Colombia Club

[buck501 0]

Hey, here I am. I have a relationship with the most wonderful women in the world. I want to make her life here the best it can be. Please post here about your joy's, challenges and sorrows with a Colombian. All cultures are different, all have different needs. Colombia is not thre US or SE Asia or Europe. My love is in total bliss as of now. I know that it will end. We have a language barrier, although we communicate very good with "Spanglish". LOL>LOL> She loves my small town, but not many here speak spanish. We do have some folks from Mexico but, the culture is not the same. I have freinds that want to learn Spanish and want Poala to teach them. That is good................still, am not a fool, she needs a Colombian connection. The internet has enabled us to do that. Thank you for posting here.

[jazzy118 0]

We have just rec'd a letter from the embassy stating they have our K1 Visa application. Our question is a How long will it be before she gets interview and hopefully her visa, and can anyone tell us how long this will take

[buck501 0]

We have just rec'd a letter from the embassy stating they have our K1 Visa application. Our question is a How long will it be before she gets interview and hopefully her visa, and can anyone tell us how long this will take

It was 206 days from the time the USCIS recieved our app untill our interview.

[buck501 0]

Today I have got Poala into an english class. FREE!!!!!!!!!! They meet 2 nights a week and 3 times a week in the daytime. I am very glad to find these calsses. I have been worried about her just sitting in the house alone all day. It has only been 3 days but I really want her to have a community connection. I also found out about a english class in the community college that is very inexpensive and meets 3 times a week. Many South Americans are in the class. To my knowedge there are no other Colombians in my town. I want her to have some connection to here culture. I hate leaving her alone but, I have to work. She is excited!!

[Rail 0]

Hey, here I am. I have a relationship with the most wonderful women in the world. I want to make her life here the best it can be. Please post here about your joy's, challenges and sorrows with a Colombian. All cultures are different, all have different needs. Colombia is not thre US or SE Asia or Europe. My love is in total bliss as of now. I know that it will end. We have a language barrier, although we communicate very good with "Spanglish". LOL>LOL> She loves my small town, but not many here speak spanish. We do have some folks from Mexico but, the culture is not the same. I have freinds that want to learn Spanish and want Poala to teach them. That is good................still, am not a fool, she needs a Colombian connection. The internet has enabled us to do that. Thank you for posting here.

I know how you feel there big guy. I found me one too and I love her to death. We had not been talking very long when she told me all she wanted was a simple life and a cat. I also asked her where she would want to live here, in the country or the city and she said "I live with you all places". You just gotta love that. LOL LOL I knew then I was on the right track. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met and I have 4 sisters that I considered sweet and they dont come close to her. She is from the town of Seville but lives in Bogota. I know all the women that live in Colombia are not this way but I think a good portion of them are. I am glad to hear you two are happy and I can not wait to get mine up here. Your post brightened my day. We talk on MSN Instant Messinger and the phone every day as we have for months and I guess I am gonna have to make a trip back to see her again before she gets a Visa. She speaks broken English and can write better than she speaks it. I know it's gonna be a culture shock to her and I have warned her but she says all she wants is to be with me. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Love her

[buck501 0]

Paola has said the same things to me. LOL. The truth is she will get homesick, it will be many months before she can travel back to Colombia. Thank god for the internet, IM with video!! She speaks very little english and I very little spanish. However, we communicate very good.

We talked everyday on IM chat for at least an hour. To tell you the truth I am glad I do not have to do that anymore. LOL.

Tonight will be her first english class. I am going to attend them with her.

We have been very busy since she got here. I try to take her someplace every night just to get her out of the house. We have a ton of stuff to do thid weekend, meet family, look for another place to live, shop for warm clothes for her and work on the AOS docs.

We got the marriage licence and are getting married on Oct. 23 in the courthouse.

[HAL 9000 96]

Awesome buck... keep enjoying your new life together.

Maria and I have been making strides on the home front... mainly its her free hand at decorating as she sees fit (she called my previous apartment a college bachelor pad...), my complete willingness to accommodate her needs from a cultural point of view, and of course, surprising her with spontaneity any time its possible that have kept the fire engine going better than we had ever hoped. We truly see each other as royalty to be pampered.

We found a paid English course that meets three times a week at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico here in Chicago- they have a satellite campus. Very cheap and very, veeery effective. She has surprised me with the amount of English she never thought she knew and more of what she is learning. Furthermore, I try to explain certain English redundancies down to the linguistic roots... since more than half of the English language is derived from Latin, then this helps... but also it gets tricky when some common words mean different things when they come from both Latin and Germanic roots... so I try to give her a little historical foundation in the English language that way on top of the Mnemonic tricks I give her using Spanish. She is more outgoing now in English and the willingness to learn more is absolutely amazing. So I in my part have become a very happy tutor.

What is starting now is the weather. Chicago has very unpredictable weather... this last weekend a marathon runner died of a heart condition while on the run while almost 300 people succumbed to heat stroke and had to stop... today its in the 50s and with the wind feels like 40s... people are coming around the corner with flu already. Try to keep your significant others busy inside but do expose them to the great outdoors if at all possible and make sure they're taking plenty of Vitamin C to stave off the inevitable health downturn from the weather. So far its been ok for us...

