Day 2 Evening Pictures

Elizabeth and Don took us out for dinner at Mongoles restaurant.  It is a casual experience with a limited menu which made ordering much simpler.  We had so many questions and they are a wealth of information.  There is a 16% sales tax and they pay their housekeeper much more than others do....at under $2 per hour.  Marcy, we could have someone come every day!  Our taxi ride was another eye-closing event.  I learned that Don and Elizabeth have never owned a car in Colombia.  They are so expensive to keep up and gas is over $5 per gallon.  I suppose that's why there are so many buses and motor bikes.  The cars are all manual transmission and there are so many steep hills.  They all roll back a little when starting off from a stop sign, which is funny to watch.  They must have different emission laws, as there is a distinct smell of fuel in the air.  Oh...and laws....they are sort of guidelines (just like the lane markers on the streets).  They can be manipulated and ignored.  Elizabeth explained this culture makes her teaching of God's law rather difficult.  Biblical law is absolute, but Colombian law is not so much.

20,000 pesos is roughly $10.

This was the restaurant we ate at tonight.  It's very large inside and on Sundays, there is a long line out the door.  Only wealthier people are able to afford to eat out. 

The view from our restaurant seat.  Unemployed people set up carts and sell food all over the streets.

Many laughs with Elizabeth and Don.

Fresh juices would replace my soda intake if I lived here.  Tonight I had freshly squeezed tangerine juice and Kailey had mango.

Instead of a cracker basket, we had bananas and avocados.  There were very plain warm biscuit things that I forgot the name of.  There's no butter served with them so Don puts Picante sauce and fresh cilantro on them.

Kailey's dish consisted of a potato, an egg with a hard center, a fried plantain (YUM!), rice and fresh pork rind.  Muy Bien!

Don and I had the tripe soup.  For the Americans in the group...that's cow stomach.  Do not freak out.  It tasted like a well-seasoned potato and lentil soup.  There was rice on the side and it was very filling.  Also Muy Bien!

Here was a food vendor just outside the restaurant.

Had to take this picture.  The food cart has power, and the vendors have very creative ways to supply their electricity.  Just look at this cord and follow it's trail across the sidewalk and also the street!  It is plugged into the side of a building that probably also has illegal hook ups.

Coke is packaged in plastic.  You buy (2) 2 1/2 liter bottles (why not 2 liter?) and you get this cute little Coke bottle for free.  No 12-packs of cans here.

A look at the street where we walked after dinner.  Open air restaurants that just pull down the garage door when they close for the night.

These little Chevy taxis are everywhere! 

Had to take this of the Sendek's luxury item.

Tomorrow we will find Kailey's dorm room which is on the fourth floor of Tower 2.  Her room number is 416 and mine at Carroll was 418!  There is a professor from California who is most anxious to meet her, and has offered the use of her phone if necessary.  Elizabeth and Don have invited Kailey to watch the SuperBowl along with our new friends Steve and Patrice.  All the problems of the world have been solved.  Ohhhhh, except for the newest tidbit of knowledge.  Talked about laundry on the fifth floor and learned there is no dryer.  Clothes are hung on a line which is fine since humidity is low.  Funny thing though....no washer either.  Laundry is done by hand.  OMG....thankfulness for my front loaders has soared!