The More You Know

Each morning i slowly rise, shine, thank the Royal Canadian Air Force with 5BX and make coffee. Shortly after, i'll greet the apartment porter with our well-rehearsed handshake. Being English i call it a handshake, but it's all very American with fists and high fives. Huffy is then collected from the car-park space allocated to apartamento 506, the electronic gate swings open and the slope down to the road is all the momentum i need for the day ahead.

Life in Bogota is going swimmingly. For lovers of dates and times, it'll soon be 2 months i've been here. For the curious, here's my take on some FAQ's...

Hows the weather? Almost guaranteed to come up in the first 5mins of any conversation with anyone who's remotely English. Here the weather changes like a Dutch sky. Sitting so close to the equator means seasons are a thing of the past. Sometimes it's wet, mostly it's sunny, a pleasant 18-24degrees and it all feels like a ski resort without the snow.

How high? Before moving here i thought it was only pilots and well-informed musicians who were high all the time. Bogota is nearly 3000m above sea level, so myself and the other 7,304,384 residents are high all the time too. Over time this increases personal fitness and personal confusion when boiling an egg or pasta.

Is it all cocaine and violence? No. Colombia is also famous for good marijuana, excellent coffee, pure emeralds, a diverse ecosystem, swinging salsa, Sunday Ciclovia, aguardiente, beautiful women, erratic football & footballers, and having the most designated cycle routes in South America.

Have you met Carlos Valderrama? Sadly not. I hope to meet him soon though.

Hows the food? The real tool of comparing international cuisine may come as a surprise to you; school dinners. I'm lucky enough to have sampled school dinners across the world. Colombia rates higher than the UK's staple white bread/cardboard sandwich, crisps and a chocolate bar. Yet not as highly as Korea's sleek steel trays of carefully prepared kimchi, vegetables and rice. Outside of school (literally) there exists a streetfood stall (another good tool for food comparison) and here Colombia rates highly. Empanadas are now my staple breakfast.

How are you keeping? Well... i'm a picture of health.

How are the children? Affectionate.

Besitos from Cedritos,

Glenn x