A Normal Day

nanis says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:01:

Desi what do you mean? what's normal to me might no be normal to other people, are we talking middle or upper class families? or may be the ones that barely make it through the day and i mean the ones on the other end? let me know and i'll be glad to post some stuff about how my family used to make it through the day a couple of years back that's only if you want me to of course!

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fzrdan says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:06:

I am very interested to hear a story like that about an average middle class family. Anybody who reads it will just have to realize that it may have aspects to it that do not apply to other families. Maybe a story like that may help me understand my novia a bit better.

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YEP says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:07:

What's a regular/normal family in Colombia
I'd also like to see/hear what the definition is for that ??


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Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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lpdiver says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:12:

Poor but happy My sister in law's husband died on Christmas eve 11 years ago leaving her with 4 children to raise. She has done so making empanadas and selling them on weekends.

She is a very good hearted but in my opinion somewhat lazy woman. Though her children are basically grown now she only works the weekends to support herself. But she asks nothing and seems to be happy.

She goes shopping in the morning and buys the food for the day. When the food is gone they are done eating for the day!!! My wife likes a little food in the house and when she lived with them she bought $200,000 dollars (colombian of course) worth of food. In two or three days it was gone...teenagers...lol.

She lives in the 12 October section of Medellin.

My only gripe has been that with nine brothers and sisters my wife and I should not be mamas sole support. I have told my favorite sister in law that I felt like she could sell empanadas one extra day per week if only to pay for mamas propane. She started doing so amazingly enough.

Her sister owns a peluqueiria (spelling) and works hard and has a better life. She started it with money provided by my now wife. This was before our marriage and she seems unburdened with repaying. I suggested that my wifes generosity be repaid to mama and she has started making contributions.

My wife is from a poor poor family. Her mother had 12 children and her husband was killed in front of her over a labor dispute. He had his arm cut off as did his brother, who also died. Although poor; this is one of the happiest families I have ever known on any continent, despite their miseries they have endured.

I trust them with my life (literally) when in Colombia.

My only disappointment is the lack of availing themselves to education, but that is a famial thing I suppose.

Her other sister lives alone with her daughter. The father left them to immigrate illegaly to New Jersey. Most of her family has similar stories. But again they are sooooo happy.

Makes me appreciate what I have and my wife really appreciates it also.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:26:

I know it's a hard task to define what's normal, but we could actually contribute to several threads within one: choose three, four different locations and at least three different socioeconomical levels.
Tony could tell the story of what is a normal day in October 12 neighborhood family in Medellin, others familiar with these environs could add their stories and people who never been there or don't know about the subject would post pertaining questions.

Mrs. Gomez, Adela, pantera, atrevido and myself plus others who live or have lived in Cali would add their story of a family in Cali; we could take two families from different neighborhoods, as adela, nato, Gator and myself would best know the details of ordinary life in a middle-class family and Mrs. Gomez could contribute with the life of a struggling family.

Bogotá people could come up with stories of how the everyday life looks like in Chicó or/and one of the southern barrios.

These are just examples of how I thought this story could be told: on different levels and different locations. We would be wrting the true story of life in Colombia instead of just bantering, trying to outsmart each others with our responses and drawing attention to ourselves instead of talking about Colombia.

Are you game?

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:26:

Are you serious, Antony? Damm, that barrio is one of the worst in Medellin. Even though my wife's father was gunned down and killed and her husband died suddenly leaving her a widow with 3 children, I think her life has been a walk in the park compared to your wife's family.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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WidowerfromCanada says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:32:

I would like to hear your story Mrs. Gomez.

Great thread idea Desi !!!!!

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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lpdiver says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:41:

UC Serious as being kidnapped in Colombia! I celebrated my 47'th birthday there. We arrived before dark and in the taxi of family friend Jaido. We also called and had him pick us up.

I never felt really at danger but my radar was exceptionally alert. As we left I heard whispers of "Americano" as the nieces and nephews had been out in the street after we celebrated.

Maybe a bit risky but I am glad for the experience.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 31, 2005, 11:01:

widower there was another thread of somebody stating this question and people were just laughing at the poster. Lionheart responded to it giving it legitimity and I came to think about that this is really what I'd like to read about Colombia, what I think would be my best contribution on this forum.
It'd be great if people here started spinning off this central theme starting individual threads referring to what's a normal day like for an average Colombian family that they're familiar with. It doesn't have to be their own story; just one that they know really well and have personal, first-hand knowledge about.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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lpdiver says on Jan 31, 2005, 11:04:

Desi along those lines I often ignore the don't feed the trolls advice and reply to some rediculous posts. Even trolls post questions that can result in good information being exchanged...if you don't settle to the trolls level.


T

"cook some rice!"

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nanis says on Jan 31, 2005, 11:44:

LOWER CLASS FAMILY : DECEMBER 12 YEARS AGO There were 15 people living in my uncle’s house 9 of those were children the rest were adults including my grandmother who was 57 at that time. My uncle had 5 children all young the youngest 1 the oldest 7 he worked damn hard to provide for all of them, he used to work in cabaza (big market place) helping all the truck drivers unload stuff all night long and the next morning he used to go to “la plaza caizedo” to sell fritanga (fried fast food) the house they were living in was made of guadua (palm tree) and newspaper, their lock was just 2 strings tied together, but their house collapsed during an earthquake and they had to pay rent somewhere else, my uncle didn’t make enough money so he become a sicario.

I lived next door to my uncle’s house with my parents 2 female cousins, 1 male cousin and his best friend. My dad was a truck driver he worked for various companies and earned good money but when he had an accident on the way to Buenaventura he lost his truck and his job and almost lost his life he was paying rent and did not have enough money to provide for all of us, my mother couldn’t work because she was looking after her ill mother who had cancer and my father had to provide for my grandmother’s sickness too it was really hard for him so he decided to follow my uncle’s steps and started to work for a member of the Cali cartel.

My other cousins joined them too; one of them had his little daughter dying in hospital and no money to pay for her hospital expenses, they all united with a group of paisas and formed a gang called “los areperos” this is a notorious gang in el retiro in Cali.

“One no so ordinary day”

12 years ago my dad’s gang made a deal with “el cartel de cali” the deal collapsed and they all feared for their lives, a huge amount of drug money was missing neither of the gangs knew who had taken it, there was also a huge raid and some members of the rival gang were killed I still don’t know the full truth to be honest all I know is that day was the beginning of the end for my family. One of my cousin’s was caught on the raid and was sentenced to life at the palmira prison for being the leader of the militias in the aguablanca district.

Our everyday life became far from ordinary, I used to go everywhere in cali by myself travel by bus from the age of 7 but after all this happen I would have to go everywhere with someone, this very same day my aunt was late to pick me up from school so I decided to go to my friend’s house and fell asleep there, my parents didn’t know where I was and my father freaked out and went straight to this traketo’s place with my other cousins in their bikes equipped with guns to get me. Thinking that he’d kidnapped me because my dad owed him some drug money but before going there he stopped round my friend’s house and found me asleep if he hadn’t stopped and found me there and have gone to this traketo’s house he would probably not be alive now.

