... in response to Re: Just A Thought, posted by Keith Smith on Feb 18, 2002Hi Keith,
Have you thought that your bride WILL be based here after y'all marry? I courted and married Luisa in Colombia, and she came to the US at the end of last year. Her brother had worked in NYC for 5 years, and has returned to Colombia, she had visited the US as a child, and now she lives here. I agree completely that I love travelling to Colombia, I enjoy the food, the climate, and Poker beer, among other things...
But I guess my point is this: only a person with a certain type of attutude is willing to emigrate from his/her home country, regardless of the economy. People may talk about emigration, but much of it is just that-- talk. It takes audacity to decide to emigrate, to leave family, friends, language, culture, customs, social networks behind. There's a lot of talk about 'getting rich in the USA' in Colombia, but not nearly as much movement as talk.
Not everyone wants to go throught he difficulties of meeting a new culture, living in that new culture, and, if not assimilating completely, then at least learning how to negotiate the cultural norms. It seems to me that there's little difference in the cultural ideals between those who emigrated and those who want to marry-- except for the occasional marriage-for-residency, which do happen, although I don't know how frecuently, and I don't necessarily trust the INS stats on this, given faulty or questionable methods of info gathering by the INS.
Maybe the colombianas in NYC are, in behavior and atitudes, much like those in Colombia who want to move here after marriage.
Just my thoughts...
JEff
