June 12 - A Day of Rest, Cali Style

Just like many of our friends and family reading this blog, our group spends a lot of time during the week talking about how much we're looking forward to the weekend.  After an exciting and stimulating stretch of days packed with enriching experiences and new opportunities for growth, the chance to rest and decompress is an important part of being able to reflect on what we've learned and prepare ourselves emotionally and physically for the week ahead. Sundays, in particular, are dedicated to this purpose.

While the day's itinerary can vary greatly depending on the individual, many of us use our Sundays to sleep in, catch up on homework or journal entries, call home, and spend quality time with our host families.  Some have had the opportunity to participate in special outings with their Colombian families, such as birthday brunches, shopping trips, and excursions to a nearby lake, while others spend much of the day at home.  One common denominator, however, is a strong emphasis in Cali on spending leisure time connecting with others, with food often playing an important role in that process.

Passion fruit soda at La Hacienda.

The first question many of us tend to get asked when we meet new Caleños is, "Are you liking Colombia?"  The second, invariably, centers around food: what foods we've tried, which we like the best, whether we've tried chontaduro, cholado, champús, aborrajados, lulada, empanadas...the list goes on and on.  Caleños, on the whole, have proven to be very proud of their culinary heritage (and rightly so!), and many consider it a personal mission to make sure that all newcomers experience the breadth of Cali's culinary wonders.  Thus, many of our host families have dedicated Sundays to taking us out to experience these tasty marvels first-hand.  While I can't speak for the rest of my colleagues, I certainly won't complain about being recruited on this assignment!

Menu at La Hacienda

I have had the privilege of accompanying my host family twice to a restaurant of special importance in their lives: La Hacienda.  La Hacienda is a vibrant place, full of brightly-colored murals and upbeat salsa music.  As with many Cali establishments, one enters and is immediately greeted with a warmth that makes you feel like others are glad you came.  After much time spent as a group pondering which dish I should try⁠—various forms of sancocho made the short list⁠—we decided on the cazuela de mariscos.  It certainly did not disappoint, nor, I should add, did the soda with fresh passion fruit.  

The best part about the meal, however, was what came after it⁠—the same thing that, at least in my experience, follows most meals in Cali: another opportunity to connect, to share photos of past and present adventures, to compare our lives, to laugh about our differences, and to learn from each other's experiences.  There are definitely worse ways to spend a rest day!

Cazuela de mariscos at La Hacienda