I was able to sleep last night and it was the first time in a few days that that was the case. I guess my nerves are starting to finally settle down. I woke up at 8ish, I would have liked to sleep longer but the walls are thin and I am a light sleeper. I made some huevos and toast, and talked to some of the other volunteers. I unpacked and then took a pretty warm shower. I was told that the orientation would begin at 3, so I took it pretty easy until then. There is only one other new volunteer and her name is Allison, we decided to go get coffee when our orientation was pushed to 4. The orientation was basically just a quick overview of the volunteer opportunities here and rules etc. Then we took a walk around the neighborhood and bought some essentials like towels. I also decided to buy a cell phone for emergencies, and to communicate with all of these people who are helping me with locating and approaching my bm (birth mother).
Upon getting this cell phone and waiting over an hour for it to activate, I called Guillermo the first chance I got. Guillermo is a friend of an upstairs neighbor of mine growing up who became a very close family friend named Melissa. When I told Melissa about my trip a week ago, she immediately emailed everyone she knows in Colombia. More than one of them have been helpful and Guillermo has been especially helpful, contacting everyone he can think of to help me locate my bm, also helping me translate a letter I wrote for her. I finally was able to meet with him tonight and it was a wonderful experience. We had dinner with his daughter who is also fluent in english and will be my translator shall I need one. After dinner his daughter went out with friends and Guillermo offered to drive me to the neighborhood that we know my bm is registered to vote in and therefore lives close to. Guillermo told me that Magola can also be called by Magnolia and it does not mean that my bm changed her name. He also taught me a lot about the neighborhoods in Bogota and the structure of them based on income etc. When I learned that my bm was registered to vote in a "middle class" area, I took that as a good sign, that maybe she was able to do well for herself after making the decision to give me up for adoption. Upon taking this drive and speaking with Guillermo tonight I learned that middle class here is not the same as middle class in the states. I knew that was true already, but seeing with my own eyes and experiencing the difference was mind boggling. Guillermo explained Bogota to have 6 levels, the 6th being the highest income earning people who have houses with pools etc, and the level 1 being the most poor and unsafe neighborhoods that earn little to no income. We guessed and are guessing that my bm is in the level 3 range. The neighborhood the apartment I am staying in is a level 5, which explains the chic coffee shop we went to earlier. Anyways, driving around this place I would have lived and grown up in was so weird. I felt guilty not feeling safe there, because it would have been my home. Guillermo kept saying these are your roots, and it just was surreal. It is completely different than Cambridge, in every way. I don't know if my bm could have even imagined in her wildest dreams the life I have had. I can see why she would want to provide other opportunities for me. We might go to my bm's birthplace Samana, Cladas. Its a 7 hour drive or a short flight away. It might be nice to see where she is from and therefore explore my roots even deeper. I didn't even think that was an option until Guillermo suggested it. Sometimes people come into your life with kindness and an ability to help you and you just have to accept it, I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude towards him and his effort to assist me in this journey. I don't know how I could ever even begin to express my gratitude towards him. I feel once again like the luckiest and most blessed person ever. Buenos Noches
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