In Colombia, the taxi you took to the New Year’s party will probably cost you more when you leave the celebration in the wee hours of the next morning, despite the distance being exactly the same. It is not a case of a taxi driver taking advantage of inebriated patrons, but rather just a bit [[...]
Archive for the ‘Colombia’ Category
January 2nd, 2012 - 4:21 pm § in Colombia
Lodging in Colombia can be Pricey…Get Hostel!
I frankly do not understand why major hotels in Colombia are so pricey, rooms often costing over 200 dollars per night, but fortunately there is an abundance of hostels in all the right places, where you can stay for as little as ten or twenty dollars a night. While you cannot expect anything remote[...]
December 25th, 2011 - 4:55 pm § in Colombia
The Month of Decibel in Colombia
I have been away from Medellin since November, due to return in January. While I miss my wife and child, I’m not sure if I miss this time of the year in Colombia, which is sheer mayhem! It starts November 30th, when the skies over the entire Aburra valley erupts into a scene from Bagdad [...][...]
December 15th, 2011 - 9:37 pm § in Colombia
Will Tomorrow be Summer or Winter?
If you hear a Colombian talking about “verano” and “invierno”, summer and winter, he or she is not referring to seasons, but rather weather. If it is raining, it is winter, while if it is sunny, it is summer. Thus yesterday could have been summer and today is winter. Truth be[...]
December 3rd, 2011 - 7:49 pm § in Colombia
About Colombian Women
I periodically get inquiries from bozos asking me about Colombian women. They basically want to know if they are “easy”. In short, these guys are so inept at seducing women that they are willing to travel thousands of miles to meet Latinas who are just dying to fall into bed with a gri[...]
November 26th, 2011 - 9:33 pm § in Colombia
A Lesson in Paisa Speak
So, you think you’re fluent in Spanish? That’s nice, but just like someone from New Jersey might have a little trouble understanding the speech of someone from Jersey, the Channel island, or vice-versa, you might need a helping hand in grasping the Spanish dialect spoken in Medellin, Per[...]
September 14th, 2011 - 8:06 pm § in Colombia
It’s a Boy…No, it’s a Girl…No, it’s…
On an episode of the hit comedy Modern Family, Gloria, played by Colombia native Sofia Vergara, has her stepson’s adopted baby daughter’s ears pierced. The girl’s parents, a gay couple, gasp in horror and cry out that she’s mutilated their baby. The joke is based on the Colom[...]
104 Dollars a Month = Middle Class!
It was just a few days ago that I expressed disbelief that Juan Ricardo Ortega, the director of the DIAN, the Colombian government's taxation agency, said that if you make more than 4 million pesos a month, or about 2240 US dollars at current exchange rates, you're rich. Now the DANE, the national s[...]
27,000 Dollars a Year = Rich
The DIAN, the tax collection branch of the Colombian government, recently said that anybody earning more than four million pesos a month, or about 2244 dollars, is considered rich in this country and should pay more taxes. Really?![...]
Wandering in Cartagena
Confession: On our honeymoon in Cartagena, Colombia, my husband and I did not take a dip in the therapeutic mud at the Volcán del Totumo. It sounded lovely. We could have made time for the excursion to slather on some warm gray mud. But instead, I discovered a new travel delight: slowing down and n[...]