Journal #24: Closing out Medellin

This is from a journal written on February 15, 2022, from Lima, Peru.

I was journaling Friday about feeling like I was a bit in a funk, which I very much was in for most of the week. So I was actively trying to get out of this funky state. How was I to do this, you ask? Through retail therapy, drinks with new friends, and dancing my ass off.

I messaged my Medellin BFF, Emilie, to see if she wanted to go shopping after work. She, of course, said yes. I had alsorunn into one of my friends from studying abroad, Reba, that week in our hostel lobby. I know, small freaking world. So I invited her to shop with us too.

We had made a few other friends that were going to meet up with that night for dinner, drinks, and dancing. But for now, it was just the three of us hitting the streets of El Poblado to shop.

Brett and I had stumbled upon this super-sick sneaker store called Broken Chains the other night after dinner and I found a pair of tan and white Jordan's that I kind of fell in love with. I didn't pull the trigger on them in the moment because they were almost $200 and I wanted to get my little sister's opinion (cause she has dank sneaker style).

Now, after a few days, I couldn't stop thinking about them. So I had to back and cop them.

I know some of you are probably thinking, Tay, $200 for a pair of shoes? Shouldn't you be trying to save money while you're traveling?

And I'd agree with you. When traveling, unexpected things come up and they often aren't cheap.

However, since leaving the US, I've been doubling my monthly savings. I know this may sound weird because I'm traveling the world, eating out all the time, and spending money on cool tours and excursions. But hear me out here; Brett and I have cut our monthly rent almost in half by staying at the Selina hostels on the CoLive program, I physically can't online shop (which was eating up a lot of my monthly income back in Seattle), and the cost of food, drinks, etc. has been substantially cheaper than what you'd find in California or Washington.

So, I'm justified in buying the Jordans, right? I thought so. Plus, I would've regretted not getting them.

Anyway, after a bit of shopping, we found this intimate rooftop on the top of the Marquee hotel to enjoy the sunset over the maroon buildings and emerald mountains.

And had a photoshoot, of course.

I got to say, it was quite refreshing to have some girl time. I love the shit out of Brett, but since living in Seattle with him and Sam, I've realized something – I have five buckets that need to be filled on a regular basis and if I'm lacking in one, I feel off. Those buckets include Me Time, Brett Time, Girls Time, Boys Time, and Family Time. Recently I've been maxing out on the Brett Time. And not in a bad way, like I'm not annoyed with him, or getting sick of him at all. I just know I need to balance it out.

This day, Brett still wasn't feeling a hundred percent and we booked a tour for the next day that was starting at 6:50 am. Understandably so, he decided to skip the night's festivities.

But, me? I needed this night. I didn't care if I was going to get two hours of sleep before the tour, I was going to get dressed up, eat at a nice restaurant, and get drunk with my new friends.

Oh, and you want to know the best part about 'sending it' on a night out in Medellin to a nice restaurant and getting fancy drinks? I spent less than $60 on a steak dinner, several cocktails, sharing a bottle of wine, and the cover charge at the club.

It was me, Emilie, Reba, Shane, Shane's friend, Dan (who we met on the Comuna 13 tour), Ryan (the San Diego guy from last weekend), and Christina.

Here's is the catch with traveling long-term and being location independent: you will meet really dope people, start to expand your global network, and share incredible moments together, but then someone has to catch a flight off to their next destination.

In this case, it was me and Brett jetting off to Peru that weekend. But not before our amazing trip to Guatape.