Today I saw:

• Soldiers on street corners staring glumly at the new TransMilenio maps, trying to help the lost, of whom there were many.
  

• At the 0 street headed from south to north, a huge grey cloud falling over the northwest side of the city. Behind me, the sky was blue. Before us, cold, rain, the usual. It struck me that the north/south distinction in the city is so strong that even the weather patterns respect it. And it's only fair that people not living on the ritzy end should have better weather.
  

Today I counted:

• 9 catcalls. No, I'm not really that vain, it was an experiment. Last night I was asked whether I get that often here, and I said no almost without thinking, because my perception is, hey, women are powerful here. Then I decided to count to see whether it was true or not. I've been noticing lately that my perceptions are often clouded (ironically I suppose) by a relentless desire to see the positive in everything. So I counted, and I was wrong, it happens all the time here, I just don't usually notice because because it's so unobtrusive. Hey doll was the most popular choice today. This, too, strikes me as ironic, since I am generally one of the largest women within sight at any given moment. Hey blondie was a close second...I'm also not a blond.
  

• 45 soldiers...from a window during just 5 minutes of my bus ride tonight. And I really could only see my side of the street. I can't wait til the elections are over. Most of the soldiers are barely 18, and can be seen chatting with their girlfriends, or buying empanadas, or looking somehow both bored and confused. I'm telling you, there is no place safer in Colombia right now than every single street corner between here and the president's house. If you're going to commit a crime here, you should do it in the middle of the block, cause those corners, they are really well-guarded.