Omnispire has left 39 comments

Omnispire comments on Visas: Spain via the UK?

On the subject of attitude to foreigners. At Christmas we stayed in a Hotel taht was probably 40% Spanish guests. One of the nights (possibly Christmas day) the hotel had booked a singer. He was doing all the crooner type songs Frank Sinatra, Lenny Bennett. Classic songs thata re known the world over. He wasn't great but better than nothing. All the spanish people started heckling the singer "cantara en espanol" I thought a fight was going to break out between the English and the spanish. It didn't but all the spanish en masse walked out in disgust. It doesn't help your situation but i thought it was funny.

Omnispire comments on Visas: Spain via the UK?

I am British and my wife is Colombian as well. Its pretty hard and expensive however you do it. Towards the end of last year we went to Paris, Amsterdam and Spain within a 3 month period. We needed a chengue visa to enter all of these countries Any one of these embasssies could issue a chengue visa but the issuing country should either be the one where you are going to spend most of your time or the one where you enter first. The dutch embassy was really rude and unhelpful. The french one was less rude but all in all our experience of getting a Chengue visa was that it was not a pleasant experience and you have to pay for the privilige. Coming from Britain will not give you any special privilige except maybe to be treated even worse. I would advise going straight to Spain. You will need to get the chengue visa anyway so all you would be doing is adding an extra step to your journey unnecesarily. BTW I am not sure if you know but you have to get a chengue visa even if you are only travelling through. As the only flights to uk are by third party countries of Italy, Spain, Germany, France (all Chengue countries) and America (in which case you would need a visa from them as well) it does not make sense to add to the aggro and cost of getting the visas. If your father has adequate funds to act as a sponsor then the visa will not be a problem for any amount of time. At the end of the day all they care about is whether letting your wife into the country is going to cost them money. i.e. no recourse to public funds and you are not going to take away work from one of their own citizens that could do with the work. If you are coming to spend money (e.g. as a student) or you are investing money into the country then that is okay but it really depends on whether the person interviewing you got out of bed the wrong side that morning. My wife has advised that the Spanish look down on Colombians like the poor relations even though a lot of the wealth in spain has come directly from South America. The reason I say this is because it will probably prejudice your application more than if you were going to another Chengue country (all things being equal). Good luck anyway. If you have any more questions I will be glad to help if I can.

Omnispire comments on

Just read your last couple of comments. Its a shame, I was just warming to you. I know you have become disillusioned with the life you have got now so I hope that you find what you are looking for somewhere on this little planet. Good luck ;-)

Omnispire comments on 404 Error File Not Found

Its the Microsoft logo. If you get rid of that from all areas of your PC it should work fine!

Omnispire comments on Chávez calls Uribe "coward" and "pawn of the empire"

Well its a bit like gerry springer in its heyday. I am just waiting for one of them to get off their stalls and go across and bitch slap the other one.

Omnispire comments on what is it about colombians and coca cola??

My wife makes a fantastic casserole with chicken and coca cola. The recipe has come down from her mum. Its very tasty and not as sweet as you would have thought.

Omnispire comments on What's the Usual Time frame of having the (fiance) visa in hand, after the interview?

You don't state which country this is for and your profile does not give a clue? For my wife to get her visa changed from student to spouse (in principal the same as a fiance visa from the British Embassy point of view) we walked into the embassy and it was approved the same day for immediate use. If they had got queries that they could not resolve in that day it would have taken longer so I would try and leave as long a gap as possible to be on the safe side and to stop yourself from getting too much stress. Good luck.

Omnispire comments on Colombia Travel Guide - Feedback please

Maps or links to maps plus typical travelling times to get to these places would be useful. Also its obviously early days for you but a lot more detail can be fleshed out on these areas. Perhaps turning what you have got into bullet points for easy scan reading and then having some wordy bits underneath to give added detail for those interested in reading further. I think the English and British tourist boards are excellent for finding and providing information about where to go. Obviously they have huge budgets but the layout and type of information provided is in a good and clearly presented manner. Its worth having a look to see if you can steal some ideas. http://www.enjoyengland.com/ http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/ Good luck.

Omnispire comments on WHO SUPPORTS THE DRUG WAR?

Its a bit nieve.

