraging Happy Hour, it was a mutual decision. Sort of. I wanted to keep working but without the Working Visa, can you believe that you have to apply for this visa in another country! And I guess it just came down to financial constraints or more that it didn´t work out as financially viable.

I was reading the Rich Dad Poor Dad sequel about achieving financial freedom, and towards the end of the book it prompts you to identify which section of earning you sit in and what are you financial goals. Well I actually had to laugh. The whole book encourages you to move out of the employee section and into the coveted investor (said in deep voice) section… well. I wasn´t even on the chart. I don´t even have a job! The other teaching is cashflow: positive cashflow preferably from passive sources. I painfully realized that have completely negative cash flow, meaning I spend more (about 1000x more) than what I earn. Ah, the sweet bliss of financial freedom. I´m glad that my only liability is for a uni degree that was supposed to teach me about business and finances… maybe they should introduce 7am uni classes in Australia?

Congratulations to anyone who has made it to the end of this long and ridiculous post. Your prize is a baby chick which has been painted either pink or blue (your choice), these are thrushed at me on the street all the time, and next time, instead of snarling something about cruelty to animals I´ll buy one for you.

Well my darling friend Daniela has just arrived in a gorgeous outfit, with videos and beers as a prelude to tonights adventures.

All my love, C

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Made it to the end of the post. I rather liked it. I am drunk though. Where are you going next????

Candice said...

Ha ha.

Next stop South Africa. It´s going to take me about 3 days to get there because I have to stop in Panamá, Cuba, Madrid and Jo´burg - what a killer!

¿Y tú? How much longer are you planning on using Saint Jeromes as your lounge room?

Are you returning to Mexico Sin City for good?

Anonymous said...

Hola chica,
¿Cuándo vas a Sudáfrica? Quiero hablar contigo.

XOXOXO
Jade

Anonymous said...

To much time on your hands, I would say - good read though! L,D

Candice said...

Yes,I´m traveling the world for lack of anything better to do. *S*