Going out in Bogota

So far, I've been out clubbing 3 times in the last 3 and a half weeks I've been here.  Bogota definetly has some great nightlife.  Here are the places I've visited so far:
1. Hotel V Bar.  The first week I was here, Nelson took me to a friend's birthday party at hotel V Bar in the Zona Rosa (T). The party was held on the 4th floor terrace in the VIP area.  Lots of regaetone, and latin music, plus a bartender that danced on the bar:

 2. Calle 58 #10-32.  The next weekend, I went out with my friend Amalia, her brother and her two other friends to a techno club where another friend of Amalia's was DJing.  The club was in the Chapinero district.  I don't normally listen to techno, but man was it great to dance to all night long:

Amalia, David

blue steel, yet again

Gabriel

Purple techno club

Maria Luisa, Gabriel, Amalia

3. BBC, and unknown club. Last Friday I went out to Bogota Beer Company, and an un-named club in la Zona Rosa (T) (Yes! Bogota has its own chain of British-style pubs, with their own specialty beers).  I went with classmates from the language program at La Javeriana:

Augustin, Yohanna, Josh, Rio, Naoki

 A couple of things I've noticed about nightlife here:
1. People don't go out until about 11pm, clubs and bars are open until 3 am.
2. Buying a bottle at a club is very common, its inexpensive, and anyone can order one from the bar.

3. No one tries to awkwardly rub up against you and dance;  men actually ask women to dance.

4. You should always share a taxi home with someone else, for safety reasons.

10 practical things I've learned so far....

Over the past couple of weeks I've become aware of the following things that are absolutely of the norm for Bogota.  Expect any of the following to happen on a daily basis:

1) The pollution is KILLER (not in a good way).  The buses that drive around emit black smoke almost every time they shift gears.  A lot of people actually walk around wearing masks that cover their nose and face.  I've been walking a lot, but have found that by taking the bus or some other form of public transportation you're not as exposed to the pollution as you are when walking.
2) Do not expect toilets to have soap or toilet paper.  Its about fifty-fifty, some bathrooms are super well stocked, while others aren't.  I've started carrying around hand sanitizer and mini toilet paper.
3) Watch for pot-holes and uneven pavement.  I almost trip and fall on my face at least once a day.
4) The weather is unpredictable.  For example, yesterday, it was super warm and sunny in the morning, and by mid-day it was raining and colder, and then got warmer again in the afternoon, and drizzled in the evening.  An umbrella is an absolute must.  Although when the sun comes out, its super strong and warm, and the sky turns an amazing deep-light blue color, indescribable.
5) There are beautiful tropical flowers everywhere, you just have to keep an eye out for them.
6) Everyone dresses really well.  In general, people pay good attention to how they present themselves, and they look great doing it!
7) There are casinos everywhere....in malls, on the street, around the corner.  I have yet to go to one....
8) The rum is awesome!  Wine is pretty expensive.
9) Pedestrians do not have the right of way, the cars do. They do not stop for a pedestrian crossing the street. 
10) Clothes are really expensive, but haircuts and esthetics are super cheap. 
11) Public buses are wild and crazy!  Passengers are usually packed in like sardines, especially during rush hour, and the drivers are true multi-taskers: as you get on, they shift gears to start moving, while taking your money, giving you change, and closing the doors at the same time.  Yesterday, the driver didn't realize that three people were asking him to stop to let us off, until the entire bus was yelling and whistling, not to mention the driver was going about 45+ mph when he slammed on the breaks, I literally almost fell over backwards.  Haha, mental note: brace myself better next time!

El Campo - Outisde of Bogota

 Last Sunday, I went for a drive with Nelson, his parents and a friend.  We drove along the mountains the line the east side of the city, and saw some beautiful views along Carrera 1:

The west side of the city

Nelson and Esmeralda's parents -too cute

Add caption

 A side note about learning how to orient myself in Bogota: All the streets have numbers instead of names and are either called Calle or Carreras.  Carreras run north - south, and Calles run east - west.  All Calles (abbreviated Cll.) and Carreras (abbreviated Cra. or K.) are in numerical order, and the mountains line the east side of the city.  I've found that as long as I know where the mountains are, I'm able to orient myself pretty well. 
The street numbers are posted on the side of buildings, at each intersection, and are kind of hard to read.  Some corners, don't even have the signs on them.  As a walker, I'm able to watch for them, but I would think that it'd be pretty hard to read.for drivers that are new to Bogota.  The signs display the intersection/corner that you're on, so they always have Cra. XX, Cll. XX on the sign.  

