Mentality (the bright side)

Colombia has all kinds of climates and thermal floors. You'll be  surprised by how fast you can go from 86°C to 0°C (or equivalently, from 83F to 32F), you may take around hour and a half with a car, between zones with these quite different temperatures. For some reason, exactly the same turns out to happen with the brightness of people mentality.

Road tripping in Colombia es undoubtedly a must-have experience*. From mountains to deserts, nature shows its beauty without repairs. It was road tripping also that I discovered how warm and full hearted some colombians are, despite their frequent circumstances of poverty and minor isolation. I'm talking about the man peeling off mangos or the woman selling out typical colombian snacks aside the road. For us who need to have it all in order to be happy, they're a remarkable example of how life can be lived without expectations or ambitions.

In the middle of social resentment and inequality it is outstanding to continuously find hard working people, who daily wakes up at 3 am and walk for hours only to see trucks and cars get passed, hopeful of being bought one piece of food. It is even more remarkable as they keep smiling and joking for entire days. Doesn't this surprise you?? To be honest, sometimes I can't get it.

On the other hand, the typical colombian child is quite convinced that life will be a pretty rough road. This is due partly to pessimistic parents and the rather pressuring environment. The child's response varies significantly, but within a small fraction of the young population this encourages and unimaginable trend of evolution. 

You may have not noticed it, but Colombia has often had one or two podium players in the world Math competitions. The drive for not getting stuck in cultural and social paradigms is what gets colombians to be internationally famous pop stars, scientists and sportsmen/sportswomen. Who would have thought? Social inequality is the context in which those who want to do a quantum jump up have an opportunity to make big differences in their lives, as they keep a hard and sustained effort. This effort along with the newly gain support in the country, brings the platform on which their dreams come true on a global scale.

I knew you would enjoy this one a bit more. I could keep writing about the bravery and strength of many colombians, who despite suffering violence and/or poverty, keep ahead living with great mood and enthusiasm, contributing to society and leading the nation to a better living.

*By the way, you not only can, but should road trip in Colombia. Quit that ancient fear of being robbed or hijacked or whatever. After world war II, it may have taken a decade for the world to know Germany as generally non-nazy. It's time you forget about CNN and Hollywood doctrine, to give yourself a second chance with Colombia.