Letter from Colombia

[Wayne1]

... in response to Re: Letter from Colombia, posted by Bueller on Aug 22, 2002

Guys don't get on the plane because they are basically lazy when it comes to this important part of their lives.  Guys will spend 4-8 years of their lives educating themselves at a university, carefully choosing a career but when it comes to finding a wife, it's turns into "whatever comes along"

Guys put more time into choosing a new car then choosing a wife.

That is why 99% of my friends "settled" and have unsatisfying marriages.  It's the march of the walking wounded.  The night of the living dead.

I have always been willing to do what it takes to have the best things in my life.

Yes, I dodged bullets, bombs and kidnappings to find my wife, but it was worth it.

Wayne

[Hoda]

... in response to Re: Re: Letter from Colombia, posted by Wayne1 on Aug 22, 2002


lol...

March of the walking wounded? Night of the living Dead? LMAO!!! Don't forget "DEAD MAN WALKING!!!"....

[lex]

... in response to Letter from Colombia, posted by Tigre on Aug 22, 2002

Every new President that comes in says hes gonna end the confict, but it goes on and on. Now the new guy is talking tough but it will continue to go on. It amazes me how much everyone underestimates the FARC. They are not going to roll over and die just because everyone thinks they should or will.  The Colombian Army is overrated to do this job, with or without American help. We arent going to send ground troops to Colombia no matter how many Americans they kidnap, we have other problems. If a gringo is stupid enough to go there and place himself in danger of being kidnapped he probably deserves it.  Personally, I have never been a big fan of going to Colombia with so many other peaceful nations down there with tons of women who hardly ever see a gringo, much less date one after the other in an agency. A colombian women will be americanized in due course upon her arrival in the USA so whats the difference if shes been influenced or not when you meet her?  You dont know for sure how shes going to turn out until you have lived together for awhile so its all a crap shoot.  Calipro will soon find out the cold, hard truth, of marrying a little girl......I highly recommend no one commits such a foolish act....it makes his handle "calipro" sound very oxymoronish....

[Rick Johnson]

... in response to Your dreaming..., posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002

lex: I agree with you that the FARC is not going to disappear as easily as many would hope. They are a mere symptom of an extraordinarily dysfunctional social, economic and political system that has its roots in colonial conquest and anti-democratic ideology. Until the root causes of this pathology are eliminated, things won't be changing in Colombia. Authoritarian crackdowns by extreme right-wing zealots will only worsen the situation. Furthermore, the growing influence of the U.S. is likewise destined to make life much harder than it already is for the majority of decent Colombian people. Wanting to export its brand of neo-liberal capitalism and "democracy" into the region, the U.S. will surely exhibit its tendency to stop short of nothing when trying to impose its massive will on to others. Colombians should carefully examine our purity of motive before giving us anymore influence than we already have.

Rick

[Pete E]

... in response to Re: Your dreaming..., posted by Rick Johnson on Aug 22, 2002

Impose our massive will on them,as in make them more like us?I think we are doing that mostly by example and most of the world would like to trade places with us.Actually they would probably rather stay where they are but have our freedom and prosperity.And the purity of our motives.What do we want from them,other than to not be a problem?
Yes there is alot of repressive history here but I think support for groups like the FARC is very low.Most people see them as a problem,not the solution.As we have seen in Cuba,communism is not the solution,just a miserable dead end.Democratic reforms are needed and will surely come.Its an evolutionary thing,as is prosperity.We are fortunate to be way ahead of the curve.

Pete

[Calipro]

... in response to Your dreaming..., posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002


 In defense of the Colombian military, FARC has failed to over throw any Colombian government in it's 40 years of existance which is their objective. The switzerland size area that FARC controlls was actually given to them by the Colombian government to try and get them to the bargaining table which in hind site was a big mistake.

I don't think the Colombian military will get rid of the FARC in a year but it may make the rural areas a little safer. The larger cities of Colombia are already safe in my opinion. I try to look on the bright side. A little unrest in Colombian will keep the easily frighten out. They get on my nevers anyway and probably give the Colombians the impression that we (americans) are all a bunch of wussys.

As for the hard cold true, I was already married to a 21 year old calena (model quality). If you insist on feeling sorry for me I could send you some pictures of her, I'm sure that would cure the situation. The marriage lasted 3 years. Two and a half of them were pretty dam good. I'm sorry to admit this was the most successful relationship I have yet to experiance in my 40 years which should give you some idea what my relationships with american women have been like.

So I married an 18 year old. If I met a 40 year old women that I liked better I would have married her. I'm not going to sell myself short. There isn't anything in the US or Colombia that I want more than the woman I have got. If there was I would have went for it no matter how old she was.

I admit my expectations for a life long relationship are probably not as high as yours. But, I have a feeling this one is going to break the three year record of my previous marriage.

[lex]

... in response to Another expert on Colombia, posted by Calipro on Aug 22, 2002

I just read and listen alot and I have been around the fringe areas of Colombia for years.. Places you would wet your pants if you went to.  Not talking about a park outside of Cali.....I only call it like I see it. You married a teenager at 40 years of age. After divorcing a girl you married when she was 21.  After all these years of being a pro this is what you have learned and come away with. You could be her grandfather.  You have nothing in common with her. However, I do wish you luck becasue you could be the one in a million and I truly hope so.   I just think its a bad example to trumpet to the newbies or inexperienced guys.

