Post by Marius Nortmann

Someday is now! Christmas beneath the Colombian sun? The main reason for this journey goes back to 2011, when I sat outside a café in Downtown Los Angeles. While I was on a Skype call with my parents, Inasked a question, a woman at the next table answered. The women was Elsa - born in Colombia and then living in Dallas, Taxas. After a whimsical transcontinental exchange between my parents in Münster, Elsa and myself in L.A., she extended an invitation to visit her in Dallas during my travels around USA. Even then I recognized that most Americans do not intend the florid phrases of casual small talk literally; such standardized courtesies are seldom earnest. Weeks later, I arrived in Dallas and experienced for the first time the warm Colombian hospitality and profound generosity that characterize it. Over time, our acquaintance blossomed into a friendship, so it was only natural that I extended an invitation to Germany. I was delighted that Elsa accepted – because it allowed me to reciprocate her blind trust in someone who had previously been a stranger. I wanted to share my joy in giving and being a host, and show her all of Bremen and Münster. Elsa emphasized that I should come to Colombia to acquaint myself with her homeland and her extended family - an undertaking I pledged to undertake “someday.” Years elapsed. Though our contact was intermittent, I retained a general sense of Elsa’s circumstances and those of several relatives. A few weeks ago I asked her nephew Diego Jimenez about her wellbeing and resolved to seize the next opportunity to visit Elsa, who now resides in Colombia, and her family - to convert a promised intention into deliberate action. When I heared that Elsa was suffering from serious health problems, it became unmistakably clear to me that further delay was no longer acceptable – someday is now! This trip has once again shown me the immeasurable value of such encounters, their profound personal significance, the diversity, and the true richness of life. I spent Christmas in Cali and surrendered to the rhythms of salsa. I am so deeply grateful for all the experiences and the fascinating people who welcomed me so warmly. What was once "someday" has become „now"