After three and a half years of working for my present employer, I finally took a much needed and deserved extended vacation during the off season. When a wedding to attend to in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I packed my bags and flew practically halfway around the world from Osaka, Japan on February 15. Being in Florida in February definitely has its advantages! I was not one to complain about the weather as I left the somewhat cooler temperatures in Osaka for some fun 'n' the sun in Florida. After attending my aunt and uncle's wedding, together with my mother and father, we headed off to Islamorada in the Florida Keys for a short weekday getaway from the city. After relaxing by the pool and eating some delicious seafood at night for several days, we returned back to Fort Lauderdale to conclude the rest of our Florida stay before my parents flew back to Ohio and I headed off to Bogota, Colombia to continue the second leg of my journey in the Western Hemisphere.

Heading off to Bogota was a highlight for me as this was my first experience in South America. Upon landing at the airport in Bogota, I realized that things were definitely different as the immigration line at the airport was not even separated into citizens and visitors. Everyone was in the same line! This was not the introduction to the country that I was hoping for. But after being admitted to the country things started looking up... My host for my six day stay in Bogota was my friend from Ohio University, Nicolas Savovic. Nicolas came to visit me in Osaka last year and I was more than eager to return the favor by gracing his home country for a few days this year. Even though Nicolas had to work while I was in town, he was able to take me around to some popular restaurants and clubs in the area to experience the "real" life in Bogota after working hours. In addition to being pampered like royalty at his residence, he has a maid and a driver, Nicolas arranged for some of his friends to show me around the city during the daytime when he was away at work. Talk about hospitality! Even though my trip to Colombia this time was centered on Bogota and some of the outlying suburbs, I am looking forward to visiting the country again to explore cities like Cartagena, Barrinquilla, Cali, and Medellin, etc.

In closing, I would have to say that the most adventuresome part of my trip was actually the flight home from Bogota to Osaka. For starters, I got to the international airport in Bogota only to be told that my flight to Miami was cancelled. To make matters worse, I was never told the reason why. Anyways, I was moved to a later flight around 6:00pm instead of my original flight at 3:00pm. When I checked into my 6:00pm, I was told that the departure of that flight would be delayed until 9:00pm. Talk about bad luck! I thought that I was never going to get out of the airport! Finally my plane took off at 9:00pm and after a somewhat bumpy ride in the skies, I landed in Miami around 12:30am. With the bad luck on a roll, I was told after arriving in Miami that the immigration computers were down and everyone had to wait. Well, after almost one hour of waiting, I was allowed to pass through immigration only because I was an American citizen. I wonder if the visitors coming into America are still waiting in line in Miami! After getting my luggage, I headed off to my hotel in Miami for a quick shower and nap, yes, I truly mean nap, before I needed to return to Miami Airport at 6:00am to catch my 8:00am flight to Detroit. Luckily my flight to Detroit did not incur any problems. After a smooth flight to Detroit, things took a turn for the worse...with only one hour of sleep in the past day, I was really looking forward to getting some sleep on the 13 hour flight to Osaka. After boarding the plane in Detroit, we were left waiting in our seats for 3 hours! After waiting for 3 hours, the pilot announced that we would be switching planes do to a "water leak". I later learned that this "water leak" was really a de-icing truck ramming itself into the wing of the plane! What idiots! After changing to a new plane, the plane finally took off at 5:30pm (4.5 hours later than originally scheduled). Once we were in the air, I did not have too many disruptions except for the two boys that were diagonally seated across from me. Traveling with only their father, the boys were pure carnage in the cabin for most of the 13 hour journey. Thank goodness I was able to sleep for almost half of the trip because if I did not, I swear that I could have killed those little menaces. In any event, I arrived back home to Osaka safely after what seemed like the never ending journey!

Here are a few reference sites for your viewing pleasure:

http://fla-keys.com/islamorada/

http://www.bogota-dc.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogotá

二日間かかったけど、やっとコロンビアから帰ってきました！やっぱ、南米までは遠いわ！！　まっ、遠かったにも拘らず、初の南米旅はめっちゃ楽しかった。　赤道がコロンビアに貫いてるのに、ボゴタ市（首都）の平温は年中に22℃ぐらい。不思議やろ？！　・・・　なぜ気温がそんなに高くないと言ったら、ボゴタ市は海抜2,700メートルやからだ。でもボゴタ市は山じゃなくて、ただの高原だ。まっ、気温がそんなに高くならないのに、間違いなくいろんな意味でボゴタ市は暑い～シティやで！！：）

引き続き・・・やっぱ、コロンビアと言えば、コーヒー、コカイン、エメラルドなどの生産地。また、自慢するポイントじゃないけど、コロンビアでは誘拐事件（特にアメリカ人に関わる）があまりに多い！！だけど、大学の友達(現地人）の自宅に泊まってたし、一人で出かけてなかったから全然危険性を感じてなかった。常識を活用すると、一人でも出かけたら大丈夫だと思うよ。；）

知らないかもしれないけど、コロンビアではお金持ちの人たちは(僕の友達も含む)女中や運転手まで雇う！ホンマに何もしなくてええ！！：D　家事などの代わりに自分が好きなことを色々できるやん。最高やない皆さん？！コロンビアに移住するのは悪くないかもしれないね。まぁ、移住する前にスペイン語をちょっと復習しないとあかんけど・・・