On this drive we also headed outside of Bogota, into the countryside, which to my absolute surprise looks a lot like a very very green california wine country.  We traveled through different little towns, saw the Alpina factory (dairy products-Aveena is sooooooo delicious, but pretty sweet). We ended up in Sopo, a really cute, super clean town, and then headed back to Bogota.  On the way back, I got to see some of the areas around Bogota affected by floods that have been occurring due to extremely heavy rainfall this winter.

Grey-but pretty

Looks kinda like the CA foothills-but greener

Sopo

This is not a lake

More flooding

Mi Barrio

I live in a mostly residential neighborhood in Bogota called Nicolas de Federman.  I live in a four story apartment building on a very busy street directly across from the Universidad Nacional.  The apartment is pretty big (3 bedrooms) and even though it is old and not very noise resistant, it has a lot of charm:

My room

The Kitchen

The living room/dinning room

The bridge leading to the Univ. Nacional

The view from my room

Of note, in Bogota, most apartments are designed so that the bottom floor serves as a locked garage, where the residents park their cars.  In my building we also have a "portera," who is a woman who takes care of the building, and is in charge of locking and unlocking the garage gate and the main building door for residents and visitors.  She controls who can and can't gain entry into the building without a key.

Colombia: A Primera Vista

Today is my fifth day in Bogota.  So far, the culture shock I've been experiencing makes me feel alive with curiosity, awareness, and disbelief that I'm actually here.

In the past couple of days I've just been settling into my room in the apartment, and sorting out registration and transportation to my Spanish classes that start next week at the Universidad Javeriana.  I took a Spanish placement test on Monday, and should find out later this week which level I placed into. 

My first trip to a Colombian grocery store happened on Sunday night after I arrived.  Personally, I think the grocery store is one of the best places to learn about a new culture.  I actually kind of expected most of the grocery stores to be small privately owned markets, but to my surprise, the grocery store we went to was a target of sorts: Exito, everything you could ever want or need in one convenient location.  Right off the bat (probably as expected),I noticed that the fruit is not only amazingly delicious, but HUGE!  I bought mangoes, oranges, pineapple, and an avocado the size of a small melon!  To my surprise, I found out that they sell soy milk here, of all different brands, and its really good.  Also, most of their milk is de-lactosed, and can be stored at room temperature until opened (which is also the standard in France).  


So far, I've been out to lunch twice.  Lunch is clearly the biggest meal of the day here.  Both times I ordered from a set menu and received: freshly squeezed/blended up fruit juice, soup, salad, a main dish with meat, starch, and vegetables, and everything is finished off with a very small serving of a desert.  Very filling, super yummy, and cheap! (around 8000 Col. pesos. = $4.50 USD) Check out the lunch I had on Tuesday:

I took the bus for the first time yesterday.  I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by a family friend, Yolanda, who showed me the ropes.  The buses are all privately owned and operated, not government-run.  Therefore they do not have a set schedule and they're all different colors and sizes.  They have small signs in the front window that are hard to read indicating their destinations.  It costs 1400 Col pesos ($0.80 USD) to ride, and you have to hold on....tight, wherever you can!  They're packed and the drivers are erratic as is the traffic.  You also have to know your stop and when its coming up because it is neither displayed nor announced.  


Yolanda also took me to the "La Candelaria" district of Bogota, which is the oldest part of the city.  It holds the famous Plaza Bolivar, the Supreme Court, and many museums, libraries and universities:

Parque de la Independencia

Iglesia de la Candelaria

On the way to Plaza Bolivar

The Cathedral

Mayor's House/City Hall

My Llama friend