2 days and counting!
The workers showed up at 6:40am so we both got up and Teresa
made a tinto (a strong local coffee) for each of us.
My tax refund appeared in my USAA account this morning so I
was able to send my brother a check to replace the cash he sent me via Western Union.
I haven’t been able to log into my Citibank account so I
called them and found I can’t reset my online password until I receive my new
debit card.
Someone on Expat Exchange posted:
“… hats off to the US Embassy Foreign Benefits Unit in Bogota. Their procedure
for handling our cases has improved a good bit in the six years I´ve been here,
especially now they send the translated income benefits letter by courier to
your home. Their turn around time is
only a few days. But last year they advised me to not wait until the last
minute to send them my documents so I don´t run the risk of being overdue for
my visa renewal. This year I will send my docs to FBU a couple months in
advance.
FBUBogota@state.gov email. Sorry, I can't provide the link
for the privacy form here. But, they will send it to you when you are ready to
get your paperwork certified.
Privacy Act Form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-3288.pdf
One of things to go right when renewing my fifth consecutive
TP7 was contacting the US Embassy FBU by email. They were very prompt and sent
me my pension certification in a few days. Here's what you need to get this
done: 1. signed and completely filled out privacy form. 2. copy of pension
payments e.g. bank statement. 3. Copy of passport. You then send these by email
and they send you a hard copy by mail and that is about it. What I enjoyed the
best is that their certification comes in Spanish so you avoid any translation
costs when you take it to the visa department in Bogota. Did I mention that this service has
no cost involved? I am happy and it almost appeared if I was in Kansas again.
Yes, the US Embassy will accept your latest Benefits
Verification letter, even if it is 11 months old, because what the Benefits
verification letter tells you is what will be your SS benefits for the year you
are currently in. No, a bank statement is not a Benefits Verification Letter
issued by US Social Security Agency. Other forms of proof of income are
acceptable to US Embassy. They will tell you what the requirements are if you
do not have a Social Security income.”
I’ll try to give this a try at the end of the year. Maybe I can renew my pensionado visa for
something less than the 1,000,000 pesos I pay to have it done for me.
We decided to wait until tomorrow to go look at additional apartments.
It started raining at noon and it didn’t take long before it
was coming down hard. 15 minutes later I
disconnected the TV as we were losing the Direct TV satellite signal. It finally stopped about 2pm.
Looking at the MBE website it shows I have 2 documents “In
Transit”. I think that should be both my
USAA debit cards and “In Transit” means they are in Miami.
I saw on the Today
show that today is the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident – a reminder that we
(humans) have the ability to destroy ourselves.
I posted to Expat Exchange my experience from last Wednesday
and this was probably the best response I received:
I’m very sorry you and your GF were put through such a
horrible ordeal! This is in line with my area of expertise and I have worked
many cases in Colombia
where American citizens have been robbed, kidnapped and murdered. My advice to
you…MOVE! Get an apartment with good security (armed portero, elevator lock and
security door). Unless you’re willing to pay for private security service;
living in a finca is dangerous even for Colombians. I have trained on weapons
all my life and consider my proficiency superior to most people, but protecting
yourself against an ambush is practically impossible. The Embassy does help to
recover Americans who are kidnapped by working closely with the Gaula and
intelligence sections of the CNP. Unfortunately, these kidnappers can be
ruthless and I have witnessed many sad outcomes. This type of incident happens
often to Colombian-Americans who return on vacation and flaunt their U.S. wealth to
relatives and friends. You were very fortunate that they did not take you and
sell you to other groups, who would have tried to milk your family for
substantially more money. I think that most in this forum would agree that
keeping a low profile is the key to a healthy and peaceful life in Colombia.
Another good response: You have my sympathy and I
understand what you must be going through, even now, long after they've gone. I
can tell you, from experience, it is common practice for robbers to wait a
while, it could be weeks or even a couple of months, then they know that most
of what they stole will be replaced under insurance, and of course, will be
brand new stuff. That's when it makes you vulnerable. Even if they don't come
back, it still leaves the scars. Thank God you and your g/f are now ok and
unharmed. This is what you need to think about, not just these robbers, but in
life in general, wherever you may be. The reason you were left unharmed is
probably because you were compliant, did not fight back, or pose a threat to
them. All a robber wants to do is get away, and unrecognized. If you block
their way, or put up a fight, they'll do ANYTHING to get the hell out of it,
get past you, and away. I can tell you that with certainty, as I was in the
"industry" for many, many years. So what's the best thing to do? My
opinion is let them go, but take precautions. If you fire pepper spray, it
might work, but it might not. What happens if it doesn't do the job? They will
go for you, for sure. Either way it gets violent, a knife, a gun, and you're
dead. Let them go, and 9 times out of ten, you'll be unharmed. So what
precautions can you take? If you have money in the house, imagine where a
robber will look. Even simulate a robbery yourself, with you as the robber,
ransacking all those places where most people would hide their valuables. And
then hide a very small amount right there, where they will be looking for it.
The rest of your cash, find some place where you think they'll never go. The
most unlikely place is often in with the trash. Cover it with more trash, and
chances are they simply won't bother sifting through the trash. If they beat
you, trying to make you tell them where your cash is, then you can tell them
where it is, (the small stash, of course), and hopefully they'll be satisfied.
Or they might find it themselves when they turn everything upside down. Good.
They'll think they've found it. Even when you're out, I do similar stuff. If I'm
going to draw money from a cash machine, I keep the big stuff in a separate
pocket, and in the other pocket, a few thousand pesos, and that's it. So if I
have to hand over the cash, they get the small amount. It hasn't happened yet,
but wherever you are in the world, there's a good chance that it will happen
one day. Hopefully, this incident was your "unlucky time", and maybe
you might not get another, but always think on the safe side. Try not to let it
spoil your enjoyment of living here, for one of the worst effects of a robbery
is how the trauma afterwards almost ruins your dream. Everything that you
thought previously, and how it won't happen to you, is now turned on its head,
you feel violated, and many people let it affect their lives, spoil the dream,
and take away all the pleasure of living here. Think of it like ........
"Well, if it happens to most people once in their lives, well, now you've
got that out of the way". Again, glad to know you were both ok and
unharmed. Best wishes.
T-shirt of the day: Limits are for
losers.
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