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COLOMBIA CALLING

 
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khmerhit



Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:12 pm    Post subject: COLOMBIA CALLING Reply with quote

Do you mind if I post this query on the General Discussion board? No one seems to be answering on the LA Forum. Thanks.

Hello!

Hello!!

Hello!!!!

HELLO!!!!!

HELLO!!!!!!!!!

IS THERE ANYBODY IN COLOMBIA!!!!!!!!!!!??????????


April 2004

Could somebody kindly give us an update regarding Colombia?

It sounds like a beautiful country, but I have been reading contradictory reports on Dave's about what it is like to work there:

jobs/no jobs
ok pay/inadequate pay
dangerous/safe
people friendly/not friendly
lots of expats/no expats
inflation/no inflation
enjoyable/not enjoyable
worth it/not worth it
come/don't come

If you could fill us in just a bit, I'd really appreciate it.

Regards,
khmerhit
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Irish Blood English Heart



Joined: 22 Mar 2004
Posts: 256
Location: Gosforth, The United Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nooooooooooo youre not leaving Cambodia are you? My faith in man kind is forever slain Wink
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fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

IBEH,

Acutally, I believe he left Cambodia some time ago.

Pull out that dagger, slayer boy.... Wink

Sincerely,
fat_c
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Will.



Joined: 02 May 2003
Posts: 783
Location: London Uk

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cambodia, Canada, Colombia
How long do you think it will take you to get to to D?
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Lanza-Armonia



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 525
Location: London, UK. Soon to be in Hamburg, Germany

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It looks like he's making his way through the alphabet backwards...
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yaramaz



Joined: 05 Mar 2003
Posts: 2384
Location: Not where I was before

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actully, methinks he's proceeding in alphabetical order: Cambodia, Canada, Colombia. In a previous incarnation, he was in Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia, and Botswana.
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Lanza-Armonia



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 525
Location: London, UK. Soon to be in Hamburg, Germany

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Then I take my hat off to him but one must relise he has very little time to do the freaking lot!!!

LA
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Lanza-Armonia



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 525
Location: London, UK. Soon to be in Hamburg, Germany

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...maybe I'll continue where he leaves off!!
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Brooks



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1369
Location: Sagamihara

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last July, I talked with a guy who used to work in Colombia.
He used to work there as a teacher, he liked his job, had a good salary, got to improve his Spanish, etc. But the day his boss got kidnapped was the day he decided it was time for him to bail.

My college in the US used to have an exchange program with a Colombian institution, but decided to stop sending Americans there due to the violence.
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Capergirl



Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Posts: 1232
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Will. wrote:
Cambodia, Canada, Colombia
How long do you think it will take you to get to to D?


Laughing
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khmerhit



Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Migh be a while, folks. Thre's still Cameroon, California, Cali, Kalamazoo, Cape Verde, Cannery Row, Kabul. Perviously, before Cambodge, I lived in Cambridge!

Capaciously yrs
kh Rolling Eyes
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lagerlout2006



Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 985

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Khermit---Just before I came to Asia I had a serious offer in Columbia..A girl I met had just finished 2 years there and was looking for a replacement. It was apparently decent money and was out of the way of the drug wars. I think it was a semi-tourist area and they would not tolerate the cocaine cartels there....On the downside you would get robbed if you weren't careful. That is true anywhere but more true in Columbia. Be careful what area you choose there.
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Aramas



Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 874
Location: Slightly left of Centre

PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been reading up a bit on Colombia, and it would certainly be on my short list when I head that way.

First of all, I shouldn't have to tell you to ignore the sensationalist crap that graces our mass media, but I will anyway Smile

Apparently the rebels are all in the countryside and don't venture into town. Medellin is the most dangerous city since it's Drug Lord central, followed by Cali. Bogota is reputedly not too bad but Cartagena seems to be the safest - not to mention one of the coolest and oldest cities in the Americas.

Cartagena seems to be a good place to party, and picking up private students isn't difficult and pays well. I've read a few recent accounts of travellers and sailors that have spent some time there and had no trouble getting students.

The kidnapping victims mostly seem to be clueless tourists that wander around with $2k watches and gold jewellery throwing their money around trying to be the Big Man in town. Although I did read an amusing account of a 'kidnapped' backpacker that became friends with his captors and they even gave him a lift to the next town - lol Smile
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khmerhit



Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit

PostPosted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all the great replies concerning Colombia. Here is another one that was posted very recently in the original thread inthe LA forum.

Thanks for this, Shebab! If most people fall in love with Colombia, it sounds like another country I know. Some places are, int words of the late R Palmer "simply irresistible", and perhaps even best avoided for that very reason...

Quote:
Colombia is one of the best places to do ESL in Latin America for several reasons. With an MA, you can live very comfortably on the salary you are making, more so than 3/4 of the population around you. Inflation is much more tightly controlled than the rest of Latin American countries, and hyperinflation has never existed the way it has in Argentina and Venezuela. The same goes for coup d'etats or massive political unrest that take place in Bolivia or Venezuela.

Because there are very few expats, it is a great place to meet and hang out with locals, as well as learn the language. My experience was in Medellin, so I can only comment on that. As for safety, if you just use common sense you can stay out of trouble. True, Colombia is not a safe country, but your day to day routine should not be very much affected by this fact if you just follow the lead of the locals. The strange thing is that while everyone around me would constantly talk about kidnappings or murders or robberies, I was never personally involved with any of these things in the ten years that I have lived/worked/visited Colombia.

The best places to work (with an MA) are the Centro Colombo Americano in Medellin, and the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla. In the latter you would live very well on the salary you make, but probably not have enough to save or turn back into dollars/euros/pounds/whatevers.

Most foreigners who go to Colombia fall in love with the place...I intend to use my Middle Eastern savings to buy a fabulous apartment in Medellin and live there happily ever after one day (if I can ever start saving! Back to top

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Tiger Beer



Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 778
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I�m another of those who are constantly hearing Colombia calling for them. I�m most interested in Cali, Cartagena, and to a lesser degree, Bogota.

I had a blue-eyed blond-haired American friend who lived in Bogota for 3 years who didn�t seem to have any problems. The big thing to avoid is overland travel between cities - which he didn�t heed - but didn�t have a problem with either.

If I go, I tend to just stay put in one of the 3 above-mentioned cities and make out a living there for awhile. Its calling me as well.

www.poorbuthappy.com is the best website out there on Colombia and the foreigners who live there..
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