High Altitudes

Bogota is located 8,600 ft. above sea level.  I have been affected in the following ways:

Owen Wilson's not-so-dry nose

Nose - The first two weeks I had a chronic dry nose.  What's the big deal - IT HURT TO BREATHE.  Have you ever laid awake at night for hours because every time you took a breath through your nose it felt like ice?  So instead you switch to breathing through your mouth but then your mouth gets so dry its uncomfortable?  That leads me to my next challenge:


Thirst - Also upon my arrive I was in a constant state of thirst.  Something about less oxygen in the air means you get less oxygen into your body so your through is dry...maybe I'm making that up.  All I know is that for some reason 8,600 ft. has forced me into drinking that fabled necessary eight glasses of water a day.

Lower (Aka. No) Stamina - The stairs are difficult.  The treadmill at the gym OWNS me.  Why?  The high altitude of course.  I am enjoying that I can completely blame my inability to run two miles without stopping on the high altitude.  My inability is in no way related to the two months of summer I spent sitting on the couch and watching crappy-but-addictive reality TV shows.

Cooking - This I have researched (the following information is courtesy of the great United States Department of Agriculture).  The USDA informed me that starting at the altitude of 3,000 ft., food takes longer to cook because water boils at a lower temperature.  WHO KNEW?  I guess I did...I just didn't realize that my 10th grade chemistry course would actually be useful to reference when living in Colombia.  All I know is that when cooking onions at home it took 3459786 minutes fewer for them to reach the soft consistency I love than it did when cooking my onions for dinner as pictured below:

How high have you been?