Diez Y Siete has left 171 comments

Diez Y Siete comments on Driving licence in the US

Two of my friends have come to the united states and used their colombian drivers license because they were told they could. Both have gotten tickets and when they were pulled over the police gave them a VERY HARD time about having the colombian license. I would tell your friend to get an international license just incase

Diez Y Siete comments on Bogotá (Chapinero) Great Community House to Share

http://picasaweb.google.com/grant.canary/LaCasaTerraza that is the correct url for his pictures since his leads to an error page

Diez Y Siete comments on

But just becasue your a gringo/a in colombia doesnt mean you have money, so i dont know why they would be so excited that you were american. I will be studying at Uni Andes starting next summer and my boyfriend(colombian and goes to los andes) will be moving in with me, his parents dont compleatly accept me and i dont really expect them to because i realize im an outsider and his parents are NOT excited that im american

Diez Y Siete comments on mom freaking out about saftey in colombia!!HELP!!

Overcautious Ive been to colombia(5'4'' clearly american, blonde hair blue eyes) and im 17, im planning on moving next year to colombia for college, and the times i have been i didnt feel unsafe, i mean if your parinoid all of the time you are going to feel more unsafe. You mom should lighten up, obviously shes been there and knows the troubles but shes still alive she didnt get kidnapped/murdered/blugended to death. And about the liquor thing it doesnt make a difference if you are in the US or colombia, kids are going to drink and be irresponsibe if thats what they want to do, it doesnt make a difference about the drinking age.

Diez Y Siete comments on Peso now into 1800s...

Because the dollar is going down, is it going to make colombian prices go up or down(like the actual amount of pesos for things), im not exactly wise in economics. But i realized today this is going to make college alot more expensive, between tuition,rent,food and such all costing more. I wont even leave for college until this time next year, im hoping the peso doesnt keep going down or else i will have to take out loans.

Diez Y Siete comments on Renting long term in Bogota/Chapinero

Thanks for the advice, i will remember it well. Both of my parents are scared to come with me, mostly because their spanish stops at hola and gracias, and they feel like they wouldnt be much of a help. It shall take a little convincing to get them to come along. If i were to decide to get like a three bedroom apartment, how advisable is it about getting roomates? Obviously i understand it depends on where i find the people and what they are like, but i guess what im asking is is it likely ill get screwed over being an american female? Is it scandelous/taboo in colombia for girls and guys to live together in college? And on a compleatly different note, bank accounts, would it be easier to leave all of my money for college and such in my american bank account and just usea visa bank card, or should be be switched over to a colombian account and how safe would it be to transfer large sums of money over(well not large, but enough i wouldnt want lost +/- $40,000) there isnt a chance it would get "lost"

Diez Y Siete comments on U.S. citizen wants to move to cali colombia.

Well I went to colombia when i was 15, and i went alone, i took a paper signed by my parents saying it was fine for me to enter and leave, and they never asked for it. You should be fine, dont ask dont tell. I dont forsee you getting there, and telling them you have to turn around and go back because you dont have a paper signed by her dad, and if they say something just be like, he died?

Diez Y Siete comments on Daughter going to Cali

my 2 cents I havnt been to Cali but i was in bogota last year, im 16 now, and i was with some friends for 3 weeks, you just need to know where to go and where not to go, dont carry large bills nad if you decide to buy something on the street dont pull out all of your money, i tired to keep a few dollars in my pocket so if i wanted something i didnt have to pull my wallet out. I drank the water and i was A ok, eventhough the drinking age is 18, if she wants it it isnt hard to get, people sell fake ids everywhere. As with the drugs, its about like in the US, if i want to score its pretty easy to find it. Hope she has ALOT of fun. And just a question what type of exchange program is she using, i looked for about 6 months for an exchange program with no luck, so im just applying to college there.