Omnispire comments on Warning to you romantic gringos

.....and another thing just because a poor background is where you have come from that is not necesarily who you are now but it would have given you some important life lessons that other kids who had it easier would not have had. Culturally speaking the native "injuns" of America have got a very rich past to draw on. Modern America's culture is relatively quite weak by comparison with roots stemming from all over the world but with no set focus. You should think about that and be proud of who you are.

Omnispire comments on Warning to you romantic gringos

E- said "Omni, just be very aware and keep asking youself the same question over and over, why me and not over 30 million male colombianos?" I am not going to give all my secrets out! "Better yet, come to queens and see if hot colombianitas are gonna be all over you like they will in colombia." Its a long way to go for a walk from London but i am happy with what I have got so I won't be able to try that out but in Multi-cultural London I can't see why you would not pick up hot women of any nation if your nose is not on the other side of your face and you have half a brain. There is a large amount of Colombians living in London now so why not a Colombiana if it takes your fancy. There is someone for everybody but you have to realise what level your at and go for something of the equivalent level. There was a study done where they pinned numbers between 1 and 10 on some skaters backs but did not tell them what number they had. They were then sent out onto the ice to find the highest number they could patch up with. The rules were you could leave the person you were with as many times as you want until you felt you were with the highest number you could get. They found the 9s were with 8,9 and 10s and the 2's were with 1,2 and 3s. If we turn that number into attractiveness then you have something close to the dating game. For women wealth is one of the factors that goes to making a guy a attractive. If there were 2 guys and they were both similar sorts of people, similar looks etc but one was rich the woman would usually go for the one with the money. In the same way that men in the main will go for women based on the size of their tits. 2 women equal in all ways except one has a bigger breast size will find most men will go for the bigger tits. The point is we are all looking for what we believe is the best thing for ourselves.

Omnispire comments on Warning to you romantic gringos

I forget who made the quote but its true "Money is not important until you haven't got any" Once you get to that point then you do some serious reevaluations of your life.

Omnispire comments on Warning to you romantic gringos

GIB-Money is a powerful aphrodisiac for women from all nations as ultimately it brings the belief of comfort and protection for the women. In Colombia it seems to hold even more power but its not the only thing that matters. Some women are drawn by other....things. Its unfortunate that you do not seem to have met any in your life. They are there but they are bloody hard to find in any country. The funny thing is, the women say the same about decent men.

Omnispire comments on Warning to you romantic gringos

Back on topic. El- Where does that put the guys who are good/reasonably looking, not necesarily loaded for cash who go to Colombia to experience the country and in the process meet a girl? That does not mean she is a whore and it does not make him a sex tourist. They may well have a relationship that does not work out for cultural reasons in the end but is based on good intentions. Either way one of them has to give up their life as they know it to be with the other one if they are serious. And then what? disappointment, reality is different to expectations. Unexpected cultural surprises. language barriers. It still does not mean they were wrong to do it just that they have more dice loaded against them from the start. You can't predict who you are going to fall in love with. People who go looking for love abroad without understanding all the angles deserve everything they get.I Have seen another of your posts where you talk about the red flags i.e. no interest from women before so why now. Have you suddenly got good looking. Your right to point that out but it isn't always that way so you need to be careful of generalisations. This board is read by a lot of people who don't post and every comment and post that paints a bad picture of Colombia brings it down. On another post you stated that you were descended from pure aborigines blood. Do you not care about what people think of your mother country? El-I am interested to know your view.

Omnispire comments on que pena

I think he is saying that one of his posts got mod'ed and he is not happy about it. I am curious to know why it got moved or deleted but its not pleasant to have a post that you have written with great care and love obliterated. La Campiña maybe you could rewrite it so that its not so controversial. If I have also misunderstood maybe you could enlighten us.

Omnispire comments on

X files was a great series, wasn't it?????

Omnispire comments on paulr

I am looking to do something similar but I am a bit further back in my plans. I am interested to share any tricks or traps you/ I find out about. Good luck.

Omnispire comments on /

I have to say as well that I really had to consider whether I was going to post that or not for fear of being labelled a troll. Freedom of speech is good. Thank goodness we live in countries where these are rights written into our constitutions!!!!!!!!!

