DCShoeCo has left 43 comments

DCShoeCo comments on Canada - document showing civil marriage status

Did you send all those pictures and cards with the initial package? Did you send originals or just photocopies of docs?

Also, once you've sent the initial package, do you have to send anything else later on? For example, once you've sent proof of income, could you quit your job and go to Bogota, or do you have to prove it again later on?

DCShoeCo comments on Canada - document showing civil marriage status

Steve, how have you found the visa process (bringing her to Canada?)

DCShoeCo comments on Canada - document showing civil marriage status

Thanks, I'll look into that. Still not sure what exactly has to be done with the letter allowing her to marry me by proxy, if anybody has an info on that please let me know. I have an idea what it has to say, but not sure if it has to be signed in front of a notary, translated, and apostilled by the consulate or what.

DCShoeCo comments on Canada - document showing civil marriage status

Also, can it be signed by parents, or does it have to be two non-relatives?

DCShoeCo comments on Canada - document showing civil marriage status

Signed in front of a notary in Canada?

How do I get it authenticated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa if I live in BC?

What do you mean "consulate where the document originated"? You mean the Colombian Consulate in Canada?

DCShoeCo comments on Marriage by proxy: how?

Just to clarify, I am in Canada and she is in Bogota. I would like for her to marry my by proxy in Bogota without me being there, is that possible?

DCShoeCo comments on Meet-up Picture

I'm guessing Rubiazo is the bald nutcase-looking guy. He actually LOOKS like he's from Winnipeg.

DCShoeCo comments on "Transporter 2" Hollywood gives another black-eye to Colombia

gingoinbogota, not even Colombians like the Germans.

DCShoeCo comments on colombians where are you living?

How can anybody miss the FOOD in Colombia?

DCShoeCo comments on Important message for non-Spanish speakers visiting Colombia...............

I dunno, I meet people who speak English here in Colombia all the time, usually these people suss out that I´m a gringo and are eager to speak English with me.

However it is next to impossible to get around without Spanish. Costa Rica on the other hand, you just didn´t need it.

DCShoeCo comments on Comparing Colombian to Canada

Rubiazo, the more you post, the more I picture you pecking out words on your computer with a pencil in your mouth while strapped to a chair in a straight jacket in some nuthouse.

DCShoeCo comments on Questions

You need the degree if you want a work visa. I didn´t need anything stamped on my degree, I just had to take the original to a notory here in Bogota and get it notorized (costs less than a buck), and you´re on your way. Bottom line - no degree no work visa.

DCShoeCo comments on insurance

It´s not even close to 12%. It´s more like 2%.

DCShoeCo comments on Another Work Visa Question

You need a degree I just got hired at a private high school, and I will be getting a work visa. I don´t have a CELTA but my degree was absolutely necessary, in fact I had to have my parents send my original certificate which was framed and hanging on their wall. If you just want to come and work for six months you can do it on a tourist visa though (at low-paying language institutes, or it´s easy to pick up a lot of privates), and you can extend that pretty easily with a student visa afterwards. If you want a work visa you need a degree.

And contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be a certified teacher to work at some of the better high schools. I am teaching computer science at a top private school, good salary and benefits, and I only have a degree in computer science, no CELTA or teaching certificate.

DCShoeCo comments on Nice Bogota Apartment for 800,000pesos a month ????

Greg, they are tearing up the street left and right to make the Suba transmilenio (I live off of Av Suba), so good luck finding a really quiet place... at night it´s not bad, I am a light sleeper and I don´t have any problems.

Unfortunately I went home last night and somebody had moved into the vacant apartment.

DCShoeCo comments on Nice Bogota Apartment for 800,000pesos a month ????

I live in a nice, safe, furnished, guarded, decently sized, one bedroom apartment in the north (close to Bulevar mall)... I pay 600 000 pesos a month. Full bathroom, real hotwater shower, queen sized bed, etc. The only catch is I had to pay all six months up front.

Oh yeah the owner is a nice guy who speaks English, and there´s currently a vacancy.

If you´re willing to not live in Andino, there´s plenty of places in your price range.

DCShoeCo comments on Canadian Debit Card & Carrying Passport Rule

Agreed Leave your passport locked up, and take a photocopy with you. I´ve needed it a couple times at police stop-checks when taking intercity buses. No problems.

