The Reconnection
Ned Chalker
For me it was 45 years ago when I left Colombia. My site was Titiribí, Antioquia.
After the conference in Cartagena my wife Beverly, who was visiting Colombia for the first time, and I, along with Barney Hopewell, our Peace Corps Leader in Antioquia, and his wife Luz, traveled to Medellín.
A few months before leaving for the Cartagena conference, I had made contact with one of the little girls who played around our house – Fanny Rico Jaramillo. When Fanny turned 18, she spent two years in California with my old partner, John Tweten, learning English. Now little Fanny Rico is 52 and retired from teaching English for the last 30 years in Medellín.
Fanny said she would meet us at the airport and drive us to our hotel. To our great surprise her whole family was at the airport to greet us...along with all the other “little kids” who used to play around our house in Titiribí. They all had placards with their names on them so I would recognize them...“Don Ned, I’m Gloria” (and Nelly, and André Felipe, son of Fanny), “Bienvenidos.” Of course some were grandmothers by now. They gave us beautiful bouquets of freshly cut flowers introduced us to all their kids. What an emotional moment. They all had remembered. Tears flowed. It was pure joy.
Saturday Fanny and her husband Fabio Gómez took the four of us to their finca near the airport in Rio Negro where we were treated to sumptuous lunch of frijoles antioquenos, con chicharrón, y arepa...y aguardiente Antioqueño... of course. Everyone gathered around to watch us eat and drink.
The little girl from Titiribí and her family have made it. She and her husband live in Medellín and have a weekend place in the country. Life is good for them. They worked hard and now in retirement, are living out their dream.
The next morning we piled into two cars and headed out for Titiribí. As we rounded the corner just before Titiribí, you can see the entire town and many of the veredas laid out against the mountainside. But the view had changed. Now there were roads everywhere. You could only get out to the veredas on horse back in 1961—63. And the center of town had expanded in all directions. The road to Titiribí was now paved as were the streets in town. The church looked in better shape and the teatro/bull ring (the world’s smallest) had been restored but there was that certain familiar look to whole place.
As we walked down the main street leading to the plaza many of the old tiendas and watering holes were still there. A woman came out of one of the small shops and said “I remember you”. It was like coming home.
I met my old friend Ramíro Rico in the plaza. Ramíro has spent three weeks at my home in Connecticut 45 years ago and hadn’t been back to the States since. More hugs, more tears, more joy.
Fanny’s mother had prepared a huge lunch for us. When we entered the house there were balloons and bienvenido signs everywhere. This time we were treated to a fantastic sancocho. Fanny’s whole family was there. The brothers and sisters that I remember as well as those that were born after I left were there along with their children and grandchildren. Fanny’s younger sister, Mirián, along with her music teacher, put on a guitar concert of classical Colombian songs for all of us. The previous day she had sung for us, all the songs we had taught the kids in English. Who ever said we had no lasting impact?
The son of the man who had sold me my horse 47 years ago showed up on horseback to put on a show with his trick horse. The word was out.
As the sun set in Titiribí we headed back to Medellín. Early Monday morning Fanny and her husband drove us to airport and made sure we got through the maze of airport check-in without having some one run off with our luggage. The kindness, cheerfulness, friendliness, and the hospitality were overwhelming. We had truly reconnected.
Colombia is on the move. Colombia is passion. There is a spirit in the young people of Colombia that is catching. Between the cell phones and the internet the world just got smaller and there’s no excuse for us not keep up with old friends and help where we can.
This reconnection is off to a good start. Thank you, Fanny! I’m ready to go back.