friendsbogotalondon has left 10 comments

friendsbogotalondon comments on If you really want a "Colombian" haircut in London....

Colombian haircuts come with una sonrisa.

friendsbogotalondon comments on The National Health in England

voy a estudiar en londres por 7 meses pero no tengo visa shengen y quisiera saber si el seguro que exigen (assist card)para la visa es mejor llevarlo desde colombia o es mas facil y barato comprarlo en londres . y por cuanto tiempo es bueno adquirirlo en caso de que sea mejor en comprar en colombia gracias.

friendsbogotalondon comments on The National Health in England

The visa says he can work with permission. He was told by the British Council he could work legally 20 hours per week as a student. Does this sound right?

friendsbogotalondon comments on The National Health in England

So, if you work, money is taken from your check for healthcare? This would be true also if you are working on a student visa, as is allowed?

friendsbogotalondon comments on Which banks can transfer money to Colombia?

Any US bank can transfer money to a Colombian bank. The problem comes when you have to sit around a week or two and wonder where the money is, then go into the Colombian bankd 4 or 5 times to make them find it!

friendsbogotalondon comments on The National Health in England

What happens when someone (a visitor) gets sick in England, then? Does the hospital refuse to treat such folks? He bought some sort of insurance plan here in Colombia that covers him in England, but they would only let him buy 3 months, and he plans to stay 7-10 months.

friendsbogotalondon comments on LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO LIVE IN BOGOTA

For teaching, if you have credentials, you can work in a bilingual school for a salary of about two to three times what you have been offered. Best to go through an agency, though. Check out www.internationalteachertalk.com

friendsbogotalondon comments on English Teaching Books

Tru AUTHORS, an American bookstore on the corner of Cl 70 with Cr 5. They will order anything you want and their prices are 40% above the US list price--still high, but cheap for Bogota.

friendsbogotalondon comments on Colombianos in London?

Getting the student visa was mostly a matter or just jumping through the hoops. He used the British Council, and that might have had a lot to do with it. They know how to line things up to meet the requirements. He had to stay seven months, as they would not think he was serious about learning English if he stayed a shorter time (but, he got a visa for almost 10 months). The other requirements:

1. course paid for in advance (at Eden House, but paid through the British Council)
2. a month of accomodation paid up front
3. extensive CV from age 15 , all with documentation (degrees, courses, work letters, etc.)
4. financial information--including a letter of support from me, a US citizen
5. all papers filled out with British Council and a letter of introduction provided by British Council, listing all his qualifications.

Probably going through the British Council was the important thing, because they know what the embassy wants to see. The embassy itself is not willing to say what they want to see, so you have to deal with someone who has that knowledge (perhaps an attorney, but British Council does not charge).

Once the paperwork was gathered (very time-consuming), the rest was very quick: he filled out paperwork on Tuesday, had an appointment at the embassy on Thursday, had an answer on Friday. Very different from the arrogant US embassy, which makes you wait a few months just to get the appointment (I have friends who applied for a fiance visa through a US immigration attorney in early in May--they have been engaged for two years--still waiting to be given an appointment).

It might also have helped that everything is on the up and up. He isn't trying to get into the UK and then stay illegally. He is going to attend the language school for seven months, just like he said. All the paperwork provided was legitimate. No doubt the US embassy is arrogant, but my friends who work there say that probably 40% of the paperwork they see is falsified somehow, and another 40% of the applications are just not completed properly. Of course, quite a few legitimate applications get rejected out of hand because the US just assumes that all Colombians are liars, or the interviewer is on a power trip, or had a bad lunch, or whatever...

friendsbogotalondon comments on Colombianos in London?

This is good information. He needs to speak as much English as possible, but also will need some connections with home, and it's good to know that the haircutting skills will come in handy. When I tell him how expensive London is, I think he doesn't believe me. What's a good price for a man's haircut or a woman's? for a color, straightening, etc.?

He has one month of accomodation paid for up front, but after that will look for a situation somewhere, so with a decent sized Colombian community, that will help. I remember Elephant and Castle from when i was there in the early 90's. Is Seven Sisters the name of another barrio? Where's that one?