An evening in Colombia

I miss my girlfriend, Ashton. During the last term of school, we saw each other every day. We were also inseparable, and it was fantastic.

This summer, she’s been working like crazy and I’ve been writing like crazy. To make matters worse, we don’t exactly live close to one another, making spontaneous visits quite difficult.

When Ash called me Thursday night and asked if I would accompany her to the Colombian Folklorama Pavilion, I didn’t hesitate before saying “yes.” I love anything cultural and different, and it would also be a great opportunity for us to catch up and share some much-needed girl bonding time.

The reason why we chose the Colombian Pavilion is because Ash works with the woman who was in charge of the dancers. Her name is Nubia, and she’s a lovely woman. She actually – believe it or not – brought the dancers for the show all the way from Colombia to perform. They demonstrated a variety of Colombian dances, including a salsa number and a variety of group dances, all of which were well-rehearsed and visually interesting.

After the dancers were finished, Ash and I found ourselves being suddenly and forcefully whisked on stage by two very attractive Colombian dancers. They pulled us – and a few other people from the audience – onstage and made us dance with them. Initially, Ash and I were both a little uncertain about the situation. But, we’re both fairly outgoing ladies, and we rose to the challenge. Afterward, we had our pictures taken with our dance partners. Just in case we happened to forget what they looked like...

There were the usual jewellery and craft items for purchase, all of which were handmade and gorgeous. I caved and bought some Colombian coffee, which was $12 and will probably rock my world. We also tried the Folklorama beer while at the pavilion, and it’s not bad. Not my favourite, but decent and necessary when stuck inside in 40 degree heat.

Overall, I loved visiting the Colombian Pavilion. I don’t get out to very many Folklorama events, which is a shame, but I enjoyed myself immensely.

On top of the experience, I was able to do some bonding with my friend. School starts in two weeks, and I’ll return to seeing her every day, but it was nice to get out, just the two of us. I imagine we’ll be sick of each other by the end of the next school year... but not yet...