Things I have learned in Colombia... (last updated 7/20/15)

Trash cans are hard to find, unless there's a bathroom. There are always trash cans in the bathroom stalls. But anyplace other than that - the street, a mall, a residential house - good luck finding one!

1. Bathrooms are hard to find.

2. Sometimes you can find a bathroom, but you have to pay to use it (this was mainly in the bigger cities like Bogotá and Medellín, but I also noticed them in Bogotá and Fusagasugá).

3. Toilet paper tends to be put in incovenient places. ..like it's always really far away even though there is a place much closer where the holder could have been easily placed.

4. But that's not that big of a deal, because you are just happy that there actually is toilet paper. That being said, it's a good idea to always have some toilet paper on hand, just in case there isn't toilet paper somewhere.

5. Sometimes there may not be toilet paper in the stalls, but there is toilet paper in the bathroom that you have to get before going into the stall.

6. Mirrors are hard to find in residential houses.

7. Power outlets are hard to find. Many times there will just be one in a room.

8. In the warmer cities, air conditioning is hard to find.

9. There is a thing called "cuotas." Whenever you buy something with a credit card, you can choose to split up the bill into multiple payments. I'm assuming that each installment of the bill gets sent at different times, but I've never done it and I'm not sure how it would work with my credit card. I've even been asked that with really small purchases, which I found odd.

10. Clothing is very expensive here.

11. If there is clothing that is cheap, it's probably bedazzled. (Although some of the expensive clothing is bedazzled too)

12. Every door that I've seen that has a turning lock, when the line is horizontal, that means it's locked. In the US, it's locked when it's vertical. This has taken some getting used to cause I have a perpetua lfear of people walking in on me while in the bathroom, and so I constantly check the lock and have to remember that it is, in fact, locked, though it's horizontal. haha, I know, I'm weird! :P

13. I have never seen so much religious graffiti in my life.

14. I have never run into so many blue toilets before.

15. It seems like it's normal to talk with food in your mouth.

16. People buy pre-toasted toast. Like, it comes in a bag. People don't really make their own toast.

17. Most liquid items come in bags. ..and sometimes drinking from a bag can be difficult, especially if you weren't planning on drinking all the liquid the moment you open the bag.

18. When given the opportunity, school kids will not hesitate to ask you if you have a boyfriend, what your social media account are, and other odd questions like "are you pregnant?" or "have you been drunk before?".

19. Cheese is a normal addition to desserts. ..and no, I'm not talking cream cheese. I'm talking, like, mozarella.

20. When music is played, it is played loud and for long lengths of time. It doesn't matter if you're in a residential area and that it's 3AM, they will play music way louder than you have ever heard your neighbors play in the US.

21. Carpets and rugs are very rare. Like, most bathrooms do not have rugs, which is a little inconvenient when you're trying to get out of the shower and not create a pool of water.

22. Marijuana is legal here, but you can only have one cigarette at a time. From what people have told me, it seems like if a policeman catches you with more than one cigarette, you'd get in trouble. When I researched it, it says that you can have up to 22 grams and 20 plants for personal use but selling it is illegal.

To be continued....