Diez Y Siete comments on Penthouse Flat in Bogota to share with artists, painters, writers, photographers, or journalists.

i would be very intrested in your apartment for long term starting in enero 2008 could you post some pictures

Diez Y Siete comments on Why Colombia remains a third world country

horrible title and i have only flown with avianca once and it was a horrible experience, i did it because it was suppose to be a great price i only bought 2 weeks in advance for 400 dollars but i had to go from washington(iad) to jfk(on united)then from jfk to bogota(avianca), parents dropped me off at airport flight was suppose to be ontime everything was good got to gate 10 mins before boarding the airport wasnt letting flights out due to freezing rain, all good they said it would be fine in a few hours, called avianca told them i might not make it and for them to note it, said it wasnt my fault and all i needed to do was bring them a statement from united saying why my flight was cancelled, and they would just put me on a new flight, well stuck in dc for 2 days bofre i got out, i had called avianca on several occasions to update them, still no problem, just bring statement and everything is ok, find out there ate 7 other people waiting with me in dc on their way to colombia too, so finally get to jfk 3 days later(mind you i was 15 and alone for 3 days) get to ticket counter, no english at ALL, not that bad i speak spanish, they told me my ticket had been cancelled when i didnt show up, flight was leaving in 45 mins, i talked to the manager and she told me that there was no way i called because i would have talked to her, and i hadnt so i was lying. told me to just pay 150 and they would reinstate my ticket and fix everything and give me a reciept and i could get it sorted out in colombia, didnt want to miss another flight, get to colombia everything is great, just want to get to my friends house and forget everything and fix it later. My friends parents tell me they will go to the airport early the day i leave and we will just fix everything then. well go to leave colombia, they never reinstated my return ticket, my friends parents had to pay another 125 dollar fine to reinstate that ticket, because i had NO money, (still dont know how i spend 1500 dollars in 3 weeks) when i got home still never could get anything fixed because they said there is no way i called that it wasnt in the computer, so ticket ended up being 650(still not bad) but very frustrating. not to mention noone spoke english on the flight, not that its a bad thing but was very funny when they kept asking me what i wanted to drink and they kept asking if i wanted yellow "hielo" in it and i was SOO confused! but i will try to fly delta next time.

Diez Y Siete comments on Buying a cellphone as a foreigner in Colombia

ive found it must be extreamly cheeper to call within a carrier because all of my friends have 2 or 3 friends so that they can use the one that the person they are calling has

Diez Y Siete comments on Turtle transport to colombia

yes i have to plan ahead with this because i am an animal friedly person im not going to buy a tortoise for xmas this year and then a year from now just get rid of him because i didnt check into this and i find out that i cant bring with with me, and i do know the difference between tortoise and turtle and turtle refers to tortoises too, ALL tortoises are turtles. But no, not a troll, and i do like to plan ahead, and yes i was in colombia almost 1 year ago visitng a boyfriend at the time, and now in the midst of applying to college there, btw are most apartments pet friendly, atleast aquarium friendly? im really hoping to get an apartment at the new building that just opened this month in chapinero alto near javeriana. im still just going to call the embassy on the turtle importing thing. also does anyone know a good shipping company for moving to colombia i would be moving several large boxes with personal items and bedroom furniture, or would it be more cost effective to just buy new things as far as furniture? thanks everyone.

Diez Y Siete comments on Turtle transport to colombia

i will be fine, im not going to keep myself in the comfort of my little house in the US just because there is a risk to be an ameroan girl in colombia, there is a risk to walk out the door or do anything else, and my view is if i can help 10 colombian kids before something happens to me (if something were to happen) i just exchanged 10 lives for 1. The embassy page just said that i have to have a good bill of health and immunizations, but i think im going to give them a call because their definition of "pet" probably isnt 3rd largest land turtle, hehe thanks everyone

Diez Y Siete comments on Turtle transport to colombia

im 100 percent serious are you serious someone else posted this, does anyone know the node #? because i really didnt want to ask the same question over again, but why would you think i wasnt serious? is this a common question?

Diez Y Siete comments on House for sale in Envigado

do you have any pics?
do you have any pics?

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

i would rather get my degree in the us, but i cant afford it, because i would have to pay back off my student loans, and i wouldn't make enough anywhere i would want to work to do that. And the education in Colombia is better, i don't care what people think, but i have friend in college in the us and more than a few in Colombia, and my Colombian friends could school the others anyday, and i dont care about the red tape and i know the Colombian government is crap, but that doesn't mean the people are, and they deserve to be helped, i have no sympathy for people in America, none at all, we get soo many opportunities others don't even get to see in a life time, and so many people waste them away. so i owuld rather help people who would be grateful for my services

Diez Y Siete comments on student visa for colombia

i just got my sat score back 1100 isnt that high, and there is a new scale now, on the old scale i just got my score back and it was a 1270/1100 on the new scale i got a 1750/2400, i did horrible on the new essay

