You know, now that I have been living
in an “emerging economy” for a year now I figured I would take
the time to give you my list of likes and dislikes and things I miss
from back home. First I will start with the things I like and dislike
about Colombia and then I will do the same for Texas (or the USA in
general) life has become pretty routine for me here, I go to work and
do “normal” things just like you only I choose to do it outside
of my home country. There is some major differences though, that is
for sure.
First off, I really like that I can eat
and live here in Colombia fairly cheaply. Most things are much
cheaper here than they would be back home. Fresh good food is really
cheap. Just one example, I just recently bought 1 kilo (2.2 pounds)
of carrots, 3 kilos (5 pounds) of potatoes and one head of
cauliflower all for the equivalent of three USD (US Dollars). Back
home that would be impossible. Here in Colombia they almost force you
to eat healthy because it is cheap and eating “unhealthy” such as
McDonald’s or any “fast food”, is very expensive. I think this
is a good thing and it has forced me to learn how to cook and eat
healthier. In the States it is almost the exact opposite hence our
obesity problem back home. If I do choose to eat out, I can have a
regular lunch for $2.50 USD and that includes everything. If I want
to go to a sit down restaurant $25 USD for two people would be an
expensive place here. So food is very cheap. I do really like most
Colombian foods, but I sure do miss ground black pepper.
I share a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2
bathroom apartment in a great neighborhood, with my roommate and my
share of the rent is only $300 USD a month. It would be almost
impossible to live in a comparable neighborhood back home for the
same price. But, Colombian's attention to details in general can be
lacking sometimes. For example when we moved in here they told us
everything would be ready in 2 weeks and it took them over a month to
finish remodeling this place. Once we actually moved in there was no
handles on the drawers and things like that. It is just the little
things that do matter which they sometimes don't care about. Also,
the pace is of life is just so much slower here. Even living in “The
New York of South America” I find that people just don't rush
around and get so busy as they do back home. They really take time to
enjoy life here. There is “Tiempo Colombiano” and “Tiempo
Americano” trust me, there is a big difference in the concept of
time between the two. Sometimes it can be a good thing and sometimes
a bad thing.
The cost of human labor here is
extremely cheap. For example if I need my watch fixed I can get it
fixed here for one or two dollars. Back home it would be much more
expensive to get my watch fixed (or any human labor) I also like that
I have the option of public transportation here. (Which is good
because I don't have a car here) The public transportation can be
both good and bad but it is just nice that here they offer a viable
option for it, if you want to use it. Here it is nice that I live in
a city that is large enough that I can do pretty much whatever I feel
like, whenever I feel like it. Almost everything activity or hobby
wise is available here.
It is nice that there is a lot of
holidays here (and I do mean a lot) so I have time to go and explore
Colombia and have time for myself. I really enjoy getting out of
Bogota when I can so I can see more of this beautiful country.
Colombia has everything,
mountains,oceans,jungles,plains,hot,cold,wet,dry whatever you are
into you can find it here. Colombia actually has one of the largest
ecosystems in the whole world (Including the most poisonous animal on
the planet, a frog). Every part of Colombia is different so I enjoy
being able to see different things and there is also very large
regional accents here.
I have a true passion for the Spanish
language and have really come to love speaking it and learning it. I
am far from perfect but (almost) everyone here is very friendly and
receptive to helping me practice my Spanish and correct my mistakes.
Spanish is a very expressive language so I love learning all the
different new words that we don't have in English. For the most part
Colombians and very proud of their country (as they should be) and
they really want to get rid of the negative stereotypes and help
increase tourism here. Generally speaking almost all Colombians will
go out of their way to help me when I need it or show me something
new, take the time to make sure I have everything I need.
I enjoy living in a city that pays very
good wages for a very in demand skill (teaching English) and I enjoy
living in Colombia now. I am still living in the “raw” Colombia.
It is not overrun by tourists here and I get a very authentic feel
here. That is changing though, I see more and more iphones and
technology here everyday. Colombians love to have technology just as
much as Americans do, it is just not as prevalent because of the high
cost but it is getting cheaper by the day here. Just a quick addition
here, In Colombia you are only charged in you make a phone not if
someone calls you. I like the fact that you can talk for free if you
are the “receiver” of the call.
