I'm gonna shock your culture!

First day down, 61.39 days left to go! Sweet!

Anyway, Bogota is a huge city. I think I have decided to simply do a bicycle tour from one end of the city to the other instead of cycling across the U.S. It will be longer. They do have a pretty organized system for their roads though. It is really easy to understand-at least that's what they keep telling me! Let's put it this way: I thought I got away from the New Jersey traffic regulations about left hand turns...but they are the same here too-except they are now is Spanish and full color.

Moving on, I spent the majority of the day today planning for next Monday, which will be the first day I actually start working with any of the youth here. We huddled up and made a game plan in the heavenly language. I understood at least 73% of what was going on, I promise.

I didn't mention my apartment yet, but it is very nice. It is small but comfortable and fully furnished. I found out today what I hadn't been told before, which is that this isn't just an apartment they lined up for me to rent, I am actually living in the apartment of one of the relatives of the family I had contact with before I came. This came as a bit of a surprise to me today, talk about hospitality! She is unmarried, and simply moved in with her sister for two months while I am here. It is full of decorative little knickknacks and things which I wondered about before I knew this detail.

As I mentioned before the people here know hospitality to the nth degree. They keep buying me food and are very nice. It has definitely been great to see the friends I made last summer on my one week trip, and to make new ones too. Obviously the apartment is one huge example of hospitality, and I had merely to mention an interest in buying a cheap bicycle to commute during my stay before someone had her sister calling her brother and found me a bike to use. It isn't quite a speedy road demon or anything, but is likely better for commuting around here. It is simply a basic mountain bike, and a girl's at that. If I can figure out how to post some pics I will let you all see it for those of you who either care about bikes in general or simply want to laugh at me for riding a girl's bike. However, Chris and Cody, I bet I could still smoke you guys on a climb with these sweet wheels!

Well, apparently I will be going somewhere away from the city for the "weekend" with the Ortiz family. I put quotation marks around the word weekend because the trip starts tomorrow, on Thursday. The way I am used to working, I would have called that half a week, but hey-I'll take what I can get. I just hate to think of those of you working at CFA slaving away in that double drive-thru while I get to see the countryside in Colombia for a whole weekend! All I can say is, Eat More Chicken!!

With the trip these next few days, I don't know whether I will be able to update this til I get back, so hold your breaths for the next installment.