Are Colombians friendlier?

INTRODUCTION:
It is not rare for one to read posts in this forum extolling the friendliness of Colombians. But are we, really, friendlier than anyone else? This is a complicated question, and one that can hardly be properly addressed without appropriate controls. There lies the problem, because properly controlled social studies are notoriously hard to conduct. However, I recently had an opportunity to test the hypothesis that we are really friendlier. Let me start with what usually is the end of most studies: more research is needed. Therefore, I offer this story only as a datum, hopefully to be combined with many more by other members of PBH.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: I recently had to travel to Chicago from the Midwest town where I live, to conduct two pieces of business in the windy city: The first one was to visit the Spanish consulate to request a visa for Spain. The second was to visit, the same day, the Colombian consulate to obtain a new passport. Although the nature of the two businesses was slightly different, this offered an exceptionally good opportunity to compare the behavior of different groups of people on a very similar environment. Every effort was made to observe the situation dispassionately, and not to interfere with events taking place. Some might think this is impossible for a Colombian. I disagree with this notion, and simply think that the uncertainty principle applies to us as much as to anyone else, although the uncertainty with Colombians might be a bit larger…

I observed the situation through a standard pair of reading glasses (2+), without any hint of a rosy tint.

RESULTS:
I arrived at the Spanish consulate at 8:45 a.m., before it had opened for business. A few gringos (Homo americanus) were waiting ahead of me. At 9 a.m. a remarkably sexy young woman opened the front door and let us into the waiting area. My blood pressure increased rapidly, but this is probably not a significant source of error. I signed in, and I waited. I waited some more. Nobody paid the slightest attention to me, but the gringos (mostly students getting visas for a fall term in Spain, some with a parent, were gradually processed). Nobody exchanged a word.

At 10:00 a.m. the Spanish consul arrived, wearing dark glasses, and looking hung-over. He waved bossily at the sexy girl, now sitting behind the security glass window, and she buzzed him in. He did not utter a word. After an hour of silence, I came to the sexy girl, and told her that unfortunately I did not have the whole day. She accepted my documents, and told me they would call me when the visa arrived. I looked around, but all the Spaniards were purposefully looking in a different direction. I left.

I walked briskly up Michigan Ave. to the Colombian Consulate. The security door separating the sitting area from the consular offices was wide open, and the consul was standing there, sleeves rolled up, chatting with several compatriots. He was shaking hands left and right, while a number of Colombians who seemed to know each other (despite not belonging to the same family) discussed personal matters in loud and intimate detail. I learned that “Leidy�?, the daughter of the woman sitting next to me, was having a hard time selling her house. She needed advise which I could not give. The counterpart to the sexy Argentinean girl was a negro del Cauca who can be described in only one word (this biases the results section slightly): Friendly. He gave ME advise, and started to process my new passport instantly. At the same time he dispensed advise to Leidy’s mother, to a few other people, and to the paisa couple who sat next to me and who immediately asked me whether I knew any good Colombian restaurants in Chicago. They told me they missed arepas, empanadas, chuzos, guaro, etc. They were friendly.

Everyone borrowed the key to go to the bathroom. The Cauca guy gave my new passport, as the party was starting to warm. I hated to leave, knowing than in a few minutes someone would pull some tamales out of their back pack, but the road was long. I bet the consul had some guaro in his office. I left.

DISCUSSION. Colombians may not be friendlier, but you will be less bored around them.
I am suddendly interested in Argentina.

Any comments about similar (or different) experiences are welcome here.

By jaramillo on Nov 8, 2005, 13:40 in Friendly Talkzone.

Colombiche says on Nov 8, 2005, 13:56:

I was at the Colombian consulate in Toronto .. a couple of months ago getting my Colombian passport. While waiting for the passport I sat beside this really funny older gentleman from Barranquilla who couldn't even wait until I sat to ask me "de donde eres?" in a deep corroncho accent (he looked like a blond version of Gabo). When I said "Manizales" he got all excited and told me his wife was from Pereira (she was talking on her cellphone, but waved in acknowledgement).

