The main language spoken here is Spanish, but because Bogotá is such a popular tourist location, many people speak English and other languages, as well. If an employee doesn't speak your language, they are pretty good at navigating interactions to help you in their store. I've found that most of the youth here are either studying English formally at school or independently, as well as many people in older demographics, and if they aren't already, many express a desire to start soon.
The currency here is the Colombian peso. One Colombian peso is equivalent to 0.00024 United States dollars, but the exact conversion changes every day. To calculate the conversion on my daily purchases, I usually divide the number by four and take off the zeroes. For example, if I stop for an empanada that costs $5,000 pesos, I take off the zeroes and divide five by four to get about $1.25 USD.
The cost of a bottle of water can really vary here depending on where you buy it. I have paid as little as $3,000 pesos (about 75 cents in USD), and as much as $10,000 (about $2.50 USD) before. If you buy from a vending machine or a restaurant, it will be more expensive, but if you buy from a corner store or a street vendor, you might get a bargain.