They then took me to my uncle’s house were there was a party, my uncle was killed right there in front of his house, a few seconds after we had arrived to what was his son’s first birthday party, they shot him 9 times on the chest and once on the head, we all saw it, his wife and children, his mum and sisters and me.

My other cousin was shot while drunk, the bullet didn’t kill him he died drowned on his own blood, he left his 19 year old wife with two young kids.

My father took my mum and I to Medellin that very same day, we hid there until they found us, they took my father for 3 days he then came back with a bullet in his arm but still alive, we then bought 3 tickets to London and we’ve been here ever since.

my aunts had to bring up their children on their own some of them working as maids the others had to wash clothes for a living they barely made some pesos to buy food sometimes they even went to sleep still hungry.

One of my uncle’s son is now a sicario his daughters work in a massaging place and you know what they do in those places! One of them was lucky enough to go to Japan with her boyfriend who was a pimp and forced her to work as his hooker; she stayed in Japan for 3 years.

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vladimiro says on Jan 31, 2005, 11:44:

A Story I propose the story of a 21 year old textile worker living in Bello an estrato 3 barrio in north Medellin....

Her name is Catalina and she grew up middle-class but sunk into poverty 3 years ago after her father took off with his young mistress. She lives with her 18 year old sister, who works in fast food restaurants now and again, with her 23 yr old brother who can't find work because he doesn't look for it and because employers ask for proof of military service which he never showed up for. She also lives with her 43 year old mother who is a weak character that took to drinking when bad times hit.

Unlike the rest of her family Catalina is muy seria and took over responsiblity of the family after her father left. She used to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week, but as she puts it "that Paroco" (paramilitary) President Uribe banned overtime so now she works 8 hours a day for a lot less money. Unfortunately, she does not make enough to cover basic expenses. After work she often looks for loans to pay off loans to pay off loans she used to help pay for rent and food. Otherwise she goes out with a good looking 27 year old engineer she met at work. He's a foriegn contractor sent to Colombia to implement a computer system that automates factory machinery, ironically, machinery that is designed to automate Catalina's job. And this is difficult to explain, but despite the recent hard times Catalina siempre se pone feliz y sigue adelante.

On a normal day Catalina......?

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 31, 2005, 12:19:

"que mala eres juliana" She gets up at the break of dawn in her middle-class barrio in Cali. The house is quite an old one, with walls presenting visible cracks from a couple of the last tremors that shook the earth but weren't strong enough to bring them down. The painting is cracked in several places and the seeping humidity from unrepaired drainage has spotted the whitewash in several places, especially around the kitchen and the two inside patios.

It's barely 5:30 a.m, and she feels stressed for having overslept. Her dad might already be up and wanting breakfast. The maid would probably be still asleep. She rushes to her icy morning shower, washes her hair and gets dressed. Yes, her dad is already awake, sitting in the dining room and looks a bit unhappy since there's no tinto and no juice waiting for him. Juliana apologizes and starts squeezing the oranges for the breakfast, gets the coffee water boiling on the gas stove and knocks on the door of the maid's room to wake up the girl.

It's the beginning of a totally ordinary day in Cali, for Juliana, a middle-aged, divorced woman with a daughter of 14, an elderly father and a maid living in the house. Her mother passed away a year ago and her brother has moved out to live with his girlfriend.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Albatross says on Jan 31, 2005, 12:46:

Catalina... On a normal day Catalina would eat lunch in the cafeteria with her co-workers, but this is not a normal day. Today she decides to go to an audition across town. The legendary rapper Snoop Dogg has come to Colombia to shoot his new music video, “Calistyle”. He needs some hot local talent to dance in the video. Catalina is smart and very serious, but she's also got moves that would make Shakira blush. So she shows up early and gets a personal “audition” from “The Dogg” himself. Sparks fly and somehow, The Dogg gets leashed. So they get married, move to Belair and live happily ever after... The End

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 31, 2005, 12:56:

bah I knew somebody would have to ruin it.
Cheers (not!)
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Albatross says on Jan 31, 2005, 12:59:

Blame it on MGM Sorry... I just love those "Hollywood Endings"...

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 31, 2005, 13:13:

if you don't have anything other than Hollywood endings to contribute I'd rather you stayed out of this...
the stories are only just unfolding and these type of comments only disencourage others to continue this thread.

Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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miamimike says on Jan 31, 2005, 13:20:

Typical Day in the life of a "HAVE" ssssssss I have a friend who lives in Medellin and Bogota. Beautiful House in Medellin--2 full time empleadas. The day--up around 9am-breakfast prepared by the empleadas then off to the gym for workout. This is followed by coffee and chitchat with sus amigas.Afterwards a trip to the Salon to to have her hair puffed up in the latest style. Afterwards maybe a trip to the travel agenciesto make plans for a upcoming trip to San Andres, Bogota, Miami or Europe. Then back home-1-2 hr. siesta and then up for supper or maybe a night out at a nice retaurant and a little dancing. Otherwise she entertains friends at home witha movie on her BigScreen TV and videos. She has the same life her in Miami-Luxury Condo on Williams island in Adventura and a new Luxury SUV. IN Medellin-brand new Toyota. She never had to work a day in her life--come from $$$ and married $$$. The rich colombian husband traded her in a few years back for a 25 yr. old model-but she got a good piece of change out of him and lives very nice , thougha somewhat boring life-very sheltered. Much different then my life. A real contrast in lifestyles in Colombia.

My Avatar-- Sarah Palin Says " "You know the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?? Lipstick!" Now on a Short Verbal Tether by the Honorable John McCain

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Albatross says on Jan 31, 2005, 14:15:

:| Yes, dear...

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Lauthra says on Jan 31, 2005, 16:19:

A normal day in my Cali life... They were pretty boring when I was in Cali actually, wake up at 5 a.m., make breakky with my mum, she gets ready to go to work, I get ready for school. Run downstairs to catch the horrible yellow Bennett School bus still chewing my last mouthful and put my headphones on. It's 6:45, the sun finally rise, and we're in school...yay... Class, class, class, class, recess, class, class, lunch, class, class, dismissed. I'm the first one to be drop off from the bus route, (ironically I'm the first one to be picked up in the morning...)homework, homework, homework, telly, telly, telly, mum gets home from work, we have food, watch the novela de moda, off to bed, until 5 a.m. next morning. It was like that for like 14 years... I did say it was boring!
Nato ;)

Nato (='.'=)

