This visit to Bogota has been different from my first, two years ago, when I arrived with a case of Covid and spent 3 days in bed.
This time I spent a pleasant two days with Walter, a visitor from Boston of an age similar to mine. We ambled around the city, stopping frequently, chatting about everything imaginable. We share a penchant for relaxing travel without the pressure of a specific goal; instead we just appreciate the people, sights and sounds of a diverse and complex city.
On the following day I was by myself so I had much more contact with the locals. I just talk to people. Often they try to speak English in roughly the same way I try to speak Spanish. It’s a lot of fun – you just commuicate about something, but nothing in particular.
It occurred to me that language exchange is a potent way of remaining in the present moment. If you have no agenda you don’t dwell much on past or future. If you do talk about past or future it still requires an immediate focus, because we are using a different language. This clarifies why the act of travel sometimes feels like ‘waking up’. One must dwell in the present moment. There is a feeling of excitement coupled with a feeling of anxiety.
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