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Published: June 23rd 2015
Crepes & Waffles
Nat, Martha and I enjoying lunch at the popular Colombian RestaurantOn Wednesday, the plan was to go to el Centro to do all of the touristy things. Unfortunately, there were some protests due to some law changes (essentially they've outlawed the little street stalls selling counterfeit designer merchandise, and A LOT of people make their money that way, hence the frustration!). So we decided it was best to stay away from that area and went and watched Jurassic World instead. It's amazing how shopping centres and cinemas are the same in every city. A big difference is that they brought the food into the cinema for us during the movies, like gold class - I felt very ritzy! After the movie, we had lunch at Crepes & Waffles, which is a popular restaurant over here (Nat was super excited to eat there after two years in Australia!). Apparently, the restaurant started as someone's thesis project with the concept of hiring only women who are the main income provider, to help them support their families, and has since grown into a huge franchise. Very yummy and affordable crepes!
In the evening, there was a huge football (soccer) game on in the Copa America between Brazil and Colombia. This was an important
Football and Fritanga
Colombian team shirt compulsory on game nights game for the Colombians due to some disappointments in the World Cup that they wanted to make up for. It's amazing how different it is to watch soccer here, compared to in Australia. EVERYONE is excited about the football in Colombia, and there is a huge party in the streets whenever there's a game on. So we walked up to a local park where they had a big screen set up for everyone to watch the game. There was pre-game entertainment and everyone had those annoying horn things. We got a table in a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a couple of Colombian beers. Once the game started, I could suddenly see why everyone enjoys the sport so much - it's all about the atmosphere. Even though there was only one score in the entire 90 minute game (1-0 to Colombia, YAY!), everyone was pumped up the whole time - especially the commentators! Whenever the ball came close to Brazil's goal, the tension built up, and whenever the ball was in Colombia's half, everyone started cheering and groaning if there was a missed goal (even when it was clearly way off the mark!). And when Colombia got that goal... wow it
was awesome!! So yeah I think I'm going to try and watch as many games as I can while I'm here. We ordered fritanga at the restaurant (a Colombian dish of meats and fried vegies) which also added to the enjoyment factor!
From Thursday until today, Nat and I have been training every day. We go to the gym in the mornings and underwater rugby training at nights with one of the UWR teams of Bogota - Los Castores. Training with the Colombians has been a lot of fun, and already we are seeing big improvements. The first day was really tough, but each day we are getting better and better as we acclimatise to the altitude. The UWR level here in Colombia is miles ahead of Australia and we're learning a lot. After training, we've often been going out for dinner with some of the team, which is a lot of fun, and has been great for my Spanish.
On Sunday, I met up with my cousin Andrea and her son Tomas, who have been visiting family in a small town near Bogota. We caught up for coffee and air hockey at one of the
Centro Aldino - Andrea, Tomas y yo
Thousands of paper aeroplanes were hanging in the centre with messages from kids for father's day main shopping centres - el Centro Andino. It was great to see them, and actually a little bit weird to be speaking only English again! I never thought I'd be spending an afternoon in Bogota playing in an arcade and looking at Lego! We parted ways at lunch time - them to pack and head off back home to New Zealand, and me to watch the next game for Colombia in the Copa America. Nat and I were invited to watch it with the family of one of the UWR guys, Hermar. Again the game was very exciting and full of tension as Colombia missed a few important opportunities. In the end it was a draw, and the results of the following game between Brazil and Venezuela would decide if Colombia would advance to the next round. Luckily after rugby training, we saw that Brazil had won, and now Colombia continues into the next round to play against Argentina on Friday. Vamos Colombia!
Today I started at Spanish school, which was really great. There's only me and one other pupil (Andreas from Denmark) in the class with our teacher, so I'm getting a lot of one-on-one attention. Andreas has much better Spanish than me, so I should advance quickly! I've got a heap of homework to do - luckily we don't have rugby training on Mondays, so I should be able to get it done. The school takes us out on field trips to various attractions around Bogota, which I'm looking forward to. Tomorrow, we are going to the top of Monserrate - the mountain that overlooks Bogota in the East. Should be a blast. But for now, better get cracking on that homework!!
OK hasta proxima muchachos!
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