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Pirovito says on Jan 31, 2005, 18:09:

the juice is worth the squeeze!! Lower Class family in Bogota!
He wakes up at 6 am takes a shower. At 6.30am wakes up his 20 years old wife so she could get their 3 years old boy to “el gardin distrital del Galan” (daycare) , at 7.00 am he goes to his job with a damn cold that makes him feel like if he got arthritis. Take the buseta that goes to Bosa and after a 45 minutes ride, walks 10 minutes to get to this small house. Then he puts his 23 years old ass in a hard wood chair and starts sewing for 11 hours. At 1 pm he opens his book bag and takes out an small pan in which he carries his lunch; after 5 minutes the little bit of food is down the throat, so he takes those 25 minutes and seats again on the sewing machine to make some extra pesos. At 7 pm he gets out, walks another 10 minutes to get to the crossroad where the galan buseta passes by. He takes the galan buseta; he must go standing on this buseta because there are not available seats. After 45 minutes he gets home very tired and hungry he is really tired but he has not seen his boy since 7 am so he plays with him for 2 hours gives him his food and helps him make some homework. At 10 pm takes the little boy to a small mattress that he has near his twin-size bed. And at 10.30pm or so he goes to bed with his entire body in pain! But despite the fact that he’s got a poor life he doesn’t complaint about it, because he knows that he has to sacrifice himself in order to see two smiles… one on his 20 year old wife that hasn’t finish high school yet and the other smile he sees is the one that his little boy gives him every time that he brings home a “fruna” or a “bom bom bum”!

Dedicated to the person that I admire the most.
My oldest brother!

Thank you and apologies for any grammatical errors

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ShazCas says on Feb 1, 2005, 01:00:

Not useful to define "normal" I think as everyone's different it's best for people just to share experiences about themselves or Colombian people they know, as people here are doing.

I'm going to talk about a retired nurse who lives in the Candelaria, she's 60, very religious, has a big family that she cares about a lot and makes her nurses pension stretch out among them all. She lives in a big old house that used to be an Israeli guy's mansion but is now divided up into run-down houses. She gets up at 6am and puts on big saucepans of water to heat on the stove for her three nieces, brother and brother's wife to bathe with. Then she answers the door for the guy who brings her a saucepan of fresh, unpasteurised milk from a truck, which she boils. Then she makes tintos (small black coffees) drinks one, and opens all the wooden shutters in the house. After that she makes hot chocolate or coffee with lots of panela and hot milk, a scrambled egg for each person, and changua or caldo de costilla with lots of coriander. Sometimes she makes buñuelos or arepas with lots of creamy milk. Everyone then gets up and bathes one by one with the hot water, pouring some into a bucket, crouching down in the bath, and pouring it over them with a cup so it lasts longer.

She spends the day cleaning the house, brushing the floor, waxing the wood and polishing it, cooking lunch, going to the market to buy fresh vegetables. She is very afraid of going out alone so stays in the house all the time, and never does anything for herself, as she's always thinking of her family. Sometimes she enjoys a little whiskey, but hates drunk people, and goes to church every Sunday. She loves history and literature, and can name every king and queen of England. She has a sewing machine and spends her afternoons making clothes for her grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces. She is selfless and giving, and lives for her family.

I hope you enjoyed my story of a Colombian woman!

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YEP says on Feb 1, 2005, 05:01:

ShazCas that was exactly my point ..... You'd simply have to make some individual cases and let people read on/understand from theses examples ;-)

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Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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elmodefoque says on Feb 1, 2005, 07:01:

Colombia, over 40 years ago.
Colombians were killing each other like it was going outta style; it was “La Violencia”. The famous Colombian neck tie was very popular and a civilize way of decapitating a person with having to cut the complete head off.
I was 3 years old and school was not even in the agenda, I had more pressing things to worry about like what the hell to eat, and how to get rid of that damn itch around my asshole, those damn belly worms were eating me alive. I weight about 50 pounds and 40 of that were worms.
Everyday I would wake up with my eyes completely shot closed due to a persistent eye infection made worst by the dirty water I had to pour on my face. I smelled like a combination of shit, sweat and piss from months of not bathing. Even donkeys did not stink as bad. I spent all day under a tree to stay away from the heat and sun and too weak to move. I sat there looking at a group of dogs licking their balls under the tree next to me. They were also hungry and dirty, but at least they had each other, and licking each others balls and butthole made their life a bit more tolerable

PROUD ENEMY OF THE RIGHT WING!!!!!! THANK YOU!

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 1, 2005, 09:01:

"que mala eres juliana" part 2 By the time the maid is up and about, Claudita (Julianas's teenage daughter) comes rushing down the stairs, in a bad mood and irritated as 14-year-olds often are. Everything is wrong this morning, again. She has gained 200 grams since yesterday, her skin is breaking out, she doesn't have a thing to wear (she's out of school uniforms now and the competition for being the smartest dresser in school is brutal). Finally, she's off to the school bus, and Juliana sits down for a a cup of café con leche and a cheese roll.
Papá is now comfortably seated at the dining room table, reading the El Pais and eating breakfast. He's got a list of errands for the daughter to run, and Juliana has a couple of business appointments during the morning. She sells real estate, but it's not going so good for her. The main income for the family comes from a rental apartment that Juliana has managed to buy and from Papá's meager pensión. Together with the occasional money that Juliana makes selling real estate it should be enough for a modest living in a house that has long-ago been paid in full. For this family, it's not good, because they have a lot of noble obligations, being direct descendants of a former president of Colombia, for having to maintain a certain life-style, for having to mind everything they do to keep up with the aristocratic past of the family.
Last names are a very important part of everyday life in this family. Mrs. Fulano del Sutano, is she related to those Fulanos or Sutanos from Popayán, Cauca or are they some newcomers from the countryside? This family doesn't mix with the "chusma". They're poor moneywise but rich in pride and tradition.
The rest f the morning Juliana drives her small compact car from one end of the city to the other, showing properties, discussing with clients, looking good and distinguished at every instant. She's not permitted to sweat, or yawn or look bored. The noon heat gets almost intolerable in a stuffy business outfit, the car doesn't have A/C, and Papá will be wanting his lunch soon. The maid does little cooking, since the family would rather that she doesn't. Papá digestion is very delicate and only Juliana knows exactly his tastes and dietary requirements. Before heading home, she runs a couple of errands more for Papá, stops by the supermarket to get provisions, the bank to pay a bill and a farmacia to buy a medicine for Papá.

Continued...
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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WidowerfromCanada says on Feb 1, 2005, 19:00:

Great thread







Desi,

This is a great thread and thanks for starting it. Thanks for all the input people , it has been most eye opening for me.

Have a great day,

Jeff








Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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Albatross says on Feb 2, 2005, 08:26:

Elmo... Thanks for the visuals...

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 2, 2005, 10:00:

contin'd It's past midday when Juli finally gets home, pulling up to the garage door and honking the horn for the maid to come open it. She doesn't, and Juli gets out of the car, opens the garage door herself, while Papá is there too, standing and watching. Once inside she goes upstairs, changes to shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops, tying her shoulder-length hair in a knot on the top of her head.

The maid is nowhere to be seen; Papá explains that she had some errands of her own to take care this morning and Juli wonders if she's on her way out to a new employment. Making lunch takes the better part of the midday hours: tortilla and vegetable soup for Papá, mango juice in milk, a mixed salad, white steamed rice, tostadas de platano and carne frita. They eat at the massive, dark wood dining room table, just the two of them. After they've finished, Papá will wait a little while before the "sobremesa", something sweet for the dessert, usually manjarblanco from Popayán.