Diez Y Siete comments on Sending a present to colombia

do it soon, when i send things from the us sometimes its just 10-12 days other times its 2 months, it just deends, also its pretty expensive, i pay about 10 dollars a pund, but it mightbe cheeper from the uk, and be careful what you send, because i had a friend send me body jewlery (belly rings) and some other little trinkets and they were all thaken out and a note was left from the post office that said, you cant send any jewlery,sso look into whats ok and what isnt

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

thanks alot, im trying to keep it no more than 1,000,000 a month because thats about what it would cost to stay in a dorm in the us, but thanks how about this pasadana place, hows that, my friend (he lives on the west) kind of wants me to be somewhat close to him because he is helping me with school (he goes to los andes) and alot of stuff, and will be my life saver when i get there, but chapinero is bohemian like... awesome, very excited, i woul like to be close to 93 but i dont want a rediculous rent payment, like i said under 1,000.000 is nice, and everyone has told me a can get a pretty good studio for that. im really excited!!!

Diez Y Siete comments on student visa for colombia

you make it sounds so scarey! im really trying to do this but you amke it sound so complicated and very hard

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

i talked to one of my friends and yold him kind of what i want, a studio, kind of bohemianisk, very scene, and stuff to do and places to go, he recommended some place near 15 ave. and 93rd. and also pasadana, does anyone know these places or what they are like? anyone live there now?

Diez Y Siete comments on student visa for colombia

i could care less if anything i do in college/ med school holds up in america, i dont want to work in the US... ever! i would love to work in free health clinics in colombia and bolivia or work for a peace corps type organization in colombia. im so fed up with the us government and their view of how thigs should be i realized as long as i stay in the U.S. i cant really change anything and if i want to make a difference, instead of sending 20 dollars a month to a company that gives 5 dollars to a kid in colombia, i can just go and actually help

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

thanks for the offer about the apartment near javeriana, but i wont be there until spring or fall of 08 still quite a bit away, i could care less if anything i do in college/ med school holds up in america, i dont want to work in the US... ever! i would love to work in free health clinics in colombia and bolivia or work for a peace corps type organization in colombia. im so fed up with the us government and their view of how thigs should be i realized as long as i stay in the U.S. i cant really change anything and if i want to make a difference, instead of sending 20 dollars a month to a company that gives 5 dollars to a kid in colombia, i can just go and actually help

Diez Y Siete comments on student visa for colombia

wow, so you are attending school in colombia aswell, are you excited nervous? are you a "gringo" or is your family from colombia, sorry for all the questions but my family thinks im going crazy wanting to go to school in colombia, but as ive seen this kids in colombia work alot harder and are learning alot more than here in the us

Diez Y Siete comments on Fontibon in Bogota

i LOVED xmas in bogota, butthe friend i was staying with his whole family is in bogota, but i thought it was very entertaining and novena was my favorite, dont worry about understanding, but we would go to the malls and there would be little choirs of kids dressed as elfs singing they were so precious. i hope you have a good time, but it pretty much is desolate after xmas for new years, we went to a finca outside of bucaramunga

and also DG i dont like being slapped with the im a grigo so i must be a rich snob card, my parents are middle class, if not blue collar working class, and im coming to colombia for college because i want to and i want to stay in colombia after college and work for doctors without borders. not every gringo is bad, and its a big generalization, just like i dont make assumptions that if you came to the us that you are a drug dealer and you belong in miami or socal.

Diez Y Siete comments on anyone care for some morcilla?

my personal favorite was christmas bunuelos, i couldnt get enough of them when i was there, ill be missing them this year *tear*

Diez Y Siete comments on COMING SOON: SHAKIRA ISLAND

i feel like she could have used her money a bit more wisely

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

Awesome Thanks for thge help everyone you have given me alot to think about, now comes the hard part, waiting to be accepted and then getting my visa. which from alot of these stories sounds like im in for alot of waiting. but i will be so pscyhed to be there finally!

Diez Y Siete comments on

yes 350 pesos sounds about right i use the ola site and my friend is charged like 350 pesos for each message

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

also i was wondering how safe do i really need to be, the times ive been in colombia ive always been with a national never alone, but i want to have a true experience not a super nice apartment thats just like home, could i pretty much stay anywhere north side and be ok? anyone know any good apartments or studios??

