Bogota - a city under construction

First, I would like tonappologize for the lack of pictures, because my USB cable is in my luggage, which is still lost.
Bogota - a city under construction

Bogota looks a lot like other big cities in Brazil, a crazy maze of streets with drivers just as crazy, chaotic traffic, crumbling pavement and graffiti painted walls. 
Bogota has one distinguishing feature: it is under construction. Everywhere you go there is yellow construction tape and make-shift plywood or plastic walls marking construction zones. Lots of new buildings going up and whatever is not going up, it is for sure going down. I don't mean literally, like demolitions, but I mean physically in terms of physical appearance and general looks. Buildings look quite in need of some repair and fresh paint in the best cases. Some cannot be saved at all in my opinion.
Sidewalks are also another item in desperate need for repair. Today I had to go get my immigration register. I got a nice Colombian guide (an MSF human resources  employee, properly dressed with a down style jacket on top of another heavy jacket, complete with gloves... I was boiling just looking at her) and she took me walking to another place in town to take pictures. I'll tell ya, those sidewalks can cripple somebody, but somehow I managed not to fall and just twisted my foot a cpl of times while trying to walk fast and hold an umbrella at the same time. 

When it was too far to walk, we took the taxi. I kept trying to put my seatbelt on in every taxi we took, but there is no such thing as seat belts for back seat passengers. One of the cars actually had one, but it was tied to the back of the car in a way to prevent you from using it. So, since seat belts wont save me in case of an accident, praying is the only option left. And believe me, it is pure miracle that any taxi driver in this country can have a life expectancy longer than one year on the job. Anybody heard of car lanes by any chance? What about keeping distance from the car in front of you? Signaling BEFORE you jump in front of another car? 

Well somehow I made it alive, and enjoyed a day of briefings and paperwork. Our guest house is very far from anything luxurious, but it is comfortable and clean, with no bugs so far. I share a room with a friend that also did the same course in Germany with me, so it is really nice to have a familiar face around. She will be going to a different project here, but we are having all the briefings together, which is nice. 

Tomorrow I have more briefings and I get to meet my Spanish teacher, who apparently is quite the character. I am happy that I am understanding most of what people say, as long as they speak slowly, and they can understand my crazy mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and English