Columbia You have not blogged in a while. Every blog you write our must see list gets a bit longer. You really do a nice job of introducing us to Columbia. Can't wait to get there and sample the foods.
Hey Frank!! Good to see you back on the road, at least a little bit! Cucuta is another area of Colombia I have not been to yet, but as I said I will be returning (Hopefully to live) in September so the facts and info you gave was great! I am surprised though that more Venezuelans are not crossing the border to shop for the items the are a necessity and often out of stock in Venezuelan Gov't run markets. Maybe it's illegal to do that on Maduro's watch, but hopefully it gets better as I loved the protests and the people, especially the younger crowd, standing up for their rights and freedoms! My experiences in Colombia talking with friends I have there and just random store owners who often invited me for nightly Aguardiente and chatting lol, is that Colombians in General have grown further and further away from Venezuelans in the past decade mostly because of the regimes that were in place and are in place at the present time, but Colombians in general do not dislike Venezuelans just the hierarchy that leads them and the political policies that are made. Anyways as usual great blog buddy! Hope all is well and we will definitely get a beer or 3 when I get there!! Thanks for all your help with the teaching info as well! Much appreciated! --Buen Viaje! Greg
http://www.mymalls.com/product/black-slit-backless-cami-dress I would say I want to become a Venezuelian guard right now, change of profession, he he he he....
Greetings Australia looks like a nice place to visit. I wish I had the opportunity to go and enjoy that beautiful country.
I really like your experience at the theatre as I am a huge fan of role plays. Perhaps one day we could go to the theatre together.
P.S. I am not trying to be a wet blanket but you should buy a better camera, awesome places deserve awesome memories.
Hola Franklin, me gusta mucho y completamente de acuerdo con tu comentario a cerca de la inapropiada publicación que hizo Nicolette Van Dam, pués ella tiene un mal concepto de nosotros los colombianos, lástima que no conoce realmente el carisma, la verraquera y el empuje que tenemos, como en todos lados, claro que hay cosas negativas, pero es mucho más lo positivo que tenemos, pués ella se lo pierde!!!
Hola Ingrid Hola, Ingrid, qué bueno tenerte por acá, si, ya estamos probándolo con semejantes marcadores, estamos haciendo historia! Así que a apoyar y a esperar que sigamos en la jugada porque ahora si lo creo. Abrazos y gracias por el comentario.
Hey Frank! Sorry I have been slacking as well...Been a bit busy here with teaching. LOVED the blog so insightful and Buca is one of the places I never got a chance to visit my few times in Colombia. Great history and well written! I am really excited to go back to Colombia next year after my contract in Moscow, BUT this time I plan to stay for years as I've told you before Colombia is my favorite country and I miss it, especially now with the World Cup ( I'm cheering Los Cafeteros from here in Asia) I just wish there were more opportunities to teach in Colombia!! Thanks again for the awesome blog!! Have a great one!!
-Greg
Hey, Frank Thanks mate, I am glad you´ll be able to come and stay here for some years, specially now that we are getting popular :) The world cup? wow, the whole country is on fire, same as the team; you should see us watching the matches and celebrating, so get ready for the next one and share a beer with us. As for work, I believe you stand a great chance to get one, enjoy Russia, never been there, it seems to be lovely too. Let´s hope James continues scoring with such clinical finish!
Chill 2 You are wrong, she resigned under the pressure of Colombian people blowing things out of proportion and she didn't want negative publicity to have a negative effect on UNICEF. Yes, lot's of people make fun of the Dutch and drugs and most of those people don't know half of the details concerning our drugs policy. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately their are a zillion things that need our attention more than a joke you and your likeminded do not like. A lot of other people did like the joke and I'm sure they are not thinking the Colombian people are all using cocaine like it is candy.
Chill 2 Well, you´d know more about that. Anyway, as a Unicef ambassador, she should´ve thought things twice before making that move. Have a nice day and thanks for your messages.
