sydneygirl has left 162 comments

sydneygirl comments on

POCO SAID: NUMBER One,,, NO ONE,, listen up,, No one is working a job 96 hours a week if they have ANY useful skill. If they are,, then they are getting double pay.



Oiga Poco!
Nice pics, and I have not had a chance to read the whole thread, but alot of people are not even getting paid minimum wage, like the women in my local panaderia, they work from 6.30am in the morning till 10.30pm at night! Thats about 90 something hours a week isn`t it? And the security men in my complex work a 24 hour shift. then a day off then a 24 hour shift again. The panaderia girls get 24,000 pesos for their 16 hour day, that doesnt sound like good pay to me!!

sydneygirl comments on Search: Room for rent in Bogota

My mother in-law rents a room in her house in Modelia. Its got its own bathroom, is newly renovated and is 45,000 a night....thats about 22,000 USD.

the housing area has security and they a friendly people with a healthy sense of humour.

Shes a good cook, used to have a restarunt and includes breakfast and linen and towls in the price.

Washing is extra.
P.M message me if you are interested.

sydneygirl comments on Young, illegal, and all alone in New York

thanks for the review sounds interesting

sydneygirl comments on Bogota taxi drivers!

I just jumped into a collectivo on its way back to the area I live in and he would not accept my 700 pesos he gave me a free ride which was very sweet. I do ride with the guy most days though.

My nieghbour down stairs has a huge cut with lots of stitches on his forhead he said be was in a cab that had an accident...so theres a bit of good and bad for you.

sydneygirl comments on need help!

you can go to the office called DAS on calle 100 near Carre15 and renew your tourist visa for up to 6 months in any given year! so you have no problems! just don`t be late with it thats all, or they fine you.

The cost of renewing it is about 70,000 pesos and they make you renew it every month until your 6 months is up. Good luck.

sydneygirl comments on Avoiding Pregnancy in Colombia

I only have one word for you mate.....AIDS

sydneygirl comments on Travel To Meet Colombian Friend. (Bogota)

Hi Jordan,

Ive been living in Bogota off and on for over a year now. Im australian and my new hubby is colombian, if you need somewhere to stay and the area Modellia is O.K for you, it is in the west and is not far from most central areas by bus.

Then my husbands mother and her family rent a room to foriegners, because they live near the american embassy. They are very nice and honset people. The house has just been renovated and the room has its own bathroom and linen included ect. They want 50,000 pesos a night and that includes breakfast.

1/2 that 50,000pesos and thats about 25,000 USD a night not too bad!
She does laundry and will give you your privacy ect.

If your interested P.M me-
cheers

sydneygirl comments on Honda image

cheers gringoinbogota gotta go and teach a class now but may post some more at a later date when I have time.
take care :)

sydneygirl comments on Honda image

woops sorry double image insert, not intentional!

sydneygirl comments on If You Had an Acident

I dont understand what you mean by "stick" if its a splint, then it should have been removed ages ago.....did you mean scar?

sydneygirl comments on Colombia Women - Some pretty tough cookies

Congrats on becoming a dad Lowell, I don`t nessasrily think that its just Colombian women though, there are just some women who have bodies that give them less grief. Also the fact that she exercises regularily helps alot too!

Hey Elmo, your girl painted the house because he had the unstoppable urge to "nest" its common in most pregnant women and is natures influence. It usually happens towards the end of pregnancy and all the hard work helps to bring on labour.

Bufalo, you are generalizing I have seen plenty of tubby little colombian butter balls and I have seen loads of sleek "gingas" post pregnancy mums, its all relative.

Also you try being engergetic when your body wont let you hold down anything other than crackers. I admit there are pregnant lazies, but they are the world over.....imagine what men would be like if they had to carry babies.

Putting it harshly its like having a parasite leeching all your vitamins and nutrients for 9 months taking away 50% of your energy and making some women very sick. Maybe a major generalization on your part.