DCShoeCo comments on Great news!! Mexico, NOT Colombia, is now the TOP SUPPLIER of U.S. Drugs!!

Right then, Colombia still produces 90% of the world´s cocaine, it just gets run through Mexico first. Big improvement??

DCShoeCo comments on Please help me regain my faith on Colombian men...

Lauthra, I think you nailed it, I think NA men are just better at keeping their mouths shut. Colombian men need to brag to feed their egos more, hence they get caught and have the bad rep. NA just quietly do their thing.

DCShoeCo comments on Do Gringas Prefer Colombianos? Some biology thoughts..

Looks do matter. If you are good-looking, you will have more women hit on you, and more women will be open to being approached.

BUT. Looks are not what will get you laid, they will just get you more opportunities. If you do not have social skills, if you don´t know how to talk to women and be cool, if you don´t know how to use humor properly, if you don´t know how to get women isolated, if you don´t know how to escalate physically, you can look like Brad Pitt but you still won´t get laid. I know plenty of tall, good-looking introverts that just don´t have very good social skills, and they NEVER get laid.

On the other hand, I know plenty of short, ugly dudes who get laid like rockstars. I mean like 30-50 hotties a year. Why? Because they can approach women, make them laugh, get them comfortable, get them alone, and get them naked. They have awesome social skills, they are storytellers, they have friends everywhere, they are cool, they can have an awesome conversation with anyone.

Looks are important in that they will get you more opportunities, but if you don´t know what to do with those opportunities, you still won´t get laid.

DCShoeCo comments on Computer Science Jobs in Colombia

Occasianally in El Tiempo they have advertisements for bilingual programmers who can work with companies from the states. I doubt they pay very well though.

DCShoeCo comments on Do Gringas Prefer Colombianos? Some biology thoughts..

unfortunately.... These scientific ¨facts¨ are brought to you by white coat wearing dorks in labs who couldn´t get laid to save their lives. In reality, height, age etc will get you more opportunities, but the only thing that really matters is how you make women feel. Just like in sales, ¨you gotta close¨. We´re interested in actual mating here, not woulda shoulda bullshit, or how many girls make eye-contact with you.

And having brought it up in conversation quite a few times, I have yet to meet a white girl here in Colombia that was into Colombian men. Most of them are lonely and desperate to meet other foreign men. One turned into a lesbian.

A Colombian girl I´m friends with made an interesting comment about why she prefers foreigners: ¨Colombian men are like children, hiding behind their moms when any adversity presents itself¨.

Just curious for Colombian men; how many white chicks have you actually hooked up with yourself? That should answer this question a lot faster than scientific guidelines.

DCShoeCo comments on Something from another forum

Prognosis You´re a whack-job bro.

DCShoeCo comments on Something from another forum

Poor but angry You forgot ¨angry people from Winnipeg who are neither Colombian, nor live in Colombia, that spend all their time on a messageboard about Colombia complaining about North America¨.

Dude, you are in deep need of psychotherapy. Seriously man, you have got ISSUES.

DCShoeCo comments on Canadians in Colombia

hey man, I´m not blaming you at all. If I was raised in Winnipeg I´d hate Canada too. Your parents´ inbreeding is NOT YOUR FAULT man.

DCShoeCo comments on Native Tongue

I take it you´ve never been there? It´s a city of 500 000, I think times have changed since your father was a child.

DCShoeCo comments on Canadians in Colombia

Rubiazo, you´re out to lunch, and I´ll leave it at that. The fact that you were born in Winnipeg explains a lot.

I wrote the weather is similar to Vancouver, not the city. Seriously the sooner you shut up on this one, the smarter you´ll look.

DCShoeCo comments on Native Tongue

bufalo, maybe awesome is pushing it.

DCShoeCo comments on Canadians in Colombia

Rubiazo - ¨If you're going to compare Canada to Colombia, you should at least compare major cities with major cities, and small towns with small towns then!¨

Actually, it´s my post, and I can do whatever the fuck I want!

