@radiobrendan It’s been expressed here before that I generally go along with the ‘communicate rather than exterminate’ stance when it comes to dealing with human enemies. This line is practically sacrosanct when the other side is showing a willingness to compromise....
@radiobrendan Sometimes, what is seen as a bad practice in one culture can be viewed as a thing to be lauded in another. Or at least no one seems to get too worked up about it, which can be a bit puzzling if it wasn’t what you were brought up on. Now while many of […]
@radiobrendan You don’t tend to base yourself in Bogotá for its weather. OK, on sunny days it can be pretty nice, but such occasions are balanced out by chilly nights. The great thing, though, is that if you are looking for hotter climes all you have to do is take a short trip in basically […]
@radiobrendan Colombia’s Minister for Health and Social Protection, Alejandro Gaviria, created a mini-stir recently by claiming that alcohol consumption was more harmful than smoking marijuana. His remarks come amidst moves in Congress here to legalise the use of the drug for...
@wwaycorrigan As mentioned in our previous post, you can never drop your guard in Colombia. It’s up to you, naturally enough really, to be responsible for yourself and your belongings. Be that as it may, it still doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t, make it more acceptable if...
@radiobrendan There’s that old story about a man in a restaurant who begins friendly banter with an adjacent table. He gets on so well with his new acquaintances that he offers to pay their bill. So up he gets, goes to the till operator and points down to where his...
@radiobrendan Sometimes you have to accept that certain things are the way they are – at least for a specific moment in time. So while the Colombian banking system frustrates more than what I had been used to, you just have to deal with it. However, depending on your...
@radiobrendan Colombia’s unique strata system has been under the spotlight of late. To the uninitiated, this basically divides the population into ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ according to the area they live in, not by the actual living standards of each individual or family. The...
@radiobrendan Well it may have seemed like a good idea at the time. In fact considering the pretty poor level of English in Colombia in general, most people probably have no issue with it, insofar as the meaning is lost on them. Plus, what it represents is something largely...
@radiobrendan There are a lot of things that can irk expatriates here in Colombia. After a time, most come to learn that the best way to deal with them is to, well, not deal with them. Either grin and bear them or laugh them off. Trying to find solutions to whatever may be...
