What is more appropriate when sitting in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia than to watch a drug movie? I put “21 Grams” on, but once I actually sat down to watch, realized it was in Spanish. There’s something about Spanish subtitled films that I don’t like…it’s probably because the lips are totally out of synch.
The hotel room here is just simply not up to par. The hotel we had in Lima was incredible. Here, I have a queen bed, wood floors, a couch that I swear was reupholstered from something my grandma owned in the late 70’s, and artwork which I’m certain is made out of rubber bands. But, there is a rear washer on the toilet & down pillows. Luckily, we leave this hotel at 8 am tomorrow.
We arrived in Bogota around 2 am last night to the disgusting smell of burning garbage. I was once again unable to sleep on the flight…it’s getting old. I’m totally tired, but it’s like I can’t relax enough to fall asleep. It’s likely something about having to sit upright & not being able to stretch my legs out. I may be only 5’1”, but my legs enjoy their space! By the time we checked in & were finally able to relax, it was close to 3:30. Everyone was talking about getting up this morning and going to see some sights at 11. I was undecided if I was going to do this.
When my alarm went off at 10:15, I decided against it. I just was not willing to get up & get myself going for another day. I have absolutely loved my first week on this trip, but it is a fast pace – having a day to do nothing, is essential. Not to mention I didn’t feel like converting any money over to pesos either. I had a leisurely morning, ordered a hamburger for lunch and spent the day napping and (finally) finishing up inquiry cards.
Tonight, I went with Reesa, Kathy (Lindener director) and Pascale to have dinner with the Education USA consultant. We went to this Caribbean restaurant, where I tried sea bass; it was spectacular! I am now back in my room and preparing to go to bed relatively early as we have to be out of here at 6:40 tomorrow morning for a school visit, and will be checking out at 8:05.
Tomorrow night we head to Brazil; it is a 6 hour flight. You can bet I will be taking some Benadryl with me; I am not staying awake for a 6 hour flight! I am looking forward to Brazil, as I have heard it is beautiful and has some awesome food.
With each passing day, I am becoming more & more confident with my Spanish skills. At first, I was totally out of it. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily culture shock, but it was like re-teaching myself everything, as I have hardly used Spanish for 4 years. I went from using it on a daily basis for 5 years, to not using it, period. It’s made me realize how disappointed I am in myself for allowing it to flounder. Anyway, it’s getting better and I am finding myself using it much more. I had a long conversation with the jewelry counter lady yesterday in Spanish. She asked me if I was from New Jersey? I’m sorry, do I have big hair?Speaking of hair, I’ve been plucking white hairs (they aren’t even gray anymore!) daily. I thought this was a good idea, until I realized that if I keep plucking them, I will soon go bald.
Oh, and for the record – they totally have Juan Valdez coffee shops around here.
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