I really like that in Bogota you can
buy food (or almost anything you want) on the street. Bogota is also
very progressive in the fact that for over thirty years they have had
“Ciclovia” every Sunday. Between 7am and 3pm they close off large
parts of the city to vehicle traffic and only allow
bikes,walking,roller blader's etc. It is really quite healthy.
Another good thing Bogota does is prohibits by law certain cars from
driving on certain days (depending on your license plate number) to
try and cut down on pollution. This of course overloads the public
transportation system since people can't always drive their cars but
still it is a good thing.
As for my dislikes, I hate the weather
of Bogota. All of Colombia doesn't share the same weather. There is
every climate you could ever want, in this country. Unfortunately for
me I chose Bogota without exploring my options first. There really is
no seasons here in Bogota. I have never been to Seattle but I would
imagine it is very similar to Bogota. I never gets truly “hot”
here and it rains often. So really the only variances in the days if
it will be raining from one day or the next. In general, it is warm
during the day and cold at night. You don't want to leave the house
without a jacket or an umbrella though. My “normal outfit” is a
short (or long sleeve) shirt and jeans. Of course I always bring my
jacket and umbrella no matter the weather because here it can change
completely in a span of 15 minutes. I do miss wearing my shorts and
sandals that is impossible in Bogota (but not on the coast or other
warmer cities in Bogota). The bad weather depresses me, it is by far
my biggest complaint here.
Next up would be the traffic. In a city
of 9 million people of course traffic is going to be bad but, here it
is horrible. I spend hours of my life jammed into buses, sometimes
crammed in like an animal and because of the bad condition of some of
the roads it can take forever to get anywhere. Also they do not have
one unified bus system The Transmelinio (The Metro Bus System) goes
to some parts of the city but not all (and you have three different
rider cards depending on which part of the city you want to go too)
then there is Collectivos (small buses always jammed packed full of
people and it will stop anywhere that you press the “stop”
button) so between the two bus systems (The Collectivos have no map
system or “stops” they just have written destinations so you have
to know where you are and where you want to go.)
My biggest complaint about the
collectivos besides all the constant stopping and crazy drivers, is
that they allow “Sellers” to come onto the buses and hawk their
various fares or beg or money or do some terrible rap song on these
horribly overcrowded buses (sometimes I cant even sit down and I have
to stand up) and when I just want to ride the bus home in peace I get
harassed by these people with their long drawn out sales pitches and
they don't even pay to ride the bus! In a year of living here in
Bogota I have not once bought anything from these people, that should
give you an indication of the quality of their stuff. Taxis are
another story, they are usually pretty good (and quite cheap) but if
it is raining hard they usually refuse to pick you up because they
don't want to get the inside of their taxi wet (but of course this is
when you need them most!) a ride almost all the way across the city
will cost you roughly 10 USD.
Bogota is laid out in a grid like
system (very similar to New York) except here there is carreras and
calles. So you really don't need a map. You just need to know what
carrera and calle you need to go to and then you are done. Carrerras
run in one direction and calle intersect in the other direction. In
Theory. Bogota is so massive and built over so many different years
and the system doesn't always work. They have streets A-G and
transversals,diagonals and it can be very complicated but once you
learn the system it is actually quite easy. So for me this kind of
numerical only mapping system is both a positive and a negative.
Another chief complaint of mine would
be the pollution. Obviously in a city of 9 million people this is
unavoidable, but, Bogota is inside a mountain valley so all the
pollution just gets trapped and hangs around. The Collectivos and
cars and other things sometimes are not the most modern so they just
spew pollution. It is almost impossible to exercise outside (due both
to the pollution and the altitude) Breathing in the air just feels
unhealthy and it has caused me all sorts of various health issues
since being here. Nothing super serious but more annoying, like
throat problems,eye problems,coughing etc. all due to the pollution
of course. I cant imagine living in this city for my entire life. The
pollution is certainly not as bad as China or India but it is pretty
bad and a big problem.
