Thread: Medellin Reports
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05-28-17 16:39 #22588
Posts: 1077Juego De Tronos
I see people are back to the "you have to know Spanish to really blah blah blah" arguments. Lack of Spanish skills never stopped me from enjoying myself. And no, I've never owned a pair of cargo shorts. Some things are in bad taste anywhere you take them.
I am curious however, if anyone down there recently noticed a lot of hype about the upcoming season of "Juego de Tronos". When I was last down there in April of last year, "Juego de Tronos" (Game of Thrones) was the main buzz on TV and in advertising media. Nothing about Zika, though that was big in the US media. Why? Well, if you think about it, the pretext of Game of Thrones is really just a metaphor for modern Latin American history. Despite its superficial trappings, it doesn't have much in common with Europe in antiquity. That's just casting, sets, and costumes you see there. On the other hand, all aspects of Latin American politics are represented in "Juego De Tronaos": Generalissimos, juntas, druglords, revolutionaries, religious fanatics, repression of peasantry, the Catholic church, superstition and lots and lots of wh*res. They just have different names and titles. Think about it for a while, and you will see what I mean. And naturally it will appeal to Latin American audiences, because it is familiar to them, whereas it seems like fantasy to American audiences (I can't vouch for how it projects to European audiences). If George Martin ever wants to do another HBO series, all he will have to do is rehash these old GoT scripts with a setting in a fictitious LA nation set in more modern times. Love in the Time of Zika.
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05-28-17 14:41 #22587
Posts: 5496Originally Posted by Queens35 [View Original Post]
I'm not a sex tourist. Occasionally I'll partake, but I no longer have the desire or energy to do 20 girls every week. How the sex tourists behave has no effect on me, even though I'm an obvious gringo. If I go to Parque Lleras, I'm with a group of Colombian fiends. When I'm out alone, very few people take obvious notice, and those who do are friendly and helpful, because I'm making an effort to embrace the culture.
Obvious sex tourists are targets. They're targets for thieves, targets for scam artists and targets for the police. They're targets because most of the locals don't want them here. More obvious sex tourists who speak no Spanish won't convince everyone to learn English, it will only make the sex tourists bigger targets.
It doesn't matter to me, but it should matter to you. When that target gets too big, the fun and games will be over.
There are other ways to spend your free time than sitting in a restaurant or bar drinking. Go see a movie. Most are in English with Spanish subtitles. Go to a museum, or the botanical gardens, or Explora. Or take a few hours to ride the metro. Talk to a few people. Take a bus to Guatape or Santa Fe. There's plenty of ways to spend your free time.
The catch is, you need to learn a little bit of Spanish to do those things.
Do things however you want. As I've said, it has no effect on me, other than taxi and Uber drivers being worried I will slam the door. Enjoy things in your way and tell everyone they don't need to bother with Spanish. In 2, 5 or 10 years you'll be complaining about Medellin no longer being a good place to monger and whining about the people who ruined it for everyone.
Meanwhile I'll still be here, eating mondongo and sipping my jugo con leche.
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05-28-17 10:17 #22586
Posts: 2527Originally Posted by YippieKayay [View Original Post]
As I widely reported, I've been stopped by police at least once in each trip I had in Colombia, at night and at day, in Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena (except my last two times! Ahah, what's changing??). Police has been always very professional. They look for drugs and check ID. The first approach is strong, but never rude. Once they understand I am not a drug consumer, I have my ID although not the original passport (I have my national picture ID and a photocopy of my passport) they smoothen down. Every time the check ended up with smiles, even pat on shoulder, and "bienvenido". Sure, my decent Spanish helps.
Colombian police is great. Always very professional in my experience (I paid tips to police in many countries including Panama, Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, and others. But never in Colombia).
Originally Posted by YippieKayay [View Original Post]
Originally Posted by YippieKayay [View Original Post]
Originally Posted by Queens35 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 10:03 #22585
Posts: 3359Originally Posted by Queens35 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 04:55 #22584
Posts: 4052I think that is a load of crap too. I believe that is why it appears so often on here. We all know it's true that you can pay to be with girls in casas. That is why you don't' see people insisting it's true most every day. It brings to mind the "thou dost protest too much" quote.
Originally Posted by Queens35 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 03:35 #22583
Posts: 1137Originally Posted by Queens35 [View Original Post]
Twice I was asked to give a donation of 5 mil pesos Once I had a local drug dealer tell me "no -da- la plata para la polizia" (And Dickhead don't correct my Spanish that's what he said). I don't partake BTW in any drugs. Not even MJ.
EDIT: fixing the auto-respelling for the spanish part.
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05-28-17 03:35 #22582
Posts: 319Originally Posted by Paulie97 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 03:32 #22581
Posts: 319Originally Posted by JjBee62 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 03:27 #22580
Posts: 319Originally Posted by Dickhead [View Original Post]
BTW- Do cops actually do that? I have never carried any kind of ID or papers with me anywhere in Medellin. I'm not giving my passport to some mugger, so I prefer to leave it in the hotel. If they ever stop me, I will tell them when I arrived. I'm sure it won't be a problem.
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05-28-17 03:27 #22579
Posts: 1680[Deleted by Admin]
EDITOR'S NOTE: This report was deleted because the content of the report was pointless, unproductive drama. Please read the Forum FAQ and the Forum's Posting Guidelines for more information. Thank You!
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05-28-17 03:22 #22578
Posts: 319Originally Posted by Balboa [View Original Post]Originally Posted by Dickhead [View Original Post]Originally Posted by JjBee62 [View Original Post]
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05-28-17 00:53 #22577
Posts: 1680True That
Originally Posted by JjBee62 [View Original Post]
Last trip I was in New Life and there was a group of cargo shorts wearing gringos talking so loud you could hear them all over the building. They were making fun of the girl's names while laughing at the prices. When addressed they made no attempt at all to use the local language. Nearby Colombianos were rolling their eyes. But if we listen to guys like Queens what is needed is more of these so the locals will ultimately adapt and learn to speak English. Lololol.
The cluelessness is mind boggling.
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05-27-17 23:31 #22576
Posts: 1137Originally Posted by FunLuvr [View Original Post]
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05-27-17 23:22 #22575
Posts: 1046Originally Posted by Dickhead [View Original Post]
I'll try to avoid all those dangers, and continue to visit.
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05-27-17 21:29 #22574
Posts: 3359I'd like to see what a gringo who speaks zero Spanish says to a colombian police officer who walks up to him and asks him for identification and proof he is in the country legally. That's not an uncommon occurrence.
But out of 53 countries I've been to, Colombia would certainly be one of the five most dangerous, if you take an overarching view of danger. You have a high murder rate, a high traffic fatality rate, a lot of unvaccinated people and dogs, poor food safety (although I've seen way worse), and some fevers in certain parts of the country. Now, I have not been to the coastal areas. I have been to Bogotá, Medellíand, Bucamaranga, and Leticia and the surrounding Amazon.
And, I'd add the danger of building collapses, the lack of fire escapes, the propensity to chain lock emergency exits, and so forth to the list. When I lived in Medellíand, I watched them put up an apartment building across the street. A complete disregard for safety. The building I lived in, which was I believe 24 stories and I was on I think #15, would sway in the wind, and not even heavy winds.
So enjoy, but be safe and don't be naïve.