Omnispire comments on /

DocW I just got the following from Wikipedia. The information on Wikipedia is not always accurate but it will normally give you a good basis for finding out more information if you don't know what something is. Anyway it says An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial messages in an on-line community such as an on-line discussion forum with the intention of baiting other users into responding emotionally[1].[2] The rise of the expression "concern troll" reflects an expanded definition of troll as someone whose posts have the primary goal of disrupting or de-railing an internet community. "Troll" is also used in a broader pejorative sense to question the good faith of any Internet user who has annoyed the person using the term....... The term troll is highly subjective. Some readers may characterize a post as trolling, while others may regard the same post as a legitimate contribution to the discussion, even if controversial. The term is often erroneously used to discredit an opposing position, or its proponent, by argument fallacy ad hominem. Often, calling someone a troll makes assumptions about a writer's motives. Regardless of the circumstances, controversial posts may attract a particularly strong response from those unfamiliar with the robust dialogue found in some online, rather than physical, communities. "Experienced participants in online forums know that the most effective way to discourage a troll is usually to ignore him or her, because responding encourages a true troll to continue disruptive posts — hence the often-seen warning "Please do not feed the troll".[citation needed] Frequently, someone who has been labelled a troll by a group may seek to redeem their reputation by discrediting their opponents, for example by claiming that other members of the group are closed-minded, conspirators, or trolls themselves." I did not know that was what it was. I thought it was something slightly different. However if you look at some of my other comments and posts you could easily argue that i am a troll. On the other hand I like to try and give a fair debate on both sides of an issue especually if I feel strongly about it. I think one or two of the more long standing members of PBH make far more controversial statements that could easily be considered trollish. I have seen comments about the fact that the site does not attract many women to it. This may be in part due to the posts of the members themselves. It really comes down to what people want. A clichy small club that is quite elitist but everyone knows one another so that is okay or a wider open forum that encourages more input from a more diverse basis. This forum could do a lot more to help people going to Colombia for the first time and to help one another but thats just my opinion.

Omnispire comments on /

I still don't understand how they are trolls. Or are they literally mean looking monsters that spend a lot of their time sitting under bridges and have a particular taste for goat?

Omnispire comments on /

Still confused as to why he was a troll. As far as I can make out Pow Wow and Car1 (assuming they are different people) may just be crazy people, eccentrics, of poor education or that is just the way they are. The forums should be free to express what we want as long as you are not out and out offensive. You don't have to read every post by every person. If you see something and it is difficult to read, absolute nonsense you have the right to express your own comments in response to that including just ignoring it. People talk a lot on this site about live and let live and how open minded "We" all are but censoring someone because you don't like the way they write flies straight in the face of that. As I said I still can't see how this makes these users trolls. If there is some sort of complex computer program that makes conversation threads based on a sequence of words fed to it and this is being dumped into the forum then I would see that as being a troll. However, I can't believe that someone would have enough time on their hands to try and achieve something so pointless when you could sit there and write a paragraph with your own wits in a fraction of the time. What is the objection to letting a few nutters have their views as well?

Omnispire comments on hostage release

Here's the news link http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN28440329

Omnispire comments on /

I read some of the the bits that car1 wrote and I could not see how he was a troll. (Unless I have a different definition of a troll in internet terms). Can someone explain. Preferably without the sarcasm.

Omnispire comments on Has it suddenly got easy to get married in Colombia?

Believe me it was not easy. It was a church wedding I am C of E which doesn't really help. The point was that even the priests could not agree on exactly what paperwork they needed and it got close to the wedding not going ahead at all because we did not have one bit of paper that was suddenly needed but not needed before. It was not just the wedding itself and the priest but the visa situation was a fantastic catch 22. My wife has a right to enter England on a student visa but if we got married and tried to get that visa changed in england from a student visa to a spouse visa then it was likely to get refused on the basis that we had entered the country under false pretenses. That's BS but that's the rule. We were advised to apply in Bogota but the application could take 6 or more weeks. we had flights booked to go back to the UK and having got married believe it or not we wanted to be together. The embassy attitude was that is the procedure full stop. So someone who does not give a stuff about their wife because they are simply playing the system is fine because they can enter the country separately but if you want to enter the country together because you actually love one another then that is treated as absurd. What's more, it was not possible to apply for the visa until you were physically married so the appointment system was against you. As it turned out we met a friend in London who had recently married in Colombia with very similar circumstances and they advised that you can pay a bit extra (as in the UK) and get a 1 day turn around decision. That was relatively easy but the only source of that information was through a friend of a friend. I can elaborate more if annybody needs to know the finer detail to help with their circumstances. I just do not want anybody else to go through the hell we went through. STRESS. It was possibly one of the most stressful times in my life. Walking down the aisle in front of everyone and making my pledges was a piece of cake by comparison.