I was comparing Bogota to where I have lived in British Colombia, namely Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria, where there is excellent ethnic food, it is very safe and the weather never drops below plus 10 degrees in the winter, and is usually around 14-24 degrees with quite a bit of rain, just like Bogota. Toronto may be just as loud and dirty as Bogota, I wouldn´t know, I´ve never been there, and couldn´t give a fuck about it. If you live there then I feel sorry for you. I was comparing Bogota to west coast Canada. My point was that in Canada, they don´t pump loud music EVERY SINGLE PLACE YOU GO. So take a pill, I´m not insulting you or Colombia, I´m giving my honest comparison of where I live compared to Bogota. And yeah, Colombians really are late for everything. **DELETED**

**Please try to lighten up on the F word. It doesn't add anything to the post. -Moderators**

DCShoeCo comments on Native Tongue

I haven´t had any bad experiences there, but it is just an ugly, dirty, rundown city with no sights, no attractions, and really nothing to do. That said I have never lived there for any amount of time, but most Colombian people I have talked to seem to share that opinion. Why would anyone move there when you could live in awesome cities like Bogota, Cali, Medellin, etc.

If you can, try to get ahold of the older versions of Lonely Planet Colombia guides, they have info on a lot of cities that the newest editions have edited out for some reason, Ibague included.

Another thing I noticed about the job in Ibague is that you have to live with the owner in his apartment, yeah that sounds like fun.

DCShoeCo comments on Canadians in Colombia

Canadian perspective Crazy Eagle, I am from BC, 26 years old, now living in Bogota.

On the negative side, the biggest differences between where I live in Canada (Kelowna, BC) and Bogota are -

1. Colombian cities are dirty. Really bad air pollution in Bogota especially. Sometimes on busses I have trouble breathing it´s so bad. Litter everywhere. It´s not so bad in nicer neighborhoods. Also, traffic is bad and really dangerous, crosswalks are not respected, etc.

2. Lack of space. Personally, I am used to houses on separate plots of land, with large grassy yards and wide streets and sidewalks. In Colombia houses are basically crammed against each other and yards are nonexistant.

3. Safety. In Canada I don´t give a thought to walking around anywhere at any time for the most part. In Bogota, you have to know where you can and can´t walk, and at night you take cabs. My girlfriend won´t let me catch cabs on the street at night either, she makes me call them. Also, I hate that Colombia has so many diverse and spectacular regions that I will never get to visit because it´s just too dangerous. But, it comes with the territory.

4. The lack of diverse foods. Do you like good sushi, pad thai, or anything even remotely spicy? You are out of luck. Colombian food is pretty bland, and though I like a lot of it, I miss being able to eat really good ethnic food, or have barbeques, or bake. You can´t find cheddar cheese either.

5. Lack of respect for time. I´ve lost count of how many appointments I´ve had with employers or even friends, where they just don´t show up and don´t bother to call or anything. In Canada that just doesn´t happen.

6. A lot of Colombian men have a chip on their shoulder about foreign men. Especially if you walk around with a hot local girl on your arm. I´ve had her guy friends tell her bullshit about me because they were jealous, all the while acting like they were my best friend. I´ve learned to take ¨new best friends¨ with a degree of skepticism. I get glared at on the street and in bars when I´m with her as well. This is certainly not the case with all guys, but it´s something I´ve noticed.

7. The weather in Bogota. Have you been to Vancouver in April? It´s basically like that all year.

8. Noise. Loud music is pumped everywhere. Traffic is really loud. People yell all the time. If you are used to quiet towns in Canada it can get to you. Especially when you´re on a bus or eating at a restaurant and you just want some peace and quiet, and the speakers are pounding in annoying rigaton music at full volume.

On the positive side -

1. Awesome colonial architecture. Amazing, diverse landscape. Love the hot weather (in other cities like Cali). Love the palm trees.

2. Bogota has awesome nightlife, good gyms, good museums, and there is never a lack of things to do. You need to speak Spanish though.

3. The people are for the most part, awesome. People are very warm and friendly, and are generally interested in talking with foreigners. Also, they are generally very cool, and can just chill without trying to impress you or challenge you. My girlfriend has a huge, close family and they always have big crazy parties. I love how her extended family is very close. It´s not like that in Canada.

4. Everyone goes out and dances salsa, and everyone dances with everyone else´s girlfriend, and it´s totally normal and nobody gets pissed off about it. Dancing is just a way of life here. Though personally I am not a big fan of latin music.

5. Things are much cheaper here. Take a taxi 20 minutes across town, and it costs 5 bucks. Groceries are cheap. Beer is cheap.

6. Obviously, the women. Very friendly, very sexy, and if you are a foreigner with even minimal social skills, you will do very well.

