Bogotá's Early Bedtime

One thing that has amazed me so far on this trip is how "industrious" of a city Bogotá is.  I've been to a few different cities in Latin America, all of which were pretty good sized; however, never have I seen so many people heading home so early, and waking up before the crack of dawn, outside of Pittsburgh.  I'm writing this as my Wednesday entry because Wednesday is normally the night that I'm out the latest, besides on weekends.  I have a class from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, so I find myself rolling into Chapinero around 8:45 at night.  Most Pittsburghers would ask themselves in this situation, "Hmm... McDonalds... pizza... Primanti's... Subway... what's on the menu tonight?"

If a large, clumsy young man tumbles to the ground on the wet pavement, and no one is around to see or hear, does he make a sound?

It's quite funny to look at the UniAndes neighborhood at 7:50, as I'm leaving the school.  At 8:00 in Pittsburgh, you still have a healthy crowd circulating in and out during night classes, not to mention hitting restaurants in Oakland hard, but here seems to be a ghost town.  I figure crime has a great deal to do with it, but it's just sad to me because of all the potential that there could be if the area were just a bit safer.  It would also make getting on the TransMilenio D70 about ten times easier, as people wouldn't be shoving like crazy to get on the bus to get the heck out of La Candelaria.

This is a time when American football skills come quite in handy...

My life here certainly doesn't come with that many options.  Chapinero is noticeably dark by about 6:30.  By the time 8:00 rolls around, nearly every store front on Calle 72 in my neighborhood is either closed or closing, and I'm left to fend for myself with either street vendors or a lukewarm empanada from a nearby cafeteria.  It's not that I don't like the street vendors and the greasy, salty arepas that come off their grills:  it's just that it gets old after a couple nights.  What I haven't tried, though, are the dozen sauces that all the vendors have sitting on top of the grills.  Really, I need to figure out which one is the spicy one...

8:30 pm... c'mon, man.  I've seen bigger traffic jams in Williamsport.

Now it's 9:00, and I'm with even less options.  Many of the vendors are even going home, the last grocery store in the neighborhood has closed, and the bologna and cheese in my fridge at home are starting to look better alongside the $1 loaf of bread I have perched on top of the fridge.  Nonetheless, I find a small cafeteria that (miraculously) sells liter-and-a-half bottles of water at the inflated price of 3,500 pesos, so I bite.  Throw an arepa con chorizo on top of that, and dinner is served.  Not exactly a dinner of champions, but hey, I had a big lunch, so my stomach isn't complaining.

Wednesday night into Thursday is usually the hardest for me because I have night class on Wednesday, only to have to wake up and go to early morning class on Thursday.  When I don't have work due in either class, it's not a big deal; however, when I've got papers to turn in or other articles to read, sleep is a hot commodity on Wednesday nights.  Bogotanos seem to share my Thursday morning dragging, as I find that Thursday is one of the more difficult days to get to school, even when I get to the bus stop early.  I've got to give them credit, though:  they're up and ready to go far earlier than I can say most Pittsburghers are, and they are slowly making me more into a morning person once again, like I was in high school.  Anyways, I'll leave you all for now.  Enjoy the rest of your week!