Where did she go?

[Nessa 23]

aww, how cute, you know Santa!

[Ken y Leidys 20]

aww, how cute, you know Santa!

Yes, Andrew had the Santa look. He originally came to the U.S. on a foreign work visa as an Engineer, and he provided me quite a bit of personal insight into the Visa process, his opinions, etc. to the whole thing. He was from England, and he is missed by so many people. He was one of my best friends.

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Last night, I visited a friend whose sister just separated from her K-3 husband this week. Do you know how pessimistic this has me at the moment? She is so upset, but I know the feeling, going through a separation/divorce back in late '06.

In all honesty, I am beginning to view any possible foreign relationships with complete reservation. My next door neighbor named Lori told me about a woman who lived on our same street who married a military man, came here and became a legal resident, divorced him, kept the house and kicked him out, and had a string of boyfriends just come and go from that house - each staying a short while, and then also being kicked out. She eventially sold the house and moved on.

When I returned to the United States, the customs officials both here and in Colombia scrutinized my reasons for visiting so much that it made me uncertain that I even want to leave the country. While I love foreign travel so much, it has made me uncomfortable in exercising my constitutional right to travel because I hate being treated like a criminal, and worrying if I can enter my own country or not.

My Zune player needed legitimate repair work to the charging apparatus, and because I went downtown, WATCHED THE ENTIRE TIME as my Zune was repaired, and was honest about this at check-in at the airport, my bags were searched and I was questioned like I was the bad guy. Thankfully, I was able to present the business card of the business where the Zune was repaired, and I took photos and a few low-quality videos with my digital camera while I was there.

The point is, now that I am safely home, I wonder how much worse the interrogation will be the next time I return to the USA, and the next time, etc. When I was younger, I had some particularly violent run-ins with police officers, and although I never have been arrested for anything in my life, I believe the color of my skin led them to believe they had a suspect with an arrest record.

"Cartegena at night" November '07

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Last night, I visited a friend whose sister just separated from her K-3 husband this week. Do you know how pessimistic this has me at the moment? She is so upset, but I know the feeling, going through a separation/divorce back in late '06.

In all honesty, I am beginning to view any possible foreign relationships with complete reservation. My next door neighbor named Lori told me about a woman who lived on our same street who married a military man, came here and became a legal resident, divorced him, kept the house and kicked him out, and had a string of boyfriends just come and go from that house - each staying a short while, and then also being kicked out. She eventially sold the house and moved on.

When I returned to the United States, the customs officials both here and in Colombia scrutinized my reasons for visiting so much that it made me uncertain that I even want to leave the country. While I love foreign travel so much, it has made me uncomfortable in exercising my constitutional right to travel because I hate being treated like a criminal, and worrying if I can enter my own country or not.

My Zune player needed legitimate repair work to the charging apparatus, and because I went downtown, WATCHED THE ENTIRE TIME as my Zune was repaired, and was honest about this at check-in at the airport, my bags were searched and I was questioned like I was the bad guy. Thankfully, I was able to present the business card of the business where the Zune was repaired, and I took photos and a few low-quality videos with my digital camera while I was there.

The point is, now that I am safely home, I wonder how much worse the interrogation will be the next time I return to the USA, and the next time, etc. When I was younger, I had some particularly violent run-ins with police officers, and although I never have been arrested for anything in my life, I believe the color of my skin led them to believe they had a suspect with an arrest record.

"Cartegena at night" November '07

bro... marriage, as you know, is seriousstuff. whether it is with a local person or from a far away country. visti colombia as much as you like if you really enjoy the country and especially its people.

muchas senoritas bonitas over ther.

regarding the questioning returning back from trips.. just keep it short and sweet: vacationing.

as long as you aren't packing heat or drugs or any other illegal stuff, you will be fine. they are just doing their jobs.

Daniel

[Ken y Leidys 20]

bro... marriage, as you know, is seriousstuff. whether it is with a local person or from a far away country. visti colombia as much as you like if you really enjoy the country and especially its people.

muchas senoritas bonitas over ther.

regarding the questioning returning back from trips.. just keep it short and sweet: vacationing.

as long as you aren't packing heat or drugs or any other illegal stuff, you will be fine. they are just doing their jobs.

