Prelude
Let me begin by saying that I have received much insight from the PL board since discovering it a couple months ago… Sound information from a multiplicity of diverse viewpoints… Once you filter through the flames and those who feel that their opinion is fact, it makes pretty good reading… Granted, the information here is highly generalized and presented from each person’s perspective… You can always tell the white hats from the black hats around here…
A little background… I am been in and out of the hunt for over three years… Every time I would get serious in this endeavor, an AW would happen along and throw my search off track… Thinking things “would be different this time”; I would pursue the AW relationships… Well, once again, I am in the search… Nuff said…
I have been searching both in LA and the FSU… Corresponding with ladies from both sides of the pond… This will be my first trip abroad specifically for the “search”… After some research, reading reviews on services and what would be the best approach for me, I bit the bullet and am making my first trip to Cali… I am only going to be in Cali for 5 days, just long enough for me to get my feet wet…
This post is being written from the newbie viewpoint… Maybe some of my experiences will help those of you who are sitting on the fence... Hopefully it will help you to understand what is going to transpire…
Ground Rules: Ok, this is MY story, not yours… I’m a newbie to the process and my naiveté will obviously show… If you don’t like something I’m saying then don’t read it… If you want to flame me for my perspective, please do so with a bit of decorum and tact… If you can’t do that then I’ll be forced to have you abducted by aliens and have your brain replaced with a chicken’s brain…
Day 1 - The Odyssey Begins:
The best air fare I could find was Houston – Miami – Cali on American, $746 round trip… This was booking the flight 4 weeks out too… Sometimes the web travel services can route you from Houston – Panama City – Cali, but not lately… The price is about the same but not sure why they sometimes provide that route and sometimes they don’t… Must be something with the phases of the moon… Got an odd look from the ticketing agent at baggage check-in… When she pulled up my reservation and saw that my final destination was Cali Colombia I got that “are you crazy look” from her… Proceeded through security without a hitch…
With a healthy dose of skepticism I sat waiting for my flight out of Houston… Really not sure what to expect upon my arrival in Cali… A bit hesitant about the issues surrounding the search for a foreign soulmate… The distance, language barrier, cultural differences, expense, etc… At this point though, the pros far outweigh the cons for me to begin the process… I don’t want to rant on AW, but there has to be someone, somewhere on this planet who is not selfish, money hungry and bent on busting my chops… You know, life is not supposed to be like this… My parents were married for over 50 years and even though they had their differences (many) they never lost sight of their commitment to each other…
My schedule has been very hectic lately so I really haven’t had time for anticipation… Since this is my first trip to Cali and my Espanola is limited, I decided to stay at one of the better-known agencies… I’m really not on a mission per say… I have always wanted to go to Colombia… It’s been on my list of top 100 things to do before you die for some time now… Here’s my chance… With my skepticism in hand, I embark on a vacation with a subliminal objective…
Does this process work, we shall see… Having read this board for a while I have learned that for some it works and for others it doesn’t… I have read where some of you “match” on the first trip while others, well, let’s just say I think you enjoy the hunt more than finding your “match”… Just like life, you get out of it what you put in and a little luck doesn’t hurt… I like to apply an old principal I learned from an Army Major who passed through my childhood… Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance… Having applied the above principal I feel like I am ready for what is about to happen… I have been writing to a few ladies from Cali and pre-selected others from the agency web site that I am visiting… Ok, the anticipation level is beginning to rise…
Well, the odyssey finally begins as my flight from Houston leaves on time… The first leg of the trip goes without a hitch… When we arrive in Miami though, there is a thunderstorm lurking around the airport… We get on the ground ok, but then the plane sits on the tarmac for an hour as there is a threat of lightning and the airport ramp is closed… Therefore my connection to Cali is screwed… After a gate change, terminal change and a plane change we finally get off the ground an hour and a half late bound for Cali…
As the plane is boarding one thing that stands out is that there are more beautiful women on the flight than is expected… I hope this is a sign of what is in store for me once I arrive in Cali… One young lady is having problems getting her carry-on into the overhead bin, so I stop to help her… She is very gracious and thanks me profusely… More so than is expected… Could this be a trend??? There are many children on the flight and of course they all take turns screaming their heads off… Once in a while they all join in to form a chorus of wailing that can only be described as insidious…
Upon arrival in Cali, we all get to stand in line for immigration, which takes another hour… ugh… Then off to baggage claim... The topper is that the one bag I checked is of course lost, now I am really screwed… Everything important is in the bag I checked and God knows when/if I will ever see it again… Being a professional traveler I should have known better than to check a bag… Lesson 1, never check a bag… After another 30 minutes filing a lost bag claim I am toast… Now I have to go through customs before I can leave… I was expecting a hassle but I cruise through customs without even having to open my carry-on bag… I wander outside to look for my ride… There must have been 500 people standing outside the terminal waiting for people arriving on late flights… Fortunately the driver from the agency has a sign with my name on it and we hook up… The agency had asked if I would like to have one of the girls ride with the driver to meet me at the airport… I had selected my number 1 pick from this agency and sure enough, there she was… On a scale of 1 to 10, this girl is an 11… Well, back to the 6 P’s listed above… Between my Espanola and her Ingles, we get absolutely nowhere and probably sank any chance of this one working at all… The driver spoke no Ingles either… Double trouble… We make it through the infamous Cali traffic to the agency and said our goodbyes… Hopefully I will get the chance to meet this girl again with an interpreter and get to know one another better… Lesson 2, learn the language...
For those of you who have not had the experience of traffic in Cali, well, imagine the Long Island Expressway at rush hour with no one abiding by ANY traffic laws… Traffic lights are just ornaments... Even a seasoned driver from the states has no business driving in Cali… Take a taxi, they are cheap and everywhere… Lesson 3, close your eyes when riding in Cali traffic...
I get checked into the my room and am ready to unwind from the trip from Hell when the security guard knocks on my door and says there is a telephone call for me from a Calena… Interesting… As it turns out it is the girlfriend of one of the other guests staying at the agency telling me that they are out with two other girls and want to know if I would like to join them for a few drinks and dancing… Cool… I haven’t been here for 10 minutes and I am hooked up… I said sure, so they stop by to pick me up and we all go out to a disco, have a few cerversas, a little AquarDiente and get to know one another…
The girl I am paired with is a knockout and speaks pretty good English so I feel fortunate… As the conversation progresses, she tells me she is engaged and is heading for the US next week, K1 in hand… As my bubble has just burst, it gets worse… She is marrying a gay guy just to get her green card… It’s all been arranged and she is happy with it… She seems very sweet so I ask her why she does not marry for love instead of convenience… As it turns out, she has family in the US near where this gay guy lives and they had the whole thing arranged… Later I am told by someone who knows that if she has family in the states she could apply for a visa based on political reasons and 9 times out of 10 it would be granted… Oh well...
The other guy staying at the agency is hooked up tight with his girl… He speaks very little Spanish and she speaks no English at all… This is his first trip to Cali and has been here for 5 days, has met 4 girls and has narrowed it down to two which he is interested in… Another one trip wonder for the books… I ask him how he can be so sure about a decision so important in such a short period of time… His response, “I’m just sure, but I don’t know which one to pick”… Jeez…
After a few more cerveza’s, a little more Aquardiente and dancing it was time to head back to the agency and call it a night… The girls had to go to work the next morning…
End of Day 1
