A "Cultural Experience"

Sometimes, when you're in a place that is foreign to you, some things happen that you don't entirely understand. But your instincts tell you to go with it and see where it takes you, because it might be normal, excepting that you don't understand the cultural circumstances. Thus was the case in Guatape, when Krista and I sat down on a bench in a garden to rest a little bit and see what else we wanted to do with our day. A little to our left, there was a small alcove, where a small, older woman had just gone. She reappeared a couple minutes later, and told us that we should go in. Thinking it was just another part of the building we were in, we said, "sure" and headed that direction, only to have a priestly-looking man come out of what was apparently a room there and greet us, telling us to come into his office. Unsure of what to do, we went in. We introduced ourselves, told him where we were from and what we were doing in Guatape and made other small talk. He asked us questions, which Krista answered in Spanish, and he was very nice. We talked for maybe ten minutes (at which point Krista and I were sort of looking for a way out of whatever situation we had gotten ourselves into), and then he offered us coffee or pop. We politely declined, but he insisted, and went to get someone to get us something to drink. Krista and I were very confused, but again, we decided just to go with it (and really, what else could we do?). He came back with our beverages, we talked for a little while longer, he gave us a small tour of the building we were in and the garden in the courtyard, and then we parted. It was only a 15-20 minute exchange, but because we had no idea what was going on, it felt really out of our control. Of course, it wasn't a big deal. We just seemed to have stumbled upon a kindly priest-man who wanted to talk to some gringos. Cultural experience #1 survived, and a lesson reinforced. Even when you don't know entirely what's going on, go with the flow. 

-Josh