Feel like a Rock Star in Colombia

So you are sitting on your couch. You lost your job and you are feeling like no one pays any attention to you. I recommend feeling like a rock star in Colombia. It does not matter if you are biking in the pouring rain or walking the remote streets in a small pueblo, if you are a single woman with reddish hair, blue eyes and freckles Colombians will notice you. People will stare. Not just a small stare but a complete look over and a locking of their eyes on you. The kids look at you like you are from another planet. The energy is quite different than in places like Mexico, where men may hoot and holler. The Colombians are quite relaxed and are perhaps just in shock to see an active woman. To be quite honest, it gives me a little chuckle. While filming the eating street food in Manizales, my friends have quite a few laughs as the locals look at me like I am a 3-eyed chicken.

The only challenge becomes getting charged more because they assume that everyone that does not have brown hair, brown eyes and dark skin has more money in their pocket. Colombians assume that gringos are people with "mucho plata" and you may need to ask around and compare prices for certain objects. As in any third world country, there are the, rich-rich and the poor-poor, and these classes of people rarely mix.