Also, road warrior spouses should consider taking the new spouses on the road with them if at all possible. Remember, in many cases these are new experiences for your new spouses waiting to happen. We'll be in NYC in a few weeks and then off to Puerto Rico to visit my family next month for the Thanksgiving break... her first Turkey will be boricua-style.

Anyway, best of luck with the entire transition to life in America and do stay up to date with the AOS procedures here.

Willie

[buck501 0]

Maviaro................

I fall into the catagory of traveling. I wan to take her with me as much as possible, and will do so. I feel real bad about leaving her alone. I talked to her about this alot before she came here and she was ok with it. Well, how could she ever comprehend that. I want her to get involved as soon as possible in the community, find friends, learn her way around and become familiar with our culture.

Since I live in a small town of about 50k, we do not have a real good transit system. The busses stop running at 7pm, the taxi service is a joke. The place we are moving to is about 2 miles from any shopping areas. Maybe I worry to much.

In Colombia she was loved by everybody, I am sure it will be the same here. She is pretty shy about talking to others as her english is pretty limited and she has a heavy accent. In time I expect that she will become more confident.

I may be a bit over protective. LOL>LOL.

[HAL 9000 96]

Trust me buddy, its the same as in Chicago with its millions.

I already am trying to accommodate my wife where I work so that when her EAC comes in she can start... I think and pray that we can do this...

[parkpapa 0]

Hey, here I am. I have a relationship with the most wonderful women in the world. I want to make her life here the best it can be. Please post here about your joy's, challenges and sorrows with a Colombian. All cultures are different, all have different needs. Colombia is not thre US or SE Asia or Europe. My love is in total bliss as of now. I know that it will end. We have a language barrier, although we communicate very good with "Spanglish". LOL>LOL> She loves my small town, but not many here speak spanish. We do have some folks from Mexico but, the culture is not the same. I have freinds that want to learn Spanish and want Poala to teach them. That is good................still, am not a fool, she needs a Colombian connection. The internet has enabled us to do that. Thank you for posting here.

I know how you feel there big guy. I found me one too and I love her to death. We had not been talking very long when she told me all she wanted was a simple life and a cat. I also asked her where she would want to live here, in the country or the city and she said "I live with you all places". You just gotta love that. LOL LOL I knew then I was on the right track. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met and I have 4 sisters that I considered sweet and they dont come close to her. She is from the town of Seville but lives in Bogota. I know all the women that live in Colombia are not this way but I think a good portion of them are. I am glad to hear you two are happy and I can not wait to get mine up here. Your post brightened my day. We talk on MSN Instant Messinger and the phone every day as we have for months and I guess I am gonna have to make a trip back to see her again before she gets a Visa. She speaks broken English and can write better than she speaks it. I know it's gonna be a culture shock to her and I have warned her but she says all she wants is to be with me. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Love her

First, Hi Buck! I found the place! haha

Second, Hi Rail! Congratulations on finding a Colombiana. You are a very lucky man! By the way, you will find that eventually your Colombiana will "need" amigos here - Spanish-speaking ones, if possible. I know from my own experience in Colombia that, even after a week or so, you start to feel an almost physical need to hear and speak your native language. Just a word to the wise. ;-)

Charles

[Rail 0]

Hey, here I am. I have a relationship with the most wonderful women in the world. I want to make her life here the best it can be. Please post here about your joy's, challenges and sorrows with a Colombian. All cultures are different, all have different needs. Colombia is not thre US or SE Asia or Europe. My love is in total bliss as of now. I know that it will end. We have a language barrier, although we communicate very good with "Spanglish". LOL>LOL> She loves my small town, but not many here speak spanish. We do have some folks from Mexico but, the culture is not the same. I have freinds that want to learn Spanish and want Poala to teach them. That is good................still, am not a fool, she needs a Colombian connection. The internet has enabled us to do that. Thank you for posting here.

I know how you feel there big guy. I found me one too and I love her to death. We had not been talking very long when she told me all she wanted was a simple life and a cat. I also asked her where she would want to live here, in the country or the city and she said "I live with you all places". You just gotta love that. LOL LOL I knew then I was on the right track. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met and I have 4 sisters that I considered sweet and they dont come close to her. She is from the town of Seville but lives in Bogota. I know all the women that live in Colombia are not this way but I think a good portion of them are. I am glad to hear you two are happy and I can not wait to get mine up here. Your post brightened my day. We talk on MSN Instant Messinger and the phone every day as we have for months and I guess I am gonna have to make a trip back to see her again before she gets a Visa. She speaks broken English and can write better than she speaks it. I know it's gonna be a culture shock to her and I have warned her but she says all she wants is to be with me. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Love her

First, Hi Buck! I found the place! haha

Second, Hi Rail! Congratulations on finding a Colombiana. You are a very lucky man! By the way, you will find that eventually your Colombiana will "need" amigos here - Spanish-speaking ones, if possible. I know from my own experience in Colombia that, even after a week or so, you start to feel an almost physical need to hear and speak your native language. Just a word to the wise. ;-)

Charles

Thanks Charles and your right I am a lucky man. I will use the word she uses a lot about us "incredible". I havnt thought about her missing anyone but her parents but you are right. We have had a huge influx of Spanish speaking people here so maybe I can come up with some things for her to do and people to meet. Your also right about wanting to speak your native tongue. I was in Bogota 15 days and most the time I kept my mouth shut unless I was conversing with her quietly. A couple of times I had to just let the English fly. One time we were in a grocery store line and I got a lot of funny looks from it. I dont know if it was from the English or my southern country accent..Hahahaha.

