Leaving Texas

I know I only wrote one blog entry while I was home in Texas but honestly I didn't have much to write about. Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to see all my family and friends and eat Texas food and drink Texas beer. But, all the things I did were very normal and not really blog worthy. I just really had a good two weeks relaxing and just adjusting back to life in America for a short time. I was happy to have Father's Day with my dad (and all my family) back in Texas. I got to go to our new deer lease with my dad. It hasn't even been hunted on yet! Deer season isn't until November but we had a "work day" at the lease and man alive did we work hard! Setting up deer feeders and fences and putting out deer corn and such. It was nice to spend some quality time with my dad though. It has been a while since we have got to do that.

Nothing else really eventful happened besides watching Lucas graduate (congrats Lucas!) and seeing all my family and friends. What got eventful was when I was trying to get back to Bogota. See, I got a cheap flight with Spirit Airlines ( I HATE that airline but they are almost always the cheapest even with all their stupid baggage fees and such) well I had the 6am flight from Dallas to Ft. Lauderdale to Bogota (no direct flight with Spirit) :(

Anyway, I got through the airport security and customs and such without any problems. Then we went to board the plane and once we got all seated, we just sat there, and sat there and sat there. I was getting quite frustrated. It was raining at the time and there was lightning though. Finally the pilot comes on and says we can't do anything because there is lots of lightning. I am a reasonable person so I do understand that delay. Well we waited even longer and then finally the pilot comes on and says "OK now we can start fueling the plane!" well we wait EVEN more and then he comes on again and tells everyone to get off the plane! I was really mad because I had such a tight connection in Ft. Lauderdale I just knew I would miss it!

Of course I was correct. Spirit couldn't re-book me to make to Bogota on the day I planned (meaning I would miss one day of work) but, Spirit put all of us up in a Holiday Inn in Ft. Lauderdale (which they paid for of course) unfortunately this hotel was not even close to anything so we just stayed at the hotel the whole time and used all of our meal vouchers (which was a very small amount). Luckily I got stuck with a great group of people. Back in Dallas two ladies came up to me and they were a bit older and looked kind of scared. They asked me if I spoke Spanish. I said yes I was immediately their translator haha. I really didn't mind it at all though. I know what it is like to be in a country and not speak the language. It can be very intimidating, so I was happy to help. In addtion, I met a really cool Colombian-American couple who was really nice, and their daughter actually lives in Bogota now.

I met a really cool lady named Katie though. She was probably the one I connected with the most. I guess because of the hometown connection. She lives pretty close to my parents back in Texas and she was interested in travel and we even work in same field! We really connected well and she will be one of my friends for years to come, I feel. It was her first time coming to Bogota and she had limited Spanish. I was happy to give her some tips and help her along the way. I am happy to report I just received an email from her and all went well :) Good job Colombia! haha.

Anyway, I am now back for my last week of work (testing and finals) before we take a month off for vacation and then start again in August. I also have a new roommate (Mark had to leave) she is Swedish and super cool so  far. Things are all good here :) Well that's all I have for now. Yall take care,Tyler

Texas

I have really been slacking on this blog lately! I came back home to Texas to watch my baby brother graduate High School an that I am proud to say that he made it! It was a neat experience for me to watch Lucas (who is ten years younger than me) graduate high school. Sometimes it seems as if I just got out of high school myself. But, he has his whole life ahead of him and a lot of potential. He will go to college now and study to be an ER Nurse (until he changes his mind that is) :P but I told him to take his time and don't rush it. I wish he would travel but that is a very personal decision and travel is not for everyone. As long as he is happy and doing something with his life then I am happy for him.

As for me, I have just been enjoying my time here (it is almost over!) eating and relaxing and seeing friends. Nothing super special to report on my end. But, it has been great to see all my family and friends and spend Father's Day here. I was lucky enough to be to go to the deer lease with my dad and spend some time down there with him. I have actually gained some weight also! All that American food and my mother's cooking :D I will try and take a few pictures before I return to Bogota. See you soon Colombia! Tyler

A Little Survey

I want to propose a little survey purely for my own curiousity so if you are reading this please take just a minute to answer my short few questions in the comment section below this post. Please and Thanks :) I will love you forever haha. -Tyler the Traveling Texan.

1. What country are you from?

2. Your age? (or roundabouts if your shy)

3. Have you ever left your home country?

4. Where would you want to visit if you could visit anywhere?

Ok thats all I have for you! four simple questions :) have at it, thanks again, Tyler

One week until Texas (For Lucas)

Well my friends, as of today it is just one week until I get to back home and visit my friends and family for two weeks! I am pretty excited about drinking Dr. Pepper and eating some Whataburger and having some good home cooking. I am real happy to see my baby brother graduate High School and see my friends and family again. I cant believe how grown up he is now. Lucas, it seems just like yesterday I was getting out of high school and starting my life (look where I am now!) but, it is your turn now. I truly wish you the best and hope you get everything you need in life. Notice I didn't say everything you WANT. Because sometimes it is better to get what you need and not what you want. Had I gotten what I wanted, I would be an Airforce pilot or in the Army and it is possible I could be very hurt or even dead by now. Luckily for me, I was able to continue my life in another direction and have a super supportive family and friends to help me along the way. I am still figuring out what I want out of my life but, I do know that I love traveling, I love speaking Spanish and I love being able to see new cultures and people. I love seeing things that most people only dream of.