My next “dislike” would be about
the social behavior of Colombians in general. Almost always, all
Colombians are very nice,caring honest people and I have zero
problems with them except in two situations. On public transportation
people turn into animals and can be very rude and pushy and that
forces me to use animalistic behavior and be rude just so that I can
get where I am going. Otherwise people will just push you around,
walk right over you and you will never get anywhere! The other
situation is any circumstance where you have to be in a line. Most
especially in any kind of government or insurance office. People will
shamelessly cut in front of you,disrespect the line totally (even if
you have a number!) and it is just plain rude but it is just part of
the culture here. In almost every other circumstance you can think of
though, Colombians are very nice,giving,caring people. There is an
enormous gap between the rich and the poor here and I really dislike
that but no matter their social class people are really rude in
lines, (not everyone of course just a generalization)
Along the same vein, the wait times at
any kind of insurance or government office are horrendous. It can
easily take hours or days to accomplish the simplest of tasks. You
can plan a half day or an entire work day easily in one or two
government offices or insurance offices because it takes them that
long to see you. An example, when I went to receive my Colombian
National ID I waited almost an entire workday and then they finally
got everything taken care of and told me to come pick it up in ten
days. Well I came back in ten days and they told me it wasn't ready.
Well due to various governmental changes etc, it took them nine
months to get it to me! If you need any kind of service here in
Colombia, refunds almost never exist and be prepared to wait and wait
to get what you need. It is truly who you know here, and not what you
know. The nationalized healthcare system here is good for basic
things and other than some wait time for basic stuff I have no
problem with it. It is cheap and the quality is decent but, if you
need anything “serious” taken care of, it is much better to pay
for private care it is better and faster.
Anything that can be considered
“imported” or “processed can be very very expensive here. This
annoys me because sometimes I just want some peanut butter or Frosted
Flakes but they are prohibitively expensive here. Technology is also
very expensive here. Anything electronic will cost a lot here.
You know most of the road work here is done manually with men using
pick axes because it is actually cheaper to pay them than for the
company to buy one jack hammer! Some of the roads in Colombia are
pretty terrible. The “old district” of Bogota was settled in 1538
so obviously some of the roads are really old. They can be full of
trash and not leveled correctly. So when it rains it is like walking
through the ocean (only with trash in it.) Bogota has tried to clean
up it's image (literally) here in the past few years but, people
still litter constantly and there is a serious lack of trash cans and
cultural training. But, this is not unique to Colombia. Most third
world countries or “emerging economies” are exactly the same. I
haven't been able to pin down a true reason. I think people here care
about the environment and such I guess it is just lack of enforceable
laws and lack of personal responsibility coupled with the lack of
trash cans that makes littering such a bad problem.
Ok, that ends my likes and dislikes for
Colombia. Now I will tell you my likes and dislikes about Texas (and
the USA in general). First off, I love the weather of Texas. It is
perfect for me. I really enjoy the hot weather. It it is just so
great that I can wear shorts and sandals (almost) all year long. I
enjoy being able to go to the lake or the pool and go swimming almost
all year long. I miss the long Texas summers and long days.
I miss Texas food. (Fried okra
specifically) more than any other food. I miss good Texas steak and
my mother's cooking. I miss Bluebell ice cream and good Mexican food.
I miss Black pepper and Asian food. I miss pop-tarts and American
junk food. I miss Whataburger and Wendy’s and any restaurant with a
drive thru. I miss rice and gravy and good baked or mashed potatoes.
Basically anything you can think of, food wise I miss it. I miss
ground black pepper. I miss donuts and cinnamon rolls and biscuits
and gravy. I miss my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup.
I miss country music and American music
in general. I miss American movies and TV in English. I miss being
able to get in my car and go wherever I want,whenever I want. America
is still the land of the free (for the moment anyway) we do have more
civil rights and liberties than many other countries. I miss hanging
out with my friends and family. I miss road trips. I miss Shiner Bock
and good Texas/American beer. I miss the Texas accent. I also miss
speaking English sometimes. I miss my GPS. I miss going to concerts.
I miss dollar beer nights and happy hour. I miss Dr. Pepper. I miss
beef jerky. Ok I have to stop my food list now, I could go on forever
about what I miss food wise.
I miss being able to go to an ATM at
night or walk around with my wallet in my back pocket and not have to
worry about getting robbed. Colombia has really become MUCH safer
than it was in the 90's but you still have to be cautious with your
wallet and money. You could easily be pick pocketed in The States as
well though. Of course I miss my friends and family even if I don't
talk with them as much as I should I am certainly still thinking of
them all. I miss just being able to see them whenever I want and just
hang out.