[Calipro]

... in response to Not really, posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002


 After being in so many dangerous places lex, the lack of danger in Cali will make you seem like you are in your own back yard. I hope you can make it down to Cali some day. You may actually become a fan of traveling to Colombia.
However, I don't think it is a good idea for newbies to leave the city limits if they don't know what they are doing.

Also, I'm not advocating that guys should go down to Cali just to marry a teenager. It was not my intention to marry a teenager when I went to Cali. It just turned out that way.

About my ex-wife, I married her when she was 21 and divorced her when she was 24. I think she got to old.

 LOL! just kidding. I was actually sorry to see her go. It wasn't anything like that when my american ex-wife left. I felt like the world had been lifted from my shoulders.

[Wayne1]

... in response to Re: Not really, posted by Calipro on Aug 22, 2002

Calipro,

Can you tell us a little why the marriage with your 1st Colombian wife failed.

It obviously wasn't too bad because you did it again...

Wayne

[Cali vet]

... in response to Not really, posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002

So what pant wetting "fringe areas" of Colombia would those be? Some examples please.

As to the other topic maybe Calipro learned from his first marriage that he really enjoys the companionship of a young woman. We're all adults here, responsible for our own behaviors. Anybody can trumpet anything they want. If Calipro found what HE wants then that is a good example not a bad example of why we go looking for happiness in Latin American countries. I beleive it was Pack who once observed that it's always the 30-40 year olds that rant and rave indignance over age difference. Wierd...anyway nobody's setting examples for anybody here, people are just sharing experiences like it or leave it.

[Wayne1]

... in response to Re: Not really  wet pants, posted by Cali vet on Aug 22, 2002

I still just don't know about this age difference issue.

My wife swears  that 18 and 40 is perfectly normal, and the girls look for this kind of situation.

She is the expert so I defer to her.

We are 23/38

Wayne

[jim c]

... in response to Re: Not really  wet pants, posted by Cali vet on Aug 22, 2002

Hey vet  I concur. I met Cali pro at latin best in June he is 40 but looks like 33. He is in execellent shape and I believe he can keep up. I on the other hand believe thirty five is the minimum for me. Yes, I like younger women but younger is in the eye of the beholder. I actually prefer more established women. ( less baby sitting)) I am looking for one that will take care of me not vice versa. In my opinion like the old joke says: the older ones "are thankfull as hell". JIM C

[Tigre]

... in response to Your dreaming..., posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002

Lex, if your father was killed by the FARC and you became president of Colombia what would you do? You have 200,000 military personal at your disposal. You have friends in various Cartels, You helped organize the paramilitaries when you were the governer of Meddelin. To top it of you have many US advisors training your military, and the total support of the US. Wake up Lex, it is payback time.

[lex]

... in response to Re: Your dreaming..., posted by Tigre on Aug 22, 2002

We had a half million troops in Vietnam at any given time and fought a much smaller country with a more primitive army. The jungle area the FARC is in control of is the size of Switzerland and they know every inch of it.  It doesnt matter how pissed the President may be, all that matters is if the troops in the field are up to it and they have not been up to it for forty years. You can believe what you want but wait a year and I think you will see very little has changed. Colombia is like Chechnya or Afghanistan, has always been a mess and always will be because of the ingrained corruption at every level of society and the changing alliances and drug trade that will never go away....Im not a pessimist, just a realist and I've heard all this before.

I'll say this, if this new guy doesnt crush the FARC, they will never be crushed and could possibly take over the sentiments of the country if they defeat the Colombian Army by surviving and remaining dangerous and in control of large parts of the country..... Im not setting foot there again because there just isnt any reason to when you have so many peaceful alternatives to choose from....Countries where you can walk around freely day and night and not worry about being kidnapped or murdered for the most part. Anyway, to each his own but if I were considering where to go now, Colombia would not be on my "A" list.....just my opinion of the situation.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Whoop de do....., posted by lex on Aug 22, 2002

Sad to say I think you're quite right. One of the comments I've heard in Colombia is that much of the Army is recruited/drafted from the cities whereas the guerillas are campesinos who are accostomed to conditions in the mountains. Add to that US insistence that their military have to jump through all kinds of hoops to meet stringent US Human Rights requirements. I'm not anti human rights but I think it's pretty obvious that we (the US) are asking them to fight with one hand tied behind their back which pretty well neutralizes all the fancy new (and some Vietnam era) hardware we're lavishing on them. Third in US aide don't forget. And none of Colombia's nieghbors is willing to lift a finger to help.

More importantly the FARC has a sofisticated concept of the new tactics of terror. Who wouldn't? The whole world has seen can be accomplished with some plane tickets and box cutters. Colombians and visitors can thank their stars the guerrilla aren't suicidal. Anyway I'd have to agree that beleiving the FARC can be "crushed" is naive and simplistic. Colombia with or without the US won't solve it's problems for a long time to come and those who want to go there like myself will just have to continue living with the risks.