There was this really funny crazy paisa girl who kept cracking dirty jokes out loud. This guy walked in with a dog, the consul came out to pet the dog. The dog owner started flirting with all the girls in the room and telling us that the Carlos Vives concert was next week (trying to score a date for the concert that paisa hijuemadre ja ja).

The only thing missing was the Guaro.

On the other hand...I went to Spain a couple of years ago. One of my dreams was to go there, I had such a romantic image of what Spaniards were supposed to be like. The country is lovely, the atmosphere is upbeat but I was very disappointed because I found the people GENERALLY curt, not helpful at all. I am a very friendly girl but I had a few incidents with waiters and store clerks. I also met some really friendly Spaniards, but on average I found them rather curt. I was also surprised that the women are not very well groomed. The guys were hot, but the women were on the heavy side, square-bodied I would say. The food was very so-so. My Spanish dream came crashing down.

Anyway, the atmosphere in Colombia is much more friendly from my experience. Mexico was very friendly too, I found Mexicans very corteous, very polite. I was so enamoured with Mexico that I kissed the ground goodbye on my way to the airplane. Nevermind Colombia, I had to be dragged to the plane, I didn't want to leave my country.

I am not surprised that you had such a crappy experience at the Spanish consulate.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

toneloc24 says on Nov 8, 2005, 14:02:

Funny thesis ...hypothesis...thesis...or whatever you want to call it.

My only main questions, friendlier than whom? Europeans? North Americans? Argentinians (sp)?

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

Colombiche says on Nov 8, 2005, 14:05:

I think he is trying to say That colombians are friendlier than Spaniards. I am going to have to agree, and it isn't because I am Colombian, I am actually being objective here, or trying anyway :)

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

utopiacowboy says on Nov 8, 2005, 14:17:

Very amusing posts.

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.

Colombiche says on Nov 8, 2005, 14:19:

Amusing? Who? .....

I am working late at the office (like always), while my boss "El Hijo de Tuta" has gone home.

Nothing amuses me right now.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

adrimm says on Nov 8, 2005, 16:02:

For sure the Spanish are more reserved across the board in situations where they don't know you (if they know well, that is different). I was expecting them to be a little more lively myself, but it didn't bother me one way or another. Although there are reserved Colombians, in general I think that the higher numbers of less-reserved Colombians makes them considerably less reserved across the board than the Spanish.

I found that people in Southern Italy were very eager to open conversations and chat similarly to what many Colombians seem to do. Personally I'm always amazed at how lively Colombians can be (yeah.. guess that makes me a little reserved).

What did bother me in Spain were a few instances where I was shrugged off when people discovered I had Colombian heritage.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Nov 11, 2005, 09:42:

I haven't met any excessive friendliness on my visits to Colombian consulates in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale or Stockholm.

I have been met with courtesy, yes, a businesslike attitude and some curiosity, but chummy reception, no, that I've never had.

The friendliest crowd of travellers, however, I met on an Avianca flight from Madrid to Bogotá, long time ago. There were Colombian cyclists returning from competitions in Europe, everybody was singing, drinking, telling jokes, flirting and laughing.

I've found Spaniards a bit reserved too, at the beginning, but very good friends when you get to know them better.

Cheers,
Desi

Embrace your uniqueness. Time is much too short to be living someone
else's life.

-Kobi Yamada

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

thur says on Nov 12, 2005, 03:12:

Commenting on the original post. With regard to the experiment in the original post I'll have to comment on the "seriousness". I think it has something to do with the kind of transactions people have to make. For Spain there would be much more people asking for visas (I suspect you had a Colombian passport) and with that comes a lot of false information, false stories of applicants just to get into Spain. If you hear that every day and your work is to distinguish genuine applications from those which could be used to reside illegally in the country you're representing. Result? You tend to be more serious and perhaps even bitter.
I've heard the same from family while getting a Schengen visa at the Dutch Embassy in Bogotá to visit us. The people there (they tell me) are rude, serious and certainly not friendly at all. It seems as if they hate actually dealing with people and are bothered if someone tries to ask them anything. You're in, get what you want and get out as quick as you can. One could say, that's the cold and rude nature of us Dutch (*grin*), but I guess it can also be contributed to the kind of work they have in giving out visas and the problems that come with it.
On the Colombian side there's another atmosphere. Not people trying to get into Colombia and stay illegally, but more people who either are Colombian or just really want to go there. Generally no big demand for visas which could be misused or false stories, but overall more upbeat.
Oh, how nice it is to generalise! ;-)
Greetings,

