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Colombia right here in America.... Forget Travelling Down there....

why go all the way to colombia when you can thave the ultimate colombian experience right here in america?

cities like orlando, miami, and yes, even queens new york (jackson heights). greater miami is home to quarter million colombians. you can already smell those arepas cooking.

let's face it. not everybody has the money to just pack up and fly to colombia.

forget the visa applications, the passports, the entry-exit fees, and all those little "inconvencies" like ransom notes, car and disco bombings, kidnappings, shallow-toilets, ATM's only giving out *40,000* pesos a day, heaven forbid.

experience colombia right here in america. venture into your little bogota, little cali and have a blast...

not only that, the colombians in america are whiter and "work-oriented", a major plus and incentive for the gringo/gringa trying to steer clear of the "darker" elements of colombian culture and society. you can enjoy the open air markets and panaderias without the prying eyes of certain "dark-minded" and "anti-work" locals.

while you're at it, you can close that that mail-order desparate women and whore pages, forget the drama of K-9 visas (or was it K-1?) and discovering your soon-to-be-wife is a seasoned street worker, when you can hit up an all colombian club right here... all the hotties you can imagine right in your backyard, miami, orlando... new york/new jersey, all premier spots. but please, suck in that mcdonald's gut, and do a little re-adjusting to the tupee, and do the cumbia, you'll do just fine with your little colombian mami.

a bit of advice, as with most latin immigrant women, most colombian women, once in america, will strongly prefer colombian and other latin men, but on the positive note, they'll never give the time of day to a black or an indian, so you're still have a very good chance, even with the beer gut and bald patch, coke bottles on your face, and the duck walk,

just as it is in colombia, just let your bank account withdrawals do all the talking.

in the end, you just can't go wrong...

for the ultimate, colombian experience outside colombia, for food, culture, or for women,

you can't go wrong with america....

MILTJ

By miltj256 on Oct 6, 2004, 15:05 in Friendly Talkzone.

kamilo says on Oct 6, 2004, 15:11:

i think Colombians in northamerica are very different from the ones livin in Colombia. they are more kind.more colombian.

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miltj256 says on Oct 6, 2004, 15:16:

ummm no... the only changed is where they live... even colombian born and raised in u.s.a. fiercely claim their heritage. and the fact is clear you will not find in america the colombians closer to the color of a kettle-pot or a tree in america, like you would in colombia. other than that they're still colombian.

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miltj256 says on Oct 6, 2004, 15:19:

... and really the issue is that back in colombia they will bend-over and worship your north-american/european presence, while here they just merely enjoy your presence but don't go out of their way to welcome you into their neighborhood.

my point is that none of this should stop you from enjoying colombia without spending money the way a "john" or a "trick" would.... ;)

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utopiacowboy says on Oct 6, 2004, 16:30:

My wife had a large selection of Colombian men available to her back in Colombia. Had no interest in them then and has no interest in them now.

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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litost says on Oct 6, 2004, 18:57:

miltj256, are you serious with this??? Well, even if you're not I'll give my 2 cents on something I feel strongly about...

I have lived both in Colombia and in very "colombian" areas in the US (Miami, New Jersey) and there is NO WAY that the mere fact that there are thousands of colombians living in a city or neighborhood, it actually feels like Colombia. Sure, in those places you can get the food, the music, the alcohol, the TV, pretty much everything colombian now... but that doesn't mean it's the same, certainly not better than actually being in Colombia.

Though I can completely understand why immigrants make an effort to "recreate" their home country in the US, I personally never quite feel very comfortable with it. In the end, you know it's just and imitation and there is nothing like the original. You might go to a party or a festival full of colombians, the people, the sounds, the food will seem very much authentic.... but then you walk outside, and there's a snowstorm, or a suburb street totally empty of life, or the friendly gringo neighbor smiling at you, or no mountain in sight, or the other latins speaking with different words and accents bearly understandable to you, or so many other zillion things that make you realise YOU ARE NOT IN COLOMBIA. There is only one Colombia, and it's down there, so the only advice I would give to people is to make that little extra effort and go all the way, see the real thing because that's where the essence is. While colombian culture and heritage may be maintained by many, there is still inevatably an enormous part of yourself that stops being colombian because you are in a foreign country where all your surroundings are different, this changes people to a great deal.

I know, I know, we all "take" Colombia with us wherever we go, and that's a great thing, but to suggest to others to just forget about going to the country and instead going to colombian neighborhoods in the US... it's gotta be a joke.

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Barranquilla4life says on Oct 6, 2004, 19:07:

THANK YOU LITOST Colombia right here in America.... Forget Travelling Down there....

THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE!!!!!! YOU CAN NEVER COMPARE COLOMBIA WITH THE UNITED STATES I AM FROM MIAMI AND YES PEOPLE COME OUT TO CELEBRATE BUT EVERYONE ALWASY TALK ABOUT THE NEXT TIME THEY CAN GO BACK TO THE MOTHER LAND. LITOST BROKE THIS DOWN FOR ALL OF US THAT LOVE OUR COUNTRY COLOMBIA. I WILL BE THERE FOR THE CARNIVAL 05.