Juli clears the dishes washing them in cold water with a strong detergent that comes in a little plastic container and is bright green in color. After that she goes upstairs and lies down on her bed watching tv, occasionally falling a sleep for a while. Papá sleeps a two-hour siesta every day saying that the midday sun is only good for the blacks and the Englishmen.

Claudita comes home from school (bilingual. located in Pance) around two-thirty every day. She's hungry, sweaty, tired and cranky. Juli goes downstairs to give her daughter some lunch, listen to her, talk to her. Daughter goes to the shower, changes clothes and they drive to Unicentro to do some clothes shopping for the daughter has nothing to wear tomorrow either.

They stop by a friend's house, call on a couple of elderly aunties, pick up a prescription for Papá, have an ice cream at mimo's and get back home before six o'clock, time for Papá's evening coffee con leche, croissant and sweets. The maid has come back while Juli was gone, and is ironing the morning wash listening to radio at the same time. After having some coffee and rolls all watch tv in their rooms until it's time to go to bed again.

The end.
(Finally)
(I didn't promise the story of her best day in life, or the most heroic, or the worst either. Just another boring day in La Sultana del Valle)

Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Albatross says on Feb 2, 2005, 10:08:

zzz...

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Atrevido says on Feb 2, 2005, 10:16:

For one thing a "normal day" includes a two hour long lunch hour during which everything is closed and phones go unanswered. Drives me nuts!

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 2, 2005, 10:24:

tinto Papá is an elderly gentleman, past eighty, widowed about a year ago. He doesn't go into the kitchen. He doesn't eat or drink anything that hasn't been prepared at home. I don't think he knows how to boil water in a pan.
What does he do all day long...well, he talks to his old friends on the phone, reads the newspapers, walks on the back patio looking at the potted flowers and the fig tree, watches tv and listens to the radio, makes lists of errands for the daughter to run, takes naps and showers...

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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lpdiver says on Feb 2, 2005, 15:38:

Desi My aspiration in quite a few years...lol.

"cook some rice!"

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 2, 2005, 16:33:

Tinto, the normal Colombian male expects any woman to wait on him hand and foot. In fact Colombian males are taught from an early age to expect any and every female to serve them food or drink. I am busy in my own household turning things upside down by continuing to serve myself and God forbid, even to cook! When my wife offers to get up from the table to bring me something, I declare that she is not my slave and that I can do it myself. When her sons ask her to get up and get things that they can easily get themselves, I inquire as to whether they are crippled. Yes, it is causing their heads to explode but I think slavery was abolished here quite some time ago.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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lpdiver says on Feb 3, 2005, 04:31:

Cowboy Cowboy cowboy What ever are you trying to do? Ruin it for the rest of us? Don't you know that is why all us gringo's marry the laytina's. Lots of sex and someone to clean up mi casa.

I noticed you dropped your disclaimer; entonces this must be one serious post for you!!!

I love making heads explode too...jejeje

Antony

"cook some rice!"

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 3, 2005, 12:10:

You're right, Tony. I don't mind the domesticity but it just pisses me off to see two teenage boys expecting their mother to wait on them hand and foot. Lazy sonsabit...get up off your ass and get it yourself!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 3, 2005, 13:08:

I find it a bit odd cowboy that those boys would be that pampered. I've seen a change in a lot of middle-class families regarding the upbringing of the boys. I've seen teenage boys mopping the floors, hanging the laundry, learning how to cook...it's mostly the older generation that still considers the kitchen be a woman's domain exclusively.

My dear departed mother-in-law used to say that men in the kitchen smell like chicken shit (hombre en la cocina huele a mierda de gallina) meaning that it was no place for a man. An elderly relative visited us here in Stockholm and went back to Colombia telling everybody that I force my son take his turn washing the dishes...that we don't "serve" him the way we're supposed to do. My husband took a lot of shit from his parents for participating in the household chores. ("Mijo no sabia que era una escoba hasta que se casó con la gringa...")

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Lauthra says on Feb 3, 2005, 13:19:

I had no idea. That's who I am training Barry, to help around, and that's how I will raise my kids as well, sadly I was massively spoiled when growing up, being my mum's only child, and having a living in nana. That's done nothing good for me!
Nato ;)

Nato (='.'=)

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 3, 2005, 19:49:

Wow, Desi, it sounds like you've caused a few heads to explode in your time! (I think you turned out ok, Nato. I'm still chuckling thinking of your "hands are too big" remark.)

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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adela says on Feb 3, 2005, 21:51:

lpdiver(Tony) Antony..the history about your wife'family is so nice. Thank you. I would like to add that poor families aren't that happy-in the way you could imagine- but smiles, dances and sing the radio songs all the time. That's my people and I love it.

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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adela says on Feb 3, 2005, 21:54:

Desi
I love to talk about my family...you've better wanted me to stop :)

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 4, 2005, 08:32:

Please adela, tell us about your normal day. I won't be stopping you:)
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 4, 2005, 09:19:

We don't want you to stop, Adela.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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lpdiver says on Feb 4, 2005, 09:38:

I cook She washes the dishes...workes for me. She thinks I am a genius because I can follow a recipe. I tried to explain to her that I just follow a recipe. She says that I have the "hand" for cooking.

It's the daughter that is the problem.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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lpdiver says on Feb 4, 2005, 09:40:

Adela You are welcome I will expand on it some time. It is real and not a for example story.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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WidowerfromCanada says on Feb 5, 2005, 11:11:

Bumping this great thread up to the top !!

Jeff



Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 5, 2005, 11:26:

thanx jeff for the bump and your high opinion about this thread.

I'm still waiting more people to jump in and share their normal day in any city, any strata barrio in Colombia. We have heard from Mrs. Gomez and others, but I'm sure there's more to Catalina's story that was discouraged by smart-alec comments from another poster.

I realize that this is not the kind of stuff that many people find interesting, little sex, little violence, little drugs...mostly just pretty boring normalcy, but isn't that what everyday life is often made of?

