Ok I have a few things to cover on Bogota, I think list form will be easiest.

•Catedral de Sal- this was actually a little out of Bogota, without a car it took like 2 hours to get to. I didn't realize how big it is (in popularity and size) but it's very interesting. Basically it's a place that used to be underwater and then became a salt mine. There's some myth about Carmen, a saint or something (my Catholic knowledge is limited) so indigenous/ ancient people started creating this church to worhship her, construction continued up until the 90's with way better technology, even now they keep building up for tourism. Basically, it goes underground and has a lot of cave/tunnels (but it's all hard rock salt) which has various sections of statues, crosses telling the story of Jesus' life in chronological order. Then there's a cross, apparently the biggest underground in the world (odd accomplishment lol- a giant salt cross underground. Chocolate may have impressed me more haha jk). According to them it's the #1 tourist attraction in Colombia, I beg to differ but it was interesting and has a lot of history and spirituality.

•TransMilenio- I learned about this in my Global Future class last Fall so I was really excited to see it and use it myself. It's a new transport system in Bogota that is faster, better for the environment and really popular. I imagined it electronic like the trolly or metro but really it's just like nice big buses that are similar looking to the subway. There's a special lane only for this therefore it's faster (almost like tracks) and it also has a boarding system like the subway with a platform and different sides to enter and exit. The only thing is it's stil growing as a system and they've started extending it then ran out of money or some issue with corruption I didn't understand, so now there's roads that are halfway constructed for it but not finished.

•Monserrat- another very famous attraction of Bogota, a church high up on a hill that oversees all of Bogota. You have to take a cable car to arrive at the top and i was lucky the weather was amazing and I had an amazing view if the whole city which is surrounded be beautiful lush green forest (from my view I couldn't see any FARC or paramilitary action but who knows :-P). I took some great pictures I just wish I could capture the fresh air because it was great all the way up there.

•La Candelaria- this is just a part of the city which consists of hippies, a ton of artistic graffiti, universities (public and private), youth hostels and foreigners (naturally), older style homes that have been there forever and a large plaza full of political buildings, including the "White House" of Colombia. I lived it but one day exploring was enough, I don't like big cities/busy downtowns with all the the traffic and pollution.

•Dancing/music- I finally got to go dancing as I had wanted the whole time. The guy who hosted me is my age and also likes to dance. Great coincidence 4 minutes walking to the street parrallel is a street full of bars and clubs, all with good music flowing out from the doors. We went to a few places, I loved all the music. It was mostly reggaeton (very common music in Latin America which I love) and salsa but also they seem to love Black Eyed Peas here. My all time fav place was a salsa club which was super Colombian. I say Colombian and not Latino because they play a good mix of salsa but also music that is purely Colombian. Vallenato, champeta, and my favorite currulao are all distinct from one another and distinct from music of other countries. Most have some kind of Caribbean drums and accordion. It was SO fun watching people dance and trying to keep up. Cali, a city on the Pacific coast is the "capital of salsa and dancing", just one of the many reasons I have to return to Colombia.

•Colombian "beds"- I'm pretty sure I mentioned the bed being hard but after a little more analyzing and visiting other people's homes i discovered they're all hard as wood. What disturbs me is how soft and cozy they SEEM to the naked eye. Everyone seems to have nice plush comforters and layers of sheets and blankets... On top of a plank if wood? I don't know but my back sure as hell does.

• discussions about Americans- I won't get into detail about every convo I had but in general it's interesting how Colombians see USA and "gringos". (another list is called for):
-we all have lots if money
- we all over consume everything, unappreciatively
- we only know about our own country and news
- we're silly because we all are afraid of Colombia (people laughed when they said this, pointing to the calm street of shops and homes "where is the danger?? Where are all the kidnappers and cocaine farms?" That stuff does exist, but most people lead normal lives studying and working)
- we dont try learning Spanish like most Europeans that come do

All in all I'm in love with Colombia, the culture food and music (which is different all over Colombia), the people are great and so open to talk and share their Colombian pride, the food is equally great. I heard of a lot of foreigners there to teach English or there also exchanges to work on farms or learn weaving in exchange for food and housing.

One interesting fact and another reason I have to return is the famous Carnival in Barranquilla in Feb/Mar. It's the 2nd biggest in the world (after Rio de Janeiro), lasts a month and is full of parades, music, big glittery costumes and traditional performances.