'Your Irish blood's not wanted here'

Rejection is never easy to accept. Nonetheless, like most things in life, the more we experience it, the better we are at dealing with it.

Both personally and professionally I've had my fair share of rejection. I won't say that I'm now indifferent and immune to it to the point where I have a reckless attitude towards everything.

'Sorry, but we can't take your blood.' 'But you took it in 2014!'

Indeed, even for those who seem "done" with life, who appear to care about nothing, a lot of the time this is just masking disappointments and, perhaps, bitterness and envy.

I haven't quite given up just yet.

'Don't have a cow, man!'

That being said, when the rejection attacks the very fibre of your being, literally the blood running through your veins, a fundamental component that keeps you in the game of life, this is particularly hard to take.

Throw in the fact that you were only trying to be helpful, expecting absolutely nothing in return from the recipient(s) of your altruistic deed, and it really only brings about that "why bother?" state of mind.

You see, I've been told my blood, my rare enough B-negative blood, is not wanted here in Colombia.

Apparently, it's to do with the fact that I'm from a mad cow disease country. I know, 'You said what now?'

'What has changed between now and 2014 to make my blood unwanted?'

I got wind of this last year when I tried to donate on my then employer's health day. At the time I thought it was just that particular blood bank. After all, in 2014 I gave blood in Bogotá, no questions asked — well, bar the obligatory ones you get asked before being needled up ('Do you practice safe sex?' 'If by safe you mean abstinence, yes.').

So the other week I tried again. 'No señor. It ain't happening.'

What's changed between 2014 and now to render my blood unsuitable for Colombians? To my knowledge, there haven't been incidents of mad cow disease in Ireland for years. If anything, things were riskier a few years back.

I take it that in the intervening period they've discovered some incompatibility. No one has been able to give me a clear answer thus far.

Needless to say, I'm no haematologist but I would have thought a simple test could be carried out to see if my blood is OK for donating. We can only assume this isn't possible.

A blood sport

Now, I won't lose sleep over the possibility of never donating blood again in my life — you could say I'm quite sanguine about the situation — but there is a part of me that wants to do it, at least once more.

One reason for this is that the first and only time I did it, in 2014, wasn't — it shames me somewhat to admit — for altruistic reasons only. No, I wanted to find out what my blood type was.

I had no idea and earlier that year I, um, took a stab at what it was in order to get my first ever Colombian ID, cédula extranjería, issued (a requirement once a work visa is approved). I think I said I was 'O positive' and signed a document to that effect. True to form, 'Wrong Way' was wrong with that one.

So now I want to give blood for the sole reason that I might help save somebody's life.

A blood-bank employee did tell me that I'd be able to donate here if I hadn't returned to a mad cow disease country for something like three years or more. For the record, I was last in Ireland in September 2018.

Considering I tend to go back home every two years or so, it looks like I won't be giving blood in Colombia any time soon, if ever again.

I guess I'll just have to wait to do it next time I'm back in Europe. Here's hoping I don't faint as I almost did on the first occasion — I'm a bit queasy when it comes to these things.

Maybe, though, like rejection, I'll get better at dealing with it the more I experience it. The risk is, however, I become so thick-skinned that no one will get any blood out of me ever again.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz". 

Is the end of the Bog-standard tienda nigh?

About the only thing we can be certain of these days is that the uncertainty permeating through practically every sector of society is set to continue for the coming months if not years.

'So do you want that with razor blades or not?' 'Eh, you can leave them out.'

Much has been written about the "new normals" we'll have to live with because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of them, such as the wearing of facemasks in public, we're seeing already.

Hy-giene, goodbye defences

We can expect hygiene standards across the board to crank up a few levels and what was once merely advice will most likely become obligatory.

There could, of course, be negative side-effects to all this. There is a school of thought that, especially in the more developed countries, we're already overly sanitised.

We don't expose our bodies and immune systems enough to all that the natural world can throw at us to the point that when we inevitably "let the guard down" we're in a much weaker position to tackle whatever may be attacking us.

Personally, I've generally had a more blasé approach to this, certainly in terms of eating street food, snacking on untreated fruit & veg and such like. I like to think it's stood me in good stead.

I'm also not overly concerned about the cleanliness or otherwise of the public places in which I eat and drink.

Considering some of the establishments I've frequented in these parts, that's a good thing.