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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YEP says on Feb 5, 2005, 14:03:

It is interesting because this is what daily life is all about
One thing I miss though is that people would like to add their thougts about what they do (aka Desi style) ;-)


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

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COLDK says on Feb 5, 2005, 14:40:

Normal life out of the city... The day here starts around 3-4 am. She prepares the coffe while he gets ready to go to get the milk (ordeñar) or just for a normal working day in the farm. One of the sons will accompany him. Usually it takes almost 1 hour by walking there. Some time they use the donkey or the old horse.
The son comes back alone to bring the milk and on the way some yuca, platano or ñame. The mother is waiting to prepare the "cafe con leche and suero", the rest of the milk is to prepare the hand made cheese (maybe only one kilo cause not too much milk). They have the breakfast (arroz calentado -rice fron the day before- or yuca, sometimes with eggs, suero or cheese plus cafe con leche). Kids from around 8-10 years already have to help with daily tasks. Boys going to the farm and girls cleaning the house before going to school. Cleaning includes sweeping the front of the house an the big patio. The mother stays at home preparing the lunch and washing some clothes or taking care of nieces if they have.
Lunch usually consists of "sancocho" or "masamorra". Problem is there is no place to buy meat every day. Sometimes one person in the village kill a caw or a pig for selling. They have to tramit the permit with the inspector first. They anounce it sounding a caw horn (cuerno) the day before, so everybody knows that to buy the best cuality they have to be there around 3am.
After school and lunch boys continues helping with firewoods or any other tasks. Girls can help washing clothes or ironing or cooking the dinner, which they start around 3pm so no more that 5pm they are eating (rice, meat or chicken, or eggs and if not so lucky only with suorcream (suero) and maybe some salad, for drink limonade, or any seasonsfruit juice).
It is similar to all the famillies. Some of them have 1 or to caws for the daily milk , some have none, so the men work in other farms to get maybe 10.000 pesos a day and usually not work for every day.
This a smal village around 2 hours from Sincelejo (la costa) and only half of the road with asfalt. 3 or 4 old jeeps drive every day to Sincelejo or Corozal around 5 am, after that no more posibility. They return after noon time. So to go to the doctor or buy clothes or food or what ever has to be at that time. Only small shops for food. No movies, no restaurants, no place for icecream, only one or two places for "billar" so men have more options. Young people meet friends at homes, but usually boys and girls separated. It is not well seen that girls receive male visitors. Most of Boyfriends and girlfriends (novios) meet in secret. Some families have TV, if not they are wellcome at neighbors.
They have public parties for special occasions like holy week, december or in August (St. Roque). I think this is the only time of the year when the priest goes from corozal, so some people plan weddings and babtizes. For those public parties men have to pay, women usually not. The biggest one is 31 of Dec. Almost everybody goes there. 10 mins before midnight they go home to hug the parents and they return to early next day. Usually the day after those parties the big new is that "the daugther of señor XX escaped from the party with the boyfriend... she was only 14 (or 16)". Not so many options for young people. They go to highschool, but after that... only few parents have the money to send them to the "city" (Barranquilla or another one ) for university. But most of them cant. Even when going to public universities, they dont have money to pay the place to stay in (la pensión). So some of them just leave the school and prefer to go to Cartagena or Barranquilla to work as maids or "jardineros". Maybe thats a better option than joining irregulars groups like some others do...
I still remember when I went there with my cousin and her 5 years old daugther. She asked : "Mom why the kitchen is in the patio? or where is the toilet? (no toilets). She could not understand why so many differences from the place they live in Barranquilla(strata 4).

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 5, 2005, 14:55:

a great post! COLDK,
you've just contributed something that I find extremely valuable. This is the Colombia I never got to know. It's so far away from the musty pergaminos of Juliana's family in Cali that it could just as well be in another country.
I have a question:
how do these people in Corozal feel about their life? Are they happy? What would be the one thing they'd most want from life if they were granted that opportunity to get one wish fullfilled?

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 5, 2005, 18:53:

COLDK and suero As I read this post by this person, early on, when she talked about suero (its sour cream like) I guessed correctly that this person is
sincelejana....or from the region for sure!!

While Sincelejo is considered in la costa, it's not really geographically on the coast in the way cartagena and Barranquilla is.
But the people from this immediate region have are peculiar (ok curious) in in that they love sour cream with all their meals,EVERY
DAY. It is so strange because, no other part of Colombia has this love for sour cream with their meals like people from Sincelejo or Zagun....another near by pueblito.

It's NOT a costal thing. You will not find other costenos (still no enya), or calenos, or paisas, or rolos, or the people from the llanos, that have this obsession with sour cream with their meals.

It truly is one of Colombia's not so well known geographical distinctions.

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kernow62 says on Feb 5, 2005, 19:48:

I thought suero is the whey of the queso when it goes sour?

At least this is what my wife recalls he grandmother from Ubaté making and called suero.

Perhaps my wife is mistaken.

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kernow62 says on Feb 5, 2005, 19:59:

http://www.alimentosargentino

http://www.alimentosargentinos.gov.ar/0-3/lacteos/14_Diccio/engli01.htm

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Cerealkiller says on Feb 5, 2005, 20:40:

Ms X Normal day for Ms X starts at 9.am. She wakes up, takes a cold shower because her sister has used up all the hot water. She has the feeling it is going to be a horrid day. Her mom and dad are not talking again. They have had problems ever since she can remember. He's been having an affaire and her mom is too sick to care. Not to mention the word divorce is almost a taboo, they have an image to take care of, so they bear with all that.
Ms X, thinks about what she is going to eat as she puts on her Diesel jeans, her favourite ones. That Tommy tshirt she bought in Miami, the Nine West shoes her sister gave her on her b-day...Maybe no breakfast is the right thing to do. Afterall, she is a little bit overweight, her BMI went from a fashionably 17 to an all time high of 18.5, and she knows that happened ever since she hooked up with her BF...
She asks her dad for money, takes her books, looks for the car keys and bribes the maid so that she tells her parents she had a huge brakfast. After driving all the way from Rosales -in Bogota- to el centro, she realizes she forgot her camera...she knew it was going to be a bad day.
Her Bf calls her on the phone while shes having lunch with her best friend, a strange European girl who is crazy about frijoles and grew up with her. She wonders how the heck is it that she prefers frijoles when you can always eat something nicer at the Cafe Renault?
Her Bf calls to tell her he is not coming over to see her tonight, they havent seen each other in a week and she feels he is growing distant. She reminds him he still has her sunglasses and her ipod, he says he will ask the driver to take both things to her place asap.
She thinks most people at uni are either boring or just plain stupid...thats why she sticks to her old friends.
She goes to class and finds out she didnt bring her design project because she has been skipping a lot, she didnt know there was a design project in the first place!
She is frustrated, blames everyone else...the Bf, the best friend, her parents etc etc.
"Oh well, what the hell" she thinks, it is a friday afternoon, there is nothing to do, she bumps into some guys she knows, they go a bar in Germania, just around the corner from Uni. They get pissed on cheap aguila and aguardiente, she ends up making out with 1 of the guys, has to leave her car in the parking lot and get a taxi home because its 7 pm already and she has been there drinking since 3.
She makes it home, asks the doorman to lend her 7000 pesos because she is skint, promises shell pay back in the morning, calls the maid on the citofono and asks her to distract her mom while she makes a silent entrance to the room.
She thinks of her life, cries a little and then falls asleep.

That is one day in the life of the only one person i can say I truly know. Hope she doesnt mind i made it public.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 02:54:

Me and my husband love suero too, the downside is that is so fattening, it made you a suero belly. hugeeeeeeeeeeeeee :-). but try this with coconut rice and is yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 03:08:

another excellent post cornflakemurderer, thanx!
The real, true story of life in Colombia is slowly unfolding. I'm learning new things about Colombia too.

