sallya has left 13 comments

sallya comments on Shipping Household Goods from Colombia

Thanks for the advice guys. Unfortunately there are things that just have to be returned, like many, many books as they are study materials for me (around 30 kilos) and then for my husband as he is doing his PhD. We also have some souvenir type things that we have (perhaps stupidly) bought and want to take home with us. So I will look into the companies mentioned. Thanks Again, Sally

sallya comments on Shipping to Australia

Hi Cassie, Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions - but am very interested in finding out what you decide to do, as I will be facing the same issue later in the year (but shipping from Santa Marta to Melbourne). So would you please let me know what information you find out? Thanks, S

sallya comments on Ideas for a Nice Place to Stay in Barichara?

Thanks guys. We have already been to Villa de Leyva and are passing through there too on the way to Barichara. Do you think San Gil will be more fun for New Years?

sallya comments on Foreigners having babies in Colombia

Just checked back here! Thanks for your comments. I figured that Gator was right as that was the info I had found online, but like you all say, one never knows with Colombian bureaucracy (LOL). Anyway, it was a false alarm but we will continue trying :) I agree that the health care is questionable. With money you get great service and facilities etc. but so far I haven't been that convinced on the expertise of the supposed best gyno in Santa Marta. He's nice and all but like bufalo says there is 'medicine' for everything here... and it seems to be rubbish generally. The c-section thing is true too. I don't know a Colombian woman that has given birth naturally either. Apparently the doc gets $400,000 for a c-section and only $40,000 for a natural deliver. Go figure!

sallya comments on Documets Required for Colombia Work Visa

Just got a work visa I just got a work visa this week. I didn't need a police check - but I am in Australia. I don't know where you are applying from and maybe there it is different. These are the documents I needed:

*Passport
*Notarised copy of my University qualification, with a certified translation in Spanish and with an apostille
*3 passport photos that had been certified by a Justice of the Peace (or Notary Public)
*2 Work Contracts from Colombia - notarised (I had to send this to the Consulate first, they returned it with a special stamp that I then had my fingerprint put on and notarised by a Notary Public)

I also had to send a translated and notarised copy of my Marriage certificate, with an apostille, as my husband is coming with me.

My employer in Colombia had to provide 3 documents too (Prportionality paper, certificate of legal existenc of the company and a letter requesting the visa)

If you need any more information feel free to ask.

Sally.

sallya comments on Definitely Moving to Santa Marta!

Visa issue clarified Thanks Robi, it would be nice to meet up for a beer sometime. If you spend time near the road out to Tayrona you might have seen the school. Apparently it's out that way. It's called Colegio Bureche. That A/C service charge is pretty crazy. I guess we'll be getting used to a fan...

Just for anyone else's info that may have been following this thread regarding the visas, I checked out the Colombian consulate's webpage in Australia - and yes, it does now seem to be based in Japan. But my husband will be entitled to a long-term visa (2 years) but without working rights - which was what we had expected. So he will be able to stay with no problems for the 2 years. The visa I will get is called a 'Temporary Ordinary Working Visa' and then it states there that:

'This type of visa can be granted to the spouse and direct dependents who will not be allowed to engage in gainful activities, in this case it is indispensable to present the Marriage and birth certificates and present also the Police Certificate.'

So that's cool. This is a completely different visa from the TC type Gator described.

Gator, why do you say not to live in Tangana? Is it dodgy?

sallya comments on Definitely Moving to Santa Marta!

Thanks again for the info Caslug, Gator, Adrimm and Dave thanks for your advice and info.

Gator, I really hope that you're wrong about the visa situation otherwise it will be difficult. It would seem strange to me that the spouses of people going to work in Colombia wouldn't get a long-term visa... in other countries I know that they do. But if that's not the case I suppose he will get to do a bit more travelling than me to have his tourist visa reissued.

Caslug, the bonus is biannual so that's good.

