About Santiago1987

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Colombia: Trump & Colombia:

dliss, Trump hired a campaign manager who WON THE ELECTION with 20% of the funds raised by Hillary Clinton. Unprecedented. She rigged the Primary but couldnt pull off the Big Show. There is no doubt Trump knows how to hire competent people to do jobs he has never has any experience doing and post very favorable results (win). Sit back and watch a man of Integrity work. Give him HALF the latitude you gave Honolulu Barry who funneled 80 Billion from his Shovel-Ready Public Works programs into a slush fund to run his presidency. Never a bridge or road was built. Trumps tax reform alone will transform America. Colombia will benefit up to the point that it infringes on their drug trade. Generational Welfare recipients will not get off their dead asses, but those who dont want to stay on welfare will find good paying jobs until they can garner an education and higher skills with Trump at the helm. In 18 months, you will see a very different America (and interest rates will rise as well ;-( ). Santiago1987

Colombia: Open a BAR:

Have you considered just providing the food piece in an already operating bar pub? Location is key. Know your target audience. That's how Subway and Papa Johns both started...in bars as a sideline. Minimal rent from a guy who sees you bringing in traffic he currently doesnt get, and current drinkets dtaying longer because they can now eat on site. Some negotiate as little as 25% of current rate per sq foot/meter when adding to an existing operation. Lower overhead and your product 1) takes a load off the owner so they can focus on alcohol sales, 2) Have you managed a restraunt before? If not, manage one stateside for 6 months. It's better than a Hospitality Degree 3)Have you run a pizza place before? The toppings will be a problem, namely, cheese (from all I am told about Colombia cheese) and pepperoni/sausage/ham. You might recruit someone with a meat processing background to make pepperoni, ham, sausage, and grind your beef there. Importing h as been a problem for many. Check this forum and others. Importing refrigerated goods seems impossible in Colombia. Last, know about dough. Money and otherwise. Good Dough Is A Pizza Man's life, and it's all a day or so old.. proofing, the alkalinity of local water... anyone can learn to throw dough for pies, but KNOWING the dough is key. Dry spices (or fresh) will present no problem at all. There's a good place in Lubbock, Tx to learn8he pizza biz from Italians and another in Vegas. Neither town is a bad town to spend a year working a pizza parlor in.Great margins in pizza and pasta. The key is volume...fast nickels, NOT slow dimes...and, Colombians seem not to have the free cash for $15-20 pies. I think you would do well to get 5000 COP a slice for lunch traffic. Do your homework and learn the business stateside if you can. Best of luck, Santi

Colombia: Pros and cons of columbia:

I'm stateside so I'll bite... what IS the slang usage for arepa?

Colombia: COLUMBIA GUIDE:

Check your Private Messages. Santiago

Colombia: Considering moving to Colombia:

See Pm

Colombia: Satisfaction with Medical in Colombia?:

Andresen.. Did you have any type of Colombian health insurance or sis 300,000 pesos cover that lasic prceedure entirely? Satiago1987

Colombia: Latin American Cupid:

