Painting about Barranquilla’s Carnival.
In the beginning of this year, Colombia, the country that I am proudly from, won the prize as the happiest country of the world according to Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research. This past year they polled people from 68 countries and based on the survey 87% of Colombians said they were happy. This information called my attention, especially because a lot of Colombians have suffered from the armed conflict. However, it proves that Colombians are very resilient, kind, and happy people despite of the sad part of the History and some aspects of its reality. For instance, when I ask foreigners (who have visited my country) about what they liked the most, the answer is usually the same: Colombian ‘people. Therefore, today I want to take advantage of the prize that Colombia just won and share some positive aspects about my beautiful nation. However, I don’t want to say Colombia is the best for two reasons: 1. All places are worth it to visit, they have their own charm and, 2. I dislike competitions, these are the ones that start the wars. Thus, in a humble way and since the fellowship is also about cultural exchange, I want to share some aspects that make my country so special and explain why I love it so much.
It is located in the northern part of South America, and surrounded by beautiful countries like Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Colombia is a tropical country, we don’t have the four seasons, although we have many different temperatures, most of them, really good, you can visit Colombia any time of the year, you always will find good weather. Colombia has access to both oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic and has so many different landscapes, Mountains, volcanoes, deserts, forest, beaches, rivers. Colombia is also known by its parties and carnivals. THEY ARE AMAZING!!! Also, a lot of Colombians (of course it is not mi pretention to generalize) usually make jokes, keep laughing and most of the time want to help, especially if you are a foreign person they are going to treat you as a king or queen, I promise. I definitely second estrangers opinion: people in Colombia are really kind. Also, Colombia is the land of some famous and talented people, like Shakira the singer, soccer players like Falcao and James Rodriguez and The Nobel prize of literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez, among many others.
To summarize, as I mentioned previously, this post is just an excuse to promote cultural exchanges, to share some positive aspects of my country and to have an opportunity to encourage you to visit it, you won’t regret it. Be part of the majority who enjoy and fall in love with it. As a tourism campaign keeps saying: “Colombia, the risk is wanting to stay”.