'Some places have posters detailing how to wash your hands, minus the actual means to do it.'

The washroom facilities — if they merit such a name — of many of Colombia's ubiquitous tienda bars and a not-insignificant number of its panaderías are often found wanting.

For example, some tiendas provide no more than a urinal in a not-very-private corner of the building.

Very often there'll be a poster with a step-by-step guide on how to properly wash your hands with one, um, minor snag: No sink or washbasin to actually carry out the practice. 'Thanks for the theory, guys. Now, where can I go to do it for real?'

Should there be women customers — have they nothing better to be doing than frequenting a gentleman's tienda? — they are usually given access to the private bathroom. 

It can come across at times, however, that the proprietor feels he/she is almost doing them a favour by letting them use the residents' toilet.

In an even more health-conscious, nay hypochondriacal and paranoid society as a consequence of coronavirus, the future of such places is surely in doubt if they don't improve their bathroom facilities — whenever they're actually allowed to have seated customers on their premises again that is.

Razor-sharp enforcement

One would expect that Colombian health authorities will demand, at the very least, a fully equipped, easily accessible sink for patrons to wash their hands alongside a proper toilet.

Then again, my fleeting experience with Bogotá's health authority, Salud Capital, wouldn't fill one with much confidence that authorities here are actually capable of implementing any sort of standards.

The body's response to my complaint after finding a razor blade — yes, a razor blade — in a pastel I bought in a barrio bakery (panadería) left a lot to be desired, to say the least.

In summation, the authority's e-mailed reply was: 'We inspected the panadería in question and told them not to use razor blades when preparing their products.' Wonderful.

'Eh, Juan, just had a visit from Salud Capital. Apparently, we're not meant to mix razor blades in with the dough. Currants, no problem, razor blades are out, though.'

'Really?! Who would have thunk it? What will we do with those 200 bite-sized blades I just ordered? What else are they good for?'

So, as is often the case with many things in Colombia, should new, stricter hygiene measures become law, their application in practice will be a different matter.

At times it works to one's advantage, at other times, not so.

With so much uncertainty about, we can rest assured that this Colombian quirk won't change any time soon.

With an unwashed hand looking out from the tienda urinal — mind the splashback — let's raise a Poker to that.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Enjoying the fruits of Colombia's labour

As most of you regular readers of this blog may have realised, it's not one that tends to engage in hyperbole. So, in honour of that, here's the understatement of the year: The coronavirus crisis is having a negative impact on many sectors of the economy.

Opportunity knocks: A previously unoccupied premise in Bogotá is now selling fruit and veg.

Via Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast, I've spoken with some of those who are feeling the pandemic pinch more than others. Or better said, the virus' threat — nay the government measures introduced to contain its spread — to take an irrecoverable pound of flesh from their livelihood.

Yet, as in most crises, opportunity knocks for others.

The online gaming sector, for one, is apparently experiencing strong growth. The video communications company Zoom is another, as well as, we can assume, delivery service operators.

Blooming business

Supermarkets are doing just fine, too. We have to eat, after all — unless you're observing Ramadan right now.

Linked to that — no, not Ramadan, I mean supermarkets and staple foods — here in Bogotá, the fruit-and-veg sector seems to be, well, in bloom.

Over the last few weeks, previously vacant premises, together with businesses that had been engaged in other, non-essential operations, have gone "green".

Quite literally, there's been a mushrooming of fruit-and-veg shops.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that there is a host of quick-thinking, wily folk getting involved in the sector (although, as mentioned, there are those who have switched trade to meet demand). It's probably more a case of existing stores expanding into new spaces. With social distancing and restrictions on customer capacity, those already established elsewhere are most likely behind these new plantations.

'You generally get a lot more bang for your buck with such wholesome goodies compared to ready-to-eat alternatives.'

Whatever the case as to their roots, it is somewhat refreshing that there appears to be a greater demand for fresh produce during these uncertain times.

I wrote previously about what I saw as worrying aspects of the Colombian diet amongst those living more sedentary lifestyles compared to previous generations. As the coronavirus quarantine has resulted in money being in even shorter supply than normal for the hard-pressed masses here, it seems many people are rediscovering the virtues of unprocessed fruit and veg.

This and the fact that, pound for pound, you generally get a lot more bang for your buck with such wholesome goodies compared to ready-to-eat, bought-in alternatives.

