First days exploring Bogotá

Well okay, maybe not quite exploring...so far I have basically stuck to what I know. Exploring in this city is hard to do because it is pretty dirty and bad neighborhoods are abundant. You can be in a good neighborhood and two blocks later be in an awful one. Also, my host parents don't want me walking around alone anywhere, which creates a sort of problem when all I want to do is explore!

These past two days I have seen new parts of the city though. Yesterday I was supposed to meet my friend Amy after her Spanish class (I was placed in the intermediate class in the afternoon and she is in the beginning class in the morning) to get lunch. I was supposed to be there at noon but because of "Colombian time", the lack of Google Maps, and the complicated Colombian street layout, we didn't get there until 12:45. Obviously, she wasn't there. That was kind of a huge bummer, but I ended up going out to lunch with my host parents and we walked around the neighborhood that the Spanish classes are in. When my class ended at 5:30 I was surprised to see Amy waiting for me! My host parents were also there to pick me up, so we all went back to a mall near my apartment and bought cell phones (finally! 312 439 8861 call me! it´s cheap from skype!). We asked my host dad to call Amy's host parents to tell them that she was safe with me and that they would bring her home when we got home from the mall. We got back to my apartment at around 10 pm and got to Amy's at around 10:30 pm. I walked her upstairs and her parents were so mad! I guess they hadn't gotten the message of what Amy was up to, so they thought she had gotten lost! They had even gone as far as to call the director of the program we are here with and tell them she was lost. That was kind of a fiasco, but my host parents explained to me that Bogotá really is pretty dangerous, and that we need to always tell them where we are, what we are doing, who we are with, how we are getting home, etc.

This morning, despite the late night, I went with my host parents to"La Candelaría" which is the old/downtown part of the city. This part of town is yet another place where my host parents say I shouldn't walk alone, even in the day time. In the main square of La Candelaría there are buildings with amazing architecture, and I saw the house of the president. I also found an Indian restaurant, which is amazing since I have been craving Indian food! After walking around and exploring there for a while we took the TransMilenio back to the neighborhood where the Spanish classes are so that I could meet Amy. We were early this time! The whole beginning class (5 girls), one of the teachers, and I went out to lunch at a vegetarian place close to the Spanish classes. It was only$1.75 per person! There is so much cheap food here that is actually super good, it´s amazing. I realized pretty quickly that here, especially in my house, people eat a big lunch and a tiny dinner. My host mom usually only has a few crackers and a glass of milk for dinner, but she always makes sure that I am going to have a huge lunch. Today, before I knew that we were going out to lunch, I told her that I brought an apple with me to eat for lunch and all she said was "No.", which was pretty clear, haha. My host parents expected Amy to meet me again after class and take the TransMilenio home with me, but she was in trouble from last night (she is 24 and still getting consequences! haha) so I took the TransMilenio alone. My host mom called me at 5:30 right as class was ending and asked where I was and if I was with Amy. When I said I was walking to the TransMilenio station and was not with Amy she got soooo worried! Even though I was with other people from my class I could tell she was going to worry until I got home. About five minutes later my host dad also called to see where I was and if I was safe. It is weird having two people always needing to know my whereabouts and exactly who I am with! I am just so used to the comfort of Davis that it is going to take some getting used to.

Tomorrow my host mom is going to take me to explore another part of the city, and then I am going to meet some friends for lunch again. By the time I get home after Spanish class, a total of about 1.5 hours from door to door, it will basically be time for bed! The commute to and from Spanish class for the next month and to and from work for the following months (probably closer to 2 hours each way) is definitely going to take a lot of getting used to!