Lucas, if I can give you just one piece of advice that you will remember it is this: Take your time. Don't rush. You have your whole life ahead of you and get out there and see the world. Experience something new and don't settle for the first thing that hits your fancy. Fail at something and then try something new. In the ten years I have on you, I have learned many life lessons but if I had to choose one that would be the most important. Don't forget to tell Mom and Dad how much you love them. Remember that even when you got angry at them they have always wanted only the best for you. We have two of the best parents anyone could ask for.

I meant to write more but I kinda turned this into a message to my brother Lucas. I hope he reads this. I love you bud and happy (almost) graduation. I will see you soon (and everyone else also!) Tyler

Dar Papaya- It happened again.

Well it happened again. I got robbed. This is unfortunately becoming a bad pattern for me. I still love this country and it isn't all bad but the reality is that Gringos are frequently targeted. A few months back I had my wallet stolen. Now I have had my bad (with my laptop and all my work documents in it) stolen. I was out having a few beers with some friends from work and since there was so many people around our table I naively assumed that it wouldn't be stolen when I got up to go to the bathroom. Well I was wrong. It was stolen (and replaced with another empty bag) without anyone seeing anything. The thieves here are really good, you have to give them that.

The only good news is that I still have my money,ID,phone etc. and I wasn't harmed at all. Now that I have been robbed twice here in Colombia I have really learned my lesson. You just can't leave anything laying around. There is a huge gap between people who have money and people who don't. So people here generally steal to survive because there is no government services to help them out if they are out of a job or have very little money. It is quite sad but it is the reality of living in an "emerging economy".

There is a saying here in Colombia, it doesn't translate into English very well but it is Dar Papaya. Dar is the verb to "give" in Spanish and obviously Papaya is a fruit. If you give Papaya it means you do something that gives a thief or thieves a chance to rob you. By getting up and leaving my bag I gave papaya. I don't really like this saying because it gives the thieves an excuse for their behavior and shifts the blame to the victims but everyone who lives here knows this saying.

I still like living here and it is not a bad country even though I have been robbed twice now. I am going home in about two weeks so I will have to buy a replacement computer but luckily most of my stuff was backed up. I will be extra careful with everything from now on. I will still recommend that anyone visit Colombia but just be extra careful with your things and don't go around flashing expensive stuff. It isn't the fault of the country it is the income divide and I guess partly cultural. But, that being said, you can be robbed anywhere at anytime so this is not unique to Colombia.

See you soon Texas,Tyler

Dia de Madre

Well this past Sunday was Dia de Madre or Mother's Day here in Colombia and in the good ol USA as well I guess. Unfortunately for me I was not able to be with my dear mother on her day this year but she knows that as always I am there in spirit. Luckily though, I was able to have a mother for a day. I went with a friend of mine to her family's house in a town outside of Bogota called Cota. It is a really small nice town away from the traffic and noise of Bogota and the weather was great so it was a really nice break after my trip to Lake Guatavita (see my facebook pictures) and I was lucky to have two real nice small holidays in a row. Marcela's family was really super nice to meet (as are almost all Colombians!) of course, because this was a Colombian family event there was about 1000 people there and lots and lots of food and beer. Just my style :) Everyone was really friendly to me and very curious about me and how I was liking Colombia. Luckily now my Spanish is decent enough that I can hold a conversation with just about anyone on just about any subject even though I am still far from perfect, I can be understood and understand.

Monday was a day off here since Sunday was Mother's Day. ( I love all the holiday breaks in this country!) so all I did was rest and relax. But, it is now Tuesday and I am back at work. I have a big presentation on "Accents from Texas and around the world" for a big group of important people here at work tomorrow. I am slightly nervous but excited as well and I am almost done preparing my powerpoint presentation as I write this to you. Things are going really well at work and I like my new job a lot. Things are still good on the apartment front and I really don't have much to complain about at all right now. I am a pretty lucky guy. Well that's all I got.

See you June 4th, Texas friends/family! :) -Tyler

My Weekend Away

Well hello there! Long time no write. I know I have gotten pretty bad at keeping this blog up to date but, I do have a few good (or at least I think good) reasons. Most importantly I don't have internet at my house. Just here at work so obviously I can't update my blog all the time. Secondly, I have a pretty "normal" life now. I go to work everyday and come home everyday just like you do. Only I do it in a foreign country and speak a language that isn't English. I seriously doubt that many people still follow this blog but I know my family and some friends still follow this blog. I can single out a beautiful Belgian friend of mine who shall remain nameless but she is one of my most loyal readers and for that I really am thankful. Ok, enough excuses onto my blog post.

My awesome new-ish boss Ruben has some property outside of Bogota in a city that is actually hot and (usually) dry with very little rain. He invited all of us teachers out there for the weekend to relax and escape Bogota for a while. Of course we all accepted! So off we went. We left Bogota on Saturday morning and after about a three hour drive we arrived in the city where Ruben's weekend house was. This was a very small city that was quiet with not much going on, very typically Colombian. Of course coming from the craziness and bad weather of Bogota it was very very refreshing to me and the other teachers who had come along. We were all very thankful for Ruben's generous offer of letting us stay there for the weekend.

