rcmkensington has left 4 comments

rcmkensington comments on Colombian Paintings

Don't know anyone in Bogota, but a guy I know in Cartagena sells oil (and watercolor) palntings of Cartagena, boats, the seaport, the streets, etc. He's a salesman and works with different artists. Although he can show you different paintings, as can others, what distinguishes him is 1) tell him what you want or give him a photo and he'll arrange to have it painted in the size and medium (oil or watercolor) you want; 2) he'll arrange to have the painting framed for you (much much cheaper than in the US) and 3) he'll wrap the painting(s) well (even the ones with glass) so you can ship in the airline baggage compartment or as cargo. Prices vary from $75,000K pesos for a smaller painting to $250K-350K for a 2 1/2 ' x 4 ' painting. He can get you cheaper stuff, of course, but doesn't sound like that's what you want. Anyway, the guy's name is Reynel Correa. His cell phone is 310 617 1377.

rcmkensington comments on Passport for my Colombian girlfriend

Your story is, to a casual reader like me, unusual. You don't say where or how you met her, how it is that the Panama police got involved (other than your lawyer calling them), what job your GF thought she'd be getting in Panama, etc. Neither the cousin nor the pimp have reason to be upset with her if they lied to her in the first place, and they would have no reason to do so. A substantial number of Colombian girls would LOVE to have a Pimp front trip costs for an opportunity to earn dollars in Panama hooking -- far more than can be earned hooking in Colombia. In the meanwhile, let me see if I've got this right: 1) Your GF accepted money from a Gringo pimp to travel to Panama, either not knowing he was a pimp or not knowing that her cousin was hooking in Panama, or if she did know, believing that these worthies were going to get her a legitimate job? 2) The cousin tried to get your innocent GF, who had never hooked in her life before into Panama on false pretenses? That is, the cousin had nothing better to do than mislead your GF and cause her pimp to waste money in the process -- something that would not exactly endear the pimp to the cousin? 3) The cousin tried to have your GF "sold" to Costa Rica to avert your influence? Or was it because your GF was going out with you and not paying back the pimp the money he was out? 4) Instead of just giving her a plane ticket back to Colombia, you, on the lawyer's advice, had the police formally deport her so she would have a record and not be allowed to ever return to Panama? Like I said, is the lawyer competent or legitimate? 5) The police think that young Colombian women are hookers, but that's unfair to your GF who is not and never has been one, even though she was staying with her hooker cousin, and had her trip paid for by a pimp and almost got kidnapped to Costa Rica? 6) Colombian women who get money from American BFs have a right to be supported without working and to get upset if the money flow ends because we have so much and they have so little. I'll give you an alternative theory to consider and think about. Your GF turned tricks now and then in Colombia, but had never formally worked in a whorehouse, i.e. had Colombian amigos she'd get together with for money, probably working thru a handler. She agrees to go to Panama, but finds the whorehouse environment where she is obligated to be with just about anyone who enters the establishment to be hard to deal with. She meets you and you make it clear you don't do hookers. (Although, how DID you meet her?) She smells a gravy train in the making, and maybe she even likes you a little bit. So, she tells the cousin and the pimp she's not going to work off what she owed the pimp for the trip since she doesn't like the whorehouse environment and she's got you on the line. The rest is pretty much as you say. Food for Thought You appear to be a good guy and I want you to consider other experiences. Time will tell who's right. You will have to see for yourself. Do a post or send an email with an update if you would. I assume if you were dead wrong and we were right (and note that every poster, without exception is telling you you're making a mistake), you are capable of admitting it -- many guys are not, but I think you are. Best of luck to you..