I guess regarding the apartment we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully the school will come through as they have said and have a few affordable places lined up for us to check out. I will not write any area off yet. Do any of you know of a place nearby to Santa Marta called Bello Horizonte? Apparently some teachers live around there.

Dave do you know the names of those towers?

When you say electricity is expensive, any idea how much roughly per month?

Does anyone out there live in the SM area now?

Sally.

sallya comments on Definitely Moving to Santa Marta!

Thanks The school says my husband can get an spousal visa that gives him the right to stay there as my husband since I will be on a working Visa. He won't be teaching but his job here in Australia has offered for him to keep working a couple of days a week using the Internet to communicate (he is writing a legal text) so that pays very well and provided they will go ahead with it we will have that extra bit of money too. He just wants to learn Spanish and write a novel - cook and learn to salsa etc. Lucky him.

Regarding the money, there is also an extra bonus amount of US$6000 for the first year and then US$9000 for the second year. They say we could save that but it's fine if we have to spend it. Do you think that this extra amount makes it more tenable?

I am registered with a big international teaching agency that places teachers in International schools but I decided that I liked the sound of being in a school that is for Colombians not westerners in Colombia. It seems that at the international schools the teachers are there to earn loads of money and basically have a 'colonial' lifestyle as they can earn a western salary in a poor country and then live like kings. I don't want that. I want a cultural experience and so long as we can get by on the salary and bonuses (and hopefully with a little extra money from my husband's work from Aus) and not be required to spend any of our savings I wdon't mind that I won't be paid the same as the International schools.

Regarding El Rodadero, it's just that the other western teachers live there and car pool to get to school. From what I have read about the area I was wondering if Tangana would be more my kind of place. Is it cheaper there? and if so is there still enough shops, restaurants etc there?

Thanks for your thoughts :)

Sally

sallya comments on I guess I did not beat the odds...

If your Colombian wife was just after a life in the US why would she want to go back to Colombia straight away?

Maybe she is just genuinely having second thoughts? A move to a new country is a huge thing. Maybe you need to give it some time together...

BTW, I can't help noticing how sexist some of the responses to this post have been. If you treat women like a commodity or object to be acquired - 'I want a good Colombian wife with no kids or baggage' - surely you shouldn't be surprised if they turn around and treat you in the same way - as a ticket out of Colombia?!?

sallya comments on Definitely Moving to Santa Marta!

Shipping Aus to Colombia Also, has anyone shipped stuff from Australia to Colombia before? Any recommendations on who to use? prices?

Sal.

sallya comments on Racism in Columbia...

For Deefab Deefab,

I just got a job teaching 2nd grade at a billingual school in Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast. I start in January. It is possible that the school still has 1 teaching position available for next year. You would have to be a qualified teacher (Bachelor's degree and teaching cerification). If you want the school's info you can email me - sallyalderton at gmail.com

Sal.

sallya comments on Racism in Columbia...

Low socio-economic status and racism go together! Most people posting seem to fall into one of two camps - those who believe that Colombia is a classist society and those who believe it is a racist society. This seems far too simplistic an interpretation.

If your socio-economic status had nothing to do with race then you would see an even spread of ethnicities/'colours' across all classes or levels of social privilege. This is not, however, the case in most countries.

From what most people have said in this thread there seems to be a consensus that there are fewer black Colombians in the middle and upper classes. And so you have to ask the question 'why'? And it seems that it must come down to access to resources, education and equal opportunities. Maybe black Colombians are denied access to these things on the basis of class. But that class had to be established in the first place, and surely a low social status in this respect can be traced back to a history of oppression through slavery, or in the case of the native Americans, colonialisation.

I just think that it is very difficult to separate a history of racism (that existed all over the world) from what is now a very classist society.

sallya comments on Cost of Living in Santa Marta

Thanks to you all Thanks for posting everybody. I really appreciate your thoughts. I figured it sounded like enough but I've had mixed reports from different sources.

Now I just have to wait for the contract!

Cheers,
Sally.