Jason- I traveled to Barranquilla for 2 weeks in 2012 and my Spanish was sorely lacking. I hope to return this Fall for an extended period. I learned a lot, met some great ladies, and wished I had prepared better by brushing up on my Spanish before I left. The guy I was meeting there told me it was optional. It's not. I found that 2-6 months would allow me a much more realistic view of the country and culture... a requirement, in my opinion, for to discern people's motives and see things more clearly. Live with the people rather than visit them. Like several on this forum have said, many Colombians are on the lookout for foreigners who can Da Papaya (pay a little more than necessary). You are from the USA and make MUCH more than they do.. the minimum wage in Colombia is about $225 a month.. $10-12 USD a day. Learning to read people is a critical skill for someone who travels. Start now.. reading people here on the bus, in the grocery store, and wherever you can think of that experienced and inexperienced people mingle. You are wise to spend some time and money before you depart learning Spanish to at least an intermediate level. Otherwise you will end up spending copious amounts of time around Gringos or natives trying to teach you Spanish in Colombia. If you drive a lot, use that time with Imersion Spanish. It's about $60 on Ebay and takes 6 weeks or so to run through the lessons with a 30 minute commute 2x a day. If you are going to spend an hour a day and have a more cubicle oriented job, Rosetta Stone works but it's time consuming ,pretty boring, and $200. I just downloaded Babbel to my Android and it looks like a Rosetta Stone knockoff but they will let you pay monthly rather than $200 up front... 28 bucks for 3 months with a 20 day NQA money back guarantee. I have been happy enough with Rosetta Stone but it's a LOT more fun when you are doing with another person. With the guarantee, I'd recommend Babel's 3 month, $28 solution with 20 day MB guarantee. In the end, it's how much time you spend on it. I have some vocabulary sheets I made with a friend who was learning Spanish every day at lunchtime. Each page takes about 3-5 minutes to review with a friend at first. One day you drill them, the next day they drill you. We did the basics... counting, colors, pets, family members, simple verbs to get you through the day. Then vocabulary words in a certain room in the house...bathroom.. shower, tub, sink, towel, toothbrush, comb, hair, shampoo, hair dryer,.. in the Kitchen: plate, cup, glass, pot, pan, skillet, stove, sugar, flour, salt and pepper, table, chair, napkin .. you get the idea. The sheets we made up consisted of items and actions specific to rooms: Write it in English, use google translate and copy to your sheet in Spanish. The list for each room is longer than one would think (and therefore pretty effective for what you are trying to attempt). You are simply linking words in Spanish to words you already know in English in an orderly fashion. Your mind will file these words in your memory under 'Kitchen words I already know.' Learning and recalling words in this fashion is very effective. Once you have amassed your lists, it's easy to practice or send the list to a new practice partner when scheduling conflicts come up. About a week 1x a day and then 1-2x a week in rapid mode for each sheet will do the trick. You be the judge. This method of linking words you already know to Spanish words will be prepare you for speaking these words fairly fluidly in a sentence. Wespeke or IPeople is your next tool. You can find someone in America that speaks English and also wants to learn Spanish or you can find a Spanish speaker wanting to learn English from here or another country (there are LOTS of these folks). You might even find someone in the city you are planning on visiting. So, carve out a little time very day.... make some lists, practice, sign up for Babbel, find a few friends on Wespeke (provided you have an internet connection with unlimited data), and you should be pretty functional in 6-8 weeks. Above all, have some fun with it and include others who want to learn, either your language or Spanish. When everyone has a little skin in the game, they don't stand you up for practice sessions. Schedule changes are best handled via whatsapp. Get familiar with whatsapp, WeSpeke, and tethering to a network on your tablet or smartphone (many in Colombia don't have internet at home) and you will be much more prepared for surviving in Colombia when your boots hit the ground. This is easier than you think. Commute times are perfect for learning a language and you are clearly motivated. Amat Victoria Curam...Victory Loves Preparation/Carefulness. May you prosper, Santiago1987

Colombia: Another Bulls*it PM:

Loco, I read your helpful posts to others and thought you might be interested in some natural rememdies that have worked for others with aggressive cancer and for me personally re anti inflammatories. I sent the information via PM to you as it might have been viewed as sensitive by some. Thanks for posting it publicly. If it helps someone, I'm happy they received the information.. I'm not selling anything but have spent substantial time and trial and error finding the best products for living cancer free and extending one's lifespan in health. Sorry to have offended /aroused suspicion in you. Again, I profit from reading your posts and thank you for sharing your valuable experience. An instructor I once served under said, "Whatever is not taught, is lost." . The only ladies I could send over are gringas (and neither of us seem to care for those having been ruined by the paisa mentality and treatment). Sorry for rousing suspicion in you. May you prosper in health, Santiago1987

Colombia: visit:

Barranquilla is a coastal town hot and humid...nearby are Cartegena and Santa Marta, a beach and fishing town with not-so-pretty beaches. Medellin is said to be the City of Eternal Spring.. 85 during the day. 65 at night. Cali to the south is hot during the day and said to be the birthplace of Salsa. In Cali, Barranquilla, Cartegena, Santa Marta you will probably want a place that has Air Conditioning and a shower that has hot water. Plan on showering 2x a day at these places minimum. Hostels, Airbnb, andfor longer stays than a month, local apts are pretty cheap.. $200-500 usd. Read the forums and you will learn much of what you need to know. Salud, Santiago

Colombia: U.S. Address Co's:

Texas does not have a state income tax either.

Date Joined:

11/29/2015

Total Posts:

23

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