I really don't have much to tell you except that a lot of beer was drank, a lot of swimming was done, a bit of hiking and I have returned to Bogota with a sunburn. Not a HORRIBLE sunburn to bad enough to feel it. This is of course the first time in months and months I have been able to wear shorts and even have the chance to get a sunburn so I didn't mind too much. We hiked up to some quite disappointing waterfalls,got to ride horses,use paddle boats and stuff our faces with great food until we almost exploded. In addition to this we got to play a tradition Colombian game called Tejo which I am really horrible at. It involves a lot of beer and explosives. The object of the game is to throw basically big rocks at small explosive charges buried in clay opposite of you. It is fun but difficult even when sober. Of course it is always a good time even when you are terrible, some Colombians are quite good but us Gringos were not. Indoor Tejo with many people can be quite dangerous but luckily we were outside on a small field and no danger to anyone.

The ride home was on a nice big bus (with AC!) and it only cost 10,000 pesos or $5 USD! I figured it would have taken three hours at the very least but this guy drove like a speed demon and we got back home after three days of blissful relaxation in only two hours. Of course we came home to cold and rain so that was no fun but it's life huh? I am now back at work and doing my "normal" stuff, but it sure was nice for a little break and I really like my job so it doesn't feel like work when I come here. I may hate the weather and traffic of Bogota but I am happy with almost everything else. Unfortunately I don't have too much else to report. I really hope if you are reading this everything is well in your world and I will try to keep up with this blog more like old times. -Tyler

P.S.: Texas people, I will be home June 4th for two weeks!

My first year in Colombia ( I survived!) :)

Well today is the one year anniversary of my time here in Colombia and I have at least one more year to go. My how the time has gone fast! I can't believe I was landing here in Bogota a year ago already. So much has happened since then. I certainly have had my ups and my down's but, overall a really good time. At this moment the only thing I can complain about is the traffic and the rain ;) I have learned A LOT of Spanish in one year but I am far from perfect and need to practice hard if I want to continue towards my goal of being a translator/interpreter. Of course by now, I can generally get everything I need on a daily basis without any problems and I can even hold long semi complicated conversations totally in Spanish. There is many word's I don't know but I do know how to get my point across even if I say it wrong or don't know the correct words.  As I said in my earlier Facebook status, I have not been harmed in any way (other than having my wallet pick pocketed which could happen anywhere) I have not been forced into the drug trade,sold into sexual slavery,kidnapped,held hostage or any of the other crazy things the American Media typically says about Colombia. I honestly enjoy my life here and want to stay here until I learn Spanish fluently.

Of course this is not a perfect country and there is many things that are not good and things that frustrate me but, nowhere is perfect, certainly not America at the moment. Even if I am not living in America I am still a proud American. People are nice and friendly here and overall I have had a very positive experience here and would recommend Colombia to any travelers. Do not expect it to be like your home country though, Colombia is completely different than anywhere else in the world and it is still an "emerging economy" so you will find that some things are not yet up to "first world" standards. If this is a problem for you then you might have a little bit of a rough time but, if you are capable of handle new challenges and realizing that just because something is different than your home doesn't make it bad then Colombia is for you!

I look forward to what the next year has in store for me! Yours,Tyler

My likes and dislikes after one year here

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

Good news, Bad news

So, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first? Ok I will choose for you haha. It is the good news. The good news is, that here in the next couple of weeks I will be making a big announcement which is still in the planning phases as of now. This is huge because it not only benefits me but, also many many other people in this world. All my life I have always wanted to make an "impact" to leave something behind. It sounds so cliche and many people say they want too but they never do. I want too and I am going too. This is what my announcement will be about. I am so excited! This huge change in my life wont be happening for another 20 months but I am planning now!

Ok the bad news. It seems that as of now we cannot get internet at our apartment. At all, ever. :( Colombia has been very frustrating about this. We have gone through a lot of going to different internet places and calling and just general frustration. Everyone around us has internet but, for whatever reason our actual apartment unit is only able to get internet service from one certain company who is very expensive. So, unless we find an alternative then my internet time will only be at work where it is free. This is a shame because I will miss out on my regular Skype chats.

I heard about the Boston bombings today. I am very sad to hear that some horrible person felt it necessary to cause death and destruction at a running event. It is times like this when I am sad for the world but, also times like this when I know and have faith there is still good people in the world.

On an unrelated side note, my second week at my new job is going really well and I am enjoying this group teaching thing so far. Everything is good here on my end and I can only wish the same for you wherever you are. Take care,Tyler 

I am aliveeeeeeeee!

My Lord it has been a while hasn't it?! I am really sorry I have been so out of touch lately but frustratingly after not blogging for over a month (an eternity for me!) and after living in my new apartment for over a month we STILL don't have internet! Makes it a little hard to blog consistently. I do have a lot to catch you up on huh? I believe my last blog was about my Immigration Hell in Venezuela. Since then I have had a great 10 day public holiday,changed jobs,been on a few more dates and just generally had a pretty good time. So here goes....