Omnispire comments on Cockney Colombian

I have just started writing on the site but have been reading posts on and off for about 9 months. I knew once I started I would get addicted. The thing the site does seem to be a bit top heavy with Americans so its good to find a fellow brit on the page. Do you know who the other main brit loggers are?

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

I think we can get a new thread out of this e.g. Guy A goes to a Salsa night club and when the music starts to play starts line dancing out of time to the music!! jajajaja What do you reckon? has it got any legs?

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

My dad was guy A when he went to Colombia. It was hilarious. He spoke to everybody in English v e r y S l o w l y whether they understood any english or not. The funny thing was he managed to get on really well with 2 of the older colombian guys who did not speak any english and they would speak to him in spanish. We left them talking for hours about god knows what but all 3 went away saying how great the other was. GIB you forgot to put the text in capitals because he is also shouting at the top of his voice!!!!

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

GIB- That is human nature if life is rosy and sweeter than you have had it before why would you want to upset the apple cart and go onto uncertainty and probably something not as good for being dishonest or bad in some way. If you treat people good there is a fair chance they will treat you good back. Of course some people confuse this with weakness. The carrot and the stick. Be firm and hard when necessary and kind and generous otherwise. People soon work out what is the better way and not to mess you about. There is that crazy quote along the lines of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and expect to get different results. I guess that makes your friends crazy ;-)

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

Its not exactly that I worry but I think about things- a lot. Up until a couple of years ago I thought everybody did that but no, as my wife says I am a special case. The point of having a forum is a chance to air your opinion and possibly change the world. Not everything in Colombia is great and it is worth taking things from other cultures if it enriches the culture. Look at Indian restaurants in England. It has now become part of English culture to go for a beer and a curry on a Friday night.

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

Kat1- I am English and I have never made a pastie and I don't like the soap operas here (they are all so depressing) but I can make a mean gravy for roast dinner. I will post to you directly if you want to know the secret to a good gravy.

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

John_Stark- Thank you for giving another example of what I was talking about in my posts. Although I never really said which one is pathetic. As Gator said different strokes for different folks. I would just like Guy A to stroke somewhere else.

Omnispire comments on Photos Link?

is the contest still open???

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

NYB- I am not a hero, a martyr or anything of the like but I do think if everyone does a bit of good then the whole world becomes a lot better. That Is NOT going to happen but I still think I should encourage where ever possible for people to do the positive thing. That's just me. It makes me feel at peace with the world and even though I know there are many bad things going on (including our lovely Colombia) I like to think that in some small way I can make a difference. Tourism is a double edged sword. It will bring lots of money into the country and it will allow Colombia to stand on its own two feet without depending on the support of other nations but as that money comes in and the prosperity and standard of living rises this will have an impact on colombias ability to be competitive on the world stage. A lot of the manurfacturing and farming industry will no longer be cheaper than other countries. All colombia will be able to fall back on is the tourism industry (which is very fickle). ( I know there is a lot more besides but i am making a point). As one of the main producers of Cocaine it will cost more and more money to produce and transport it so that it will drive the cost of the street price and eventually this will impact the cartels etc. in Colombia. They will be forced to produce the stuff in other countries. As much as it has been a terrible poison and lead to a great deal of misery for colombia it has also brought great amounts of wealth. Is plan Colombia really about eradicating the crop or is it a greater plan. NYB- you sound very cynical. I am but I also try to keep an open mind.

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

...But where is the right place for that balance? I think the reason we are posting is to not do the classic thing that people do find somewhere beautiful, treat it like crap, tell everyone else about it, watch them treat it like crap and then sit and wonder why its not the beautiful thing we first found. I am saying that i can see first hand evidence of that in England and I don't want the same thing to happen to Colombia. If I can make at least one person see and agree with what i am saying then the posts have been worthwhile. I have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for something worth posting for and this moved me.

