PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

“My First trip to America�?

Since I knew I had to go there to meet my boyfriend family, I felt really weird, I don’t know why but there was a big part in me that didn’t want to go there and the other was excited about visiting America for the first time, plus was something I need after a year working in this cold country without sunshine…mmmm of course if there is a big nice offer in your hands…paid tickets and 22 days in Miami how nice is that when you have live 1 hectic year working and rushing in England….Ok time to apply for the tourist visa, I wasn’t excited but I really needed the visa ‘cause that opens a little bit more the doors to travel to other countries….ok after 4 hours and 1.000.000 questions in the US Embassy in London I got my tourist visa, it wasn’t easy ‘cause of the pile of documents I had to show but I was going to America……The day came and I was ready with my baggage out of my house…. It was a long trip..Swindon-London-Washington-Miami finally in the airplane I drank like 6 glasses of champagne, ate and went to sleep… in the morning the stewardess woke me up and I started to fill my customs declaration and the other card when I walked to the line and this is when cross started, the customs officer asked me where I was coming from, I said London...What were you doing there? I live there…Why do you live there?? ‘cause I live there with my fiancé…Where is he from?? He is from??? How did you get that Residence permit?? What did you do for Home Office to give you a Residence permit?? What do you do there?? Where is your family?? Do you have any family in America??? What does your family do in Colombia?? Since how long you don’t see them?? Are they planning to visit you in America while you’re there?? He asked me lots lots lots of questions and my legs hurt I was tired standing there and the rest of the people was looking at me as if I had done something wrong, but what was that wrong thing?? Carrying a Colombian passport, it seems to be like a crime or something, but not at that moment I was so disappointed but still proud of being Colombian… I want doing anything wrong…ok I answered all his questions and I passed then there was another line and this people make me wait there again and finally I went to the desk and the officer started asking me again the same fucking questions and then she sent me to a room or office where 2 US police women were waiting ok again more more and more questions when 1 of them asked me to leave my baggage on the table and if I had packed everything in there, and what I had there… in that bag I just had video and photo camera and some cloth but not she started checking every single piece of cloth and she was touching it with like a cotton pad with something…anyway while she was doing that the other was asking me things and the started touching me to see if I was carrying drugs… I took off boots belts and whatever was suspicious for her of course while answering the questions my God I was being brave ‘cause I cry too much and there were not tears on my face…when this one finished the other told her “this is another winner�? there is nothing and suddenly threw my passport and documents on the table there were paper watered everywhere I just picked them up closed my baggage and left…after I crossed the doors I started crying like a Magdalena, I felt depress, sad, discriminated…there were lots of feelings in my heart(it was the second time it happened to me, as i said it in one of my forums when i came to England)...then I called my family in Miami telling them what I had been through and that I wanted to go back, then I took my plane to Miami and they were waiting for me there….and after 2 days sharing time with them I forgot and I had a good time visiting lots of places….But show this people you are scared to their questions even if you feel bad… then with some drinks in South Beach I forgot about it

By shirly1981 on Apr 21, 2006, 03:47 in Friendly Talkzone.

shirly1981 says on Apr 21, 2006, 03:54:

what i meant was... Dont show to this people you are scared to their questions....

Sophia

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gabo4ever says on Apr 21, 2006, 04:11:

Sadly.. It happens to all Colombians who live or travel in the exterior. I think its the same process every single time we travel, but i think the worst is having that done in El Dorado.

When supposedly your home, safe and with imense happioness, to be ushered into a room,make that rudely ushered into a room, to go through an xray machine and amillion questions about why I live in the Uk, etc.

But im glad you managed to keep it together, not show them that fear, and not give them the satisfaction of seeing you break down in front of them.

But like you said I too feel proud of being Colombian,and would not change my nationalities for anything in the world, even more respect at an airport!

Y por si se atreven: Watsamatamaracuya?

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Piatt says on Apr 21, 2006, 06:15:

Dont worry about it My mother gets pulled aside in the airport line all the time. Dont worry about it your not the only Colombian who gets "special attention"...