7. In general, spending time in Colombia is a good way to loosen up. Canadians (myself included) can be really uptight. For example, I´ve gotten used to being touched all the time, something I hated at first. You shake everyone´s hand. Guys put their arms around you. You kiss all the women you know on the cheek. And things like going out and dancing salsa or merengue even though you know you suck. And being on horribly overcrowded busses that just about kill you, and not being affected anymore. Or getting ripped off because you´re a dumb foreigner, and learning to laugh it off. It´s a good experience.

DCShoeCo comments on Direct Flights from Canada?

www.expedia.ca

DCShoeCo comments on Native Tongue

I was in contact with the owner, but when I asked him about the contract and working conditions I never heard from him again. Pretty dodgy. Besides that, Ibague is a complete armpit of a city, and having been there now I´m glad I never went there. If you have some experienve and a CELTA, come down to Bogota and look for work, it´s not too difficult to find.

DCShoeCo comments on One way possible or roundtrip only?

fact I flew here from Costa Rica on a one way ticket. But you need the return ticket to extend your tourist visa after a month.

DCShoeCo comments on Travelling by bus - security question

Fear Mongering GIB, the original poster was asking about the bus route between Bogota and Ibague, which is indeed safe. That´s good for you that you live here, so do I.

Peter Miami, are you a moderator? Kiss my ass.

DCShoeCo comments on How much Spanish required?

No problem Been in Bogota for two months, don't speak Spanish, no problems. It's the same as traveling or living in any other non English speaking country like Korea or Japan.

If you have a teaching degree you will have no problem finding work. Many Colombian teachers that are 'fluent' in English?? Don't make me laugh. I have yet to meet a Colombian that spoke fluent English.

DCShoeCo comments on Travelling by bus - security question

Bullshit How was it bad enough GringoinBogota? Did something actually happen?

To the original poster, it's fine to take the bus to Ibague. For fuck's sake, stop reading what the idiots post on here.

DCShoeCo comments on What Am I a Clown?

Agreed I agree, use insulting rapid-fire english when they start with that shit.

¨Yeah dude, your all-guy crew is so slick man. Where are all the ladies? What happened tonight man? Did a gringo buy your girlfriend?¨

Keep your tone light, like you´re just playing along.

DCShoeCo comments on Mens Magazine offends Colombia!!

Get a grip This is what you spend your time worrying about?? Maybe you should join an offended men´s support group.

DCShoeCo comments on How to beg forgiveness of a Colombian girl?

Why are you wasting your time ¨attempting to court¨ a girl you can´t communicate with in a different country? You are only prolonging your agony.

Chalk this up to a learning experience and forget her. Learn Spanish, travel, go to the gym, take up a sport, buy a cool camera and take up photography, learn to cook, practice your social skills. Stop ¨courting¨ women. It doesn´t work. Instead, improve yourself and your life to the point that women start courting you.

You have lots of other women to look forward to. Losing this one is actually the kick in the ass you need to get motivated. Good luck.

DCShoeCo comments on Need appartment (and friends) in Bogota

I´m a 26 year old guy from Canada, I´ve been in Bogota a month now. I have a girlfriend here and I´ve found making friends pretty easy but haven´t met any other foreigners! My girlfriend is a dancer here and knows all the right bars and pubs... this city has some kickass nightlife. I live in the north part of the city near Bulevar shopping center. Fire me an email ( jonpullin at hotmail.com ). Anybody else is welcome to as well. Also Felipe, are you the guy I met in Big Boys gym? If you are, dude I have been hoping to run into you again, hit me up.

Jon

DCShoeCo comments on HOW DID YOU MEET HER OR HIM?????

I met my Colombian girlfriend in Korea, it was a complete fluke. I´ve been in Bogota a little over a month now and I rarely see other foreigners. My question is why do you specifically want to be with a gringo?

DCShoeCo comments on Bogota neighborhood question: Barrio Santa Isabel

I'm definately going to rent an apartment, but not sure where... she is looking for one, but I was wondering if we should get one close to her parents' place or somewhere else.

As for rent, I don't really know what average prices are, so it's hard to say. We lived together in a tiny studio in Korea, so we don't need much. I would be happy to pay $300 US I suppose.

My main question isn't about apartments, it's whether anyone knows how safe the aforementioned neighborhood is..