BARRANQUILLA 4 LIFE

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caslug says on Oct 6, 2004, 23:39:

Guys he's joking.. BUT he highlight a theory of mine about America. Since we are a nation of diverse people. You can find a little bit of ANY foriegn country/culture in America to give you a glimpse of what it's like in the home country. Want to chekout what Japan's like, go to little toyko, how about Italy, there's little italy, how about cuba, or colombia, etc., Of course it's not the REAL thing, but it's a glimpse, like a movie trailer. If you like the trailer, you'll want to catch the movie..

However, I disagree with MILT that it's same, because everything in Colombia is much cheaper and more plentiful.

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pointofview says on Oct 7, 2004, 04:03:

MILTJ QUOTE:

"not only that, the colombians in america are whiter and "work-oriented", a major plus and incentive for the gringo/gringa trying to steer clear of the "darker" elements of colombian culture and society. you can enjoy the open air markets and panaderias without the prying eyes of certain "dark-minded" and "anti-work" locals."

Could you please explain this portion of your post as I am not sure I understand what it infers and/or conveys.

It almost seems like you are saying that Colombians in America are whiter and (more) work oriented than their Colombian brothers and sisters in Colombia. I assume that your term "darker" elements of Colombian culture refers to criminal or illegals activities but the assumption they don't exist outside Colombia is not founded in fact as we all know.

Prying eyes of certain "dark-mined" and "anti-work" locals can only be referring to the USA with its central government give away programs like food stamps, housing assistance, unemployment compensation and a list of hundreds of other non-working assistance programs. In Colombia if you don't work (in some form) you won't eat or have a roof over your head !!!!

Your theory falls on its face as the cost of travel and subsistance in the USA is much higher than Colombia so if you resided in a different part of the USA than those cities mentioned your airfare, hotels, transportation and meals would be substanially higher in the USA allowing the traveler to Colombia to recover in a short period of time the addition cost of transportation (airfare) to Colombia vs. other higher cost destinations including the USA.

The only Colombian culture preserved in the USA is behind the closed doors of the Colombian families that live their life in the USA the Colombian way (enjoying their heritage) to the greatest extent possible while trying to shield their family from the negative elements of the USA society.

The Colombians in Orlando, Miami, New York and New Jersy are all there for economic betterment and not quality of life. Each of them is counting the days when they can retire from work in the USA returning to Colombia, their friends, family, food and quality of live. I don't think you will find many Colombians retiring in the USA that have the choice of retiring in Colombia.

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MJ says on Oct 7, 2004, 04:28:

My home I'll go all the way to colombia is because in"fake colombia" i can't find my family,my childhood friends.my weird but friendly neighbourd.the beautiful mountains,el parque tayrona,cartagena beaches.going out one night without a peso in your pocket and come back home drunk,with a pollo in your hands and an invitation for a bbq next day.Christmas in colombia UNIQUE. is a lot I can tell you why i always will go back there.is no just the food and the parranda.OK Colombia has it's problems
but that is what make it exciting.that's why everyone have an anecdote to tell about.

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Miguel says on Oct 7, 2004, 11:04:

Otra vez...QUE COSA! Si quieres entender Colombia...va a Colombia. It's a quite a bit more Colombian than here in the States. I don't understand the gist of this thread, but it's pretty stupid at first glance.

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FrankLeal says on Oct 7, 2004, 11:57:

Litost and Pointofview I agree with you I totally agree with you: Miami, Orlando or any latin neighborhood are never going to be the same than Colombia. And if you find arepas maybe they are not made with queso campesino colombiano and they'll cost you there four or five times what they cost here. And if an ATM gives out $40000 (what actually is not true, they give $400000 or more a day) is just because that quantity is more than enough for your expenses per day.
Even I doubt it, maybe you can find hormigas culonas, tamal santandereano, cabro con pepitoria, caldo con arepa amarilla, carne seca, mazapanes, maizenitas, deliciosos and some others of our delicious dishes (I just mentioned Santander typical food) in Miami, but you’ll never find there our mountains nor you will feel the human warmth you live each day being in Colombia.

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FrankLeal says on Oct 7, 2004, 12:03:

something else I forgot to mention ayacos, chicha de maíz, chicha de corozo, masato. By the way the ones who are in the States or abroad, have you ever tried these beverages and food there?

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Roberto99 says on Oct 7, 2004, 13:28:

Something else I only spent 3 weeks (in Frank Leal's home)
and even I can tell you it doesn't come close.
No way, nunca.
Just as my middle class Plano, Texas mexican
neighborhood can't come close to the real Mexico,
Miami is just a plastic blow up toy compared to the
real thing.
You have to embrace the crooked sidewalks, all the small
tiendas selling aguila, tamals, pony malta, and the
older men tending parked cars for a few pesos.
I even like putting my used papers in a basket rather than
flushing them down because this tells me I'm in
the correct place for me. My kinda of people whether I do
this in Mexico, Ecuador, Peru or Colombia.

feel the human warmth you live each day being in Colombia.
= This IS what it is all about on a daily basis.
The US can not compare. Maybe when I was born in 1955, but
NOW?? No way.

Plastic places for plastic people.
Get yourself to were the real thing is!!!

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Chuck says on Oct 8, 2004, 08:11:

Is as stupid as saying to Panamanians..... Hey!.. Why bother travel to the US, just visit the Canal Zone!

Or... Visit your local McDonalds and there's no need to visit the U.S.

More... If you play kickball why visit Yankee Stadium?

XENOPHOBIA is to generalize the defects of a few to the look alikes. Not fair at all!

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