Travel Tales From a Colombian Abroad
One of my favorite pastimes and that of many people in the Southeast region of France is hiking in the mountains. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to hike La Rhune, a summit from which you can see the Atlantic Ocean and cities like: Saint Jean De Luz and Hendaye on the French side, and Hondarribia in the Spanish side.
When you start learning a new language, you learn so much more than just the language: you learn to put things in context, and you might even end up finding a deeper meaning to words in your native language or other languages you speak. This happened to me when I moved to France. All of a sudden I was hearing words that had always been familiar, but I had no knowledge of their origins or different meanings. Since Spanish is my native language, I immediately began to make the word connections and since both languages have latin roots, made my learning went a lot smoother. I also realized that many French words were used in English as well. About 29% of English derives from the French language but most words have evolved through spelling and phonetics. However, there are still words out there that are purely French, but their meaning or context might have changed. Let’s take a look at some!
We say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017, an opportunity to smile and live life to the max. 2016 was full of changes, learning, adventures, new friendships, and weddings… lots of weddings (I’m going through that age). I was fortunate to receive 2016 next to the Duque family, my parents, sister, and boyfriend in Medellin. Something that with time seems to be harder since we live in different places and the pace of our lives are different. It was a welcome where my heart was truly full.
Since I’m used to spending Christmas in Medellín or Texas, Christmas in France is… a cold one. But only in temperature, since like in many places, Christmas transforms cities and the spirit of its people. Cities seem to be a little louder and warmer than normal.
An Autumn in Paris. It sounds like the title of a movie, and that is exactly what you feel when you spend a couple of autumn days in the City of Lights.
![Opinion - The Peace We All Want [La Paz que Todos Queremos]](https://i0.wp.com/www.thiscolombiangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/286136_10151075699001059_1241341651_o.jpg?resize=720%2C471&ssl=1)
It makes me sad to see how Colombians fight with one another for peace when at the end of the day we all want the same thing: peace. If we took a moment to really listen to what our neighbors have to say, we would understand that the heart of every one of us is with the peace.
![Summer Look - Finds From Colombia [Look de Verano]](https://i0.wp.com/www.thiscolombiangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/photo-1421284621639-884f4129b61d.jpeg?resize=720%2C471&ssl=1)
Hola! Yesterday was the first day of autumn, woohoo! Wait…not so fast! The southern part of the world is either switching to summer or staying at its normal steady temperature (which is the case of Colombia). And a lot of you would probably also agree that it still feels like summer, or at least here in the south of France does!
![Camping in the Pyrénées [Acampando en los Pirineos]](https://i0.wp.com/www.thiscolombiangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/dsc02658.jpg?resize=720%2C471&ssl=1)
Since I arrived in Pau, we had been talking about going camping in the Pyrenees, and we finally made time to do it. Before going on the trip we went to the Decathlon (a French store where hey sell outdoor and sports stuff) and bought a few things to be fully prepared. [Versión en español abajo]
![Sailing Away [Navegando Ando]](https://i0.wp.com/www.thiscolombiangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/dsc02502.jpg?resize=720%2C471&ssl=1)
What do you do when your boyfriend and his family are passionate about sailing and they invite you to spend a weekend with them in the Mediterranean? You take some seasickness medicine and pray that you will enjoy it. [Versión en español abajo]
![Weekend in Bordeaux [Fin de semana en Burdeos]](https://i0.wp.com/www.thiscolombiangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/img_5235.jpg?resize=720%2C471&ssl=1)
This past weekend I finally had the opportunity to go to Bordeaux for my first time. The actual reason we went was to see Muse play that Thursday night at a festival, Garo Rock, near Bordeaux in Marmande. Our plan was to rent a house though Airbnb, and sleep close to Marmande the night of the concert; then the following day head to Bordeaux to spend the rest of the weekend there. [Versión en español abajo]