For example, I love to eat hummus, but I've had to learn to make my own here because it's hard to find and is usually even more expensive than it would be in U.S. supermarkets. Also, new clothes can be pretty expensive, especially in department stores. I like to look in the outdoor markets around my university downtown, where clothing prices tend to be more reasonable, even as low as five dollars for a shirt.
I tried traditional Colombian costeña (coastal) food at a restaurant in my neighborhood. My lunch came with a large piece of fish covered in a creamy coconut sauce, coconut rice, a small salad and some patacones (savory fried plantains), plus tart tamarind juice. My favorite part was the coconut rice, which has shreds of coconut in it and has a mix of sweet and savory flavors.
Even though I'm pretty far from any native Irish communities while I'm here in Medellín, my friends and I stumbled upon a live Irish music concert in a local café. A group of Colombians were playing traditional Irish ballads and jigs using instruments such as the fiddle, the tin flute and even bagpipes. One of my friends here is part Irish, but she was too afraid to get up and dance to the music since she was the only one in the audience who actually knew the traditional Irish steps.
I went to a Halloween party with one of my university friends. We all dressed up in costume for the party, but instead of watching a spooky movie and eating sweets like we might do at a Halloween party in the U.S., Latin dance was the major focus.