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is the week before Easter here in South America. Here in Colombia you get a total of 10 days if you include the weekends. I knew I wanted to leave Bogota for that time so I decided to go visit my friend Adrian (the Irish guy I met in Immigration in Valenzuela) in his city. Originally I wanted to go to another city but tickets were way to expensive. I sure am glad I changed my mind because I had a great time! All of his friends and roommates were really cool and I really enjoyed meeting all of them. I got to climb a mountain, see a castle, go to a really neat Colonial town and eat some great food. The best part was that I could wear shorts and the weather was great! I was one happy man. I really appreciated all his hospitality and putting up with me for a over a week.

After I returned to Bogota I got a new job offer from a friend that guaranteed me more working hours and hence more money. I jumped on the chance to jump ship and start with his company. I am now teaching adults as usual but in a classroom type setup with multiple students and working on a school semester yearly type setup. I have just been working for two days as of today but so far everyone is super nice and I really like all my students. My challenge will be remember all the students name's in all four of my classes! The office we work out of is really awesome as well. Free coffee and hot chocolate all day long! They even have golf on the roof!

Other than that, I have been on a few more days (trying to get back out there slowly since things ended with Viviana) met some cool people, and just trying to enjoy my life and make the best of my time here in Bogota. I am still planning on studying Spanish properly at a University here once I can get my visa questions sorted and figure out a good time schedule for this. I really really have a strong desire to become a translator/interpreter and I love speaking Spanish! I still hate the weather and the traffic in Bogota but if that is all I have to complain about I guess I am doing pretty good. After me being "offline" for so long I bet you expected me to write pages and pages of stuff but right now this is all I have.

P.S. I booked my ticket home for two weeks in June! So plan on seeing me from the 4th of June to the 18th. Get ready!

Yall stay well, til next time- Tyler

Immigration Hell Cont.

I know it has been quite a while since I have written anything in my blog. It isn't that I have lost interest in it but I have just been really busy and honestly not had much to write about. I will tell you about my immigration hell in Venezuela though. If memory serves, I had written a post titled "Immigration Hell" back when I was in Thailand. Well the problems I had in Thailand with immigration were a cake walk compared to what happened here. Colombia does not make immigration easy. It is a long,expensive,hard process but I finally finally got it done. Here is how it all went down.

Here in Colombia to work legally you need a one year work visa which costs about $255 USD (more or less) but, to receive this visa you have to be "sponsored" by a company who agrees to hire you and gives you a letter of intent and a bunch of other documents. Everything needs to be properly notarized of course. But, you cannot apply for this work visa inside of Colombia you have to leave the country. So, my company decided to fly me to a city called Cucuta which is on the Colombian/Venezuelan border (It is on the Colombian side) from there you can cross the border into San Antonio Venezuela where the Colombian Consulate is. I had been told if you are armed with all the correct documentation this should be a very easy 1 to 2 day process maximum. So I packed three days of clothes and had what I thought was all the correct papers from my company and off I went.

I arrived at the airport in Cucuta early in the morning (from Bogota it is only a 45 minute flight) and I went straight across the border to San Antonio and the Colombian Consulate. I had been told that San Antonio is a "free zone" so you don't have to get your passport stamped or anything. I arrived at immigration at 9:30am (Oddly Venezuela is 30 minutes ahead of Colombia) I was told that they only accepted visa applications from 7am to 9am so I had to return the next day. I stayed one not so enjoyable night in San Antonio (the infrastructure in Venezuela is much worse than Colombia).

I returned the next morning bright and early and after 3 to 4 hours of waiting I was finally called to see the immigration officer for my visa. Immediately I could tell this guy was the guy you hear nightmare stories about. He was SUPER strict in EVERY way. Almost immediately he saw that I did not have an entry stamp into Venezuela in my passport, nor did I have an exit stamp from Colombia. I didn't bother to get these because San Antonio is a "free zone" and no one bothered to stop me at the border and check anything. I learned that San Antonio IS a free zone BUT if you are doing anything involving immigration you MUST have your stamps.

So, for the second time I was denied and had to return the next day.  From this point I decided to stay on the Colombian side of the border where I was much more comfortable with the currency,people,infrastructure etc. I checked into a hotel after a pretty enjoyable day in Cucuta with some Couch Surfers I had met. Fast forward to the next day. I return to immigration in Venezuela bright and early and wait my turn (3-4 hours again) go in to see this guy that I am starting to immensely dislike.  He looks through my documents and proceeds to tell me that my boss sent me with a document that is a copy and he needed the original. Lucky for me I could get this document back in Cucuta even though I would have to leave immigration yet again and go pay for this document and then come back to immigration.

I make a point to ask him with no uncertainty is this ALL I need to correct and then everything will be fine? He assures me everything else is fine and he even tells me if I make it back to his office before noon he will process all my stuff that same day. So I leave yet again to go correct this document that my boss had messed up on. After some time, I return to immigration in Venezuela at 11:30am a full half hour before his "deadline" yet he refuses to honor his promise to see me and process my documents so I am turned away yet again. I am really starting to hate this man.

