Mmm...beautiful Santa Cruz
After a week spent somewhat enjoyably in a green, flowery, idyllic subburb of Bogotá called Cota, I have finally been let loose in the big city.
I´ve been here before...Molly and I loved Bogotá (but maybe part of my reason had to do with the strange hostel Fatima and the fanny-packed afro man who somehow impressed me there). It is a city of brick, and a city surrounded by rainy mountains. It has been raining unusual, dangerous amounts in Colombia, and the clouds are not sparing Bogotá right now. Every day begins with the nearby sun´s radioactive glare burning through everything (especially my face), but by noon it is raining, and continues raining. It is cold and damp. Do I sound unenthusiastic? I´m not, I´m actually quite happy to be here and there in Cota, and in Colombia in general, but I am sick with the inevitable cold that feels like mold is growing on the inside walls of my body. Because it´s so damp.
Last night, a new friend and I boarded the flota out of Cota, and took it to the end of the line: Portal 80 of TransMilenio, Bogotá´s solution to being a huge city of 9,000,000 without a metro. TransMilenio is a bus, but a bus with it´s own lanes in the middle of the big roads. Raised platforms are sandwiched between the TranMilenio lanes and then the normal road, and are accessable via pedestrian walks. Needless to say, TransMilenio is pretty much as efficient as an elevated train, just without being elevated, and it only costs $1.500,00. I think it´s a great solution!
So we took the TransMilenio to meet my friend (Brittney)´s friends, who turned out to be the dark leather jacket, mullet, boots and earings types. It seems like Bogotá´s style is heavily influences by punk. The majority of the people I see under 45 or so are wearing similar styles: leather, dark leggings, dark mullets or baby mowhawks. Molly and I had a special name for this hair-style: every time we saw one we used to say "Oweeooo!", like the sound they sing in the Duck Tails theme song.
We went to Crepes and Waffles (the expensive chain restaurant that I predict I will be tired of hearing about by tomorrow), and then to drink beers in the "cool, underground" music neighborhood. Two guys were singing American rock music on the stage. I watched them as I waited in line for the bathroom and thought that the guitarist was my old fanny-pack afro man, but when he flicked his excessive hair away from his face I saw that it wasn´t him. Britney´s friends, all photographers and film makers, liked my Brasilian accent, and we went to celebrate my birthday with tequila at someone´s apartment. I met a woman (wearing leapord print tights, 5" heels, and a black leather dress) who designs latex clothing. She offered to let me and Britney stay at her house if we wanted, and even called her sisters to get them to vacate their beds for us.
So, friendliness and leather abound.
Otherwise, I am having a relaxing time learning how to teach English at our little spiritual retreat in Cota. The other volunteers are nice and the location is lovely, and I feel like I´m being prepared for the job ahead: The city of Barranquilla, a Institute of Technology and apartment in Soledad (como el título de un libro famoso......), the biggest carnival outside of Rio, two cool roomates. I am excited!
Last night, a new friend and I boarded the flota out of Cota, and took it to the end of the line: Portal 80 of TransMilenio, Bogotá´s solution to being a huge city of 9,000,000 without a metro. TransMilenio is a bus, but a bus with it´s own lanes in the middle of the big roads. Raised platforms are sandwiched between the TranMilenio lanes and then the normal road, and are accessable via pedestrian walks. Needless to say, TransMilenio is pretty much as efficient as an elevated train, just without being elevated, and it only costs $1.500,00. I think it´s a great solution!
So we took the TransMilenio to meet my friend (Brittney)´s friends, who turned out to be the dark leather jacket, mullet, boots and earings types. It seems like Bogotá´s style is heavily influences by punk. The majority of the people I see under 45 or so are wearing similar styles: leather, dark leggings, dark mullets or baby mowhawks. Molly and I had a special name for this hair-style: every time we saw one we used to say "Oweeooo!", like the sound they sing in the Duck Tails theme song.
We went to Crepes and Waffles (the expensive chain restaurant that I predict I will be tired of hearing about by tomorrow), and then to drink beers in the "cool, underground" music neighborhood. Two guys were singing American rock music on the stage. I watched them as I waited in line for the bathroom and thought that the guitarist was my old fanny-pack afro man, but when he flicked his excessive hair away from his face I saw that it wasn´t him. Britney´s friends, all photographers and film makers, liked my Brasilian accent, and we went to celebrate my birthday with tequila at someone´s apartment. I met a woman (wearing leapord print tights, 5" heels, and a black leather dress) who designs latex clothing. She offered to let me and Britney stay at her house if we wanted, and even called her sisters to get them to vacate their beds for us.
So, friendliness and leather abound.
Otherwise, I am having a relaxing time learning how to teach English at our little spiritual retreat in Cota. The other volunteers are nice and the location is lovely, and I feel like I´m being prepared for the job ahead: The city of Barranquilla, a Institute of Technology and apartment in Soledad (como el título de un libro famoso......), the biggest carnival outside of Rio, two cool roomates. I am excited!
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