Sincerely,
Gordon Piatt

gordo

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Blue says on Apr 21, 2006, 07:41:

Shirley Yea the TSA generally puts people through a pretty degrading process. It's not just folks like you who come to visit but many Americans go through a similar process when flying. You have to understand that these aren't our nicest people and that they have a mindset that everyone is a 'bad guy" until proven otherwise. lol It's gotten better lately but still no picnic and oftentimes a very humiliating experience.

Blue

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utopiacowboy says on Apr 21, 2006, 08:55:

Very sad experience. The strange thing is my wife never receives this kind of treatment. She must have been born under a lucky star because what will happen is the immigration officer will have been to Medellin and they'll start chatting about the city etc. Never fails and constantly amazes me.

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 Apr 21, 2006, 09:38:

Because I have a British passport now I don't get any hassles. British and another countires have what they call a waiver visa, that means we enter the USA without no problem. I just came back from Orlando and the only problem I had was, that the picture in my passport hasn't got the hologram mark, it looks fake, I told them that my passport was the older ones and expire at the end of this year. they let me through no problem. Another thing in my passport said place of birth Cordoba, no Colombia, I dont't know if this a good thing, they assumed straight away Cordoba Spain. but USA airport are a pain in the A** anyway, you feel frightened as soon as you get there, some of the staff are very rude and not polite at all, I've seen how they treat some people.About the shoes and belt they do that to everybody.

saying all of that I had a very pleasant Immigration Officer, He even said if my daughter was my sister! I love him ;)

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Colombiche says on Apr 21, 2006, 10:42:

Not all Colombians are targeted equally They tend to usually target very young colombian women who are travelling by themselves.

I remember, when I was 17, I was coming back alone from a trip to Colombia.

The lady in Miami searched my suitcase, there were a bunch of people standing around and she pulled out a pack of Always, took out the maxipads and started to wrip them appart to see what was inside them. I'm like "Lady, I'm sure you wear these too and you know what is inside them!".

I wanted the earth to swallow me at that moment. I asked her "are you doing this because I'm coming from Colombia and I am Colombian born?" she blatantly said "Yeah, I am", maldinga vieja.

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

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Crazy4Cali says on Apr 21, 2006, 10:42:

TSA My family got the "special" service by the TSA leaving Denver a couple of weeks ago. The EXTRA service where they frisk you, take all your luggage apart and shake your dirty underwear to see what falls out (lucky for me, nothing did :). This was just for a domestic flight.

But, aside from wondering what I posted on PoorButHappy to get the extra attention, the inconvenience was really pretty small. No more than five extra minutes in the security area and they were all very coureous (as courteous as one can be as they go through your luggage) and professional, to the point of following me to return some film I'd forgotten.

I don't know if I felt any safer after being screened, but you can bet I was glad I'd done some laundry before leaving.

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johna says on Apr 21, 2006, 11:06:

cuidado........ .......Ustados Unidos es muy peligroso. ( una broma pero puede ser verdad.)

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costajunkie says on Apr 21, 2006, 12:33:

Works the other way too Hey, I have also had my shares of run-ins with customs and immigration. In fact, I have such a "stain" on my name for past transgressions that I'm usually given the once or twice over everytime I cross into the US. Most of the time, though, they are courteous and professional...

But it also works the other way, leaving a country, say... Colombia for example. You know, I can't say that I was treated any better by these guys. Truthfully, from the way you described, it sounds like you had a hell of a better treatment than I had with colombian authorities during my second trip to the place, and I was only trying to LEAVE the country.

It's the life of traveling - if you're going to travel, toughen up and get used to it. Customs in the US is no worse than most other countries, especially considering the security situation.

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bkcarolina says on Apr 21, 2006, 12:53:

what happens... when people who are treated like this give them their own rudeness in return?????????'