I return to Cucuta yet again (this is actually the only enjoyable part of my trip, getting to hang out with some awesome Couch Surfers, a big shout out to Jesus,Vanessa,Caesar and Israel!) and my hotel was amazing in Cucuta. It was a family run hostel and the ladies were sweet as pie to me. I really enjoyed that part and Cucuta is a really good city to visit. Anyway, it is now Friday and I return to immigration for what I hope is my final time. I wait and wait and I am finally seen again by the same man. He looks through all my documents ( I remembered to get my entry/exit stamps this time) and I wait with anticipation hoping everything will be ok. He then proceeds to tell me my boss forgot to notarize something. At this point I am a combination of angry,sad,disappointed and just beat down.  I dejectedly leave immigration and return to Cucuta.

Once I get back to Cucuta (I have done this border crossing so many times now, I am literally on a first name basis with a few taxi drivers and border guards) I find out that there is a two day holiday period in Venezuela. Which means I have to stay the whole weekend and Monday and Tuesday as well, before I can have a chance to get rejected by this man again lol. I use this time to air mail express this document my boss forgot to notarize back to Bogota. He notarizes and sends it back to me. On the one bright side, I am having a good time in Cucuta for sure. But, I am missing more than a week of work at this point so, I am not making any money.

Fast forward a few days and the holiday period is finally over in Venezuela. I wake up at 4am (Colombian time) to make it across the border back into San Antonio (it is a long process) I make it to immigration and thank God I am the first person in line. I come armed with ALL my documents and this time I only have to wait a short two hours to see this man (insert sarcasm here) the good thing was that I made some great new friends at immigration that live in Colombia! (Hi, Adrian and Tess :D) By this point I am so beat down by this immigration man I am just expecting to get rejected.

I go into his office and by some miracle of God this time he doesn't reject my documents! I am so relieved. I then have to wait another hour to pay at a separate pay station. I finally pay my money and get out of there! I call my boss and he authorizes my flight home to Bogota. The next day I leave Cucuta after 8 days there. I only had 3 days worth of clothes.

My hell finally ended and now I am legal here for one full year and about to move into my brand spanking new apartment. I truly hope after all the rough times I have had in 2013 so far, that soon things will really start to turn around. I did have a really good time hanging out with Mark and his friend John when I returned. (Thanks for the cigar,John) I also went on my first date since my break up with Vivi but more on that later....

Take care yall. If anyone needs any help with the Colombian immigration process I am now an expert lol. -Tyler

Wow it has been a long time hasn't it?!

It has been over a month since my last blog post! I know yall missed me haha. To be honest this month off of blogging has been because I have been incredibly busy with work ( I am working two jobs now and I have some private English clients plus I am going to be starting official Spanish classes soon!) and also because I really did need this time off. Many things have happened to me in the past month and I just needed time to myself to decompress and digest all the things that have gone on in my life. As my frequent readers know, I started writing this blog way back when I was in Australia in 2009 to let my friends and family know what was going on with my life while I was away. After a while it turned more personal for me. Now I write this for yall but mostly for me. For my memories and my life. So I can look back at this twenty years from now and know what was going on at a particular time. I have always been honest in this blog and I plan to continue to be so. With that being said, I want to let yall know something. It is sad news but I don't want to hide it any longer.

Viviana and I have ended our relationship. Obviously this is very sad for me and very personal so I don't want to go into too many details but everything that has happened, happened for a reason. Two people can have very much love for each other and try really hard in a relationship and it still doesn't work out. I still care for her very much and wish her only the best. I have been in this position before and may be in this position again. I truly felt that I had everything right this time, that this relationship was the one forever but it wasn't. So now I am trying to get myself back on track and do what I need to do to get myself back in a good spot again. I will always have fond memories of her though.

I had a great Christmas,Birthday and New Years and I was also lucky enough to have one of my best friends in the world Bernd Eisenhut from Germany come visit me! Ben and I have always had a close bond since we traveled together for so long and we just know each other really well and are on the same level. I really enjoyed his visit here and he seems to have enjoyed it as well. I hope to visit him in Germany in the future for sure. His visit here really meant a lot to me because he is the first friend from overseas to visit me here in Colombia. But, I did have some more sad news as well. My grandfather passed away after a fairly long sickness and I was not able to attend the funeral. I also had two friends die in close succession of each other. I really felt for a while that 2013 was just beating me down and it was not fun at all. But, I am hoping from here on out things improve!

Since Ben left (he was here for three weeks) I have really buried myself in work and I am about to start these Spanish classes and work my way towards my translator certification so I am excited about that! In previous month's I had too much time and not enough money, now my money situation is better but I have no time! I guess it isn't a horrible trade off though. Not for a while. Yall may remember me blogging about my friend from Canada who is traveling and driving his truck all over South America, his name is Mark. Well he is now my roommate here and we are even working at the same business, teaching English so it is nice to be living with a friend and being able to speak English with someone.

I guess that is about all that has happened really. I am just trying my best to get myself back on track and in a good spot in life. Trying to stay happy and positive and I look forward to the future here. I do hope all of you are having a great 2013 so far. -Tyler

Der Untergang (The Downfall)

I recently watched a German movie called Der Untergang (or The Downfall) about the last ten days of Hitler's life. This was a really good movie that explored Hitler's personality and his effects on World War Two. Hitler really was a great orator and speaker but he was a terrible,horrible human being. For as long as I can remember I have been horrified and fascinated with how one man could captivate an entire country into slaughtering over six millions Jews and countless other ethnic groups simply because they were “different” and not part of the “master race”. Hitler motivated thousands of seemingly normal people to do unspeakable things that you and I would never do. Why is this?

