Transmilienio

The main method of public transport here in Bogotà is the articulated bus system called the Transmilenio. Most people here will tell you that it is a terrible system and that they hate to use it. In reality the problem is not the bus system but the passengers. The inhabitants of Bogotà are known as Rolos. The feature that is most striking of the Rolos is not so much that they are bad mannered but more that they have no concept of manners or of how to relate to other people.

Bogotà should be a hot destination for students of psychology and sociology. If you consider the situation from a statistical point of view then there are outliers in the population who demonstrate a social awareness, however the vast majority that fall into the 90th percentile demonstrate a miraculous level of social selfishness.

Since the Spanish arrived to populate South America some three hundred years ago there seems to have been little or no development of social skills in the Rolos. It is difficult to describe the manifestation of this with sufficient clarity. It is almost an endemic form of sociopathy.

Back to the Transmilenio then for an example. When waiting for the next bus the people will form something that bears an almost passing resemblance to a queue. If you study this huddle carefully you can make out the odd configuration that almost passes for a line, although later arrivers will join the huddle at any point that suits them even moving directly to the front. You can sense a rising anxiety at the anticipated arrival of the next bus with heads craning to gain the first glimpse of the bus. As the bus arrives there is an immediate increase in pushing and josstling for position. Rolos suffer an exaggerated fear of the possibility that they may have to stand up on their own two feet while on the bus. You can hear the breathing rate increase and hearts begin to race as the Rolos begin to consider that soneone else in front of them may gain possession of the seating that they themselves desire. Once the bus does arrive and the doors open then any remaining resemblance of an orderly line evaporates as the crowd scramble through the dorrs like bulls through a gate. This is compounded by the fact that if any of the front runners perceive that they may not get a seat on this bus they will stop still and erect in front of the doors to reserve their plce for the next bus. The clear demonstration of their selfishness is that they will actively try to stop anyone passing them to board the bus in case they were mistaken and someone else actually does manage to get a seat.

Get away from the Transmilenio and you will encounter the same disregard for other people in every aspect of life. In the workplace it is difficult to perform any kind of workforce planning as Rolos do not arrive at work regularly. When they do come it is almost always late and once they begin to work (and I do use the expression loosely) their main preocupation is the avoidance of work. Diligence is not the order of the day.

One of my later blog postings will relate to the Britsh lack of recognition of the life enjoyed in the UK.

OK, I'm back!

At long last! After five months of working for a pittance here in Bogotá things are starting to pick up. I am working for a company called Convergys. I will complete training on June 5th and progress into production thereafter. I am actually working for less money at the moment because we are not able to work overtime but I have two distinctly bright horizons. Promotion is a real possibility here as the company is still growing. I am also enquiring into migrating my pensions here to Colombia which will be a big step forward. With either hope being realised I'll be able to afford to get an apartment here and bring my family back together again....happy days!
Congratulations to all the boys back at Wycombe Wanderers! Great season and it's brilliant to see you all get the promotion. My colleagues are all following the progress of the Blues and also of the Hatters as they prepare to meet AFC Wimbledon in the play-off final for promotion back in to the League.
I bought a mobile dongle this week so have access to the internet once more so I'll be updating this blog once again. Take care and best wishes to all.

The hunt begins

After all the waiting, after all of the worrying, at long last I picked up my cédula extrajería (National ID card) yesterday after receiving my visa two weeks ago. So,I can start looking for work! I finished translating my CV into Spanish about two minutes ago so will be heading into town on Shanksie's pony (on foot) tomorrow to spread the word......."Yes, I am available for interview" and "Don't call me gringo!".

What a strain having to go so long without working, especially since there is no form of benefit system here. If you ain't working then go and starve! Hopefully things will move quickly from here and we can start to lead a normal life. Better get started looking through the classifieds in the paper then. More to follow.

OK, someone please explain this one to me!

At long last it´s celebration time because I have my visa. Alright it isn´t the conjugal visa I applied for but a temporal visa. I have to renew every year upto a maximum of three years and can now work once I have my cédula. This is the bit I need explained. I can work in any profession................but not in a professional for which I am qualified!
I checked the expressions on the faces of everyone in the room but couldn´t detect even the faintest sign of a grin although I am sure they were laughing underneath. I have checked with others who received their visas and they were all told the same. Interesting times ahead then.