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

Albatross- We brits do knock out some great films. We also put out some really awful ones as well. Where we fall down is that many of our films are not distributed strongly in other countries (other than the odd one or two) and we do not turn out anywahere near the volume that is produced by America. If you think about what constitutes an average nights TV in England then the majority will be American. The same with films at the cinema and the same can be said of the local DVD shop (I nearly said store! another americanism). You also need to consider the audience British people like to see british films because there is something in it that we can bond to culturally. Colombians like to see films from their own country for the same reason and Bollywood is a special case. They produce a phenomenal number of films and they are very popular in the indian communities but outside of that there is very little following i.e. preaching to the converted. This is where America is able to make in roads in exporting its culture. The common language of the American film is English. I am almost a bit ashamed to admit it but for a long time English have travelled places and just assumed that they would be understood because in general they are. Colombia is not like that so my friends and family that came to Colombia for my wedding had a big culture shock and my wife and I spent a lot of the time translating for them. I think it will get to a point eventually when only a few languages will be left one of the chinese dialects, Arabic and English. I am talking about 100 or 200 years but I think that all these other languages (including spanish) will go the way of the welsh. Still there but seen as an extra and not necessary for life. I know I have probably just signed my death warrant for a firing squad based on typical posts I have seen on this site but its what I think based on seeing what has happened historically.

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

Desideria- Age is not just a number but it is also a state of mind. As you get older you tend to become more close minded but it does not mean that is always the case. I regard myself as quite young thinking and I suspect as well (but don't hold me to it) that many of the people on this board that Like Colombia are also more free thinking than the average for their age no matter how old they are. As a generalism it is generally true!

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

GIB, I don't disagree with you change is inevitable. The problem is when the change is forced at a rate that cannot be accomodated. By nature we will always aspire to get the best things in life we can whether those things are American, English, Chinese or Colombian. There have been studies done that show where 2 cultures merge the more developed culture (Technology, Media and to a degree wealth) will over ride the other. South America has a mountain of examples that show that. American culture is spreading throughout the world (including Britain) predominantly through Hollywood. They have the biggest film industry, The film industry either depicts an American way of life or an American view of the way life is elsewhere and subliminally this becomes the face of popular culture. Nearly everyone around the world knows what The Simpsons, ET and Home Alone are about. There are many, many very subtle Americanisms that creep their way into the subconscious. Strobers, You are living what I am explaining in my post. Thank you for the example. People whereever they are appreciate the respect you show their culture and therefore them and in due course will respect you more for trying to be like them, even if you fail at it now and again.

Omnispire comments on Spouse visa confusion

Do you still need some advice on this? I have a good friend who works for the home office and I can get a definite answer if you need still need it but I don't want to bother him unnecesarily if you have already got the answer or are in the process of trying anyway. Good luck either way ;-)

Omnispire comments on On foreigners and integration

Speaking as a brit and one who has (especially in the last couple of years) seen my english culture evaporate before my eyes as the country becomes inundated with foreigners who make no attempt to speak the language of their adopted country, understand the laws, customs and culture I have quite strong views on the subject. I have been to Colombia 3 times now, my wife is colombian and I love the country so much in much the same way as everyone else on this board. When I look at Colombia I see many things that remind me of how my country was about 20-30 years ago. We have always welcomed (in the main) people coming to britain and bringing something of their culture with them but this has always been on the understanding that at the end of the day you should respect the country and should not change it to the one you have just left. If you liked whichever country you have just left so much stay there and enjoy. My point is that even if you are Guy B you will never be Colombian in the truest sense but you can adopt the country in a way that both Colombia and Guy B becomes richer for the experience. What Is Guy A doing? All he is doing is diluting the population and thinning the culture. If there is a large number of Guy As that turn up all of a sudden then goodbye Colombia. It will lose its identity. It is inevitable that, given enough time, the distinctions between different countries will become more blurred but I think Colombia has a lot to be proud of and it should try and hold onto that identity for as long as possible. If people separate themselves rather than integrate it creates ghettos, it polarises populations and eventually leads to racism. Is America really culturally diverse and accepting as it would have us believe? There was a time in England in the early 90s when it really felt like different cultures were coming together but that started to evaporate in my opinion when the equal opportunities act really started to kick and remind people just how different everyone was. I think America has the same problem. I went to France and Holland recently. It was really refreshing to see far more acceptance of the fact taht people were differnt but so what. I was only in each place for a weekend so it was hard to draw any great conclusions but there was definitely a more positive image coming from the people on the public transport. If I go to live in colombia, which I would like to do then i will aspire to being Guy B because I have seen the damage that Guy A can do to a culture.