Daniel

Muchisimas Gracias, Daniel. The police thing is just a phobia of mine.

"Willys" 4WD Transmission and Repair - Playas de Tijuana, Mexico

[Nessa 23]

[bhajishah 4]

Seriously Ken , and im not always serious. Dont ever be afraid to follow your heart. Prayer will guide and protect you. Dont be a spectator go out and live. esp now your forty. later you will have stories to tell your friends and grand kids when you are an old baba gi. Then you can hook up with philippino nursing assistant to wheel you around. heck yah!! Keep diary write stories down!!

edit to add prenuptial agreement or stash for later travels etc.

[panamania79 2]

By the way, this is interesting. Barranquilla sounds totally hopping!

Barranquilla Romance Tours

Upcoming Tour to Barranquilla:

Barranquilla July 31st - August 6th, 2008 $1395

And it comes with a "Do It Yourself Fiancee Visa Package ($89.50 value) authored by immigration attorney Ms. Jones."!

Some pics from that site:

Wow, that guy could be Ken! WOnder which one he picked off the menu?

aww, how cute, you know Santa!

Is that Mickey Rooney ?

[Nessa 23]

48 pages?

[Brad and Vika 129]

48 pages?

And counting!!

[Ken y Leidys 20]

The music of the Northern Colombian coast differs tremendously from the rest of Colombia as well as the rest of the South American continent. The regional cumbia sounds are primarily shelved until the Carnaval event comes to Barranquilla in late January each year. Growing to love Latin music in Southern California, I was expecting to hear Cumbias on every street corner, but instead the preferred genre was the infections Accordion balladry known as "Vallenatos."

Displayed below are the sounds I heard on a consistent basis - wherever I went. From the nightclubs, to the gas station with the stack of 4 blaring amplifiers set up to bring in business off the street.

**Please do not add additional videos, these are the true sounds of Barranquilla that correlate with this link.

Peter Manjarrez - Y Como Hago

Los Gigantes - Quien Eres Tu

Felipe Pelaez - Borracha

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Santa Marta is located approximately 2 hours north of Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast - near the Venezuelan border. The "El Rodadero" section is just south of the actual city, and this is where I vacationed with Onelis in December, just before the New Years holiday '07/'08. It was a special time that I'll never forget.

Michael Torres' "La Muchacha" was filmed on-location in Santa Marta del Rodadero, and truly captures the feeling of being there. This is something I'll always treasure.

[Nessa 23]

[Mononoke28 135]

Ken,

It makes me proud to see what a big fan of Colombian music you are. Vallenato is my favorite type of music and I play it everyday, all day at work. So thank you for that.

I also just wanted to say a few things and as much as I try to stay away from these kinds of situations I feel I have to. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you wanting to be with someone to love and grow old with, you may find this person here in the US or in a different country but you have to be realistic about everything and know that the possibilities are endless. I also have to say that there are a lot of women and men in Colombia who see a foreigner as their way out of their financial situation. They will do anything and say anything they can to get what they want and not care about how much damage they're causing. So please beware. With that said, there's also many wonderful, caring women and men out there who are good people and who also want the same things you do, which are meet a wonderful person they can fall in love with and be with them at all costs. You just have to learn to differentiate between these two types of people and I don't think you've learned to do that yet. You cannot believe a woman is in love with you or is falling in love with you if she's said it within 48 hours, that's just right and it's a huge red flag. Trust me, I've seen it happen many times over.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that whatever it is you're looking for, it is out there. Whether it's here in the US, in Colombia, in Mexico, in Italy, wherever. You just have to be more realistic about every situation and be more cautious.

Diana

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Cumbia and Merenge are also ubiquitous to la costa de Colombia, and here are a few excellent examples. Don't let the title steer you wrong - El Negrito de La Salsa (originally by "Edgar el Viejo") is pure Cumbia. This however, is a low-quality video that doesn't even match the original in any way. Thankfully, I brought back a DVD bearing the original and in time, I will post it to YouTube for everyones enjoyment.

El Viejo Edgar - El Negrito De La Salsa

Eddie Herrera - No Le Cuentes A El

El Rey Tulile - Ta' Buena