Hot off the press

I am in Bogotá with my wife and in the morning we will leave at seven o´clock to go to the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. In a nutshell we have gambled everything on one last throw of the dice. My tourist visa expires on Wednesday and I cannot renew it again for six months after that. I have in my possession yet more documents that the ministry have requested and have borrowed the money to get to Bogotá to request a personal interview tomorrow to try to resolve everything, yet I don´t have the money for us to go home.
Tomorrow could be a great day or possibly the end of the road for this little chapter of my life. It´s never easy for a couple to live apart amd six months apart in different continents does through an extra fly into the ointment. Emotionally I feel dead. I feel nothing as I´ve just been absolutely worn down by the whole process. Here´s hoping the Colombian government can do something to raise my spirits tomorrow. More to follow............

Taking the lead

At last I am in front. I have found out who my real friends are, the people I can rely on in a crisis. It has been difficult not being able to earn money here and having to reply on people sending money to help me get by. I am really grateful to everyone who has helped but it has been a case of running to stand still. Every time I have received money I have always asked for just enough to apply for my visa then something has cropped up to drain a little away and not enough is not enough. At last I have taken my own steps in trying to sell my laptop and phone but couldn't raise enough so have hocked the wedding rings. I have enough now so will be going back to DAS on Tuesday (Monday is a festival day so nothing is open) to get my renewed tourist visa stamped in my passport then I can send everything to Bogotá for my conjugal visa. I am hoping I will get the visa back in around a week.....more to follow on that one although nothing seems to go as I anticipate here. I'm glad to have all the money I need at last but am absolutely gutted to have pawned the rings. I can't stop looking at my bare ring finger. For me it's symbolic of my promise as a husband, wearing the ring is a display of my commitment to honour my vows. Still, once I have my conjugal visa I should be allowed to find a job a pay to recover the rings.

It'll be so good to work again, to be able to earn my crust especially with Xmas just around the corner and with Cecy's birthday hot on the heels of the New Year. We've had to deal with a couple of flies in the ointment but have come out the other side as an even stronger couple. We're as good as we have ever been and life with her at the moment is superb. It could be even better though soon. Another benefit of finding work is that we'll be able to start looking for our own home. What bliss to be able to come home from work to my gorgeous wife, to my family in our home.

Coffee Ban


Cecy is of the opinion that I drink too much coffee. Perhaps she should have known me in England! Too much here is three small cups in the same day and I'm living in Colombia. I didn't expect this. True the coffee is a little stronger here. Her sister brings it from her ranch in the mountains every week freshly dried and ground. I don't know what she would have made of my coffee consumption in the old country. But then there are a few quaint traits here. I have seen electricians installing wiring with only their bare teeth and a dining knife. The top morning and Saturday night television shows are like kids shows in England. Guys dressed as women, adults dressed in kis clothes with exaggerated freckles drawn on their faces, clothes like clowns (trousers and ties too short, waists to high. You know what I mean, real pantomime stuff) and stupid voices. The things is the adults here lap it up. A fart noise can be used on a programme 100 times and everyone will still have tears of laughter in their eyes the 100th time. Humour here has NO sophistication. There is absolutely no need for comic timing or wit, in fact I think it would be lost on the Vallenatos (natives of Valledupar). In everyday things too. Tania Vanesa needed to make a lamp from a totumo (a type of fruit here) for a school project and as I explained the best way to do it (as a qualified electronics technician and former electrician) I was overruled on the.....

 "but the village elders have always done it this way"

....clause. Alright, a little but absolutely not much of an exaggeration. Time to teach everyone English methinks and to drag a little of my culture into their lives.

Wycombe Wanderers

Good to see the boys doing well and still on target for promotion this season! What has come over Kevin "goal a game" Betsy by the way? If one or two others join in and he keeps the run going then what a good season there is in store for the Blues. All the best there everyone!

Visas

It's been a difficult few days.....or is it weeks? Cecy's dad cannot work (and has not been able to do so for some weeks) because he has a problem with his cédula (identity card), they have changed the cards to a new format and he hasn't updated his card yet and now it is no longer valid. He has applied for the new style card but the wheels of administration here turn slowly. That leaves me with the responsibility to support all of the family and I can't work yet. Consequently I have had to dip into the money for my trip to Bogotá for my conjugal visa which leaves me a little short but I am trying to work that out. However due to the delay my tourist visa has expired, so yesterday I had to visit the office of DAS (Departamento Administrivo de Seguridad) yesterday to try to extend my tourist visa. I have to pay a fine of 300,000COP and also a fee for the visa extension! I tried explaining that I am only seeking to get to Bogotá to solicit my visa conjuge and that the fine deducts from my money for the visa. I am only trying to support my family here which they rewarded by confining me to the city limits here in Valledupar. I am not allowed to travel to Bogotá until they issue my renewed tourist visa. The clock is ticking. I have until December 3rd to get my visa or it's "Get the hell out of here!" time. I feel like I'm running to stand still.
It is the rainy season here and when it rains, it pours...............kind of appropriate in the circumstances!