Long lost family friends

We finally have some stories to report! The last couple days have been wonderful, because we've been able to meet up with some old family friends from both sides of the Tolochko family tree.

About 40 years ago, my Dad did the Peace Corps in Colombia, specifically in a small town called San Bernardo, located a few hours outside of Bogotá. A twelve-year-old kid named Luís Gomez worked for my Dad, taking care of his horses, delivering messages, etc. Luís didn't have much of a family, and my Dad was a father figure for him. Today, Luís lives in Bogotá with his three daughters and two grandsons. On Saturday night, Luís' three daughters and their cousin came to our hostel (1.5 hours late, we're still adjusting to 'Colombia time'), and we went out for drinks. Sandra Patricia, the oldest, is 31, Marcela is 30, and Diania is 27. They were so excited to see us, as they had heard so many stories about 'Patricio' from their father, and they asked me all sorts of questions about my brothers and my parents.

Later in the night, Marcela disappeared, and came back with her father, who had just gotten off work. When he saw us he was so happy, repeatedly hugging Robin and I. It was really funny talking with Luís, because he speaks Spanish the exact same way as my Dad (though clearly he's a bit more fluent). They all asked us when Dad's going to come visit. After the bar, they drove us up into the mountains that border Bogotá to the East. Tons of people were parked by the side of the road, drinking Canelazo (with our without aguardiente), and enjoying the beautiful view of Bogotá.

On Sunday, we ate lunch with Inés María, who was an exchange student at the Wertheim house in Glenn Cove, NY some time ago. Evan tracked her down on Facebook, and she was thrilled to be able to meet us. Inés' daughter and her boyfriend joined us for lunch; we told them our life stories, and they told us theirs in return. Our Spanish still has a long way to go, but these sorts of small, intimate conversations are the best way to improve.

Today we switched hostels to a cheaper, quieter, hostel in a better part of the city. Hopefully that brings us one step closer to finding an apartment...