Let’s cut to the chase; I hate it here

It’s never the things you plan for that get you. It’s always the unexpected.

I’ve been planning this trip to South America for more than a year. I’ve been talking about it for months. I knew that things were going to be a break from the ordinary and I was looking forward to it.

But I absolutely loathe Bogota. It’s been making me rethink everything about this trip.

Air Pollution

The biggest issue, for me, is the air pollution. I didn’t even think to check on the air quality before I set out on the trip since it’s a non-issue for much of the United States. There are air quality monitors all around Bogota, and the one nearest to our apartment  is currently measuring 182 ppm when it comes to particles of 2.5 microns. Anything above 150 is considered toxic for everyone. Long term exposure can lead to asthma, cancer, or respiratory problems. Your respiratory system has limited defense against particles of that size, so they just go straight into your lungs and stay there.

We’re only going to be in Bogota for 12 days, so I think we’re going to be fine, healthwise. It’s just really demoralizing. Every time I breathe, it smells like wood smoke. It helps to stay indoors, so anytime the air quality outside is bad, I’m going to plan to remain indoors. But even inside, the air quality is poor. I really want some clean air. When I go to sleep, wood smoke. When I wake up, wood smoke. When I breathe…wood smoke. I can’t escape it, and it’s driving me up the wall.

And the thing is, it’s not really wood smoke. It just smells that way.

People here either deal with it, or wear face masks. We haven’t been able to figure out where to buy the masks, but Elizabeth is planning to check out a drugstore near here to see if they have any. I saw some parents pushing a baby in a stroller yesterday, and the stroller had rolls of plastic over it in order to somewhat protect the baby inside from the pollution in the air. It was heartbreaking.

When the sun starts to go down, the air quality improves, so there’s that.

Safety

The neighborhood we’re in is sketchy as hell, at least to my American sensibilities. Our Airbnb host seems to think that the neighborhood is fairly safe for us to be out and about in until around 11pm, which is great. It’s just a bit unnerving when you walk outside at night and all the corner shops are locked up tight.

I haven’t been able to get any pictures of the neighborhood we’re in because I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that I have a cell phone. I see plenty of people using cell phones, but it tends to be something done every now and then instead of the way it is back home…people looking at their phones as they walk. A big part of that is that traffic here is CRAZY. The only hard and fast traffic law seems to be to stop at a red light. Everything else is just dandy.

Want to pass someone when you’re on a one lane road? Go ahead.

Police vehicle moving too slow? Pass it!

Want to go 65mph in a road that feels it was designed for 35mph traffic? Not a problem!

Language Barrier

We knew going into it that it would be a problem to talk to people. They speak Spanish and, well, we do not. Elizabeth is the best at it of any of us, but even she has trouble comprehending what is said when people talk quickly.

However, I will say that the people have been very gracious when they realize that we don’t speak the language.

I’ve been trying to communicate but have been having a hell of a time with verb conjugation. I know in my head what I mean to say, but it often comes out meaning something different.

Monday night when I arrived, I went to tell the waiter that we were ready for our checks. Instead, I told him that he was ready for our checks.

Last night at dinner, I ordered a chicken soup. The waitress said that it wasn’t much food, and I said that I knew; I wasn’t hungry. Then she started laughing, and I realized my error. What I actually said was “I know it’s not much food. You aren’t very hungry.”

Because of our inability to speak Spanish, we’re a target for being ripped off. We’ve had people hassle us over prices from the time we landed, and it’s getting old. One thing that works in our favor is that haggling is okay here, so if someone gives you a price you don’t like you can counter with a lower price.

Only The First Day

By the time I went to sleep last night, I was half-convinced that I had made a terrible decision and that this entire plan is ridiculous. Yesterday was a very long, tiring, culture-shocking day.

When I woke up this morning, I felt much, much better. The situation is certainly less than ideal, and definitely not what I was expecting. I at least feel like I can handle things now. Yesterday I felt completely overwhelmed.

I need to give myself some more time to adjust to things. I’m hopeful that they’ll get better.