How did normal men and woman go from living normal lives into contributing to the killing and torture of millions of people? If it could happen to them, could it happen to us? I like to think that I could never ever be influenced by anyone to do horrible things to other people simply because they are different. What made Hitler and the German people so different? I think it was just a “perfect storm” of circumstances that allowed Hitler to take power and influence an entire country so completely. It was no one thing. It was Hitler's speaking skills, his grip over the economy and politics, his power in the military,his ability to create a power structure that allowed powerful people to do horrible things and last but certainly not least, apathy from the German people. I am by no means saying that every German was a bad person or is a bad person. In fact to the contrary one of my best friends is German and I really enjoyed my travels to Germany and would love to return. The German people as a whole certainly don't deny their history and Nazism is illegal in Germany now. But, during the Second World War the German people were so captivated by Hitler that many of them did horrible things. Maybe they thought “It isn't really my problem” or “it doesn't directly affect me” or “someone else will take care of it” or simply “I don't care” Whatever the reason, the affects of Hitler and World War Two caused the death of over fifty million people globally and involved almost every major country in the world. This coming just 20-ish years after World War One.

I can relate to apathy in my own life. I can use my blog as an example. I know that I do have a fairly large readership base but relative few people actually comment on my blogs. Why is this? Do people not care? Do they have no time? Do my blogs bore people? Does it take too much effort to comment?Lack of motivation? I think it is a combination of all these things. I am by no means angry or sad about this. I am guilty of this myself. We have become a society of people who do not take action for anything unless we are extremely motivated to do so. Not commenting on my blog will not cause the death of millions of people but in a small way I think it does parallel the actions of World War Two.

Hitler was a very disturbed horrible man who deserves one of the worst places in Hell for what he did but what we need to remember is that we cannot forget the lessons we (globally) as a human race have learned from that terrible period in history. My grandfather was a soldier in World War Two and when he was alive I always wanted to hear stories about the war. As I grew older I stopped wanting to hear stories simply for the sake of hearing a story. My respect for him as a person and his service really grew and I actually LISTENED to what he had to say when I was older. As a kid I just wanted to hear battle stories. I will be forever grateful for his actions and those that he served with they helped preserve my freedom. War is horrible in any form but back then the German soldiers fought for their cause and the Allies for their cause with a purpose. Now war has changed. There are no more battle fields and uniforms and causes. It is now all blended together without a specific cause. I truly hope that this world never has to go through another World War. If you haven't seen Der Untergang (Downfall) I highly suggest it. It is in German with English subtitles. Very powerful performances in that movie.

P.S. Not to make light of World War Two at all, but, there is quite funny “Downfall” parodies on Youtube.

That's all I have for you today,Tyler

Connecting the dots

I think I may have wrote about this before but I wanted to touch on this subject again since a lot has happened in the past few months. I really do believe life is about connecting the dots. You may not be able to see it in the moment but when you can look back on things and see clearly how one thing leads to another. Every experience is in some way related to another experience. Usually though, you can't see how it is all connected until you have some time,age,experience and perspective.

For example, I took my first trip out of America when I was 15 years old (with my church) it was on that trip that I started to get bit by the travel bug. Five years after that, I joined an international travel group www.tribewanted.com. I had some great trips to Fiji,Germany,England,Ireland and Chicago. I made some life long friends within that group, some of whom I still keep in touch with even now. If it weren't for my trip to Panama I never would have had the guts to join Tribewanted and start traveling.

Once I started traveling with all my friends from that group I really got the full on travel bug. From the age of about 18 to 24 I would travel somewhere outside of America at least once a year for at least a month. I saw many great countries that way both solo and in groups. Obviously though, I had a life back in America. I was working (not at a great job but it paid the bills) I had my family and friends back in Texas. Fast forward to 2009. I was working for a company that was sub contracted to Home Depot. Once the economy started to tank our company went belly up and my whole division was laid off.

Once I lost my job there for a bit I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had no job,no college degree and no passion in life other than traveling. I was 24 years old and lost in life. I was directionless and floating in the sea of life without a life jacket. Luckily though one day I decided to Google “Jobs overseas” the first result that came up was a Working Holiday Visa in Australia. I had visited Australia in 2008 for about three weeks and really enjoyed it. This was different though. It meant moving to Australia for one year and working there without any friends or family. It was a scary prospect for a 24 year old. I thought about it for a few days and then took the leap of faith. I decided to do it!

Thank God I did because it changed my whole life! The first month was scary and I was lonely. I had no friends, no family and I knew basically no one. To top it all off I had no job. I was really homesick and came close to just quitting and going back home. I decided to tough it out and stay though. It was the second best decision I have ever made. I had met a girl on the plane ride from Sydney to LA (she was my seat mate) and Sandradee got me started. She let stay in her house until I got my feet under me. I found a job and started making friends. Without the initial support of Sandradee I don't know what I would have done!

After about two months I was really starting to enjoy myself. I had a good job,I made some friends and I had a roof over my head and food in my belly. I was no longer so home sick and life was good. It was about then that I met one of my now best friends. Ben (from Germany) we met on the city bus. He had just arrived and was looking at a map and looking lost. I decided to help him out and from that moment on we were fast friends. We ended up traveling together for well over one year! If I would have left Australia I never would have met him or any other of my great friends that I still have in Australia.

