Tuesday, November 9, 2010

From Fiji to Colombia in 72hrs: The $1,300 Mistake

So Colombia is FANTASTIC. It's hot, tropical, the people are awesome, have the best fresh juice EVER, and they not only de-lactose their milk but put FIBER in it too! Man, any country that does that (AND has PALM TREES!) is O.K. in MY BOOK! I Spent the day wandering around Cartegena along the beach and in the old town with two cool, laid back Norwegians. I am hot, sweaty, sticky, a little sandy, and am surrounded by guys (apparently not many girls travel to Colombia by themselves which means the hostals are PACKED with guys...!) In other words: Julia. Is. Happy.

Now, if only the fact that it cost me $1,300 in a lost ticket to Fiji (and another $230 to get here) would stop smarting, everything would be perfect! But, alas! Such is life! We learn from our mistakes which means we must acknowledge them, accept them, and continue to move onwards and upwards! Which is what I'm currently attempting to do. It's just hard sometimes. Especially when it has to do with money at a time when you don't have a lot to waste.

ANYWAY. I KNOW all y'all wanna know exactly what happened in the span of 72 hours that caused me to end up in COLOMBIA verses FIJI on November 8th, 2010. So there's the story:

Back in Mexico when I was doing my research and figuring out where I wanted to spend the winter I narrowed it down to two options: 1.) Colombia where I would go, hang, focus on continuing to make myself happy, do English lessons via skype, work on my Spanish--and maybe learn some salsa too! and 2.)Fiji where I would do a 4 month internship with a tour operator that also owned a restaurant and was opening up a hostel which would be really good for the resume and where I would hopefully also have time to explore gorgeous turquoise beaches, etc.

Now. I really wanted to go to the Caribbean coast of Colombia but Fiji just made more sense. After all, it was just as tropical as Colombia, even nicer, safter, PLUS I would get practical experience as well in the field I would be going into. So it was kind of a no-brainer that I take the position in Fiji. Only, I didn't feel good about it. But, I talked myself into it, because who wouldn't?!

Get this (and tell me if YOU wouldn't then have misgivings): on the day I'm leaving, Friday, for the airport I get this email from the family that owns the tour company in Fiji. They ask me to pick up a carton of cigarettes and some rum at the airport for them. I say to myself, "that's okay, Julia. Perfectly normal. Duty-free. Of course they would want to save money while they can...I'm SURE they'll pay me back...No reason to get alarmed." So I'm feeling really kinda shaky at this point. THEN, less than a HALF-HOUR before I leave the house for the airport at 12am I check my email to confirm my flight info. There's another email from the family in Fiji. It reads something like this:

"Hi Julia, we just want to ask if we are picking you up at the airport or if you will be taking a taxi. If we are picking you up then it will be $50."

As I read this all the warning bells and red lights began REALLY F-ING DISCO-TECH-STROBE-LIGHT-FLASHING in my head. I called them up via skype and asked them about charging me to pick me up (because, after all, I HAD ALREADY PAID ONE THOUSAND AND 300 BUCKS JUST TO FLY OUT THERE TO WORK FOR FREE FOR THEM FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!) and asked them how much a taxi cost. They said $80 which, made it look like it was a good deal they were offering. Then I asked about a bus ride. They said EIGHT DOLLARS. At this point I hung up. I realized that they were not going to, in all likelyhood, pay me back for the cigarettes and rum and that in the four months that I worked for them, they would probably take advantage of me thinking that I was just some spoiled American girl made of money that was just looking for an adventure. (In all fairness on their part, that's all they see over there probably.) As soon as these realizations hit, and they hit HARD, I started crying and remembered what the D.A.R.E. Program at school taught me: "Just say NO!" A little out of context, but hey. It works.

So, it was like that. I just knew. I could FEEL with every ounce of my body that it was not a good idea and for the first time in my life I canceled a trip. Ticket and money be damned. And now I'm in Colombia in the most beautiful city in South America, happy, albeit licking a few monetary wounds and trying not to be angry with myself for not initially listening to my instincts.

Let that be a lesson to all y'all out there! LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS THE FIRST TIME AROUND AND YOU WILL PROBABLY SAVE MUCHO DINERO. Especially when it comes to traveling.

*On a side note: I think it's hilarious that I went from Chihuahua, center of the drug problems in Mexico to Colombia, the source and center of the drug problems in South America. Am I missing something? A hint from the Universe? Maybe I should do a documentary or something on the drug trade...

2 comments:

  1. Glad you didn't get screwed into become some fiji sex slave girl, and too bad about the cash. Glad you're happy in columbia!

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  2. Yo Jules, what did you do with the cigs and rum? LOL

    ReplyDelete