Profesora has left 5 comments

Profesora comments on My Colombian Girlfriend

Open your eyes Sorry, you're absolutely right. Familarity breeds comtempt. I've seen the world mate.

What I descibe here is not ALL western men, naturally. But when you've been working in Thailand, Korea, Japan and Goa, when you've seen the extent of the damage, when you look at the reason why - the attitude that one can behave in a foreign culture with total impugnity, and to observe so many behave this way, it make you really really angry. Sexual tourism is one of the scourges of the earth. It results in 1/10 Thai women, and 1/20 Korean women becoming involved in the sex industry from an appaulingly young age.

We are all responsible for each other, my friend. I'm all for cross-cultural relationships (had a few myself). But what I'm not for is exploitation, for treating other cultures with crass impugnity.

Western men can behave like aboslute scum in other countries, and well you know it.

Prof.

Profesora comments on Disappointed

Savoir Faire Good one, poco.

In English, the French term "Savoir faire" is used when talking about calm behaviour in the event of a crisis.

Three departmental directors: an American, a Frenchman, and a Colombiano were discussing the meaning of "savior faire" in Cross-Cultural mangagement training in their company.

The American says

"Hey, listen, I know the meaning of this phrase. Let's say I go home one night from work, I go up to the bedroom, and I see my wife in bed with another guy. I shut the door, go downstairs and wait for them. Calmly. That is "savoir faire".

The Frenchman, who naturally feels superior to the American, says:

"Non, Non, mon ami. I am French. I know the true meaning of this phrase. I go home from work one night, I go upstairs, I seem my wife in the compromising position with the other man. I look at them, and say, 'Please, continue'. I THEN go down the stairs and wait, calmly. THAT is savoir faire.

The Colombiano looks at them and smiles. He says "My friends, you are both wrong. Let's consider the situation. I go home, I go to the bedroom, I see my wife giving me the horns with some son of a bitch. I look at them. I say "please, continue." Now, if THAT man can continue, then THAT is savoir faire.

Profesora comments on Disappointed

Savoir Faire Good one, poco.

In English, the French term "Savoir faire" is used when talking about calm behaviour in the event of a crisis.

Three departmental directors: an American, a Frenchman, and a Colombiano were discussing the meaning of "savior faire" in Cross-Cultural mangagement training in their company.

The American says

"Hey, listen, I know the meaning of this phrase. Let's say I go home one night from work, I go up to the bedroom, and I see my wife in bed with another guy. I shut the door, go downstairs and wait for them. Calmly. That is "savoir faire".

The Frenchman, who naturally feels superior to the American, says:

"Non, Non, mon ami. I am French. I know the true meaning of this phrase. I go home from work one night, I go upstairs, I seem my wife in the compromising position with the other man. I look at them, and say, 'Please, continue'. I THEN go down the stairs and wait, calmly. THAT is savoir faire.

The Colombiano looks at them and smiles. He says "My friends, you are both wrong. Let's consider the situation. I go home, I go to the bedroom, I see my wife giving me the horns with some son of a bitch. I look at them. I say "please, continue." Now, if THAT man can continue, then THAT is savoir faire.

Profesora comments on Living in Colombia

Being Chaste (or Chased) in Colombia Sex, or the prospects of it, should never be one's reason for going anywhere. I really believe this as I spent a year in Korea listening to my Korean girlfriends cry about how their scummy western boyfriends used and abused them. As a professional ESL teacher, I get seriously pissed off with said scummy western men damaging my profession by using English "teaching" to fiance their sexual forays into another culture.

That said, I am I made of stone, so I want to have a normal social life in Colombia. I don't discriminate on colour or nationality, but I do on education and attitude. I want to ask the colombianos here how to go about the dating scene in Colombia being safe, respecting the culture, and not ending up with a machista monster (not that I can tollerate machismo in its purest forms anyway).

Gracias .. Profe.

Profesora comments on My Colombian Girlfriend

Men Behaving Badly = Jelous Women. Ah, the Gringos Abroad. And it's not just in Colombia, but Asia as well. Get this, they are guys women wouldn't look twice at in North America or Europe, and so they think they'll try their luck abroad. Well, we all know the pulling power of the exotic right? And suddenly, they're off the plane in Latin America, in Korea, or Thailand, and they are the coolest, sexiest things on earth. (Trust me, they're not, but a man's got to try right?) And can afford to be cool and sexy, can't they, because they've got the benifit of hard currency, (which is about the only thing hard about them).

Next thing, they're posing in the bars and pulling in the chics. Well, the curious (or ambitious) ones anyway.

Then they realise,"Hey, this a macho culture, I can walk over this woman and get her to do stuff that my last gringa girlfriend wouldn't do. She'll be my SLAVE! Forever! (Cue the evil Igor laughter). Never mind that macho cultures have their own system of checks and balances. And what is respected in return is that you will love her tenderly and make her bite the pillow in passion. You guys wouldn't know passion if it bit you in the arse. Instead, you take the comfort of a regular girlfriend and continue to play the field. She keeps hoping you'll change, but that's not the way it goes.

Let's say she puts up with all your crap and actually married you and goes back to your country. It could be that she realises that things will never change. So it's adios, and you'll be left sad, and in your fifties, trying to pick up girls in a Thai bar wondering what you did wrong. Alone.

In macho cultures boys, remember this. Women are survivors, soft on the outside, but very tough on the inside. Sort of the reverse of Europe. They have to be. More women in Colombia die at the hands of their husbands than men die at the hands of the coca mafia.