the bella diaries: El Dia Terrible, Horrible, Espantoso, Horroroso

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

1. No, my Spanish is not yet at the level that I could just whip this translation out. I googled Alexander's Day to get the Spanish translation.

2. I did not wake up this morning and decide it was going to be a terrible, horrible, day. I believe in the power of self-talk too much to start a day off like that (plus, I'm supposed to practice what I preach).

Yesterday was kind of a bum day. I lost my cell phone.

Let me start at the beginning.

Wednesday evening, we went out with a group of friends to celebrate Katy's birthday.

(below is our amigos. Birthday girl is the adorable blonde)

Before I go any further with the story I need to explain something. My husband has a huge aversion to bags that don't zip. Beach bags, small bags, purses, carry-ons, he is not discriminatory. No zipper=no te gusta. I am not as focused on the "closure" of the bag. I go more for look, style, quality. For the past few years, as our amount of travel increased, Matt would often bring my lack of zippers to my attention. Although, we have only been in Colombia for 3 weeks, I have heard a lot about my poor choice in carrying around a bag that doesn't have proper closure. Guess what? Matt, you are totally Right.

Back to the story.

So, we had a lovely dinner with great food (the Italian restaurant has a chef from Italy who also lived in Boston for several years and everything is amazing), good wine, and great conversation. We sat outside on the patio, which is open to the street. Throughout the course of dinner we had several vendors approach our table trying to sell us items (this is not uncommon, they come right up to your table and literally stand over you, mid-bite). I am not saying one of these vendors stole my phone, but here is what I know. I had it at dinner. My purse (without a zipper) sat next to me. Several vendors approached me. I had (quite a bit of) wine. And I left without a phone. When I realized my I didn't have my crackberry (I am open about my unhealthy addiction to my BlackBerry) Katy called it immediately and it was turned off.

So, I woke up the next morning, with a yearning for my phone (I haven't had it in my possession for a week. I felt literally sick about it. And I am sure this had nothing to do with the amount of wine that was consumed) and made my way to pilates. After pilates, I made my way to the Italian restaurant to see if they had discovered my lost phone. No one at the restaurant spoke English (the owner does, but he was not present). So, in my broken Spanish I attempted to tell them the story of my lost phone and ask if it had been discovered. They looked around for some time (so I am assuming they understood me) and then told me to return later when the boss was present. (While I am unsure if my wine consumption contributed to the loss of my phone or my longing for the BB, I am quite positive it killed all of my Spanish speaking brain cells, because I struggled to communicate yesterday). So, I trudged home pretty defeated. I received an email from Matt that we had a package at FEDEX that I needed to pick up. He gave me directions and I headed out once again. I asked the cabbie to take me to "la tienda de FedEx" and gave him the cross streets. When I got out of the cab, I didn't see a FedEx. So I walked up and down the streets, feeling quite anxious, and like a stupid American (no biggie, it's def. been shouted out at me a few times). Finally, I found the FedEx and my "stupid American self" couldn't figure out how to open the door. When I arrived, both the women working didn't speak any English. So again I searched to find my Spanish brain cells and managed to get out of there with the correct package.

This, as simple, as it looks made me feel much better. It was filled with a few things we realized we needed and Matt's bday gift, but it was a little piece of home that filled me with a sense of comfort.

My husband went with his driver (who speaks Espanol) to the Italian restaurant on his way home from work and they still hadn't seen any sign of a phone. So, Matt called the cell phone guy when he got home and I am on my way to being back on the map and getting my next fix of my addiction.

Although yesterday was a challenging day I know those will happen. That's life, right? It doesn't stop because you live on another continent and don't necessarily comprehend what's going on around you 75% of the time. But, what makes it okay is I have someone to lean on, my co-pilot on this adventure, and that makes the challenges totally worth it.