Agencies??

[Wayne]

I've read so much talk about the agencies on this board.  The pros, the cons, is it a good idea?  Is it a better idea to meet a girl without an agency.

In my opinion, the agency is the smallest part of the equation.  It's just a tool to get you a handshake and a kiss on the cheek.  You spend 10 minutes at the agency when the girl walks through the door and then you go out and get a soda and have a real date.  After you walk out the agency door, the fact that the agency introduced you is completely irrelevant.

To me, it's kind of like having friends set you up, but with much better success.  Are agency girls less sincere, then the ones you might meet outside the agency?  Maybe a few, but I don't think very many.  I saw and met so many honest sweet girls looking for all the same things that we are looking for.  The fact is that most of the girls listed in the agency rarely ever get called for a date.  The ones with photo model pictures do, but the rest forget they even filled out a profile at an agency.  When you decide to call them, they are usually flattered and surprised.  The # of guys that actually go down there, is so few compared to the huge # of girls, most don't get any attention.

It's easy to get the idea that there are huge #s of sharks and insincere girls in Colombia by reading this board.  Those stories seem to get alot of press.  I just didn't see it down there.

Wayne

[Pete E]

... in response to Agencies??, posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

Wayne,
Yes the real relationship starts after the introduction.But without the agency there may have been no introduction.So its crucial to most relationships that happen in Colombia.I haven't seen any statistics but I bet meeting girls at an agency is by far the most common situation.Followed by writting to girls,followed way back by meeting girls in malls and through friends.For most guys the agency makes it happen.So its role may be brief,but far from small.I think the agency is the reason most of us are even talking about this situation.With no agencies it just wouldn't happen for most guys,and there would be no success stories and discussion sites to draw guys to that think agencies are not needed.I'm not saying it can't happen without an agency,I'm saying we wouldn't even be talking about it here.Yes a guy could travel before and meet women,but few did.Writting,even before E-mail worked better than that but there were not anything like the numbers we have now because of agencies.
For a guy with limited time to spend in a country like Colombia the agency really helps it happen.I know I wouldn't be married to a Colobiana now without one.I hate writting,bores me to death as a way to meet someone.I wasn't going to be picking up any girls in any malls either.Its just not me.I wanted to meet a lady from latin america before discovering the agencies,but I think my chances of success just traveling alone would be limited,except for maybe in a bar,not the best place to choose a wife.More like a companion for the evening.
Agencies are the main reason Colombia is the number one place in the Americas to meet a woman.Yes the situation was ripe for it,but without the agencies 90% of it would have never happened.
Actually everything else you said I agree with and makes a case for the agencies.In Cali there are maybe 6,000 girls on the books and no more than 30 or so foreign guys in town at any one time.Thats 200 to 1.Talk about odds.There are lots of real jewels out there being overloked by guys going for the ones with the flashy pictures.And there is nothing like meeting the girl in person.So much comes through that doesn't in a picture or a mail.

Via the Agencies!

Pete

[El Diablo]

... in response to Agencies??, posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

I think agencies are great to the extent that they allow you to meet a lot of different women.  When you or I have more choices, presumably we have more opportunities to find a person of compatability.  

Are agency girls less sincere than girls outside of the agency?  This is an interesting question and I'm not sure how a person could prove it one way or another.  I have my own opinion based soley on my own experiences.  In general I believe they are less sincere than non-agency girls.  I'm not saying that all agency girls are bad, no there are many nice girls too.  What I am saying is that IMO the agency sub-culture has attracted a lot of women of questionable character.  Some of it can be attributed to youth and the kind of foolishness people do when they are young but I believe this is only part of it.

This topic of character is often laid out here in terms of two extremes, on one hand the sweet, honest, faithful and virtious Calena who wishes NOTHING more than to find a good man to marry and on the other the evil green card shark who only wants a trip to the States and cares nothing about the gringo except his wallet.  I think these two views are typical of how men perceive women in the agencies.  It's kind of an all or nothing view and I don't think it's very realistic.

My own view is that there are few out and out sharks and there are few women who I'd say are great principled women who are consistently honest and sincere.  The vast majority I'd put somewhere in the middle.  The women in the middle have good some qualities and some bad.  Some of them may be very sweet with you on your date but be less than honest in other areas of their life.  When I lived in Cali, I had a lot of amigas who were like this.  I enjoyed their company and they could be quite charming and fun to be with.  However very few of these women would I consider to have particularly strong and consistent character day in and day out.   I don't think you discover these things unless you spend a lot of time with them in their own day to day environment amongst their family and friends and away from the agency.

El Diablo

[Wayne]

... in response to Re: Agencies??, posted by El Diablo on Mar 13, 2002

Good post!

I think that spending alot of time with the girls is really ideal.  And if you can live down there for a while, then you are really in good shape.

For those of us who marry a girl, after say 4 weeks of constant togetherness, there is some luck involved.  In such a short time, you are relying on gut instincts and the roll of the dice.  

My marriage is still real new, but it has only gotten better with time.  I believe I got lucky.  And again, I do believe there is some luck in all this.

Wayne

[tommi]

... in response to Agencies??, posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

As with most things in life there are always two sides to everything. The agency is only supposed to be the conduit to the introduction process. the rest is up to those of us who make the visit. I used this board to choose the agencies I stayed at; why not capitalize on the experiences others have shared?

As for the "girls." They're the same wherever you go. It depends on what we men are seeking.

Enjoy.

[papa suave]

... in response to Agencies??, posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

I agree that agencies get alot of negative press. However, I've noticed more that it's some of the crooked agency owners who get the bad rep, not the women. There is always going to be a story about how some guy was screwed over by an ex-novia or ex-wife. These things happen whether you're using an agency or not, it's part of life. I have seen more negativity from fellow gringos about being screwed over by a particular agency. That is the important stuff. I'm not going to NOT visit an agency because some guy tells us about how his ex-girlfriend who he met through a particular agency screwed him over. I am going to pay attention however, to someone's story about being ripped off by Agency owner X. I think that is part of the purpose of this forum, to enlighten each other, to warn each other and to encourage each other.

[Onephd]

... in response to Re: Agencies??, posted by papa suave on Mar 13, 2002

I'll add on that I'd be suspect if either situation happened as even if it was the women that screwed over the man, I would simply want to know at which agency he met the lady. Now 1,2, or even 3 ladies is not enough to pass on an agency, but I would be cautious as, if the manager is suspect or shady, his ladies may also be suspect, thus the two are not always mutually exclusive(most of the time they probably are.. but...)

[Wayne]

... in response to agencies- I'd be concerened if either ha..., posted by Onephd on Mar 13, 2002

The owner of the agency that I stayed at wanted to know how a lady behaved on the dates.  If the lady wanted to go shopping at Chipi Chapi and asked for things, she would kick her out of the agency.  I saw a stack of ladies that Margareth had kicked out for various reasons...materialistic, doesn't show up on time etc. etc.
A good agency tries to know the character of their women.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: agencies- I'd be concerened if eithe..., posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

Ahhh...but can Margareth get them to show for their dates? That's the acid test!

[Onephd]

... in response to Re: Re: agencies- I'd be concerened if e..., posted by Cali vet on Mar 13, 2002

who?

[Cali vet]

... in response to who?, posted by Onephd on Mar 13, 2002

Margareth Mayorca, owner of Latin Encounters. Refer to wayne's post above.

[Onephd]

... in response to Re: agencies- I'd be concerened if eithe..., posted by Wayne on Mar 13, 2002

That's good to know!!!