And if you are going to say that Colombian women NEVER complain its just because you cannot understand them....and if you can, then you dont hear them talking with their girlfriends.

sydneygirl comments on I think most gringos dont like living in bogota

Lovely friends
Good fresh produce
cheep groceries
Good bus system
Good muti layerd city (old, new)
Beautiful families and community feeling.
cheep movies
beautiful views
great how they have "bike day" on sundays and block whole lanes only for people to skate and ride in.

dodgy wages for poor people.
Bad smog from buses.
Major problem with litter bugs!
Overcast days can get too much
Bad drivers can scare the hell out of you!
Badly maintained roads, watch out for holes big enough to swallow the car.
Scary when violence shows its self to you.

sydneygirl comments on

I felt it! the door was swinging and My husband was on the computer and yelled out "Did you feel that!" It was my second in Bogota.

sydneygirl comments on I need an information

HI no you don`t need a new visa, you can marry on your tourist visa no problems. You just need that documentation. Or if you go to Cartagena you need only your passport.

What ever visa you hold right now, it must be valid in order for you to get married and then you can apply for the spouse visa once you are married which is for two years.

Getting married costs about 250,000 pesos at the notaria.

sydneygirl comments on I need an information

been there done that Hi my partner had been living overseas for years and also had no idea about the paperwork required.

It takes some time to get it all sent from home but you need-

A certificate of single-ness from your government....or

A letter from your parents or someone who has known you for at least 10 years saying you are single.If you choose this option the letter must be signed by a lawyer.

An original birth certificate no less than 3 months old when you present it to the colombian notaria-

All these documents must be apostilled by your government to make them legal documents in Colombia-


OR

you can go to Cartagena and get married just with your passport....its really easy there apparently. Goodluck

sydneygirl comments on Story about drugs & breast implants

Im so sorry for you that this happened to people that you loved, but if you have been reading this site for a while you then you know what these guys are like they are blunt and harsh at times, I call them the "acid keyboard" guys.

Last year my husbands mother asked me to take an old doll back to Miami for his sister, I love them all but that "Bankok Hilton" movie with Nichole Kidman kept playing over and over in my head, so I ended up pulling the plastic dolls head off in the airport before I went through customs just to check that there was nothing inside it, I must have looked pretty funny, but I just could not take the risk.

It was all fine in the end, Mate I am so paranoid that I will go into the baños before I check my bags in and unpack and then repack it one more time just to make sure, i mean there is the maid and friends visiting the apartment or "hotel" in your nieces case and you just never know.

She was a bit clueless by not opening the package i know you say he was a trusted and life long friend ect ect and I hope she gets off and it doesnt stop her fromt travelling again if she gets the chance, the world is a wonderful place.

sydneygirl comments on Pictures Bogota, Honda, Colombia

Yeah!im guessing thatwhen you say DEMIGOD it means hes a babe?

I agree and hes a sweet heart too! Thats why I married him!!!

sydneygirl comments on Pictures Bogota, Honda, Colombia

P.S Its just that im new to Flickr and when I type in that address it signs me in automaticlly.... I was wondering if it does that to anybody with that address? Or just to me from my computer??

sydneygirl comments on Pictures Bogota, Honda, Colombia

Hey Thanks Just a quick question webmanco, when you went to Flickr were you access my person page able to change things ect or were you just looking at my pictures?

sydneygirl comments on Pictures Bogota, Honda, Colombia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/depth_of_field/

Sorry about the bad info----- above is the actual access address

sydneygirl comments on Here's a great cleaning lady in Bogota!

ok so i cant spell spanish names....sorry

sydneygirl comments on Here's a great cleaning lady in Bogota!

Thanks Mario
Hey Mario thanks for talking to your rellies about Jolander.

Its starting to look much better for her. Hopefully something will eventuate out of this.

sydneygirl comments on Here's a great cleaning lady in Bogota!

AWSOME! Have had a response. Obviously the guy has to meet her and talk with her and decide if shes the right woman for his household but I am so
Stoked!
THIS SITE STILL HAS LOADS OF NICE PEOPLE:
TAHNKS!!!

sydneygirl comments on Here's a great cleaning lady in Bogota!