rcmkensington comments on Passport for my Colombian girlfriend

OK, I wish you the best of luck and maybe your due dilgence has confirmed that you found that rare Colombian girl in Panama who is poor, working a legitimate job and not hooking. But, I sincerely doubt it. What was she doing overstaying her visa status in Panama? What non-hooking job did she have? (Trust me, legimate businesses in Panama don't easily hire uneducated Colombian women without work papers) Did you check it out personally? Apparently not. Is the lawyer trustworthy? I have never hired a lawyer in Panama, but I have hired lawyers for real estate purchases in Colombia -- and have had to go thru several before finding one who is honest and who I can trust. And, if she is so poor that you are supporting her, as appears to be the case, what in the world was she doing spending money on airfare, etc. to Panama (or did she go to Costa Rica first -- most hookers in Costa Rica are also Colombian, I''ve also been in CR?) that she needed for her child? Spending good money just visiting her prostitute cousin? Maybe her cousin had lined up a legitimate job for her and that's what she was doing in Panama. Is that the story? Does it make sense that her hooker cousin could or would line up anything other than a hooker job in a foreign country? How was it she came to the police's attention? Stopped at the border coming in from Costa Rica (Your post is not clear on that)? Busted at her legitimate job? Nothing adds up to me, but you have all of the facts and I don't. You say "I personally "verified" her passport while we were dating there. My best guess is that immigration in Panama canceled her visa and that shes under the impression it voided her passport or that the voided Panama visa will prevent her from obtaining one for Aruba." What do you mean "verified" her passport? She was legitimately visiting (or was it working) for a week or so and she winds up in deportation proceedings or jail!!?? And, what do you mean your "best guess?" DIdn't you see documents? DIdn't your lawyer friend tell you exactly what happened? If not, why not? You appear to be absolutely convinced, but the facts posted don't add up to me. I know all too well what it's like to be enchanted with what appears to be a sincere and pretty woman. I've been there and done that. I too met the family and spoke regularly on the phone. (Remember, I"m fluent in Spanish). Hookers in Colombia who live with their parents will often sneak out and turn tricks -- and the parents aren't the wiser. (If you get them talking, they'll laugh and tell you --- I speak from first hand experience.) If they can pull that off, fooling a gringo who lives thousands of miles away and doesn't understand the language or the culture all that well is duck soup. Colombian girls, especially the hookers have a sixth sense (the word in Colombia is "malicia indigena") and know when they've got a fish on the line -- trust me, you're speaking to the fish. So, the fact that she doesn't ask you for money or that she turned down your friend's $200 doesn't mean anything. She knows a nice, earnest guy "fish" when she sees one. You probably volunteered to help her out didn't you? (Don't worry, I've done the same thing. Like I said, you're talking to an experienced fish.) And, you're right, I've met too many low socioeconomic women who I either wanted to "rescue" from prostitution or who I thought were into me, when they see a meal ticket. The non-hookers are in my experience every bit as deceptive as the hookers. Ask around, I don't think my experiences are that unusual. There is a real perception and culture "gap" and the value systems we have as middle class Americans are very different from lower class Colombian women (sorry, your GF fits into that category). Sure, there are some lower class Colombian women who are eager to study, learn, work legitimate jobs, and might be into a nice American man. But, I think the value and culture gap is wide and you have to be very very careful. GIve it lots of time and verify everything. Ripping off the gringo is very much part of the culture and her own family will support and egg her on to do that. (Wait till she tells you her child is sick, she needs extra rent or study money, etc.) My biases have become class based. A Colombian girl who has a decent job who dates you, doesn't ask for money and even refuses money from you (they do exist) is the way to go. Generally, this will be middle class women. Remember, Colombia (and Panama) are third world countries. In the US almost everyone is middle class and (in my view) if you are poor, there is a reason for it. In a third world country, 70% of the country lives in poverty, there is a struggling middle class of maybe 20% of the population and an elite class of no more than 10% (if that) who dominate. So, depending on where you look, the odds strongly favor your encountering a lower socio economic class girl. They are the most dangerous. How did I figure out I'd been scammed? I, like you, have good income and my heart went out to my supposed GFs, just like yours did. They all said they wanted to study, so I (stupidly) said, study, get your high school diploma, or in one case, finish a supposed college vocational program, and I'll pay for it and give you enough to live on. There reached a point where I became suspicious that they had so many health problems (or other pretty credible reasons) that required extra money. So, I took a very simple step. I said I'd had a financial reversal and stopped giving them money. Sure, if I was in Colombia, I'd get together and pay for everything, but that was it. They'd date me because they liked being with me, not because I gave them money. It is the ONLY test. In one case, after the money flow ended, she became mysteriously hard to get a ahold of and her excuses became difficult to swallow. Once I was in Colombia and she was unable to get together. (I'll save you the detailed excuses and the seemingly anguished calls as to how upset she was that we hadn't gotten together.) Then, I confronted a mutual friend and discovered she'd had a boyfriend on the side, pretty much all along. (She was using my money to help support him!) In the other case, once the gravy train was over, she copped an obvious attitude and that was that. I later confirmed that she bragged to a friend what a dumb gringo I was. She was right. Don't put yourself in that position. That is why it is CRITICAL that you NOT give her money. She survived for years without you. If she can't survive without your money, or claims she can't, something's wrong. You appear to like this girl and maybe she is what you say. You may not see it this way, but you are making the same mistake that well off parents sometimes make with teenage children -- they don't want to have their children "suffer" like they had to suffer and give them money. That creates a dependency. Work is good for a teenager and work is good for a single mother. (remember, unlike in the US, child care is cheap and easy to get in Colombia -- and relatives are also available.) Honest work is good for the soul. What's wrong with her working long and hard? Millions like her do it. That's what she did before, assuming you are correct and she wasn't hooking. Learn from my experience -- I thought exactly what you do. What kind of guy am I who can easily help my GF and doesn't do it? Wrong question. The question you should ask is what kind of girl is she accepting money from her BF to live on? The Colombian women I've met who are worthwhile absolutely refuse to accept money from me and will even refuse when I offer to buy them something. Some appear to be scaping along, others have pretty good jobs. What would you think of an American woman who took your money instead of working? Would you accept that? Apply the same criteria. I wish you the best and I hope you are right about your GF. Keep my experience in mind, however, and the second something doesn't add up, cut off the gravy train. If she loves you, nothing will change. You appear to be an earnest, nice guy (I view myself the same way). Decent American guys are very vulnerable. Keep that in mind at all times. It is a different world in a third world country.

