As a new English teaching fellow for Heart for Change and Volunteers Colombia, I didn’t know what to expect. I had a sense that I would go through culture shock, and I learned about the waves and the stages, but on a non-theoretical level I didn’t really know what was about to happen to me. As an eager, open minded 25 year old American woman, I embarked on a journey to Colombia ready to learn about and adapt to a new culture.
 |
| During a day off at orientation in Bogota... I still didn't know what to expect in Monteria. |
Different regions in Colombia have drastically different cultures. The coastal regions are very different than the interior or countryside regions. Even within different regions, culture can vary from city to city, and neighborhood to neighborhood. The Costeño culture I encountered In my placement city of Monteria, in the northern Caribbean region was very shocking to say the least, and it makes me question just how “open minded” I really am.
It’s loud.
Honking is a very common form of communication here. There are a ton of motorcycles (AKA motos) and they love to use their horns. All the honking I hear is, and I'm guessing here, comprised of moto-taxis or regular taxis offering their services to all the pedestrians they pass, a friend or parent announcing they have just arrived to pick someone up, motos trying to avoid a collision as they drive past an intersection, and lack of patience while waiting at a red light.
The honking isn’t the only noisy part. My students are super loud. They like to enter the classroom screaming and yelling with their friends, as they start moving their desks around screeching the metal legs against the tile floors.
Your experience changes with the neighborhood.
The noise level and general experiences will vary a lot depending on the barrio (neighborhood) within a given city. I live in a barrio called El Eden, which is estrato 3 out of 5 and just a 15 minute walk to my school.
 |
| The view of El Eden from my window |
The higher the strato the classier, safer, and most likely quieter it will be. In El Eden, Vallenato, Champeta or Reggaeton can be heard blasting from high quality speakers at all hours of the night. There have been a few nights when the party didn’t stop until 6 am, so I would recommend bringing high quality earplugs. Other fellows in other regions of Colombia have had the same experience with loud music, so it doesn’t seem to be only a coastal thing.
 |
| One of the cute paintings at my school that I can really relate to. |
In most neighborhoods in Monteria, except for maybe the very high estratos, Machismo abounds. Females walking around without a male will be the object of catcalls, whistling, and occasional kissy faces. Ladies should make sure to walk on the inside of the sidewalk as much as they can so that a random guy on a bicycle or moto doesn’t grab their butt as they ride by. This is actually a form of sexual assault and it has happened to me in Monteria. It also happened to another fellow in Mompox. Sexism and machismo seem to be more common in the Caribbean region than the other regions of Colombia. After talking to my Colombian co-teachers it sounds rare for the local women to experience physical assault like me and my friend have, but it does happen sometimes. My mentor says that usually these type of criminals will have the sole goal of snatching a woman’s purse, but as foreign women here we have been seen as an exotic target for many. This aspect of the culture has been the hardest for my friends and me to get used to, if anyone ever could. Sometimes we try our best to answer the question as to why the men here behave like this. We usually chalk it up to a lack of education and disrespect for women, mixed in with the fact that these cities don’t get a lot of foreign visitors.
 |
| My beloved colegio |
