Colombia Forum

cafetero
Joined 2015
Posts: 2328

5 years ago

Gringos want everything for nothing

5 years ago

I just spent a frustrating and exasperating 3 days, free of charge and without any expectations, showing a gringo around my city.

My girlfriend trailed along for three days as a free translator and interpreter because the gringo has zero Spanish. Even after supposedly studying Spanish for 6 years he cannot even ask for a piece of bread. Jeez, how lazy can you be? Spanish ain´t that hard to learn!

At the end of three days I counted up the number of cups of coffee he offered me or my girlfriend. Zero.

He was complaining that where he lived in Bogota was stifling, too expensive and the people were always ripping him off. So I suggested he move to the eje cafetero where people are friendly, prices are lower and weather is better.

During the 3 days here in my town he was always on guard, expecting to get robbed at every penny-ante transaction. Always complaining about the price of coffee in the cafes, complaining about the price of restaurant meals, complaining how expensive the pizza is, complaining about the cost of hotels, complaining about the cost of hair cuts, complaining about the cost of parking his moto.

Everything is a bother to this guy, so I finally got fed up and told him stay home. He should stay where he is in Bogota because at least he knows the devil there. Any place else he finds is going to be just as bad, because he is going to make it just as bad.

This is a trend I am noticing more these past few years. Gringos just automatically think everybody is out to get them and screw them over. From the taxi driver, to the hotel clerk, to the waitress, to the shoeshiner on the street, the gringo thinks he personally is a target and they are lying in wait to rip him off for a few pesos.

Gringos just expect to get ripped off so they treat everyone as the enemy.

Jeez, did you ever stop to think its the same way in the US? and in Europe? and in Asia? Prices are not the way they were even last year or the year before. Inflation is taking a bite out of everyone.

Sure there are some people who prey on foreigners, but, not everyone is in on the grand scheme to screw the gringo.

I've been here almost ten years and I can count on my fingers without using all of them the actual number of times I have truly been ripped off or stolen from by a Colombian. Do you people just look for trouble?

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