What are some of the cultural differences between Colombia and North American people in day to day life?

greenday says on Jan 30, 2005, 13:16:

Jeff Is this a dating question???

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 13:38:

This thread is a disgrace and should be banned at once! I mean it sounds a bit like an orgy, what with people of all ages and sexes interacting together. No mention of inflatable wives though, that smacks of discrimination against the vinyl sex.

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WidowerfromCanada says on Jan 30, 2005, 13:41:

LMAO greenday, No it is not a dating question. As I have stated it is a cultural question on the interaction of people from Colombia and different cultures as friends.

To whom it may concern: I am not interested in dating at this time and this is not a dating question !!!

As a Widower and a human being I am only interested in making friends in Colombia that are male or female and learning the culture and language.

Jeff

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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smiles92600 says on Jan 30, 2005, 14:11:

What were you thinking kernow62? Peter, you should ban kernow62 for is very rude response. kernow62 how in the world did you come to your stupid conclusion???

WidowerfromCanada, I haven't been to Colombia so really can't respond. But don't listen to kernow62, he must be a person without morals.

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Lionheart says on Jan 30, 2005, 14:18:

smiles, widower, greenday kernow's post is a sarcastic comment to some posts in other replies. But instead of going off topic because of things that happened in other threads I think some good answers would be more valuable. I am also interested in learning about normal life in Colombia and how we as foreigners deal with it.

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babygirl says on Jan 30, 2005, 14:51:

widower can't your sister's in law (i think i remember you saying that you had Colombian sister in laws) help you out with that question? i mean really doesn't that question depend on what YOUR ethnic background is? or your parent's ethnic background? Not all North Americans come from or have the same cultural beliefs. How do you interact with other cultures / ethnicities at home? Canada is a perfect place to practice this before you go.

cheers - babygirl

Canadian Girls Kick Ass!

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WidowerfromCanada says on Jan 30, 2005, 15:20:

Babygirl My cousins wife you are thinking about. Good idea but they are in Colombia till June (Lucky folks ). So in the meantime I am trying to learn what I can.

Jeff

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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cremaster says on Jan 30, 2005, 15:59:

WFC It really depends on the socio-economic level of the Colombians. For the rich ones lifes a holiday, for the poor ones lifes a struggle. I´m sure that as you get to know some Colombians on the net, you´ll find out about their lives.

Patrick

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 16:10:

Sorry, smiles92600, as Lionheart said, I was being sarcastic. My rapier wit often doesn't translate across cultural lines, especially via the medium of E-mails or in this case a forum posting.

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smiles92600 says on Jan 30, 2005, 16:27:

No harm Kernow62. I assumed you were condesending the Widower. Thanks for clearing up. Your a scholar and gentelman.

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 30, 2005, 17:47:

Here we go again. The cultural differences. The cultural differences are so great between Colombians and North Americans - they are unable to relate to each other in any meaningful way whatsoever. They are completely different species of humans and share no common aspirations and desires. Food, drink, sex, health, family, fill in the blank here, mean nothing to them. In fact if aliens arrived here from Mars we would be able to relate to them better. Attempting to bridge this gap is just a total waste of time. Better to stick to vinyl.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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kernow62 says on Jan 30, 2005, 19:19:

UTC on a hot night I bet you would stick to vinyl! Ouch. May I sugest some sort of lubricant.

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TiaKatia says on Jan 31, 2005, 09:15:

Let's see now... Since there haven't been any useul comments so far, let me try and give it a shot. My husband is Colombian. Although I am not North American I will try to tell you what I think is different in a Colombian life style from a more "western" point of view. Also, as someone else noted, the cultural differences hugely depend on the socio-economic level of the Colombian part. However:

Family is a huge part of any Colombian's life. My husband spends sometime almost everyday talking to his parents, brothers, sisters, aunts... They are all very, very close. Something I actually envy. However at times it bugs me, because our little family is so attached to the "bigger family", much more that I am used to. Sometimes money is an issue, because my husband wants to help anyone in his family who needs it. I try to put a lid on it, but we already parted with some substantial amounts for his brother's family, money that by no means were in abundance. Also, my husband's family always knows exactly what goes on in our home. For example, I asked my husband to wait to tell his parents that I was pregnant in the very early stage and it was important to me, but he simply couldn't, he had to tell immediately.

Similar with friends. My husband would do anything for them, any time of the day and night, whereas I (and I think it's more common in the western world) would like to plan a bit more ahead, who will we see and when, for example. Have more of a schedule. In the same line, if you invite Colombians for dinner most likely they will be 2 hours late and bring several other friends. This REALLY pisses me off, again because if I am hosting, I would like to plan ahead. My husband just laughs and says "oh, just add more water to the soup" (A Colombian saying).

I think it's very Colombian to postpone things to last minute. "Why do things today if they can wait till tomorrow?!" - a slight change to the original phrase describes it well. How many times did I have to remind my husband to take care of important things like passports, visas etc. - everything gets done 1 hr before boarding a plane! Also, temporary and intermediate solutions in stead of fixing the real problem - that drives me nuts. A small illustration - the other day we tool my mother in law's car (we are in Cali right now) and we got a flat tire. My husband changed it only to find out that the tire in the trunk was also flat! It was laying there God knows how long! Why on earth wouldn't you just fix it when it was damaged and get it out of your system???