I still don't know what suero is. I know the English word for it by now, but exactly what is it? Is it the byproduct when the fat is separated from the whole milk to make butter? Is it the first, watery milk coming out of the cow after a calf is born? What is it?

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 03:23:

Suero is taste like sour cream. Is full fat milk no pasteurised that means it has natural bacteria live in it. Dangerous to transport by air You have to put it in an airtight container otherwise you will come home with a very messy suitcase or if you shake it a lot and open it you will end up like a snowman. Suero is a bit thick and fermented and quite salty. No many people like the taste but I love it try this with yuca too yummmmmy. ummmmm I'm hungry now

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 03:36:

one more question, kat ok, so it's nothing I thought it would be. It's unpasteurized whole milk that's fermented. Does it get a layer of yellow cream on the top when fermented? Do you add anything in the process of fermenting? Salt?

We eat quite of lot fermented dairy products in Scandinavia and Finland and I'm trying to figure out if it resembles something that we often eat for breakfast.
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 04:00:

Suero Costeño


Ingredientes


3 Litros de Leche pura (Sin pasteurizar)
2 Cucharadas de Sal.


Preparacion


Colocamos la leche en un recipiente plastico de boca amplia, y la dejamos reposar por 24 horas.


A las 12 horas de estar en reposo se menea la leche y la volvemos a dejar en reposo.


Despues de las 24 horas la leche tiene arriba una masa blanca y al fondo un agua amarilla-verdosa (espiche), con un caldero separamos el espiche.


Cuando hemos terminado sacamos el espiche, llevamos los solidos de la leche a la licuadora, alli le agregamos la sal, y continuamos licuando hasta que no tenga grumos.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 04:12:

Check this website it has all the typical food of Colombia, their recipes, and the best restaurant to try it.
http://sinic.mincultura.gov.co/colCult/2nivel/Gastronomia.asp

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 04:26:

thank you kat Yes, I understand the procedure for the preparation of suero now. It's similar to some fermented milk products we prepare here, but with salt added and then it's mixed. We use the same method out in the countryside for fermenting milk, but it's eaten without stirring it, with sugar or sweet berries on the top for breakfast.
Thanks for the link too, I've added it to my recipe links in my favorites.
Have a lovely Sunday, kat.
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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kernow62 says on Feb 6, 2005, 05:01:

Off topic unpasteurized milk. Thanks for the info Kat, very interesting. I have saved the link.

I have been trying to find unpasteurized milk in the US but it is almost impossible. Does the milk for suero need to be any particular butterfat content?I did manage to find some unpasteurized milk at a natural food shop once but the buterfat content was extremely low.

I wanted to make the thing I most miss from my home, Cornish cream.

Cornish clotted cream is heat-treated high butterfat cows' milk cream. Milk is warmed to separate the cream. The cream must have a minimum butterfat content of 55%! The cream is then scalded to 70 to 80º C, but not allowed to boil, for a minimum of one hour during which time a thick crust forms. The product is then cooled to a maximum temperature of 5º C during which time the crust hardens and the underside cream thickens.

A high level of carotene is also found in the grass in Cornwall which contributes to the distinctive colour of Cornish clotted cream.

How to make the real thing
You need full cream milk, fresh from the cow. Pour it into a shallow pan, and leave it to stand for about 12 hours for the cream to rise to the surface. Now heat the milk very slowly in a large heavy shallow pan, until the surface begins to wrinkle: on no account allow the milk to boil- the more slowly the heating is done, the better the result. About one hours gentle heating is what is required. An AGA is great for this and just leaving the pan beside the burner will do the job.Transfer the pan to a cool place and leave overnight. In the morning the clotted cream can be spooned off the surface. (if you cannot get creamy enough milk, you can experiment by adding extra runny cream to the milk to beef up its cream content)

Talk about calories!

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 06:50:

Kernow
I go to cornwall quite a lot, I stay in a friends house in st Austell near truro, very pretty town. I like Cornwall a lot and I love cornish cream I know is very fattening but what the heck you live once. Cornish cream with strawberry yumm yumm

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 6, 2005, 07:20:

suero, suero -- what it is, it is but I don't know anyone who makes it here in the states. All my costeno friends here, just substitute it by purchasing sour cream. Like I said earlier, this is an item that only a small part of the coast seems to eat about every day.

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COLDK says on Feb 6, 2005, 08:22:

Desi: That small pueblito is around 1 1/2 hour form Corozal, which is the second "municipio" of Sucre Department. Sincelejo is the Capital. I can say that they are happy and very nice people. When relatives or friends go from other towns or city to visit they want to offer the best they have, like taking the best hen/chiken they have in the patio and prepare a good sancocho. But poblem is they dont have work opportunities, so what they'd most want is to have work opportunities and study for childrens so they can have a different life. Young people have satarted to realize that there is a different "world" out of there, so maybe thats why they go to big cities to work and study if possible. Also because they need to send money to old parents...


GOMEZMAN5. Yes I am a "sucreña" , born in Corozal, lived in the "pueblito" (5-8years old),then Sincelejo, Caracas, Barranquilla and now Europe.
"While Sincelejo is considered in la costa, it's not really geographically on the coast in the way cartagena and Barranquilla is." But only 40 mins from Tolú/Coveñas and from here to San Bernardo Islands...
"But the people from this immediate region have are peculiar (ok curious) in in that they love sour cream with all their meals,EVERY
DAY. It is so strange because, no other part of Colombia has this love for sour cream with their meals like people from Sincelejo or Zagun....another near by pueblito." Yes, all Sabaneros (Sucre-Cordoba) LOVE SUERO...

Kat1. Good one about suero explanations and recipe. One on my aunts in sincelejo use pasteurised milk (leche en bolsa) to prepare it, similar process. My grandma says it is not original suero, but still good i think...

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 09:13:

COLDK yes, I re-read your post and don't know why I called your town Corozal, maybe just because you gave your town no name and Corozal was mentioned a couple of times. My mistake, sorry. Anyway, this same type of mentality with utmost hospitality towards visitors I've met among most of the humble folks in Colombia. It's almost like the less you posess yourself more willing you are to share the little you have with others. I am totally impressed by this trait.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 6, 2005, 09:16:

COLDK I know, here in Chicago, I know a few girls from that region, and both are very good friends. When I go to their house or when we eat in the retaurant, they always have to have sour crema with their food.
Suero is not sold in the stores, here. The Mexicans have a crema but it's not the same. Sour Cream is close enough...and it available here everywhere, in all sizes and its cheap. It's not very time efficient to make suero. Too much work and time.

Anyway, you are in Europe....a long way from home no? Are you in the UK?

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COLDK says on Feb 6, 2005, 09:53:

Gomezman5 Yes, very long way. I could write a book about it...

I moved to Denmark 3 months ago.

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 6, 2005, 10:05:

Denmark??? Wow.....not many Colombians there. Why Denmark?