- www.pbase.com/thur

Cerealkiller says on Nov 13, 2005, 10:45:

I dont know, id hate to be the party p...er, as much as I agree with most Colombians are generally very nice. However, staff at the DAS and most Banks here are absolutely undesirable. I am sure it has to do with all the jerks they have to deal with day to day, but still... compared to banks abroad, bank staff here are truly unbearable.

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

pepster says on Nov 13, 2005, 11:13:

It's not just in Colombia CK, back to our Stereotype discussion...

I say that Colombia doesn't have the lock on Public offices and Bank worker attitudes. It's alive and well in America.

I find most Colombians somewhat friendly, but if they're in a position of any power, like at the airport or the bank or government office, you're in their control. They pretty much give you the go fuck yourself with a smile look.

That has been my experience most of the time. But then again...nothing a US Fifsky can't fix.

The Pepster

ColombianBlog.com

The Pepster ColombianBlog.com

Cerealkiller says on Nov 13, 2005, 11:30:

Pepster I think youre probably right. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and thats true in Colombia just as is it in Africa...I am just talking about my personal experience. I have NEVER in my life -I am being dramatic, I really am not that old- felt more ill treated than when i arrive at El Dorado...or leave El Dorado for that matter and I swear I dont look like a terrorist. I travelled to the states shortly after 9-11 and yeah it was a pain, the queueing, the constant check ups...but here what I got from the DAS upon arrival was outrageous, I had to go to some office and prove it was my signature and my fingerprint on my passport, what am I doing here, why is my family living here...I don't know why, then I got my suitcases checked as if i was I dont know...smuggling cocaine INTO colombia *rolls eyes* hahaha, and then at the bank, nobody knows anything...I went to a bank to cash a check and the guy at the teller said he couldnt because the signature didnt look like the registered one...I demanded to talk to the manager and he confirmed the check had been signed and all that and went back to the teller and he refused eventhough the manager had signed the authorizartion and then said he was sorry and it was his lunch time and just LEFT!!!!
I have never experienced anything simillar anywhere else...people at airports have always been fairly cordial and bank staff often understand basic concepts of customer service...
Can you tell i am bias? hahaha

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

pepster says on Nov 13, 2005, 11:45:

Cerealkill welcome to Latin America It's truly a shame...you would think third world nations or those on the slide...would kiss the ass of foreigners and tourists. I mean bend over backwards. Word of mouth is POWERFUL in the customer service world. You have a great experience you tell 2 people, you have a bad one you tell ten!

In the Dominican Republic customs was getting so bad and corrupt they tried a Public Relations campaign to guarantee no graft or extortion at the airport. Ok..last time I had to get through, it cost me ten bucks so the idiot customs agent wouldn't ransack my luggage just to find my digital camera and CD player. Two items they insist on charging an import tax. What do these countries think of when they allow such stupidity to be committed at the entrance point of their nation?

What do these stupid banks think of when people come to their insitituion to give them money or transact it on their behalf? This is why the third world remains there.

And regretfull, when they emigrate...they bring their bad habits with them sometimes.

The Pepster

ColombianBlog.com

The Pepster ColombianBlog.com

Rubiazo says on Nov 13, 2005, 19:45:

If you think thats bad you should see how they treat the Dominicans :P OR for that matter, try entering the USA without being a citizen!!!

Cerealkiller says on Nov 14, 2005, 02:28:

I was welcome here when I was 4, so I am kind of colombian raised...I think I know how things work here but still, sometimes it just becomes frustrating. I didnt know thst about Dominicans, wow..thats really totally new to me...Couldnt it be they do what they do at their airport because theyre aware of what their citizens are put through in the states? Just a silly thought I guess...
On the other hand, I am not a US citizen and i have always been treated very very nicely at airports...no problems whatsoever, not even in NYC (and in spite of their attitude, no offense).

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