Gringo Duro

kernow62 says on Jan 29, 2005, 11:18:

Piss in the water like everyone else!

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Cerealkiller says on Jan 29, 2005, 11:27:

Thats grim Kernow hahahaha.
Now Morgus you cheap gringo, didnt your mom teach you to pee before leaving home? I think thats a pretty cheap friendship as well 10,000 pesos for a friend, you got a bargain. Some lady found a couple of photocopies i had taken and called me to say she had found my stuff -my number was on the papers- I came back said thanks and the very friendly woman charged me 15000 with a huge smile on her face!!! so I said she could keep the papers as a souvenir -or wipe her greedy bum with them if she felt like it...oh the frustration!

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

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fzrdan says on Jan 29, 2005, 20:44:

A few times in Cali I was approached by folks asking me for money. I did not give and I was advised not to. One guy even got a little belligerent with me. He was standing there with a woman and a couple kids. Maybe they were his family, maybe not. He was so loud and pushy that I would never think of giving him anything. However, when I would go to dinner with my novia, we would take the leftovers and give them to an old lady or little kid that looked like they needed a meal. Oh, you should see the look on those peoples face. Much more grateful than the pushy ones.

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spigrimace says on Jan 30, 2005, 02:32:

Maybe we need new tactics If I go back to Bocagrande, I'm making a sign that I can spike into the sand that says something like "this gringo has COP$20.000 total to spend today for vendors/beggars" and when I buy/give, the vendor/beggar has to initial the amount on the sign and when the money's gone and the vendors/beggars come to bother me, I won't say a word, I'll simply point to the sign. Maybe I should taunt them and put "you should have come earlier" on the sign after the money's gone. Hey, you have to admit it's different and should catch a few off-guard.

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Lionheart says on Jan 30, 2005, 02:56:

I like the sign idea I am a big fan of signs and bumper stickers. My favorite sign is based on the redneck comedy song "Here's Your Sign" - but a dunce cap works just as well. Maybe I should make a copy of umm's avatar and sneak it into posts here - waving the flag "Idiot of the Day".

Or hang a sign around your neck: "I kill every 3rd peddler, 2 were already here"

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 05:26:

Lionheart, I have a variation on that sign, "We shoot every 3rd salesman, the 2nd one just left." My favourite though is: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me!"

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babygirl says on Jan 30, 2005, 06:17:

What do you guys do as a rule of thumb for panhandlers? How much do you usually give them? I felt horrible when I was in Cartagena, and why are there so many amputees there? (not saying that to be rude, it just seemed like an abnormal amount) I had little kids running after me calling me "mother" I guess to play at my heart strings. Eeeek! Problem is I'm usually travelling on a budget myself with just barely enough for my own entertainment and necessities but if I don't give them something I feel like a cold hearted b*tch!

As for the vendors, anybody have any idea what the mark up is roughly on the stuff they sell? Just curuios.

cheers - babygirl

cheers - babygirl

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Cerealkiller says on Jan 30, 2005, 11:54:

Im with you GiB, I usually refuse to give money. Maybe im a little bit like Morgus, a cheap foreigner!! I like to know im helping in other ays, like giving away shoes and stuff im sure they will need...as opposed to 2000 pesos which is enough to buy a bottle of glue and just the idea of it makes me feel horrible.

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

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jccg says on Jan 30, 2005, 12:14:

If you want to help... Buy Colombian products like coffe, clothes, I strongly recommend Brhama boots. If you go to a mall in Medellin, buy Colombian things, not imported thinks, and of course, recommend Colombia to your friends and keep turism alive.
Came here and invest... etc.

In this way you will be generating jobs.

And something important, if you import colombian country products, you are keeping a country man working in food and legal things i.e. you keep them away from growing cocaine...

Give a coin or give a cake to poor kid is only a temporal thing, generatign jobs is a permanent solution.

This is just the true!!

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 13:43:

You better give the guy that wacks your tires with a big hunk of wood at traffic lights a few pesos if you value your car. :-)

I try to buy little things from street vendors, chicle etc. I don't hand out money, but I did notice that quite a few Colombians in Bogotá did dole out a bit of change. I don't know what happened to me in Colombia, but I came home a more generous person.

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 16:31:

Morgus, in societies where bargaining is the norm it is considered very poor taste to bargain a price that the seller agrees to and then walk away from the deal. Once the seller agrees to your price it is considered an obligation to purchase said item at the agreed to price. Perhaps that is why he was sad.

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