Well now I have to tell you my dislikes
about Texas and The US in general. I really dislike the pace of the
lifestyle back home. People are so focused on their careers or
whatever it might be and they are so short sighted. They go through
their lives working themselves to death so they can “have fun in
retirement” but what is the point of being so single minded? Why
work yourself to death so that you can enjoy yourself when you are
old, instead why not do it when you are young and able? Americans in
general just can sit back and enjoy life like Colombians or other
nations can. I get so bored at home doing the same thing day in and
day out just to pay off your credit card bills that you have racked
up by doing basically nothing! Or maybe take two weeks off every YEAR
to go somewhere and you still answer your emails and your phone
calls. I really dislike to generally speaking most Americans don't
know how to relax and enjoy life.
America almost forces you to be
unhealthy. Healthy food is so expensive that people will almost
always choose the cheaper less healthy alternative. In Colombia
cooking for yourself can cost you less than a dollar per meal if you
work it right. A McDonald’s meal can cost over 10 USD. American
consumerism and spending is out of control as well. We as a nation
are in debt up to our eyeballs,with nothing to show for it except
more debt! China almost owns America and we are still trying to be
the world police. I really wish that our government as whole would
really just honestly try and focus on America helping Americans for
the first time in a long long time.
I hate the American Tax System (where
everything is taxed after you purchase it) so if something cost
$19.99 and I have a $20 I can't even buy it! Here in Colombia tax is
included in everything as it should be. I hate the penny. It is
worthless and annoying I wish they would get rid of it like Canada
did. I hate how focused on America (most) Americans are. I wish
people traveled more and realized that this big beautiful world has
many cultures,languages,countries and other things to offer. I also
hate how America makes it so far for other people to visit or live in
America because what ends up happening is those other countries
charge me (and other American travelers) “Reciprocal visa fees.
Basically I get charged whatever America charges their citizens. I am
not advocating that we just let everyone into America willy nilly but
relax a little!
America and Americans have been targets
and security has been an issue for years now. America is the last
remaining “Super Power” I guess. Obviously after all that has
happened America has a reason to be concerned about security.
Terrorism is no joke and not something to take lightly. But, I think
sometimes our American government goes overboard. Going to the
airport in America is not even close to an enjoyable experience
anymore. Compared to other countries America is much more paranoid
about security though. Everyone is really uptight. This is just not
enjoyable at all. It really bothers me that America has some
ridiculous restrictions on travel (that other countries don't have)
like being able to freely travel to Cuba. I dislike that other
nations sometimes really dislike Americans just because of our
government which I have no control over. Of course I really thank all
of the security people and our military trying to keep America safe
and for the most part doing a good job but after many recent events
back home, it seems that more security is not the answer. We need to
rethink our global strategy from the ground up.
When I am in America back home in Texas
visiting friends and family I do miss speaking Spanish. I miss
Colombia when I am in Texas and sometimes when I am in Colombia I
miss Texas. I really dislike the fact that I am all good with being
home for two or three weeks and then after that I get bored and
unsatisfied, I get itchy feet and want to leave again. I dislike the
fact that I bored with my homeland. I dislike the fact that I can't
feel truly happy in the land of my birth. I am American and always
will be but over these past years I have felt more like a citizen of
the world instead of a citizen of America, the country that issued my
passport. I am fairly certain that one day I will return home to live
in America but I have no idea for how long or what I will do there. I
only hope that I can be truly happy when I do chose to return to the
good ol US of A. Because regardless of my personal feelings or the
feelings of others and regardless of the problems America does have,
I truly believe it is still one of the best countries in the world
and in much better shape than some other countries in many different
respects.
Well there you have it, a long list of
my likes and dislikes from both home and abroad. I really have
nothing else special to report, I am just working at my new job
(still teaching, going great) and doing normal things. But I am back
to being happy old me after a few bumps in my personal life. If you
read this far, thanks for reading. Til next time,Tyler
In the US, you have to pay to receive phone calls? So strange, I had no idea. It's free here too, only outgoing calls are charged, except when roaming abroad.
ReplyDeleteAnd we should all be citizens of the world. But we can't control that, I guess, we can only start with ourselves :-)