So where does that leave me? Well I ended up staying a whole year in Australia living and working there and having a great time traveling and meeting many great people all over Australia, all the while seeing amazing things. After my year there I wasn't ready to come home because I was having too much fun! So Ben and I decided to move to New Zealand together. New Zealand was close and offered a working visa program. So off we went. In New Zealand I had a great year of traveling and working there as well. I worked construction,on the railroad and on a concert tour. I had many jobs in many different things. I had so many new work experiences that have helped me in my life. Not only that but I met two of my now best friends Nadia and Deborah from England. I was very active in Couch Surfing and met so many great people and had so many great experiences that I couldn't even begin to list them all. Did you know that I even got a trombone solo for my birthday. My friend Maya was kind even to play happy birthday for me on her trombone. I won't ever forget that! If I had never decided to go to Australia I never would have decided to go to New Zealand. Another dot connected.

In between my year in Australia and my year in New Zealand I took some time off to travel South East Asia with my friend Kevin. One day we were in Australia and he asked me if I wanted to go to Thailand. I had never really thought about it and I knew nothing about Asia but I was happy to go somewhere new so I said yes! On the plane ride over, Kevin and I met my now good friend Tony. The three of us decided to travel together and we ended up meeting my now good friends Scott and Ashleigh. We had our wolf pack complete. We had so many great memories together that I will never forget. Without saying yes to Kevin's suggestion to go to Thailand none of that would have happened for me. Another dot connected.

Fast forward to my second year away from Texas, my year in New Zealand was ending. Ben and I had quite a lot of money from our jobs and nowhere to spend it so we decided to travel South America. We started in Chile then Bolivia,Peru,Argentina and then Ben went to Brazil and I went to Colombia. We had a great time in South America even though at the time my Spanish was terrible and so was his! I have so many good memories of the time we had. Well after that both Ben and I had been away from home for two years! (My family did come see me in New Zealand) but both of us were broke and it was time to go back to our respective countries after 18 months and change of being away.

I came back home to Texas and really tried hard to live a “normal” life. I tried to get a job and do the things that most people do but I just couldn't do it. I was unhappy with my life. I didn't enjoy the routine and I loved the traveling lifestyle so much more. So I decided I would get certified to teach English overseas and go do it! I got my TEFL degree and decided to go back to Thailand and teach there because I really enjoyed that country. Another dot connected. I arrived with no job and nowhere to live but I still had a few friends from my travels there. I ended up meeting an Aussie named Maurice and he was (and is) a great guy. He convinced me to leave Bangkok (the capitol city) and go with him to a very small town called Bangsaphan. I had never even heard of this place but I went with him anyway. I ended up getting a job there and living on a beautiful beach with a great Thai lady named Noong. She was really good at taking care of me and she was a great cook. I will always fondly remember my time living in that beautiful beach house with her and random guests who would come in and out. I taught Thai children and at first it was so difficult because I had zero training. It was really sink or swim. I made it though! I had a great time there and finished out my whole contract.

Fast forward a little more to my teaching contract ending in Thailand. As much as I really enjoyed Thailand I felt that I wanted to learn a language that I could actually use. I was still in contract with my now boss, Andy. He was in Colombia and I met him my first time in Colombia. He had told me if I ever wanted a job back in Colombia there would be one for me. So I decided to take him up on his offer and move back to Colombia to learn Spanish. Another dot connected. After a short stay at home in Texas I moved to Bogota this April. He made good on his word right away and gave me a job and he also arranged a place for me to stay. So I had no major worries. I still had friends here from last time so life was good here. At first my Spanish was terrible and I was so frustrated at not being able to communicate the way I wanted. But, I kept learning more and more. I met my now good friend Sergio and he introduced me to a girl who I started to date right away. We dated for about a month but it didn't end up working out. Obviously after my break up I was depressed about it. I ended up meeting a Canadian who is driving truck from Canada to the bottom of South America! Mark is a great guy and we have had some great times. He convinced me to try this online dating website here in Colombia. I was pretty skeptical about the whole thing and didn't really want to do it but I decided to pay for one month and give it a try. The first girl I met off the dating site was Viviana. Right away I saw how beautiful she was and she was super nice. There was a problem though. She didn't speak any English! At the time my Spanish was terrible! She was also a single mother. So I thought at first our relationship would be impossible. I couldn't see a way that it could work. But, we really liked each other so we kept seeing each other. Slowly but surely my Spanish got better and I met her son and found out that he is a really nice kid and I really liked him. So everything that I thought would be a problem wasn't!

Fast forward to now. Viviana and I are very much in love. I enjoy my job here and I have a good life and soon Viviana and I will be married! I will be a step father and I am very excited. Thanks to Mark for convincing me to get on that dating website. Another dot connected. I found my love here in Colombia and a good life and it never would have happened had I not traveled to Colombia in the first place and then decided to come back. You never know how your life is going to work out. You never know what dots will be connected. Live your life as if everything will be connected. I have been so lucky in my life to see and do so many amazing things. I have been to over 15+ countries all before the age of 30! I am so blessed to have a very supportive family and friends. I really couldn't ask for much more. Soon I will have a beautiful wife and step son and in-laws. You never know how your life is going to work out. My life has taken so many exciting twist and turns,ups and downs since I left America in 2009 and now almost four years later I am excited to see what dots will connect in the future.