How these are prepared at home, well that's another matter. The devil is in the detail in that regard. What's more, there's always the risk here that they're just buying a variety of starchy tubers. Perish the thought that a typical plate might come with a few greens or a decent salad on it.

Nonetheless, as some find comfort in fast food and the like in these difficult times, it's nice to see the humble fruit-and-veg store not only remain important but seemingly grow in popularity.

A, um, turnip for the books (or smartphone, rather), eh?
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz". 

Not just food for thought

While born and raised on a farm in the west of Ireland, it would be quite a stretch to say that my upbringing was one where I lived completely off the land in some sort of idyllic, symbiotic relationship with nature.

Running just to stand still. (Image from reddit.com.)

No. For one, we rarely directly consumed any of the produce from the family farm. 

As the first step in beef production, each year we sold the young suckler calves — weanlings as they're called, as they're weaned off their mothers at this stage (an udder-ly sad process) — to other farmers who would then "ready them" for human consumption. So we tended not to kill our own cattle for sustenance.

What's more, it was purely a cattle farm. We didn't grow crops of any kind.

Handed down to my father from his father, it's fair to say he kept it as a going concern more out of a sentimental attachment than anything else really, with much help from us, his children, and, of course, my mother, while he ensured our household had a more reliable source of income working in construction.

Why chop when you can simply shop?

So, although comfortable around cattle and not afraid to get my hands dirty in the countryside, I've never directly used the land to get my "daily bread" so to put it.

It's fair to say that's pretty much how most Irish farmers, part time or full time, operate. 

Whether the farm is a profitable business (by all accounts there aren't many of those in the west of Ireland) or, in our case, an expensive and very often labour-intensive hobby, very few get anything close to the majority of their food requirements from it.

In today's world, this makes a lot of sense. It's less time consuming, more reliable and even cheaper to just go to the local supermarket for one's staples.

Thus, it wasn't until I travelled to this part of the world that I witnessed something that resembled true self-sufficient living off the land.

'The rudimentary nature of it appealed in many ways. Quite literally, you get to taste and enjoy the fruits of your own labour.'

Eleven years on from my first such encounter, the memory has stayed firmly with me.

Down in the deep valley of Peru's impressive Colca Canyon during a three-day trek, I observed with silent admiration the comings and goings of the local host family.

Everything they did appeared to revolve around preparing the next meal and, so it seemed anyway, the majority of the ingredients were sourced from the farm.

For sure, the family was no doubt earning money from the passing tourism trade as well, yet I couldn't help but think that from a food perspective, they looked to be practically self-sufficient.

I'm not saying it was a carefree existence — there's no such thing — in the way some "First Worlders", rather patronisingly, highlight the "joyous" way primitive tribes live. Nonetheless, the more rudimentary nature of it appealed in many ways.

Quite literally, you get to taste and, all going well, enjoy the fruits of your own labour. Beats marketing for faceless third parties in any case, one can only assume.

It's akin to when you cook your own meal, you generally have a greater appreciation for it compared to when it's prepared for you. We can extrapolate, then, that if you grow and harvest your own food, you'll enjoy it even more.

One step back, two steps forward

A back-to-basics, back-to-nature approach is often viewed as regressive. The fast-paced city life is where the action is. Where is that rapidity taking us, though? Many of us appear to be running just to stand still.

What if we took it down a few levels, appreciated the more fundamental elements of life. Give time its due. Not everything must be, nay can be, "now, now, now".

One of the few positives from the various ineffective measures imposed upon us due to the coronavirus crisis is that some people are discovering that we don't need to be on the go 24/7. We can take our foot off the pedal and still go forward.

This isn't a call for a rejection of modernity and the digital world — that would be professionally suicidal for many of us right now. It's about obtaining a better balance.

Some are slowly waking up to the fact that there's a lot of unnecessary "padding" in our lives, non-essentials that have been cleverly sold to us as stuff we can't live without.

One hope is that the movement against our disposable, fast-fashion lifestyle, in all its unsustainable manifestations, grows stronger.

From a food perspective, it would be nice to see those who can do much better to be self-sufficient not only take affirmative action but be given the required assistance and time to do so as well. Teach a man how to fish and all that.

Focusing more so on the bare necessities, reconnecting with the land that feeds us, does not have to come at the cost of progress and modernity. On the contrary, they can go hand in hand.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".