Blogs from Bogota, Colombia, South America - page 51

Moi! Niinkuin varmaat useimmat ovat kuulleet, niin taalla Kolumbiassa armeija paasti paivilta yhden FARC guerilla-joukon ykkoshepuista. Muuten ihan hyva homma, mutta kun se tapahtui Ecuadorin puolella, ilman etta Ecuador oli tietoinen asiasta, niin nyt on pienta poliittista vaantoa naapurusten valilla, mutta eikohan ne siita rauhoitu ja paasta mut vaihtamaan maata muutaman viikon paasta. Toistaiseksi ei ole kiire rajoille.. Kaikkialla Bogotaa lukuunottamatta on ollut tosi kuuma, reilut 30 astetta jokapaikassa. Tanaan tanne paakaupunkiin saavuttaessa, ei sitten enaa tarvinnutkaan aurinkovoiteita levitella, kaupunki on n. 2650m meren pinnasta, joten varsinkin oisin on hieman kalsa. Mutta palataanpa alkuun.. Cartagena: mukava paikka, tykastyin kovasti hostelliini, varsinkin sen henkilokuntaan, soittelivat viela eilenkin, etta kaikki on kunnossa. Hostellin lisaksi muistoihin jai vis... read more

I'm sorry I haven't updated this in nearly a month. So much goes on, that its hard to sit down and just organize my thoughts and write them into a coherent narrative. But let me try... As a school, we traveled out of the mountains and into the rainforest. It was a little worrisome at first, as we were traveling into paramilitary area. Not exactly FARC ground, but really close. We arrived at our location safely and had three days playing at a resort. Well, it called itself a resort....it was really the most amassed collection of insects and creepy-crawlies I've ever seen. There were bugs everywhere. At night, you had to seek shelter or you would become one big mosquito bite. One of our fellow teachers had over 250 bites...we counted! I was 'lucky' enough ... read more

Wow....the last week has flown by. With so much packed into my days, its hard to get time to breathe....let alone write on the blog. But let me try and catch you all up... Last Tuesday, a little over a week ago, I chaperoned my Senior class to Santa Maria Plaza de Toros......One of the oldest bullrings in South America. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the bullfight, but we did hang out in the ring. We toured the facilities, went into the holding areas where they keep the bulls and saw the stadium from inside and out. I promise to get pictures up as soon as possible. Again, my computer just can't handle the task.... From there, we went and chilled out at a beautiful nearby park. Bogota is filled with small parks. Literally, every ... read more

My roommates took off this weekend to go play in a mountain lake, and I'm left here alone. It's okay. First, I really didn't need to spend the money to go there, when in two weeks we are going there for free on a teachers retreat. Second, two people are coming down this weekend. One of my roommates is coming back, and then a good friend of us Judson guys is coming to stay for a while....like a couple months while. Its another amigo to hang out with, help on rent and help sub some of my classes. Also, we had our maid come for the first time today. I know! Sounds very bourgeouis, but five guys living in an apartment is not a good start for cleanliness. Plus, its worth $15 American dollars a week ... read more

Hola everyone. First thing first....I haven't been kidnapped. I haven't been mugged and I haven't gotten any weird tropical disease. Those were my biggest concerns, but they really are unfounded. Actually, the only things that really separate Bogota from Chicago are the amount of pollution, the size and that everyone down here speaks Spanish. Other than that, I'm living in a major metropolis. There's plenty of 'social capital', people walking around talking to each other. Five blocks from my apartment is a nice little shopping center called Mazuren. It's clean, safe and has a couple really nice restaurants that are inexpensive. There's a little cafe where I can grab some coffee when I need...and they actually do have real coffee...not the stuff Colombians call coffee. It's so strange, but the majority of the coffee crop is ... read more