[buck501 0]

Paola had her first english class last night. There is this church that does this as a ministry, they have several classes per week at different times and at different levels. FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were pretty impressd with how much english she can speak. I am planning on going with her as much as I can. She aslo got the phone number of a couple of people to call so that during the day she can maybe get out of the apartment. It has only been 3.5 days since here arrival here, she has only been out of the apartment with me in the evenings. I feel bad about that.

Origianly, when we had our first interview, I had it planned that we would have about 1.5 months that I would be able to devote almost all my time to getting her involved in english classes, meeting other folks, teaching her to drive, teaching her the bus system here ect. Well, since we were denied the first time and needed a second interview all that flew out thew window. Now I am up and gone by 5:30am and do not return home till 5 or 6 at night. Also will be traveling some. I am going to take her with me when possible. Still, being locked up in a apartment all day is not fun.

I suppose I may want things to happen instantly, they don't. I should try to get her to take on the responsibility of getting involved herself more to. As of now I feel guilty about being gone and may be a bit over protective. Her son will be arriving within the next 6 to 8 months, that should help to.

In Colombia Paola was loved by everyone, she is a sweetheart and a good friend to those around here. It will be the same here I am sure. She just needs to get out.

[Mononoke28 135]

Dang, I finally found this thread. I kept looking for it in the Latin American forum

Buck,

I'm glad Paola is doing ok as well as all the others.

My husband is doing pretty good despite the fact that he misses his family and Colombia more than anything. We've gone out a few times and he already knows what highways we need to take to get from one place to another. I taught him how to do the self check out at the grocery store and how to pump gas himself since in Colombia the customer doesn't do that. We also signed him up for English classes at a very good school downtown, they meet twice a week and it's very intense, he's a very smart, determined person, so I'm sure he'll learn quickly. He also has to take the lightrail to get there, so I'll show him how to do that.

Last Sunday we did Race for the Cure here in Denver which I believe is the biggest one in the US and we had a really good time. Then we went to Chillis for lunch and he loooooooooooooooooooooved ranch dressing, couldn't get enough of it, neither can I.

Diana

[buck501 0]

Dang, I finally found this thread. I kept looking for it in the Latin American forum

Buck,

I'm glad Paola is doing ok as well as all the others.

My husband is doing pretty good despite the fact that he misses his family and Colombia more than anything. We've gone out a few times and he already knows what highways we need to take to get from one place to another. I taught him how to do the self check out at the grocery store and how to pump gas himself since in Colombia the customer doesn't do that. We also signed him up for English classes at a very good school downtown, they meet twice a week and it's very intense, he's a very smart, determined person, so I'm sure he'll learn quickly. He also has to take the lightrail to get there, so I'll show him how to do that.

Last Sunday we did Race for the Cure here in Denver which I believe is the biggest one in the US and we had a really good time. Then we went to Chillis for lunch and he loooooooooooooooooooooved ranch dressing, couldn't get enough of it, neither can I.

Diana

Wow Diana, thats some fast learning of the way around. You would have to take me down that route for a month before I could find my way back and I am not sure I would even get on a lightrail, (whatever that is). I am a country boy, never spent much time in a big city, they scare me. Also, I can get lost going to a bathroom in a resturant. LOL>LOL.

I do the same with Paola though, whenever we leave I always ask her on the way back....donde tu casa, bebe? She is starting to catch on.

Reflecting on her arrival and getting a reality check on what it means for her to come here to be with me, I am so proud of her and admire her even more. She has given up everything she has ever known to be with me. I am very humbled. It shows her trust in me, I am teary eyed writing about it.

[buck501 0]

This was Paola's first weekend in the US. We finally were able to spend some time togeather. We met a lady that works at a middle school here. The science teacher there is from Colombia and misses having conversation with fellow Colombian's. GREAT!! I thought Paola was the only Colombian here. The lady wants Poala to volunteer 3 or 4 hours a day att he school also. More then GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE met another person that informed us of a International group that meets once a month. Many folks from South America. We also found out about many other free english classes for her.

Went to the coast on Saturday and the weather was beautiful! We ate some good food, had a beer and watched Grey Whales., Did the tourist thing too.

Friday night we went to dinner with some friends, Paola and her hit off real good. They are going shopping next week when I am out of town on biz.

I am feeling better about her being here now. I think I may have been a bit over concerend. I have taped pieces of paper on everything in the house with the name of it to help her learn english. She is constantly making me quiz her. LOL.