rcmkensington comments on Passport for my Colombian girlfriend

I am a frequent visitor to Colombia and have also been to Panama. Listen to the posters. She is trouble. I"d move on. First, the odds are very high that she was working as a prostitute in Panama. Panama uses dollars, as you know and is very expensive (even now with the dollar weak) for a Colombian citizen. Young women living alone in Panama are not vacationing. They are turning tricks. Don't believe me, ask any cab driver in Panama. Sure, if she is (upper) middle class, maybe her family was paying for her to study or vacation there. But then, she wouldn't be asking you to support her, now would she? In my experience, Colombian whores are masters of deception and act like girlfriends, unlike in the U.S. We want to believe they are not whores, or will leave the prostitution world with our help. I've been there and done that, several times -- and every time it's been a mistake. They took my money, for example, to pay for school, lied about going to school (complete with fake documents) and, of course, continued hooking. A hooker is a hooker and Rule One should always be "Don't fall in love with a hooker." Rule Two should be "Don't believe for a second that a hooker is hooking out of pure necessity and would love to stop hooking." They get used to it and it is easy money. Keep in mind the minimum wage is just over $225 per month and minimum wage (and long hours) is the most these girls can get -- if that. Why work for $225 per month when you can make that in a week or less hooking -- even more if you convince a stupid gringo to send you money. I should know. I've been there and done that. Learn from my stupidity. And, I speak fluent Spanish. The Panama government is not aggressive about deporting illegal or overstaying Colombians --- EXCEPT for hookers, who are subject to periodic raids. So, the fact she was deported from Panama says it all. As for not getting a Colombian passport, that is indeed strange. There is no reason for that to happen unless she has used a false identity or the like. Kick her to the curb. If you like her too much to do that and think she's into you, there's only one test that will work. Stop giving her money and see what happens! If you are convinced things are different in this case and can't believe that nice girl is what I say, I understand. I was blind for a time also. Keep your guard up, ask lots of questions and take nothing she says at face value. Good luck, I've got my fingers crossed as well.