Chill I can't believe you are all being so childishly offended by this joke. The social media are full of jokes and jokes usually do not reflect reality. It's a fact that cocaine is still coming from Colombia, shipments are found regularly by the police. That's the source of the joke and no one is seriously accusing the Colombian people of using cocaine or anything else for that matter. We might however accuse you of a lack of humour in the future! In other words, if people weren't offended so easily, the world would be a better place. Now you have caused her to stop her work as ambassador to Unicef, a function which might have hinted the Colombian people that Nicolette is a VERY sympathetic and committed person. Thanks to you, Colombian people, Unicef lost a good ambassador. I wonder, was it worth it?
Chill I am afraid you might be wrong as this lady submitted her resignation by herself as she felt guilty by what she´d done. Good for you that you haven´t had to put up with silly jokes about you smoking drugs. and here again, you need to reread the entry or go on the Australian link to see that it becomes annoying. Thanks for your comment, and thanks God there are plenty Unicef ambassadors..
Colombia what a wonderful country My wife is from Colombia and she is the la mas Hermosa del mundo here in the UK the same thing is said to her about the drugs but this is from a small minority of people .I have told her not to listen to them and turn your back on them but they don't know the kind of hurt this does to her . I have visited your beautiful country and you fantastic people and loved every minute . Please keep up the fight against this problem and I hope some day you will be free from this stupid type of comments . viva Colombia gracias a la gente de su páis tienes una páis incredible
Colombia what a wonderful country Dear Geoff, Thanks for your comment, I completely get her, it is annoying and I hope that too. Glad you´ve loved visiting Colombia, I guess the more people come here, the better the image will be- I also love England. i lived there for 4 years and I´m very fond of the organisation and the honesty of your people, love your British humour too. Cheers
Humour Thanks for your response. Yeah, the joke is old and tired and not funny anymore. But, try to rise above it and don't give it any attention. This tendency that everybody has a right not to be offended means we are creating a fear culture, where in the end, nobody will be able to say anything, just in case that somebody somewhere in the world may be offended by it. We are not there yet, but it is gradually going in that direction. The end result will not be pleasant, unless something is done to reverse the development. My own country (USA) is consistently demonised around the world. I could not care less. Actually, some of the fanatics give me a good laugh from time to time with their ignorance and closed minds. (Not that there is not anything to criticize, obviously we have a lot of problems: Gradual slide into socialism, ridiculous political correctness, fanatical laws on prostitution, gambling and drugs). I have visited Colombia and it is a wonderful country. But, believe me, few people take the cocaine jokes seriously, and those who do are not worthy of your time. However, I am amazed that you say that you don't have a single joke at the expense of other countries. That is really unique in the world!
Humour Thomas, you have just provided some good food for thought, but here again, when this does happen, it is quite difficult to talk someone out of being offended, but hey, good things you said. Glad you enjoyed our Colombia. Have a nice day, man.
A bit of nuance Lets not fight fire with fire please. I am Dutch and that twitter post says more about the person who posted it than anything else. To say that all Dutch are racist as Sandra de Wit seems to suggest is in the same line as saying all Colombians snort cocaine. I doubt the Dutch are any more or less racist/xenophobic/anti-semitic than any other country. And if it makes you feel any better, the first thing most travellers associate with Holland is drugs as well. I am constantly confronted with that stereotypical image, the pot-smoking Dutch, with some luck he will be smoking a joint with some clogs on and a tulip in his hand. To be clear, I do not agree with what she posted, but as I said it reflects badly on her, it had nothing to do with the rest of the population. If people start reacting in a similar vein they just lower themselves to her level, and lets be honest that isn't a very high one.
A bit of nuance Thanks for your comment, it is not my intention to encompass all Dutch, on the contrary, I said, I respect them very much. The important thing is that people think twice before making these stereotypes comments which are not helping anyone. Cheers, Ralf
Hi all!
Well, after so many seconds, minutes, hours, months and years of procrastination...-but highly encouraged by a most beloved friend-, I have finally got round to creating my own blog. Wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing it this time! It will be a nice opportunity to get in touch with so many friends that I've luckily gained in my entire '21' years' existence (we all know that's a lie but somehow it makes me feel younger, never you mind, sorry:); I'll be able to share some of the most precious memories of my travel as well as my day-to-day adventures. Let's just hope that my s... full info
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Columbia
You have not blogged in a while. Every blog you write our must see list gets a bit longer. You really do a nice job of introducing us to Columbia. Can't wait to get there and sample the foods.