Tag: Campestre

End of The Home Stay

Brian is here. My days in Campestre are over. I am now living the life of a tourist with Brian in the walled city of Cartagena. For me, it’s the end of the home stay in Cartagena.

Brian’s welcome to Cartagena

After Brian’s arrival (late), I welcomed him, got him settled in to the airbnb, and we walked around the old town a bit. But soon it was time to meet the family! We grabbed a taxi so he could meet the important people in my Cartagena experience. I took him back to the barrio!

a visit to campestre

Marcela greeted us followed by Libary soon after. We got some photos of the whole gang before we separated for good.

People
Me and Marcela out front of her house
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Last Day in Campestre

Today is my last day at Marcela’s house. Three weeks plus three days have flown by, that’s a fact. Now it’s my last day in Campestre, Cartagena.

Reflections of Living with a Host Family

It was an adjustment for me, absolutely, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts. I had to lose some privacy and control over my surroundings. While I met and shared dinners with Marcela’s husband and adult son, and they were nice and welcoming, I didn’t get to know them very well. This was probably my weak Spanish skills and general shyness about those skills. It also was tiring to try to speak Spanish all the time, with no breaks!

I am still glad I tried, and immersed myself with the family rather than stay on my own or with other tourists. It’s crazy to think how much I’ve learned and done since I first stepped foot in Cartagena.

Home in Campestre
House in Campestre

What’s Next?

Brian is on his way to Cartagena as I write this and I will be moving out of my barrio home to the touristy side of the city with him.

Last Day in Campestre Celebration

We are having a little “meet and greet” at Marcela’s this evening so Marcela and her family and Libary will meet mi esposo (Brian). I will post photos for sure!

No Sugarcoating Cartagena Problems

So I don’t want you to think this is all a bed of roses and I am handling all the differences with no problems. I have had some setbacks along the way. In this post there is no sugarcoating Cartagena problems.

Getting lost

I’ve gotten lost twice, and it’s highly likely I will get lost again. So much of Cartagena looks a lot the same to me. The inner barrios are full of short apartment blocks mixed in with stores and restaurants. The stores and restaurants sometimes look like homes as well. Probably because they are or were at some point. I get lost! There’s no sugarcoating Cartagena problems.

The first time I got lost was on Monday night – I took the wrong bus from volunteering. The bus line was correct, but I forgot to ask if it was going to “Campestre” and, sure enough, it wasn’t. After about 30 minutes of riding, I looked for a suitable place to get off. I chose a location at a busy intersection with a gas station, figuring taxis would be by at some point. It took about 5 minutes to find an empty taxi and then I was ok and got home about an hour late, but still fine.


The second time I got lost, or “perderse” (lost myself in Spanish), was walking to Libary’s house on Tuesday for my Spanish lesson. I didn’t walk far enough and started walking in circles and got nervous. I What’s Apped her and she came and got me. Embarrassing. I was 30 minutes late for a Spanish lesson, and she lives a 10 minute walk from Marcela’s house. Embarrassing!

Continue reading “No Sugarcoating Cartagena Problems”