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Apr 21, 2006, 13:13:

Apart from inefficiency in some of these airports they are rude towards everybody, they don't know the word Thank you or politeness, They have got an air of superiority, Specially the ones working in NY airport. they are so unhelpful, they are so different from the British airports staff.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 21, 2006, 21:55:

bkcarolina, that will almost always guaranty your selection for a full body cavity search and Xrays, too.....not advisable...they can make you miss you flights, detain you until they feel like it, and search(meaning destroy) items in your luggage..and its not TSA that does the immigration and customs......its Homeland Security, which is law enforcement, not airline security like TSA..

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo...faltan 70 días.....

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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costajunkie says on Apr 22, 2006, 00:30:

The truth is uncovered... US Customs and Immigration are animales, while the rest of the world's ranks are purely professional and humane (particularly in GB)

(I can't believe I would be defending US Customs and Immigration!)

First of all, people post what brutes man our entry points. Question: Two people are going through immigration and customs in no particular country... who will be scrutinized more? The citizen of that country, or the visitor? For all of you colombians naturalized in other countries, why do you believe that you should be be given the same treatment as an American coming home, especially if your passport indicates that you were naturalized? Think!

How many times have you guys traveled here? Anywhere? Many of you have made only one, two, five trips abroad, and you believe that one negative experience is incontrevertible proof that the whole system is rotten.

I have been traveling all of my life, throughout college studying and traveling for fun, then working for the US government, then running from here to there as a stringer (mostly former socialist E. Europe), then a project manager for a software company (I had to have those stupid pages pasted to my passport because I ran out of space), and now back and forth to BAQ to be with my wife, about 8 to 12 roundtrips/year (and again I am running out of space). You travel enough, it is likely you will have an unpleasant experience with some nation's border officials at sometime.

Echoing Miguel_C... before you post your comments about the US's border thugs, try and recall who exactly gave you a bad time. Kat - you yourself remarked how friendly (and flattering!) the immigration officer was, but then you turn around and trash them for their "rudeness" and "air of superiority". Just exactly who gave you the bad time - the guys in blue, or the idiots in the white uniforms? The guys and gals in white are TSA workers making low wages, most who have nothing more than a high school diploma and would be working as a cashier in Wal-Mart otherwise. Don't confuse the two.

When I travel abroad, I fully expect anymore that there is the likelihood that something unpleasant can happen (including the US), and I am pleased if it doesn't. With the exception of the one gung-ho PN working at BAQ who was dead-sure that I was a "mula", and who was extremely unprofessional and unpleasant, I hold no ill-will toward any of these guys, even the chorizo-fingered, butt-pirate who went where few have dared (OK, where more than I would like to remember - it wasn't the first time this has happened to me crossing a border). In fact, after the entire incident, I fly through BAQ with no problems because most of them remember me, and since I travel often and BAQ is pretty small as an international gateway... well, they remember me, along with my wife's dad, a retired DAS agent and his jefe, who chided them on the loss of professionalism and honor in the service (thank God for them - they saved me from further humiliation, though I did miss my flight).

And speaking of the Brits... Ahh!!! The kind and model-professional UK border agent versus the Neanderthal, knuckle-dragging variants you find ONLY in the US!!! Then riddle me this:

I lived, studied, and worked in the UK (Southfields, Maida Vale and Camberwell, London, among other places), so I know the country and people pretty well... So the time when I was passing through customs with my kids from my first marriage (pre-9/11), and all of the passengers (the white ones that is) walked through unhindered and ignored by the customs gang sitting around (about 12 guys), save the lone woman, an Arab wearing a hijab and scarf, who was immediately descended upon by all 12, her bags torn open and her possesions scattered, all the while peppering her with questions... this was an anomaly?

Or the time I was escorting a classmate, a 17 year-old American university prodigy of Indian decent by request of her parents... We disembarked from the ferry, nearly the last ones off... I didn't see ONE SINGLE PERSON STOPPED AND SEARCHED! However, when she tried to pass through, with her American passport no less, she was questioned rudely and her bags searched thoroughly for over 45 minutes. This was an anomaly too?