Yall take care,Tyler

Movember is over!

Well today ends Movember (officially) but you can donate all year long! I want to thank all of my friends and family who donated to this worthy cause. I raised a grand total of 220 dollars! I really appreciate everyone and even if you didn't donate I do hope that in my little way I helped raise awareness for men's health issues. Thanks again and my face caterpillar will see you next year!-Tyler

My biggest announcement of my life so far

I have some huge news for you my dear readers. But, before I get to that I want to let you know that I had a great time in Texas with my family and friends. I loved being home for Thanksgiving and eating all that good food. I was so happy to spend time with family I hadn't seen in quite a while and friends that I missed. I didn't do anything super amazing but just being able to relax and be with my friends and family was enough. We even got to skeet shoot and blow up pumpkins with an AR-15 at my uncle's farm. All in all I had a great time. For those of you that I missed I am sorry and next time I am home we will catch up for sure!

Also, thank you for all of you who donated to my Movember cause as the month is almost over now. Even if you didn't donate I do hope that I raised awareness about men's health issues. I have enjoyed having a mustache for a month and look forward to doing it again next year. Congrats to all my Mo Bros and Sis's. Thank you to Vivi for putting up with my mustache for a whole month haha.

Ok, now for the big news I know you have all been waiting for. I am engaged to be married! I proposed to Viviana last night and she accepted :) We have known for a while that we love each other and this love has only grown. We want to spend the rest of our lives together so I bought the rings in Texas and last night I popped the question and she said yes. I had a whole proposal plan worked out but I didn't get to do it. Vivi knew I had bought the rings (I was previously ring shopping here in Colombia) so last night she asked to see them. I asked her if she was sure that she really wanted to see them. She said yes so I showed her. At that point there was really no reason to go through with my proposal plan so I just asked her lol. She said it was no big deal that I didn't make a big deal out of it. It saved me time and money doing it this way :)

My original plan was to take her back to where we had our first date and have a cake made up that said "Will you marry me?" I wanted to have her whole family hiding and then come out after I asked her and everyone would eat cake. But looking back on that plan, the logistics of that were going to be really hard, she has a huge family!

So we are thrilled to be getting married and we love each other totally and completely. Now we are in the middle of wedding planning but when something new develops I will let yall know. For now its back to work and normal life for me. Yall take care,Tyler

P.S. My mustache wasn't great but it was passable :)

I made it to Texas

I made it home safe and sound to Texas for a two week visit with my family. If you need anything or just want to get in touch, feel free to say hi to me here or on Facebook! -Tyler

Texas

On Monday Nov. 12th (tomorrow) I will be in Texas for  a short 15 day visit with everyone back home. I am really happy to have Thanksgiving at home though and I have enough time to see and everyone and eat and do everything I want. I will be taking lots of pictures for everyone in Colombia and bringing back some gifts.

Yall take care and see you (in Texas) tomorrow night! :D -Tyler

Friend's Webpages I like

So I decided to start a new section on my blog for friend's of mine who have websites that I can vouch for or like. The first is www.trutravels.com a website for travelers going to Thailand. My friend Joe runs a tour guiding company there and they give great guided tours. I will let their website speak for itself!

If you would like to be included in my blog section "Friend's Websites I like" or you just want a shout out on my blog, from me. Please contact me and if I know you and can vouch for you I am happy to do it or include your link on my blog.

Now for Joe, I have personally met him and can vouch for him. Both of us have extensive experience with the beautiful country of Thailand and I would seriously suggest a visit to Thailand so you really can't go wrong with that! without further ado, A little bit about Joe's Company: As well as picking you up from the airport and taking care of all the details, we will give you all of the advice and info you need before, during and after your tour. You are guaranteed to meet other travelers in the same situation and we can help you plan the rest of the trip to suit the preferences and time frames of you and your new travel buddies.
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Our group leaders are on hand not just for the whole tour but for the duration of your travels and are always happy to hear from old group members when they re-visit the same countries or areas. They will help you to discover the best bits of all of the places you visit and are there to ensure you have all the info and advice you need to have a truly amazing experience.

We love Thailand! Many conventional package tours are often put together by people who have never traveled in Thailand with only profit margins in mind and feature many locations that we personally wouldn't choose to visit. Many other backpacker tours are unnecessarily long, overpriced and take much of the freedom out of your experience. Our tour is intentionally kept short so that you can use it as an introduction to the country, as part of a shorter holiday, or with a combination of other tours. Don't get sold a rubbish, expensive package by a travel agent or big tour operator that does not know about what they are selling you.
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Travel safely. Traveling in an unfamiliar country where you don't speak the language can be daunting and while Thailand is a very safe country on the whole, there are always risks and by traveling in a group you reduce some of these. By also having an experienced Group Leader with you who knows Thailand and the places we visit well, you will be much safer then you would be on your own.
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​Our TruThai Experience tour is the best value for money short tour on the market. All for 375 GBP! 

Tyler