Thanks Mario, I had a few glasses of wine last night and was not really thinking, have PMed some people about removing my Ph number.your right people can PM me.

I forgot to say, that Jolandas Ph number is actually the nieghbourhood phone you call ask for her and then you have to call back 15 mins later when she walks down to the phone from where she lives.

sydneygirl comments on Environment...Does anybody care?

two ideas In Australia, you now have to pay for your plastic bags if you want them at the supermarket, there are fabric ones that cost $2 and they are great little bags, I use them for everything! I always buy one because I forget to bring the other ones i brought so I have heaps. They should do that here in Colombia at places like Olympica and Exito.

There should be a fine from the ploice for people who litter, it would cut the amount of rubbish thats on the ground and the Govt would make more money to steal from the people which im sure would make yet another dodgy politican rich, but hey at least its also helping the enviroment instead of the corrupt armed forces.
Thats just Two little things I thought of off the top of my head.

sydneygirl comments on Do apostilled documents need to be sent to a notary prior to wedding date

need any information p.m me yes,
and only once you have the documents can you make a booking with the notaria for the date of your wedding. its sometimes hard to get a date, we had luck at notaria 12 last month.

sydneygirl comments on Banos Publicos

im with you! I had the same experience today!! I was in the internet cafe and suddenly busting!!! So i paid qickly and legged it to the malls public loos. In a fluster I fished out 200pesos for some paper from one of those little machines and made it just in time. But there was hardly any paper in the packet!
I looked in my purse for another coin and realised that I didnt have anymore. So i had to do up all the buttons of my knee length parker and pull my pants up to just under my butt, go to the nearest little shop in the mall and buy something to get change and then go back to the loos to buy more paper!!! What a DRAMA!!! HEHEHEH hope that was not too much detail for you all!

sydneygirl comments on have you visited Melgar, Colombia?

my take on Melgar I went there and stayed with some friends who lived up on a hill above the town, it was an enclosed nighbourhood for the wealthy with security ect. That little enclosed nightbourhood was very nice and every house had a pool and tennis court and all the works. The climate was hot and lovely. The town itself how ever appeared to be a bit seedy and grotty. There were a lot of night spots, i remember driving past one called The Iguana Bar, but we never needed to go out because the house had everything.

We only went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies and to the town Plaza and sat and ate an ice cream. There were loads of kids riding around on little motorized cars which was cute.

It was the same cost as Bogota, which is about 1/2 price of things in the USA.As far as accomidation goes im not sure....sorry.

I liked Villa del Layva better, its cold but it has so much character and is really colonial with cobbled streets ect, but thats just me.

sydneygirl comments on Be careful when driving at night

scary! My husband helped me read this for those of you that can`t read spanish, or only parts....like me.

It says there is a Gang initiation this weekend, the new members must drive around in a car with thier head lights off and the first car that flashes them to tell them that thier lights are off, must be followed and everyone inside killed.....nice.....NOT!

We were almost car jacked recently and it was scary as hell.

sydneygirl comments on Access Denied...Why?

yeap! Happens to me all the time, I just go to edit and click "copy" before I send in case it does that, then i can just log back in and press paste.

sydneygirl comments on Tourist visa on arrival -- twice in one year?

Hi,
yes you are allowed a Maximum of 6 months per year and you can come and go as much as you want till you use up your 6 months.

sydneygirl comments on Getting married in Colombia

update I got my certificate of marriage on the day we got married TODAY!!!. It was at notaria 12 and went very smoothly. The people were very nice and even though we were 15 mins late they were fine. We had an offical traslator but they never checked her papers....It was all done within 1 1/2 hours, I guess and early morning wedding has its ups.

sydneygirl comments on Certificado de Solteria

my point They are all different, so if you only ask one you may need more documents that if you ask a different one or many different ones. So you do not always need what the notaria says...because they all say different things. That was my point...boys.

sydneygirl comments on Getting married in Colombia

Cost It cost $250.000 pesos

also to clarify any confusion for people reading back at older topics in this forum,the rules changed last and you not longer need a fiancee visa to get married in Colombia, you can marry on a tourist visa.

sydneygirl comments on Getting married in Colombia

doing it now- OCT 2005 Know this. Every notria is different- But They all require the basics-

A valid visa- Tourist is fine-

Birthcert-not more than 3 months old -apostilled in your country of origin.(the three month limit seems concrete at all 5 of the notrias we went too)

Single cert. or letter from someone knowing you longer than 10 years-also apostilled.Saying your not or have never been married ect.