Really, if you really think so badly of our customs and immigration and that it can only happen here (there? I'm in Colombia now), then the decision is easy - STAY HOME OR GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! If you're only trying to get to Colombia, then get a direct flight... you'll pay more, but I'm sure it will be worth it.

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shirly1981 says on Apr 22, 2006, 04:16:

Blue.. I know thats US customs job but it still hurts when people treat you like that, it is not the first time, it happened to me in Paris, London and now in Washington..im very sensitive and it hurt me more when i had to pick up all my documents from the table and the floor...thats humiliating but then i said "THANK YOU, HAVE A GOOD DAY" that hurts more after all the drama they had there, and didnt find anything...sorry im not Maria!!!!

Sophia

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shirly1981 says on Apr 22, 2006, 04:16:

Thanks guys... I know now im not the only one, that makes me feel better!!!

Sophia

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kernow62 says on Apr 22, 2006, 06:15:

Try going on a cruise from a US port, it is better not to be a US citizen. Each time my wife and I have cruised there has been a huge long line at check in for US citizens and a line with about 10 people in it for non US citizens. I get ushered to the short line along with my wife even though she is a(n) US citizen. I feel so special. I shall not become a US citizen I keep thinking with a big shit-eating grin on my face as the Americans stand in lines that make Disney ride lines look positively miniscule.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Apr 22, 2006, 08:10:

Costajunkie, the immigration officers were the only polite ones, the rest were so rude and inneficient, not directly with me, I had just one encouter with a woman in the NY airport, but they are rude towards everybody, a little bit of politeness won't hurt, if they ask nicely i am sure we would be pleased to do it, is the way they treat you, instead of an airport looks like you are going a prison, straight away they make you feel guilty. were those people get their manners from? I ask! I TRIED TO AVOID USA AIRPORTS LAST CHRISTMAS WHEN I WENT TO COLOMBIA, I FLEW AIR FRANCE VIA PARIS, NO HASSLE IN PARIS OR HEATHROW AIRPORT, NO RUDENNES TOWARDS ANYBODY.

unfortunately there is not direct fly from London-Bogota

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SingSling says on Apr 22, 2006, 08:24:

Costajunkie I have travelled all over the world to every continent and US immigration ranks right up there as the worst of the lot, and the attitude "STAY HOME OR GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!" unfortunately is all too apparent.

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utopiacowboy says on Apr 22, 2006, 09:57:

New Yorkers? New Yorkers have made being rude an art form. When I lived in New Hampshire and Maine we could recognize a New Yorker just from their rude belligerent behavior. Needless to say everyone hated them.

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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juanalejo says on Apr 23, 2006, 10:58:

US Customs While I have never gone through such horrifying experiences entering the US (knock on wood), I do dislike going through Miami or JFK, people are rude regardless. I have to say though my last two entrances have been through Newark and Houston and I can say both but specially Houston had some of the most amicable people I have ever seen in any inmigration or customs in the US in all my life.

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juanalejo says on Apr 23, 2006, 10:58:

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scottiec says on May 12, 2006, 14:26:

Shirly,I am sorry..... I am sorry for what has happened to you. I am a gringo living in Mexico and I am afraid that we (gringos) are getting worse,we are being force-fed lies about others (other peoples) and dont tkae the time to research what we are hearing. We are too busy working six days a week to bother with what is against the status-quo. I do not live and will not live in the U.S. again,there are wonderful people ALL over the world and we won´t/can´t find out if we dont start thinking for ourselves. Sometimes the people with less are MORE genuine and are truly happier than us even with the Navigator in front of our big house. I hope to be going to Colombia soon,I speak pretty good spanish (Mexican) and I hope the people realize I really am eager to learn and respect all. Remember not ALL gringos are the same...(I could tell you stories about Mexico) Ciao Scott

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rocinante says on May 13, 2006, 13:07:

DIdn't read all the responses But I go through this almost every time I go to Colombia. Every time. Once out of seven. I'm always the last person to get to the passeneger pick up area because I'm detained for about an extra half hour.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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