Diez Y Siete comments on how much is too much?

i have some friends in Chapinero Alto, that was the only area name i knew besides, Rosales, because i have a friends whose dad is a colombian general, and puento largo/suba, which is where my ex boyfriend lives, and i thought about there, but its pretty far from both schools, but what is the average price? i see people advertising monthly prices for apartments but those are mainly for short stays, whats the average price a month for a small apartment in some of these districts??? thanks for your help!!! and yes im more or less fluent in spanish, maybe a slight bit of the less, but im taking alot of advanced spanish courses these next 2 years

Diez Y Siete comments on What happened to the e-mail thread?

haha does it hide under your bed too?

Diez Y Siete comments on FARC Recruitment

haha While i was stuck in dc for 2 days in the snow there were 5 other people on my flight that were going to bogota, we joked around about farc and and just saying we were in farc and we demanded to have a flight out just for ourselfs or else we would ambush the airline, haha, it just made me think about this, haha i really wonder how people decide to join such an aweful group

Diez Y Siete comments on Colombian college vs. American college

not necessarily true I have to friends that are "studying abroad" for a year in, one is in los andes and the other in javeriana they are both coming their last year of college so not only will they study abroad in the us that year, they will recieve their degrees from ODU(old dominion univ.) so i guess i would just beat the system if i was you, and i think it also depends on what he is getting his degrees in. sorry if im not of much help, but thats all i know about it

Diez Y Siete comments on Should I go to School in colombia?

i understand what your saying about not getting the whole undergrad. program in colombia because you focus on one area, well that appeals to me, i hate history with a passion, i have no intrest in ever taking a world studies class again, i love other history based classes though(i.e. current events, multicultural studies, religion) they are all some of my favorites, but im tired of every year for the past 12 years hearing 1492 colombus sailed the ocean blue, how is that going to help me with medicine, i feel as if the undergraduate program in the us is pointless unless you are undecided in what you want to major in, then i could understand maybe having a few survey courses but its like 4 more years of high school in my opinion, i know what i want to do and i have no intrest in learning things that i have no need for when i could be spending the time learning material to further my education in science. BTW does anyone know if there is a way to take the icfes in the US, im just curious to what i would get

Diez Y Siete comments on Should I go to School in colombia?

i have started private spanish i have started privet spanish lessons and i am taking advanced conversational spanish in the spring it will be my 6th year i believe in spanish not counting the spanish i learned in primary school, i can understand pretty well, and write well i just have trouble fitting it all together when i speak, but i still have a year and a half to improve my spanish by taking whatever classes i can, ad i have thought about if i do decide to apply to a school in colombia taking spanish as a second language classes for a semester then starting school in the spring, i have quite a few friends intheir 1st and second years at javeriana and los andes, and all of them have a much better high school education, and there college classes are some that i know my friends in the us are just starting in their 3rd and 4th years of colleges, i think it depends on the indivdual, but if i decide to go abroad for college i would follow up with my graduate school and specilization in the same country

Diez Y Siete comments on Should I go to School in colombia?

WOW you seem firmly against it, i dont see why it makes that much of a difference, if javeriana is an accepted medical school and i did my residency in colombia why it would make a difference if i came back to the us to work, i want to major in spanish as well, and where better to learn then right in the middle of it, and do you have any idea how much medical school costs here, the one close to my house is 48thousand dollars a year and i would have to go for about 6 years!

Diez Y Siete comments on Should I go to School in colombia?

Im battling the same idea My mom is a single mom and my grades are good but not outstanding enough to get a scholarship to a great college, as i want to be a doctor if i took out sudent loans i would be in debt for well... forever, so i am considering javeriana and also los andes, i looked at both the alst time i was there (my boyfriend lives in bogota) and both were soo nice, beautiful and look just as good as colleges here if not better, just be careful as to weather your degree will transfer here in the US. After researching both colleges are accredited for medicine. And they are ALOT cheeper but most of the time you have to stay for 5 years for a degree, or atleast this is what i have seen in my research.

Diez Y Siete comments on hot water - what to do?

My experience with Cold showers so i had read that some places used these electric shower heads, i was suprised when i got to my boyfriends house the 1st night that he did not have one, he told me to turn the water on and it would get warm, well it was cold then more freezing cold, then it got just back to cold, after about 15 mins i just decided that that was how it ususally was and i was just going to have to deal with it, so i took a freezing cold shower and when i got out he asked me why i was shivering and i told him i wasnt used to cold showers he laughed at me, apparently he had just came back from out of town for a week and his maid had turned some hot water switch off to save electricty, i got picked on the rest of the time i was there!

