A Random moment of Colombian Patriotism

Colombians are very patriotic people. And I guess it’s because we have a lot to be proud of, even though some bad reputation worldwide has tarnished our good name!! Either way, almost every Colombian I have met is fiercely proud of his country and culture. And I had been telling that to my American boyfriend but I guess it didn’t completely sink in till last Sunday. We were driving along interstate 20, via Dallas, and I was driving while my bf was in the passenger seat. Of course, being the patriotic Colombian that I am, I have a Colombian flag hanging from the rear view mirror in my car. Anyway, we passed a huge pickup truck with a trailer in tow- and guess what: he had a sticker of Colombia on his back window, so I thought, how cool! Another Colombian!
My fellow countryman, however, was a bit more enthusiastic when as he passed me and glanced over, suddenly seeing my Colombian flag.. He slowed down till we were side by side, and started blowing the horn, like 3 times and waving wildly at us with a wide smile on his face! I obviously responded with more honking and waving.. it was an awesome feeling of patriotism right there… I mean, when do you randomly drive past another proud Colombian? And much more, when he unashamedly goes overboard trying to bond with you while driving on the highway just because you happen to be from the same wonderful country, and you are so proud you actually feel the world just stop there for a minute??
Oh it was priceless. You know what was also priceless?? The look of utter embarrassment on my bf’s face. I’m guessing he will never underestimate Colombians again. He didn’t think it had been cool no matter how over excited I was for the rest of the trip. “Colombians are definitely out there”, he muttered to himself.. no matter. I absolutely loved every second of it!!

As I was driving to work this morning, in the hectic hours of traffic, where everyone tries to get to the workplace in time, I was no exception. I kept looking at my watch, determining how many more minutes I had left before I would be officially late for work. Traffic was a bit heavy, but nonetheless moving along, one of the advantages of living in Ft Worth, where traffic is not half as bad as it is in Dallas. As I was coming into the final bridge before taking the street to my office, a new white cobalt Chevrolet was driving along slowly, blocking the way. I finally managed to pass the slow driver, and as is my custom, out of curiosity peek to see who is driving at such a slow pace and blocking the lane! Well, not surprisingly, it was a dear old lady, who apparently has not retired yet. I passed her and kept going my way. Very soon we were in the turning lanes and traffic slows down when someone has to make a left , and, remember, the old lady in the white cobalt is right behind me since I passed her a minute ago. Well, it so happens that I also had to make a left so I stopped to do so, when apparently, Mrs. Unretired driver decided she was also late for work, and maybe decided to hit the gas pedal and make up for lost time. Unfortunately, the streets were still with sand that was put out when it snowed in Christmas, so she must have hit some of that because her car slided right almost into mine. The result: a very near miss of an accident, almost hitting my car in the rear end, but thankfully at the last minute she was able to maneuver out of the tight spot and keep going at my right, and, yes, she looked at me with a most frightened and apologetic face.. I don’t know what was more funny- my scare at almost being hit, or the panicked expression on the poor old lady’s face as she looked at me from her passing vehicle. Well, It made my day.