I was sick for most of my time in NYC, and now that I don't have an apartment there I have to commute in from the country. But it was fun to see some of my friends, those who were around, and catch up with them even if only for a few minutes. And I do miss some things, like the subway and the wide variety of people that you see on it -- far different than a ride on a busetta or Transmilenio. It was also strange to hear everyone on the street speaking English, after hearing only Spanish on the streets for the last two months. Here in Bogota, I look up whenever I hear someone speaking English as if there was some unspoken bond between us. I also noticed how many blondes there are up north, something I never really paid attention to before, but I prefer brunettes anyway.
Well, like I said I'm back down in Bogota so hopefully a lot of you will decide to come visit -- I've got rooms for ya!
Bad ideas.
There are some bad ideas, and then there are some really bad ideas. But the worst idea may be to shop on Sundays in Bogota. At right is a photo I took of Exito, the Colombian version of Wal-mart on steroids. The place is absolutely enormous. There is one entrance, which is also the one exit -- hmm, perhaps a design flaw? Nope, it was intentional as both sides of the 5 meter wide entrance/exit are lined with cell phone carriers, motorcycle lease financing companies, etc. It took more time to get in and out of Exito than it did to shop!
I suppose the same can be said of Wal-marts, Costco's, etc. so it seems the discount bulk stores are the same the world over.Now, I'm not sure if I'd consider this a bad idea, or just plain stupid. When visiting another neighborhood to visit a t-shirt sweatshop I noticed an apartment that had a second floor that was, shall we say, unfinished yet finished. It looked like something out of the Flintstones. Not sure why you would build a brick wall in such shitty form, then step back and say, "Yup, that's a good looking wall." My favorite part is the windowless window, and doorless door. Trump should take notes from these guys.
Questionable.
So, like I was saying a few weeks ago, one of the things that is really strange here is that the attendents in the men's bathroom are women. Don't believe me? Well, I snapped a quick photo over my shoulder (urinal cam). While Colombian men are equally small in stature, I assure you this is a woman. I didn't think taking a full frontal photo was going to go over to well, so I snuck a photo when I could as evidence. The impact of having women in the men's room at first delivers a case of stage fright. But after the 4th or 5th time you are numb to the fact that there's a girl cleaning the urinal next to you while taking a leak. It becomes almost second nature. I'm sure in some places they may clean more than just the urinal while you're in there.
City of Lights.
I learned that every Holiday Season, the major parks of Bogota undergo transformations into incredible displays of lights. Each
park has a different theme, and is sponsored by one of the major corporations based in Bogota. For example, I heard that Bavaria, a brewer here owned by SAB I think, spends $1 million (USD) each Holiday Season to light up Parque 93. This year, the theme is the 4 seasons. Now, I didn't get a chance to photograph that park yet, but I did walk by it and I must say it's impressive. However, I did snap a photo of Parque Virrey last night, which is next to my apartment. Tons of people walk through the parks at night to see the displays, which are quite elaborate. The theme of Parque Virrey is summer. I gotta say, they're pretty damn cool to see. The photo I took really doesn't do the display justice as they span the entire park.Arrival.
My friend and now roommate, Ernesto, arrived this past weekend from Mexico City. He is working with Marco at Merck GFK here in Bogota. Ernesto happens to play the sax, and is pretty good for only having started playing 3 years ago. He was brave enough to try CrossFit this weekend as well, and endured 3 days of beatdown workouts.
We're going to host a house party this weekend while we have no furniture, or things that can break. This will be the inaugural fiesta de la casa de reyes, and will welcome my friend Alejo from Geneva and Andy from London. This weekend is shaping up to be one for the ages. Hot Chick will be attending, but the Hot Chick #2 will be home as she leaves on Friday. This will also be a diplomatic affair as a bunch of folks from the embassy will be there too. The after party Friday night will be at Maroma, and Saturday will of course be at Andres. And since Monday is a Holiday, Sunday Funday will need to be introduced with authority.
Appliance Love.
This week both the refrigerator and my bed also arrived. Don't ever take a refrigerator for granted! Living without one absolutely sucks. You can't really cook, or eat anything normal. Just be sure to be good to your frige, keep it happy and you'll live a happy and healthy life!
I'm planning to buy a washer/dryer, but will wait a few weeks until I get low on clean clothes. No point lumping all expenses in at once, especially now that CrossFit Bogota is generating revenues, which means I can reduce the burn on my feeble savings.
Fat Burn Delivered Daily.
As I mentioned earlier, CrossFit Bogota is now officially open for business as of Dec 1st. The workouts take place on our private terrace (it's 50 square meters) and in Parque Virrey across the street. Marco met a workout called "Karen" this morning, and the resulting fetal position speaks for itself. People are happy with it, are having fun and are seeing results. I hope I get to around 30-40 clients training in the terrace by early 1Q, and then look to open an actual gym when rents for locals (retail storefronts) come down as the Recession spreads to Colombia. No point renting something now at the top of the market when you can see that the economy is weakening along with the real estate market.
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