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The planes nose points to the sky and I am pushed back into my seat. I

hold my son, Aidan, a little tighter and try to loosen my body a bit so my

son doesnt feel my stress. He is not yet two and I am afraid his ears will

give him pain during the flight. I am fighting back tears. Am I doing the

right thing? Have I lost my mind? hat if I hate !olombia? "ep#I said!olombia.

I met my husband at a get together at my apartment comple$ during

college. e talked half the night and I knew right away he was the one.

%ast forward nine months and we were engaged. %ast forward two more

years and we were married. %ast forward a little more and our son was

born. %ifteen months later our daughter was born. I had my perfect little

family. e even bought a mini van.

&o, how did I end up on a plane headed for !olombia? I found out that a

college degree does not get you the 'obs it once did. I graduated right after

my son was born with a degree in psychology. I loved my classes.

(sychology was so interesting I couldnt wait to get a ))*ig +irl)) 'ob and

e$perience all things I studied. I went to 'ob interview after 'ob interview

and the few 'obs I was offered paid less then what I could make at

receptionist 'obs and I didnt have to go to college to get those 'obs. I was

disillusioned to say the least. I wanted more for me and my family.

y husband was born and raised in !olombia. His parents still live in

!artagena, !olombia. They had offered to let us live with them while we

established ourselves in !olombia. y husband still needed to finish his

degree and we were having trouble affording tuition in the states. ith hisparents support I thought we might avoid mounds of debt and provide my

children with a more stable environment.

I am not going to lie. I was terrified. I have watched (roof of -ife the

movie about kidnapping in !olombia/. y perception of !olombia was

very much that of most 0orth Americans. !olombia is a third world

country1 2nited &tates has the best of everything why go anywhere else.

ell, in search of the American 3ream thats why. I couldnt find it in

0orth America so I am taking my perfect little family and looking in &outh

America. 3id I mention I dont speak &panish?

The first steps off the plane set the stage for my new life in !olombia. It

was hot. Humid 'ungley hot. y perfect little family and I stepped off the

stairs and I take my first look around. The first thing I see are armed

policemen. *y armed I dont mean they had little guns in a holster at their

belt. 0o, they had big guns that had to be carried with a shoulder strap.

This airport was nothing like the iami airport we had 'ust left. e got off

of the plane by walking down stairs and stepped onto the tarmac. e

followed the other passengers down a sidewalk lined by wooded slates oneither side. e then went into the customs area. y husband answered a

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few 4uestions, our passports were stamped and we were admitted into

!olombia. !artaenga was not at it best. There had been a lot of rain so a

lot of roads were damaged. Armando, my husbands counsin, drove and

what a ride. In !artagena stop lights are a suggestion and horns are used to

say I am passing you or I am going down the wrong side of the street. egot stopped by the police. &omething was said in &panish and everyone

got out of the car. 3o I get out? 0obody said anything to me. I hold my

daughter closer to me. Armando is getting patted down outside my

window. 5veryone gets back into the car. +uillermo, my husband,

e$plains it is because of the military style hat he is wearing. 6ne way of

combating the gorilla groups is by stopping anyone who is not military and

wearing military fatigues and checking them out. The police where very

friendly, but it was still unsettling.

The city is ama7ing. It is like a mi$ between 0ew 6rleans and the

*ahamas. There is music and street vendors every where. There is activity

going on all around us. Armando is driving like a professional race car

driver. He is s4uee7ing into to and out of spaces unimaginable. e are

driving down a two lane road that is holding four lanes of traffic including

many busses and motorcycles are 7ipping in between it all. e are on a

fairly busy street and Armando stops the car and puts it in park and 'umps

out. A car beeps as it passes us. He says something in &panish and heads

for apartment buildings. +uillermo hops into the driver seat and starts off

He then stops the car and puts it in park. 0o body tells me what is going

on. e are parked in the middle of the street. !ars, trucks, motorcyclesand a cart pulled by a horse loaded with fruit pass us like this is totally

normal. All of a sudden Armando is beside the window on a motorcycle.

He hands something to +uillermo and drives off. hat a strange place

!olombia is.

hen we finally make it to the house I am in shock and e$hausted. e

drove from north %lorida through the night while the kids slept to make it

to our morning flight. His parents house is on a narrow street. The houses

are all up against each other. There are giant gates around the houses and

bars on he windows. After a step flight of tiled stairs we enter the livingroom. y little family has arrived. The only seating is rocking chairs.

There are four huge beautiful rocking chairs. (erita is there to greet us.

&he has been with the family since before +uillermo was born. &he started

out as a nanny, but now runs the household. &he does all the cooking,

cleaning and general household management. 5veryone was speaking

&panish and our luggage was every where. 0arcia, a lady who came during

the day to help (erita, is helping me get my things upstairs. I am

overwhelmed. The house is very nice and filled with beautiful things, but

not what I e$pected. The 4uality of housing is much different in !olombiathen in the 2.&. e struggle up another step staircase to the third floor

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where all the family bedrooms are. 6ur room is huge. It is the si7e of two

or three rooms. There is a !alifornia king bed, a crib, and twin bed and it

all fits very comfortably in this room. At that point the electricity goes out.

I start unpacking a few things. I dont know who is holding my children. I

am thankful for the help, but also feel guilty and uncomfortable giving upcontrol. I am near tears. y husband comes up to check on me. He says

the electricity hardly ever goes out here and his parents are worried what I

think. I start to cry. I tell him I cant do this. I want to take a shower. I go

into the bathroom and the shower is rustic. There is no hot water. I am still

crying. I wipe my face pull it together and go down stairs. I try to pretend

everything is ok and I tell my husband to translate for me. I say, ))"ou

have a beautiful home. I am very tired and am going to go to sleep)).

-ooking back I think I was in a little bit of shock. Information overload

maybe. I wake in the morning refreshed and ready for !olombia. I dont

feel like I did the night before. y poor husband is shocked and greatly

relieved at my turn around. The electricity is back on.