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oldbongo says on Feb 6, 2005, 11:46:

because in denmark... you can see the original little mermaid...
the other two are known to few...
one in isla pirata...the other, here.

and the oldgingos' commandante, a true costena,
swears that our sour cream, plus bastante salt, is better than
that at home in san jacinto.

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COLDK says on Feb 6, 2005, 12:07:

Gomezman5 "Wow.....not many Colombians there. Why Denmark?" amor dulce amor... In fact I have met here more colombianas married with Danes (at the least 10). More than I expected...

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ARMacleod says on Feb 6, 2005, 13:18:

Colombia is not so poor Poor yes, but there are many places considerably worse off, Moldavia for example, 25% of the male inhabitants of one village there sold one of their kidneys to rich people to feed their family. Now that is what I call poor.

Look at Somalia, and some African Countries, they are POOR. And one recent report shows the inhabitants reverting to cannibalism to stay alive, That is POOR.

By comparison, Colombia is rich, but the wealth is very unevenly spread around.

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2005, 13:52:

COLDK
My dad is from zagun as you spell it but in his cedula they spelt it sahagun I think this is the correct spelling.

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COLDK says on Feb 6, 2005, 14:04:

Sahagún Kat1. That is correct. It was my spelling error. (I used to get bad grades in Geografía cause of bad spelling of place names...)

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swedish_girl says on Feb 6, 2005, 16:17:

the average day for the average colombian family (where i stayed)

the sons wake up around 7 am, one ready to go to school, the other one ready to go to her univeristy

mom has the breakfast ready, delicious arepas, with manquetille or however u spell it
chocolate yummy
a bit of cheese, bonuelos

the oldest daughter is a single mom ,so the baby is asleep

dad is working

they have breakfast, mom cleans the house, and she takes care of the baby while her daughter is at school

mom and baby watch the soap opera, then mom talks to her neighbor (friendly conversation with the housewife next door)

then around noon, every one is back from school, lunch is ready, they all have lunch (sancocho yummy), while watching the news.

the the daughter gets dressed, and goes out with the baby and the baby's daddy

mom gets dressed and go visit her mom (families are close in colombia)

and teenage son goes play football with his pals

then around 4 pm dad comes home, the dinner is ready, but not served yet

they all talked about their days, if it's a weekday every one stays home, watches tv, or goes for a walk (they dont own a car, that is why they are thin and nice looking).
then come home before dinner, and if it's the weekend, the children and even mom and dad, get all dressed, and go party like there is no tomorrow!!!

drink a bit of aguardiente, with their friends, dance a bit of salsa, or whatever music, stay up until 4 am, talking to their friends and family, and go to sleep, to get up on sunday ready to go to church

colombians live very easy, is a relaxed lifestyle, which is actually good.

no rush, no money obssesion, kinda like ameirca was back in the 50's.

people just live day by day, which is what made me like colombia so much.

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swedish_girl says on Feb 6, 2005, 16:23:

i agree with the guy that claims colombia is not so poor

yeah it might look poor if u look at it from the materialistic way, where every one owns a car, and every one has their own laptop, and a giant tv etc.

but i have been to africa, and colombia is relatively rich compared to africa

yeah in colombia people dont have as much material possesions, but material stuff is not necessARY TO BE HAPPY

colombians are a lot happier than swedish people, we have a high suicide rate, while colombia's suicidal rate is ridiculously low

and swedish are way richer than colombians

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 7, 2005, 09:10:

swedish_girl, where did you stay in Colombia? A couple of additional questions: is this an upper-class/middle-class family? What does the father do for a living? With two children studying (one of them a single mother), wife a homemaker I would think the father/husband of the family would be the sole breadwinner for them.

Good post,
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 7, 2005, 09:39:

Most of the posts on this thread are from fantasyland. Like the Colombian version of "The Donna Reed Show". Here's some reality:

She gets up at 5 am to get ready for work. Has a shower, grabs something to eat, gets dressed and her make-up done, then heads out the door to catch the bus. Rides two crowded slow dirty buses to get to work. Work starts at 7 am and goes all day until 7 pm - a day filled with broken equipment, sexual harassment from her boss, and trying to get the day's production quota done in spite of all obstacles. At 7 she leaves the factory and spends another hour on the same two dirty crowded busses she came to work on in the morning. At home by 8, she cooks something light and then watches television for an hour. Before going to bed, she calls her kids who live with her mother in a different city and talks with them briefly. She goes to bed because she has to get up early the next day and start the whole process all over again.

This is real life for millions of Colombians, a very hard life.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 7, 2005, 09:50:

Utopia

What happend to your pic why you took it out. I liked your smily face :p

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 7, 2005, 10:37:

cowboy, since I have never seen "The Donna Reed Show" that reference is totally lost on me. If you meant that these stories are unreal or trivial, I beg to disagree. Every story here is a chapter of everyday life in Colombia and and such, both interesting and valuable from my point of view. Since I have little taste for unnecessary dramatics I find my clues for widening my own Colombian experience (hoping it would work that way for other readers too) from the normal, everyday activities of average, normal families, in all areas, rich and poor, country and city, north and south, east and west.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Miguel says on Feb 7, 2005, 10:49:

Nice Thread Yet nobody mentioned that daily task of sweeping and mopping everything in the house as well as the front porch and sidewalk. When I get the time, I will relate my experiences with my girlfriend in her house of 10 people ranging in ages of 5 to 85.

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 7, 2005, 11:26:

I do not think the stories reflect everyday life in Colombia. They reflect a very narrow spectrum of life in Colombia - the Disneyland view that almost everyone on this site seems to have. Here is another real life story:

She gets up at 4 am because she has to travel 2 hours to get to work. She only works two days a week because unskilled labor like hers is easy to come by in Colombia. In fact she is lucky to even have this work since her husband died and she was partially blinded in an accident. After travelling for two hours, she arrives just before her employer leaves for work at the textile plant. She spends the day washing the floors of the apartment by hand and washing the laundry by hand with a scrub brush and hanging it out to dry in the patio of the apartment. At noon she takes a break and fixes herself lunch. The same routine continues all afternoon until evening when her employer comes home. After getting her pay for the day, she travels two hours by bus to reach her poor barrio. Finally at close to 10, she is home. She is glad to be able to rest at home after a hard day but she hopes that the woman she works for will succeed in finding other people in her neighborhood to clean for.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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nanis says on Feb 7, 2005, 12:15:

Cali December 18 years ago It’s a Friday

I wake up to the sound of the alarm at 5 am get myself ready for school no one is home apart from my 17 year old cousin and me, my father is in Buenaventura he has been working for a week without coming home, my mother was in London she had left 2 weeks ago and my other cousins were out partying all night as usual.

It’s 5:45 am and I go out to buy some buñuelos and pandebonos for breakfast while my cousin gets ready it’s still dark and the lady in the corner of our street has been selling white coffee with arepas for an hour now, I’m still sleepy because I couldn’t sleep the heat was unbearable and the mosquitos were driving me crazy!. I come home to have breakfast with my cousin, it’s 6 already and it will take us exactly 1 hour to get to school so we drink the coffee as fast as we can and put 2 pandebonos each in our backpack we will need all the strength we can get because today we have no money for lunch just 100 pesos each for our bus journey to school and back.

