1. Toilet Paper goes in the trash not the toilet
2. Finish your food. If you don’t finish the food your host gives you it’s considered rude.
3. Hospitality is a big deal. So along the lines of 2. If you visit a home they will more than likely offer you a drink and probably some sort of light food (arroz con leche is a popular option, also hot chocolate and crackers are another option)
4. Panela. They use panela to sweeten coffee and “hot chocolate”, also hot water with Panela is just as common. It’s not your usual sugar, but has more of the taste of honey (look it up).
5. Tips at restaurants are not a norm
6. For the Christian culture of Colombia, Tattoos, piercings other than the initial two that women get, and dancing are not welcomed. If you are a foreigner, they recognize the cultures are different and will not show push back, but it is not widely accepted among Colombians.
7. Everyone associates coffee with Colombia. However, Colombia for many years is known more so for the growing of the crop and less for the roasting and making of coffee. It’s only been in the past 15 years that the art of making coffee is being embraced. So what has been seen over the years is the boiling of coffee grounds in a pot with an uncertain amount of coffee grounds used. We found a great coffee shop in Medellin called Cafe Revolucion. They have amazing coffee and amazing dirty Chais. If you go to Medellin, it is worth the trip.
8. Medellin is known for it’s amazing system of transportation. The metro train, buses, and cable cars (Gondola) are used on a regular basis.
9. 3,000 Colombian pesos is close to the American 1 dollar. Most places are incredibly cheap. You can get almost anywhere on 2,000-4,000 pesos.
10. Arepas. All day, every day! Arepas in the best American description, are a really thick corn tortilla. This is used like we use our loaves of bread.
11. Mora flavored everything. Mora is similar to a raspberry or blackberry… Actually that’s probably what it is. There are many drinks made of mora, many syrups, and often times we took communion with Mora juice.
12. I have so embraced the Colombian greeting. For women and women, as well as women and men, greetings and goodbyes are often a hug and a kiss on the cheek. For men a hug and handshake. When you walk into the room you greet EVERYBODY! It does not matter what is going on. When you leave you say “Chao” EVERYBODY!
13. Dogs are everywhere. Most of them are very friendly and sweet.
14. The water is safe in Medellin and San Pedro (the northern one)
15. Get rid of your concept of time and punctuality. If they say we leave at 2pm, we could easily be leaving at 3pm.
