This week

Wednesday: Went to an Afro-Colombian dance class with Joy, then ate hamburgers at a fancy restaurant. I’m determined to try every kind of sport/dance I can find in Colombia until one of them sticks! Next on my list is wall-climbing. Joy pointed out at our basketball game Friday that back in high school she had to choose between dancing and sports…on the Fulbright, you don’t really have to choose…

Tuesday and Thursday: Oh, and I went to class and studied. A lot. Right.

Every day: Walked past my neighbor’s honeysuckle bush ten thousand times cause it smelled so good.

Apologized to the neighborhood internet café styled as tiki bar owner for not patronizing their lovely establishment anymore – nice as it is to have connectivity at home, I miss those folks – they stayed open late almost every night for me.

Thursday: Read with Abby and Chris at the second most beautiful library in Bogotá, Luis Angel Arango – where the fifth floor cafeteria has the world’s strongest coffee and people who claim to be doing surveys but really want you to buy their speed-reading cds, and where the view of the city is breathtaking.

Friday: Played basketball at the national park with other Fulbrighters, got caught in a freak hailstorm that made front-page news with the photos of children playing in what looked like snow.

Watched samba and capoeira demonstrations at the Brazilian Institute, then enjoyed introducing my friends to each other at an over-priced snooty bar on the north end.

Saturday: bought a bedspread for the cold – houses in Bogotá don’t have heat, since the climate is normally so temperate, but it’s been chilly lately. That or after a few weeks of laughing at Bogotanos for thinking a 65 degree afternoon is frigid, I’m getting wimpy myself…Tried to fight off the Fulbright cold, round two. This thing will not go away – everyone has had it twice now.
Ate at our favorite not-so-very Colombian restaurant, Crepes y Waffles…which actually is quite Colombian because everyone here loves it too.
Watched “Orgullo y Prejuicio” (Pride and Prejudice,also known as VH150 year old dance party) on my newly warm bed with Liz, Joy and Josh via the internet, then stayed up all night talking. I haven’t done that for ages…

Sunday: Went to the Botanical Gardens again, this time with Abby, Chris, and Chris’s mom, who’s visiting for the week.

Chris’s mom was great – made me miss my folks! When are you guys coming, anyway?

Made the enormous mistake (see post below) of going to the store Sunday evening. I nearly cried, it was so packed with people. Some days, everywhere I go in Bogotá, there are too many other people there already. Today was one of those days. But tonight I have the apartment all to myself, since Liz is out watching the Oscars and Mauro is, well, somewhere else. Nothing like a quiet Sunday night after a long week.