We get the Gran Bretaña bus from our neighbourhood “el Retiro” to “el trebol” near la base in Cali, it’s 6:15 and the bus is loaded, packed full of people going to work, we managed to get seats but the bus is so full that there are even people hanging from its doors, the radio is on Olympica Estereo FM, the music is loud and the driver drives wild through the streets of Cali, the people are cursing at the driver for not stopping or for driving too fast saying things like “porque no paras me vas a llevar pa donde tu puta madre o que???” (Why didn’t you stop? you taking me to your fucking mama’s house or what??) the child in front of me is feeling sick and sticks his head out of the window to vomit, the lady standing beside me is being harassed by the guy next to her, he’s aroused and touched her butt claiming that it was the driver’s fault for stopping too fast and he had nothing to hold on to, she responds with a big slap on his face calling him pervert in front of everybody.

It’s 7 am we’re getting off the bus but as usual the driver stops way too far, we are already late for school we need to walk to school and it takes us about 15 minutes or so. We have a science test but didn’t have the books to study our friend lend us her book before the lesson and we managed to write the answers to the test in our legs, when the nest lesson started our teacher gave us some paper to write the answers as soon as the test started we begun to pull our skirts up to read the answers that we had written on our legs we passed the test with flying colors but we were more disgusted than proud, “it’s not our fault” I told my cousin “we didn’t have the book that’s all” but we were determined to pass the year because my father was working damn hard to pay for our education, at lunchtime all we do is seat down and wait for our glass of free “bienestarina” we have no money to buy lunch and our friends are stuffing their faces with empanadas and papas rellenas in front of us, the school bell rings and we are out of that place.

Me and my cousin go to “La 14” to ‘buy’ some stuff well not really we have no money but my cousin pursues me to steal a pack of sanitary towels because if was her time of the month and she had no money to buy them but we were caught and luckily enough were sent home I think he felt sorry for us rather than angry.

We go to our grandmother’s house to have lunch there was a pot of frijoles on the stove I was surprised to see such a beautiful pot in my grandmother’s kitchen but then found out that one of my cousins had stolen the pot full of hot frijoles from a neighbour’s house he also stole a little pig, we were really curios to know how he managed to steal a pig from a second floor without the pig making any noise he said that he got naked and apparently the pigs go quiet when they see a naked person who knows if it’s true? Anyway we had lunch it was very nice and my grandmother washed the pot and told my cousin to return it along with the pig. We watched TV for a few of hours and headed straight home. Back then this was our everyday routine

We got home at 5pm got changed and went out again, our friend who lives next door lets us ride her bike for a couple of hours and we all go together to the nearest car park to meet the boys, we go to my boyfriends’ house to taste the “chicha” (alcoholic drink with pineapple) his mum made, hi mum wasn’t at home for the weekend so he decided to have a “miniteca” the boys are bringing whisky to drink with coca cola but none of our parents know they’ll freak out if they found out.

It’s almost 8pm and we go back home to get ready for our big night out and find my father sleeping on the sofa, he’d just arrived from Buenaventura (he worked for various companies as a truck driver) he brought 2 bottles of apple wine (Cinzano) and a few boxes of sweets that he was given by his bosses in colombina. We took the bottles and sweets to our party without him knowing……….

To be Continued

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 8, 2005, 09:52:

bump I want to read the rest of Mrs. Gomez "to be continued" story.

Cowboy, I still disagree. Everybody's story (as long as it's real, not made up) reflects the reality in Colombia and deserves to be told.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 8, 2005, 10:37:

yes tinto, I saw it there, makes me proud:)

About books in public schools: I don't know about that much about how many books are provided to students in public schools. My experience is from private schools where you're handed a mile-long list of stuff you have to bring with you when you start including all the books, writing material, crayons, water colors, clay, school uniforms...the list goes on and on. Some schools require you to bring a desk you'll be sitting at.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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nanis says on Feb 8, 2005, 10:52:

Tinto and Desi I went to public school because I come from a poor family and back then there wasn't enough money to eat let alone buy books!

I don’t know about now but back then people had to buy everything for school starting from the uniform, pencils, books, etc… nothing was free

In the UK the government will also provide all books for free... but that wasn’t the case in Colombia we were lucky to have pencils and papers to write on and our uniform was given to us by some friends of our family whose daughters had graduated from school the uniforms were 2 sizes too big as were the shoes so we had to put some toilet paper or cotton wool inside so that we could wear them.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Feb 8, 2005, 11:13:

a couple of years back I went to pay a visit to a public school the local chapter of Lions is sponsoring in a poor barrio in the outskirts of Cali. It was rather apalling, I'd have to say. I wanted to see the kindergarten area and was shown a room with fifty desks in a bad shape crowded in that room, kids all over the place, you could only move in the room walking sideways. The teacher was a very old, very small and very wrinkled old lady couped in one corner of the room.

The Lions were providing some funds for them to build a new pre-school section and they were just getting started. I found myself wishing I had taken my whiny workmates from my Swedish school with me to make them stop with their eternal whining about having too many kids in our group...we had 18 kids with three full-time pre-school teachers working at that time.

This is definitely an area where a lot of improvement could be made. Any volunteers?

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 8, 2005, 11:53:

I am not sure that all of the stories are true. Mine are pretty obvious, a normal day in the life of my wife and her cleaning woman.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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nanis says on Feb 8, 2005, 11:58:

December 18 years ago: lower class family in Cali.... PART 2 After we left our house we headed straight to my boyfriend’s place there was a lot of kids there all dressed up ready for the “miniteca” my cousin was a bit apprehensive about the she looks we live in el retiro and my boyfriend’s place is in el vallado the neighbourhood next to ours, el vallado is much better the roads are paved and the houses painted not like our neighbourhood who has no public transport, the roads are not paved the houses hardly got bricks on them most of the houses were built using guadua (palm tree) and newspapers so she’s right to feel insecure about the way she looks most of the kids in the “miniteca” have nice brand new clothes, it’s a tradition in Colombia that kids wear new clothes on especial dates in December, dates like today 7th December were we celebrate “el dia de la virgen” lighting candles in the name of Virgin Mary.

My cousin and I did not have new clothes like the other kids and felt a bit left out but we understood that our parents weren’t in a position to spend money buying clothes so we held our heads up high and went inside.

My friends are all there, they are drinking cheap whiskey they got from who knows where. But we were really popular because we managed to bring cinzano!! To us only rich people drink “cinzano” we started dancing the “sopa de caracol” song it was really popular back then, I managed to drink quite a lot so my cousin dragged me out she too was a little tipsy but more conscious than I was she knew that we were in deep trouble so once we got home we opened the door without making any noise and starting crawling and headed to our bed which was on the corridor (we lived in a one bedroom house with 7 other people) everything was dark and I couldn’t see a thing, I bumped my knee real bad and lost control hit my head