Thats tricky though some want a letter from someone other than a family memeber others want a family member,some notrais want more than one letter one from family one from not and other insist on the official certificate of single-ness from your govt.

I personally have the letter from my mother and said "but thats how they do it in New Zealand" It was accepted at two and not at one when we asked around.

Also if you can not speak good spanish they tell you that you must hire a translator they cost about $100.000 pesos- for the signing of the papers for your marriage and he/she must be "offical" there are a list of traslators in the office we got our translations legalized on 100 with the 15th near the office of the ministerio of relations. Also there are lots of translations places around to get your documents copied into spanish....its just up the road from Das in Bogota.(just past the round about and to the right)

Apparently it takes two days before you can pick up the certificate of marriage, but I am going to see if i can get it in one day as my visa expires the day after we got an appointment to get married.(ll keep you posted on if I could arrange this as im getting married next week)

Also you need to book in at the notaria for your wedding as some are booked months in advance. You can only book in when you have the right paperwork, so it makes it hard if your running out of time like me!. We had luck finding a notaria to marry us within a week at Notria 12 in centro. The ones near Das are booked out till Febuary 2006. (how that works with the three month rule for documents I have no idea!)

Also there are no Notrias south of Centro aparently poor people dont need Notrias!So they start at 1 in centro/La candeleria and then they go north.

Ill post info as i remember it anyone wanting more info or specific info private msg me. happy to help, this site has helped me a lot but there was still more I needed to know. Good luck to all.

sydneygirl comments on colombianos en australia?

Hola nos tengo mucho Colombiano amigos y amigas en Sydney, todo muy bien personas- Tambien esta es a muy deliciosa restaruante en una casa en Mascott donde much colombianos comi.

Por Favor excusa mi espanol este es mi premeiro tiempo escribre en espanol.

sydneygirl comments on Certificado de Solteria

i dont agree I dont agree with gator, every notaria is different. My letter from my mother saying in single was accepted by one notaria and not by another,
One notaria wanted Even my apostilles translated another did not.

I think the ones in Centro are the most relaxed. The worst one that was really hard core with the paperwork rules was the one next to bulevar mall! You have to just ask around. Each notaria is like a different state or something!

P.s keep in mind people that some notarias are booked 2 or 3 months in advance for weddings and you have to have your paper work ready in order to book a spot. We were lucky and found one in centro.

sydneygirl comments on wedding in San Andres

just found this in the visa chat page Easy way to marry in Colombia
Submitted by ronald on Thu, 10/06/2005 - 08:33.

Hello. I am new here and I am from the Netherlands.
The easiest way to get married in Colombia without presenting a lot of documents is to marry in San Andres.
The only documents you have to present to the notaria is your birth certficate and your passport. We got married in June.

Still be good to find a way to check this info...

sydneygirl comments on wedding in San Andres

more info P.S no document can be older than three months....so you have to get a recent issue of your birthcert.
P.S you both also need certificates saying that you are single....or a letter from your parents or someone that has known you longer than 10 years saying that you are not married and have never been married.This has to be signed by a laywer and then apostilled also-

It you have been married....just dont mention it, what they dont know wont hurt them and it will save you a hell of alot of paper work...as long as you are actually not married anymore.....

