@radiobrendan The world, it’s true to say, has never been as interconnected, and not just in a virtual way. We can move around the globe like no other time in our history, finding ourselves immersed in cultures quite distinct from our own, yet at the same time be close to...
@radiobrendan One measure of the positive development of a country is its literacy rate. The more people who are competent in reading, writing and arithmetic, the greater chance of a better quality of life is the general belief. In the not-too-distant past, such abilities were...
@radiobrendan In these social media times we live in, it seems that virtual reality has become reality. Or at least our smartphone updates have allowed those who read/view them to believe they know us and make judgements about us, even if they’ve only briefly met us or...
@radiobrendan One of the most frustrating things non-natives, especially Westerners, in Colombia (and other similar countries) have to put up with is the arbitrary ‘foreigner tax’. This is basically the additional cost put on to a host of goods and services simply...
@radiobrendan It’s been quite a year so far. In the sporting world, people have called it the ‘year of the underdog’. The biggest representation of that was Leicester City Football Club’s remarkable triumph in England’s Premier League; from 5000-to-1 outsiders to top dog in the space of nine months. You also had unheralded Iceland, with […]
@radiobrendan In a country with such vast inequality, along with a significant disconnect between officialdom and the masses, to say Colombia’s ‘vote for peace’ is its moment of truth might be overstretching it a little. Nonetheless, in the unlikely event of the Colombian electorate rejecting the October 2nd plebiscite on the agreement reached between the […]
@radiobrendan As a Westerner living and working in a ‘developing world’ country, earning what is considered locally a decent enough working-class wage, one of the difficulties with this is when you return to your country of origin. The ‘living within your...
@wwaycorrigan On the face of it, it seems like a no-brainer. On the 2nd of October, Colombians are going to be asked to vote either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for peace. That is to say, to give their backing to a deal finally reached between the government and the...
@radiobrendan As the old saying goes, ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ While there may be times when this is not the case, more often than not it holds true. You can’t really get upset, worry, whatever, about something you are completely unaware of. Yet these days, with...
@radiobrendan Most visitors to Colombia have at least heard of, if not visited, Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City. Tucked away high up in the Caribbean coast’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, you could call it the Colombian version of Machu Picchu, one that outdates its more...
