Nice?

I recently happened to meet someone from northern Europe, let's say, who has been in Colombia for a month. We were just making small talk and I asked her what she thought about Colombia, and she said, 'It's nice.' Granted she wasn't speaking her native language but even so, the word nice has been jangling in my head ever since. Nice? Colombia is many things - beautiful, heartbreaking, green, rich, varied, violent, vibrant, tragic, dazzling, infuriating, beguiling, maddening, fertile, welcoming, cruel, blessed, cursed, gorgeous, scarred... but nice? No, not nice.

The Story of My Life

Three street signs in Bogotá sum up the story of my time in Colombia:

The Street of Loneliness

The Street of Teaching

The Street of Hope

Road out of town

Just to keep the suspense building about my favourite place in Medellín (!), I'll show you some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago on the road to the airport. Nothing particularly profound, just what I could see from the window of an extremely slow-moving bus.

My Top Five Places in Medellín (4): San Diego Mall

People who know me well might be surprised to find another shopping mall on my top five places - with me not being a great shopper and all. But of course, I hardly ever actually buy anything there, except the occasional magazine. It's all about passing an hour or two somewhere different from home, feeling safe and enjoying the ambience. I have coffee and a pastry, do my suduko and read about a massacre or corruption scandal in the complimentary magazines:Oh, and I like the shape of the chairs in the McDonald's café:

My Top Five Places in Medellín (3): Suramericana

I stumbled on this quiet, green space by accident when my parents were here and I took them to the Gallery of Modern Art, which turned out to be closed.

Taking a different route back to the Metro Station, we came across this tranquil corridor between two very busy streets.

At its heart are the headquarters of a bank, which means it's well-guarded and safe.

A couple of weeks ago I went back and enjoyed a pleasant hour sitting on a bench, reading a book and doing my sudoku...

...watched over by the bank's security guards and this sculpture.

My Top Five Places in Medellín (2): My Classroom

OK, you won't find this in any guidebook, but my classroom has been where I have spent many of my happiest hours here. My students are a joy to teach. They say thank you. They bring me birthday cake.

They are warm, loving, cheerful, willing, creative and resourceful. If I asked them to put on a rock opera about the present perfect in 20 minutes, they would, and I'm sure it would be fabulous.

My Top Five Places in Medellín (1): El Tesoro

El Tesoro is the glitziest of Medellín's many shopping malls. It is also a long way from where I live, which adds to the sense that it is a special, golden place. I sometimes go on a Saturday afternoon, enjoy the ride to the other side of town, have a little wander around and have coffee and cake, sometimes in my 'own' café.I look out at the sky and the view over the city...

...listen to the sample CDs at Tower Records, and get the metro home. I always lower the tone terribly, in my scruffy jeans and trainers, but being unfailingly polite, no Colombian would ever mention it.