Anyway the thing that I have learnt about talking to people about "what you need" is they dont tell you everything until your standing in front of them with your documents and then they say "Oh! these have to be apostilled!...back in your country!!!" Cant marry you till they are! So you will end up spending six months in San Andreas while your posting letters back and forth to Cananda to get it right.....need anymore info...private msg me! :)

sydneygirl comments on wedding in San Andres

from experience
All your documents will need to be Apostilled in canada before you leave or they will not accept then at the notaria...which is where your paper work will be done.
Congrats! im getting married on Thurs next week....in Bogota...wish it was San Andreas!!

sydneygirl comments on Anyone Living in Bogota

me niether I live in the north, I have no idea where cedritos is??Mainly because I go everywhere in the car with mi novio, i think catching the bus makes it easier to get your barings.

but I know Zona Rosa,we go to the movies at the mall near there all the time. My friend lives in La Candelleria. We went dancing there in a cute little club full of young people a few weekends ago after a lovely dinner it was a great night and much cheeper than zona rosa, but not lacking in atmosphere at all.it was a little scary getting back to the carpark, i think next time we would take a cab, but other than that really charming.

sydneygirl comments on Anyone Living in Bogota

lucia Of course you are invited too! If your not up for a salsa class as you are probably a natural how bout some pan and panela or hot chocolate or something? i live in the Colina area anyone else live around that area or near bulevar or Nieca??

sydneygirl comments on Anyone Living in Bogota

Lucia I dont know, I met a few but they never really invited me anywhere or tried to make an effort, the one that I met that was the nicest parties a little to hard and a little too often. I mean im up for a fun night out, but then I crash and wake up the next day to enjoy the weekend. This girl would just keep going for three days straight we were not really matched in that respect. I can be shy if people are not open with me as well, so maybe it was my fault, because i have noticed that alot of Colombian girls can be shy.

Where are you from Lucia?

sydneygirl comments on Anyone Living in Bogota

same invite to cdunn77 Same invite to you too, come along one morning for a little exercise-
Then some food afterwards. :)

sydneygirl comments on Anyone Living in Bogota

Hi Lisa,
I would love to meet another chick, where are you originally from?
I have made a few new foriegn girl friends this year and its been such a great change for me because after 7 months I had not made any colombian girlfriends.
today we all went to a gym on Avenida Suba con Parqueadro vigilado near Bulevar called "The SPA gym. they have salsa classes on Sundays at 11.30pm.

It was a riot, there were four of us trying to shake it with a room full of Colombian women of all ages shapes ans sizes. but Ill give them credit they did not laugh at us too much. Afterwards we had luch together, nice girl chats ect.
If your interested in joining us come along one sunday. I think its about 15,000 for a casual visit at the gym.
Sydneygirl

sydneygirl comments on Foetuses found at Bogota airport

Heres the text from the actual article. Foetuses found at Bogota airport

Police said the foetuses might have been meant for Satanic rituals
Colombian police have found the bodies of three human foetuses hidden in statues destined for the United States.
The discovery was made by officers searching for contraband at Bogota Airport on Tuesday.

The corpses were wrapped in plastic and concealed inside statues of Christian icons, which were smashed open.

Colombian police chief Gen Jord Alirio Varon said the four- to five-month-old foetuses could have been intended for use in Satanic rituals.

Gen Varon said the foetuses were found alongside crucifixes and medals.

He said officials are trying to find out who sent the packages, which came from Barranquilla in Colombia and were destined for Miami in the US.

sydneygirl comments on Search: Apt in Bogota

hi,

for that amount you can get a three bedroom apartment. The other thing to consider when looking for an apartment in bogota is the "strata zone" they range from 1-6. 1 being the poorest areas and 6 or higher the expensive areas. The higher it is the more your phone bills and gas bills and power bills cost. my partner and I are living in a strata 3 zone. The bills are about $100.000 pesos($50) per month combined, but we dont call mobiles from the apartment.

Its probably not a great idea to write that you have "lots of money" on a free website, its kind of encouraging the wrong types of people to contact you. Remeber as nice as most Colombians are there are also plenty of people around who are expert con-men. Colombians have a world class reputation for being some of the best con-men in the world, so you have to keep a low profile here when it comes to talking about how much money you have.

That said ...We spend 500.000pesos or $250 a month on rent and have a three bedroom apartment in the Colina area with under cover parking, Our apartment is nice but all the rooms are pretty small.