On a more positive note, I find Colombians to be extremely supportive of the ones they love. In everyday life it reflects in being attentive, taking care of each other. My husband always make sure that I am content, safe and happy. If I am out, he would always call me to make sure I get home safely, he would pick me up from anywhere. He would pick up any of my friends and family from any airport, drive them anywhere they want, spend the whole day with them. When my mom was visiting Colombia there was simply no words to describe the hospitality of my in-laws and their generousity towards her. Way surpassed anything one would expect in US or Europe.

Anyway, I could go on. There are so many things. Ask questions if you want.

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Albatross says on Jan 31, 2005, 10:58:

A Moment in Bosnia... I should have been obvious (if not appreciated) that kernow’s response was not meant seriously. If widower, smiles and the others from the “omigod I can’t believe he just said that !!!” ilk, can’t discern (or deal with) obviously benign sarcasm when written in their own native language (I presume), then how are you going to deal with a culture as different as Colombia ? Are you going to become “insulted” when a cab driver charges you three times the normal fare just because you’re a gringo tourist ? Are you going to be “enraged” when the food you get at a restaurant wasn’t what you “ordered” ? If someone can’t help laughing because you dance like a retard, are you going to go home and cry ? What are you going to do after the hundredth person has glommed onto you expecting a handout because you’re “rich” and you "owe" them ?

One of the most amusing moments in my travels occurred in Bosnia. I stopped at a little roadside café outside Zenica for lunch. The waitress there only spoke Bosnian, which is not even remotely close to English, and there didn’t seem to be a menu. So for about five minutes I tried in vain to use the little Czech I knew as well multiple awkward hand gestures hoping to place some sort of food order. Finally, I said, in English, “Cheeseburger ?… Coke ?” and she burst out laughing. Eventually, she responded “Cheeseburger... Coke... OK” and ran back to the kitchen where everybody else seemed to think the whole thing was funny also… (and by then, I did as well). Ten minutes later she returned with one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had in my life.

What did she find so damn funny ?... who knows… maybe her country had just gone through a brutal civil war and she just needed a laugh... but whatever the reason, I wasn’t the least bit insulted and I’ll never forget the smile on her face.

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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WidowerfromCanada says on Jan 31, 2005, 11:40:

Albatross , kernow62 Albatross , yes lmao . I got a good laugh out of kernow62 posts. I am not a person easy to get offended and I have traveled quite a bit.

Good points on how a gringo could or is treated in Colombia. They say what does not kill you make you stronger, well whoever made that up is right. After my life experiences and what I have been through the last 8 months nothing like get ripped off (paid too much) or a moocher is not going to bother me.

By the way I do dance like a retard and I don't care what people think (lmao). I spent a month in Egypt 1.5 years before the Gulf war, wow were the people friendly, poor - yes, but they were so happy in their day to day lives.

Kernow62 , The only thing was I nearly spilled coffee on my keyboard as I read your first post. I needed that good laugh, thanks .

Jeff

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

Love is like a butterfly , if you chase it you will not catch it but you can hope the butterfly of love lands on your shoulder.

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kernow62 says on Jan 31, 2005, 15:17:

De nada Jeff.I wish I had De nada Jeff.

I wish I had something more useful to offer, but laughter really is the best medicine. Although some on this list might believe that title should go to viagra.

For one awful moment I thought smiles was accusing me of having no morels, I was getting worried as I was going to saute a few this evening. In a panic I ran to the fridge, damn, smiles was right they're not morels they're portabellas!

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 31, 2005, 16:16:

Very interesting reading TiaKatia's post.

My wife talks to her family probably about once every couple of weeks. She never asks me to give them money. She thinks they should work for anything they get. She has had a couple of miscarriages, the first one she told them about, the second she did not. She plays her cards very close to her chest. She is extremely punctual and hates to wait until the last minute to do anything. Instead she plans everything way out in advance.

Wow, my wife doesn't sound anything like TiaKatia's husband! What does this tell you? Differences among individuals are frequently greater than differences among cultures. You can't make generalizations and expect them to be true when it comes to particular individuals.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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TiaKatia says on Jan 31, 2005, 17:48:

utopiacowboy Very, very interesting indeed. Obviuosly, anything one would say about the Colombian mentality in this thread would be a gross oversimplification and generalization. However, I will take my chances. I think your wife, utopiacowboy, is very atypical. Especially the punctuality part and not talking to the family for weeks. Did she grow up in Colombia?

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 31, 2005, 19:57:

My wife never set foot outside of Colombia for the first 43 years of her life so I would say she is as Colombian as anyone. However she is a true paisa and is a great proponent of virtues such as thrift, punctuality, hard work and discretion. Colombians come in all sizes and shapes and yes, personality types.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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lpdiver says on Feb 1, 2005, 04:45:

UC As I was adopted I often wonder if we are brothers unknownst to each other. Now I wonder about our wives, it they too may be related unknown.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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TiaKatia says on Feb 1, 2005, 09:00:

utopiacowboy I see, maybe it's the difference between paisas and caleños.

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 1, 2005, 17:51:

You may be right, TiaKatia.

You are too funny, Tony!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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