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Somehow I´ve been really busy recently without really doing very much.

A plan is underway to rent an apartment for a month or so with a Lebanese American artist who is teaching painting here. The flat we´re looking at is quite amazing. It´s a penthouse overlooking the city with a wide terrace, a sauna and jacuzzi. People keep saying it´s quite expensive, but it´s cheaper than staying the hostel and less than 90 quid each a month. The only obstacle now is that Sam, the artist, needs to find two Colombians to act as guarantors for the rent. Each one will have to fill in long forms giving all the details about their financial history. I can´t think of two people at home I could ask to do this.

I had a nice time on Saturday when I went up to the north of the city to meet Juli, who had somehow discovered my blog while searching for information about Bogota Theatre Festival on Google. I was very nervous about meeting somebody in this way, but as it turned out Juli was absolutely lovely and I had a really nice evening. Juli, if you´re reading this, we must meet up again.

The elections here are in full swing. It seems that the sitting president, Uribe, is set for an easy victory, with opinion polls showing him head and shoulders above the others. But in this area of Bogota a candidate called Gaviria is really popular. He´s the choice of the left-wingers, union activists and students. Personally I like him because he looks so much like Father Christmas. I saw one of his political rallies on Saturday, it was basically a mardi-gras parade through the centre of town followed by a bit of flag waving in the central square.

I can´t help but think that Uribe´s chances could be damaged by a bit of chaos in the city over the past week. For a few days there was no gas after a landslide split the main supply pipe to the city. Then, after three days of waiting for a hot shower, the water itself was cut for 24 hours. Everyone was feeling a bit grubby and disgruntled, and it was just my luck that this was the day I had to go to DAS (department of security administration) to extend my tourist visa. This involved a retinal scan, lots of fingerprints, endless forms and about 15 pounds. I´m told it´s never a pleasant experience, but when the staff are all miserable after a morning without a wash or a coffee it´s even less fun.

I´m now trying to decide whether to scrap my morning class and concentrate on getting some private clients at more sensible times. My morning students are lovely and I really enjoy teaching them, but the 5.30 starts leave me knackered or sleeping all day - which is my excuse for not having written much on here recently.