Week 1 in Colombia

Leeroy says on Jun 4, 2007, 11:37:

Don't ruin an otherwise-good-trip-so-far by riding on a Chiva!

Ask your lady friend to take you out to play Tejo. Now THAT is fun.

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RJQuilla says on Jun 4, 2007, 15:54:

Week My week in Colombia starts tomorrow at 4pm is when my flight touches down there. Will be in Sincelejo. I'm ready to go!!!!!

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goin_south says on Jun 4, 2007, 21:55:

Keep the reports coming, Captain H. Hang On, Dude! jajaa

Voy para del Sur

Where do we go from here?

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panthdave says on Jun 5, 2007, 09:17:

Captain Might not Go Home.... Glad That Captain Howdy is having a great time...Remember when he posted and purchased his airline ticket...




panthdave Miami

panthdave Miami

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bufalo says on Jun 5, 2007, 12:45:

Glad to see you are having a good time. yes, go play Tejo, but not in a touristy place, go to some old barrio. Wife and I went to a hoedown in the middle of the mountains outside of Armenia last month. The first 2 hours were cockfights in the back and then the store became a dance floor. 2AM the cops showed up (armed to the freaking teeth) and shut it all down, we had to walk back to the farm in the dark..
...oops I'm hijacking....

I actually was going to try to email you because I thought your GF was going to be working most of the time you are there. I have to go to Periera next week and thought I'd say hello.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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CaptainHowdy says on Jun 5, 2007, 15:52:

Coffee finca Well, it just keeps getting better. The owner of the small hotel also has a coffee farm. He lived in Houston for 10 years so he speaks English and he asked me if I would like to visit his coffee farm with him. Well, hell, yeah, I do!!! I'm going to be armed with a digital camera and a video camera. Boy, are these going to be some cool photos and videos to remember my viaje!
I'm going Wednesday afternoon to speak English in a colegio. The abogada that works with my Colombiana has 2 daughters and arranged it for me to spend some time sharing my English skills. Since it is a colegio, the students should be somewhat advanced. That will be yet another aventura!!!
My Colombiana says que tejo es muy bueno y vamos a jugar este fin de semana in Manizales.
I still wish I could speak Spanish fluently or at least more fluently.
What do you guys think of bufalo? Think he'd be safe to meet up with?
Well, that's the way it was on June 5, 2007. I´m signing off now, live from Colombia.

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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Leeroy says on Jun 6, 2007, 06:31:

I imagine that most people here are safe enough to meet up with, as long as you don't mention...

a) Some guy called "Greg" in Medellin
b) The dollar/peso
c) Prostitution

As soon as any of the above come into the equation people start to get weird...

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bufalo says on Jun 7, 2007, 05:07:

SURE TINTO, TALK ABOUT ME WHEN I'M NOT AROUND!



kidding.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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bufalo says on Jun 7, 2007, 16:54:

Captain Howdy......
Man, I Captain Howdy......

Man, I hope that Chiva has some good weight on the other side of it if that is really your picture! And I don't see how 12 other people fit in the Willyz as well jajajjajaj!

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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CaptainHowdy says on Jun 8, 2007, 12:54:

Ya think!!! LOL Yes, the Chiva would need some good weight on the other side if that were me, but, luckily, it´s not me!!! It is a good picture, though!!! LOL No, I¨m more like 6´1¨ and a lean 180 lbs now. I swear, I feel as though I have lost some weight. Has anyone else experienced weight loss during their trip to Colombia. The good news is I´m not losing weight because I´m sick! In Mexico last year, every time I went to the bathroom, I´d take off my leather belt, put it in my mouth, and bite down to keep from screaming! I saw this tactic used once in an old western when an Indian girl was giving birth. I´d say my pain was comparable to hers!!! Anyway....
The trip to the coffee finca went only to the 6 or so bedroom house he is remodeling extensively. We made a few other stops for food and to visit his friends but I´m going to go back next week and hopefully see the coffee plants.
For those of you who suggested teyo, I think I´m going to play Monday. All I know about it is that you chunk a rock. Can someone explain it more extensively, please?
Ok, for you guys who live or have lived or will live in Colombia, do you all speak Spanish fluently? If not, how did you get around this obstacle? I´m comfortable walking around but I´m finding it impossible to communicate because I can´t understand what anyone is saying to me. I´m able to express myself fairly well but understanding someone else is a whole other ball of wax.
I did go to the bilingual school and was given a tour of the school by the 15 yr old daughter of the abogada I know. Later, the abogada said the daughter was ¨te ha encantado!¨I found that a bit humorous! Later, I talked with the director and I´m going back Tuesday to spend the whole day in the classroom speaking English with the students. That should be memorable.
The director also said that I could get a job there and earn 1,300,000 per month. I´d be teaching the classes in English. I think I could handle that but I´m not staying here...yet. I´d like to buy a little land in the mountains, buy a Jeep, and get a few head of cattle. In the aguagracia area, the land is too expensive so I´ll have to look elsewhere.
Well, the chiva ride is this weekend along with fishing and riding horses. I should have some more stories to share come next week.
Oh, one guy wants me to drive his friend´s car from about 30 minutes outside to Pereira into town because both of their licenses have been revoked or something like that. That, my friends, sounds like an adventure I´m going to pass on. Wrecking my vehicle would be one thing but to wreck another person´s vehicle in Colombia is NOT something I want to experience. Would any of you guys take that chance?
Well, that´s how it was on the 8th of June, 2007. I´m signing off now, live from Colombia!!!

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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pedro says on Jun 8, 2007, 15:19:

The car thing That kind of favour with the car, you should just politely refuse straight away. They surely have local Colombian friends that can do it for them. Why ask a tourist?

If you accepted, you'd probably find the place is an hour or more out of town, and the car has a stash of perico or a dead body in the trunk. More likely perico, since the dead body transport would likely be the other way around, from the city to a finca in the middle of nowhere.

que nota!

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