Some friends of ours pay around 875.000peso or $450 a month in the Nieca area which is strata 4 or 5 and have a three bedroom as well but is much more roomy.

sydneygirl comments on What are the general things to know about life in Bogota?

From one girl to another Hi,
I am a girl and am living in bogota.
What to wear?
Work stuff, nice is fine, just no flashy jewllery. The women here wear a lot of pretty stuff make of beads ect.

Casual: Jeans, pants, nice tops, bring some longsleeved stuff, singlets are not worth bringing, you can buy them here, but youll only wear them occasionally. Some great jakets are a good idea, a denium one, and maybe a cord one, bring a longer one for cold nights. I have a hooded knee length jacket with a bit of fake fur around the hood...its army green, I wear it with jeans all the time.
Shoues, a pair of flat knee high or ankle black leather boots will work for casual and for work. Some fashion sneakers-(puma and desil are popular here). A pair of nice going out shoues, think comfortable because the streets can be a bit uneven for high high heels, although it does not stop the colombian girls.
Bring lots of bras if you are big boobed, the largest size here is a c cup, and lots of undies if you like breathable undies made of cotton, most of the undies here are made of man made fibres.

As far as dating goes ive been with the same guy for 3 years but if your foriegn its pretty easy to get interest from what ive seen with my friends, its just up to you to pick the right type of guy. There are visa sharks here, and i have seen some girls get taken for a ride by guys that did not really love them. So you have to be aware of that type of character, but there are also really sweet guys here as well.
goodluck, if you want private message me and maybe when you come over to Bogota we can go for coffee.

sydneygirl comments on overstaying a tourist visa

from personal experience Hey Jesse,

Last year I was given wrong information by an english speaking( I use that term very loosely) information giver at the immigration office in Bogota not DAS the other place.

He said that if i left the country at the time my tourist visa expired I could re-enter on a new tourist visa striaght away. SO i rock up to Bogota airport after spending thousands going to Miami for 6 days and get told I cannot enter.That its a max 6 months per año and mine is used up.

Eventually after many tears from me, and a bit of laughing from them,and a temper tantrum from mi novio they gave me a 5 day visa to go and have a chat with DAS. Up stairs at DAS in Bogota, my boyfriend and i spoke with a man who told me to come back a week before i was leaving and pay a fine. Which I did and they put a slip in my passport and I was able to leave the country. no worries. I think we paid about 285.000 and I overstayed it 30 days or so.(we got a very good price though)

They did warn me not to get into any trouble. There was an unfortunate american woman who had an argument with a police man and also had no visa, sitting there and they pointed at her as the example of what not to be.

What they do not tell you is that they take the time that you overstayed off your next tourist visa, so i only have 5 months this time. I am now flustering to get some paperwork from new Zealand that I thought i had heaps of time to arrange because last time I went to renew my touist visa they told me I only have 30 days left because I overstayed last time. I dont want to overstay again because I want to apply for a different visa and everything has to be in order for that to happen.

So dont pay heed to the drama queens above!!! Just do your homework. Go to DAS before your current visa expires, head straight up stairs, ignoring the people downstairs, who will give you the dooms day talk.
Make a contact upstairs(keep the name and direct phone number for future references), get an idea of what its going to cost you, make a plan to return and talk to the same person to pay the fine when its time for you to leave.
And good-luck!

sydneygirl comments on Getting a normal job?

work visas Hi if you want to get a job and the visa, all your documents must be apostilled, in your country of origin. your Uni degree for example, your birth certificate as well, otherwise they will not be accepted.

If you have a few months left on your tourist visa nows the time to start getting these things arranged. You need to get someone at home to send them to the apostille office in your country and then pay to have them couriered or sent (depends on how much time you have) to you in Colombia.

In order to have a work visa apporved you need a degree and or a letter from your place of employment saying to are capable of doing the job. And the Birth cert. There may be more papers, unfortunitly im unsure as I have not applied for the work visa. Just know from friends.
Goodluck!