Diez Y Siete comments on Traveling through Colombia

i guess i should be the first to say.... ColOmbia... i was travelling alone(15 years old blonde gringa) and i was fine, but then again i didnt leave the north side off bogota, i was a little cautious at times, but everything was wonderful, and its equIDOR i believe

Diez Y Siete comments on Promise rings in colombia

I live in the us, he lives in bogota

Diez Y Siete comments on Frommer's South America, 2004

i think you twisted the truth a little I just was wondering what it said, so i went to the frommers web site:

Anyone who has kept up with the news knows that Colombia is a perpetual cycle of unrest and violence. Drug running, guerrilla warfare, right-wing death squads, kidnappings, and devastating earthquakes plague this midsize South American country, and bombings, once only seen in the countryside, now rock major cities such as Bogotá. But Colombia is a bewildering paradox, and bad news is just one part of the story.

If you were to look at the country purely from a travel point of view, you might be surprised to find that Colombia is one of South America's gems, a country bestowed with magnificent landscapes as diverse as Caribbean and Pacific beaches, tropical rainforest, and snowcapped Andean peaks that tower over fertile valleys. From a historical standpoint, few Latin countries boast better museums or more handsome colonial architecture. Colombians are proud of their long-standing cultural and intellectual tradition that has produced noted writers such as Gabriel García Márquez and artists such as Fernando Botero. The country has wonderful cuisine, a rich variety of native musical styles, and a population that is ethnically diverse, somewhat sentimental, and always ready to greet you with a warm smile.

And herein lies the paradox. How could a country with so much to offer find itself torn by such violent terror and poverty? Should you as a traveler risk visiting such a country, and if so, where and how should you go? For the answers to these questions, it helps to have an understanding of historical and current events that have shaped, and disfigured, this enigmatic nation.

Diez Y Siete comments on In my opinion

ws244 You wernt the only one i just spent 2 weeks there aswell and i know what you mean, i didnt see another gringo except for when i visited the hard rock cafe in atlantis, i was also at parque 93 on the 22 too, how ironic, but back to the post, im in a colombiano-gringa relationship and it is very easy to fall in love with someone froma different culture, you have soo much to talk about and learn from each other, but i while i was there any time i went out, my boyfriend and i got the meanist looks from some people, and would purposly run into us sometimes in public places, o well colombia is still fantastic i love it 10 times more than the us!

Diez Y Siete comments on

When i was in bogota I almost fell in a few myself, they were missing everywhere i went, i have this fear that im going to step on one with a cover and fall through, i feel bad for this kid and his family

Diez Y Siete comments on do gringos in bogota love bogota

OK Horses arnt homeless they just appear in the middle of the city, i guess its just something im not used to, but they look mistreated to me, starved skinny nowhere to run and play, just doesnt seem fair

Diez Y Siete comments on Concerned about kidnapping

Dont be worried! That ruins the trip, im an obvious american girl, blonde hair fair skin blue eyes and only 15, i felt compleatly safe, its an amazing city, have fun!

Diez Y Siete comments on do gringos in bogota love bogota

i dont dislike them because they are homeless I dislike the act they have horses that they dont take careof in the middle of a huge city, i would kill for a horse, i have wanted one my entire life and to see such a beautiful animal mistreated, the are starved never cleaned and most look sick. and i dont know if they are homeless or not, but never the less bogota is an amazing city

Diez Y Siete comments on Student Exchanges to Colombia

I want the same its soo hard to find a company to sponsor you, but if you do let me know! there is one i think i found that will work but you wouldlive alone or with other kids studying, not with a family i dont think (http://www.studyabroaddirectory.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/19527) I recently traveled to colombia, as i ahve friends and my boyfriend there, and it was amazing, i hope you are able to figure everything out

Diez Y Siete comments on do gringos in bogota love bogota

I was only there for 2 weeks But i loved it, the people were amazing and the city has its problems as do all large cities, i noticed the pollution but once they finish the tansmillineo(is that right?) i think it will help with bus pollution, the only part i strongly disliked was the homeless people with the horses. But in general it is a wonderful city, iplan to go back in 3 months

Diez Y Siete comments on Drivers License

Also if you want You can obtain an international drivers license from your local AAA (triple A)