Changes

In a recent flight Paris CDG - Bogota, the guy sitting next to me in the plane was a member of the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, who was returning from a tour in Asia and Europe. He stopped for a few days in Paris, where he had studied music more than 20 years ago. I was curious about his impressions about returning to Paris after such a long time. He replied: "Returning to Paris is strange. The city itself hasn't changed much. Then a nostalgic realization strikes you: it is you who has changed. And that's weird to assimilate."

His answer was both illuminating and unexpected. He managed to put into words some of my feelings about leaving Bologna. As Paris, Bologna is one of those cities that hardly changes. My impression is that noticeable changes in Bologna (and perhaps in Italy at large) only occur at a slow pace. A very slow one. Then, in addition to those nostalgic feelings of leaving a place that has grown in you, you have an extra burden: an unsolicited desire of confronting yourself so as to realize the way you have changed.

Cities in Colombia do not come with that burden. From a certain perspective, here you find different things everywhere: many new buildings, business, and streets are enough to offer you a different landscape. The pace for changes here is certainly faster than in Europe. Now I see many new small shopping centers and gas stations standing on what I used to remember as empty spaces. Businesses grow, buildings change their appearance. My home university has a brand new building every time I return. (I usually return here more or less once a year, so it is relatively easy to appreciate changes.) In Colombia your environment is constantly changing, and perhaps that helps you to avoid reflecting about your own changes. I wonder if that's good or bad.

However, from a different perspective, your environment here is always the same. I am thinking here about the weather: in Colombian cities you have more or less the same season during the year. It is amazing to realize the tremendous effect that the presence/absence of defined weather seasons has on how people behave. You dress up the same the whole year. Your have the same food habits all the year long, with very small variations. More in general, you care less about the future, you make less short/medium-term plans. You don't have the urgency of going out and enjoying the day because most likely the sun will be there again for the rest of the year. You don't need to plan your vacation with weeks or months in advance. You can always go out. Again, I wonder if that's good or bad.