Just one more day!
More comments regarding my home invasion:
LocoGringo: I do not know coffee guy, keeping a low profile
is fine if that is your style, however out of fear or intimidation, I just don’t
buy into it. A man has to live his life as he sees fit. The key is finding a
place where you "Fit In". I live very large in my pueblo, as compared
to the locals. I do not have a car, do not wear jewelry and work along side my
employees, getting very dirty and sweaty. Nothing special about it, just my
life style. I do have great air cond. in the house, a $3,000 espresso machine
and all the comforts of a modern home. I think I fit in just fine, patron! If
your lifestyle is showy, then perhaps one should live some where that showy is
the norm. I had a friend back in the States, he drove an old but nice truck.
Wore clothes from KMart, and mowed his own lawn on a John Deere, his 40 acre
estate with a 6,000 foot home. The important thing is to feel
confortable......... The other important thing about living in Colombia, don't
assume that because they smile and are friendly, they are your friend. What
Andersen went through is horrible, awful and would scare the crap out of
anyone. For sure some one who befriended him was the cause if it all. Kind of
sad but also a wake up call for Don Andersen, keep an eye on everyone. Only
trust those that have proven to be trustworthy. Be safe and smart.
Mtbe: Sorry to hear this. Glad that everyone is safe and
sound. Things can be replaced, people can't. My spouse and I just bought a
finca two years ago. Been there several times, but just for a week or two.
She's been there much longer. There is a guy who farms the land, for himself,
we just 'lease' the land for a very small amount. He has warned my spouse about
keeping low, don't talk about me, etc. The house is minimally furnished, we do
the work on the house and land ourselves. Neighbors are asking us why are we
doing it ...our reply, "It costs money we don't have" (essentially).
Still may not prevent what happened here.
Does make me think twice.
Soystar1: I should add that the person who usually cleans
your house is part of this syndicate. Have you ever wondered why Colombian's
always ask how much did that cost? They already know about you and being here
is a dead giveaway. When we say they don't know about us and our wealth is a
misnomer. Don't kid yourself, a normal Colombian's wage is roughly 350 dollars per
month and they could never afford a finca. You are right in the bullseye of
these thieves.
CAtoMDE: My Paisa wife and I talk about safety and
security issues in Medellin
over the past 4 to 5 years and so when I read this account yesterday we
discussed it long and hard. My wife has been robbed twice on the street in Medellin during her
university school years and once or twice in their family home when growing
up. (About estrado 4 house around the
estadium and Pilarica areas of town.)
Once as a teenager, driving with her brother (good guy but you don't
mess with him), two robbers approached their car at a stop light, just say one
robber was killed and the other fled. The car was damaged beyond repair
crushing the dead guy (robber). This is the reasons why vigilanteism is now
becoming the norm in Colombia.
They are fed up with this. Another topic. Just want to thank the OP with
sharing his account as it will help others like me prepare for my future in Colombia.
LaPiranha: CAtoMDE. Whilst that may sound like a good
strategy to many folk, I wouldn't advise it. Countless times you hear of street
robberies and in most of the cases where someone fights back, they are totally
unaware that there is an accomplice a few yards away. You don't even know he is
there, completely anonymous and unobtrusive ...... until he pulls his knife, or
shoots you dead. There was an expat forum a while back, (it’s closed now, and I
can't remember the name), where one of the well known and well liked
contributors met such a tragic end. He fought back, and his widow informed the
forum of the circumstances of his death. It was exactly the same ......
accomplice lurking a few yards away, to all appearances not even remotely
connected to the robber, until he shot him dead. Most of us automatically think
"WTF ??? I'm not going to let some snotty nosed kid turn me over. I'll
give that motherf**** such a beating, he'll never do it again". But I've
learned over many years, to ask the question ..... What's more important to
lose a few pesos, or lose your life? I'm no coward by any means, and I've
encountered more than my fair share of violent crime in my life. But as I get
older, I've gotten a bit wiser too. It’s your choice, it’s your life. It’s your
risk. But as we get older, we learn that it’s much nicer to have a long and
comfortable life, than a very short heroic moment. Sometimes
"prudence" is the better option. Ok, it hasn't yet happened to me
here in Colombia.
The only people I meet are so nice, friendly, and never take advantage, but if
or when it happens to me, then I don't know what my reaction will be. But it has
made me reassess my attitudes and question my natural instincts.
Dliss62: This is truly a key topic because for me and my
Colombiana wife, the security issue always comes up when we discuss going back
to Colombia.
My wife has been the victim of street crime (cell phone robbed, purse snatched
and jewelry stolen) and no matter in what stratus neighborhood you live; you’re
exposed to this unfortunate threat. In our case, we are city dwellers and like
malls, cafes, restaurants and theater, which is also a place that crooks like
to live and steal. In my 7 years in Colombia, I rarely met anyone that
was not a victim of crime at least once in their lives. One of the scariest
scenarios in Bogota
was the “paseo millonario”, which is outright kidnapping and extortion. The
best defense is to always be aware of your surroundings and plan your
travel/activities carefully. As much as we miss Colombia,
we have come to appreciate the tranquility and carefree lifestyle in the U.S. I guess we
have to search for the ideal place in Colombia that will provide us the
lifestyle we like and security we can live with.
I took my large umbrella, we left the finca at 9:45, the
mother dog came out but I didn’t have any dog biscuits to give her. We were on a bus after a 5 minute wait.
We stopped at Carbón
de Leña where we each had an almojabana and a cup of coffee. Laura showed up as we were finishing and she
had a pastel de pollo (chicken pastry) and hot chocolate. The total was 15,500 (about $5.50). It started raining.
We walked the block to the agency where we learned that our
application was rejected because Wilson (our co-signer) doesn’t have any money
in the bank. I asked how much does he
need to have in the bank, thinking I could loan him a few million pesos. I also asked if I could possibly pay 6 months
rent in advance. I was told I would have
to put up 10 million pesos collateral separate from my monthly apartment
payment. So, that was a
deal-breaker. I understand the 65,000
pesos I paid the other day was to study our application. Teresa talked to someone in the office and
apparently he gave us our next lead.
We walked down the hill towards Wilson’s apartment and we stopped at another
agency – Inmobiliaria Alcala. Teresa explained our predicament, they put me
on the phone with someone named Daniel in New Jersey and I was asked to show my last 2
months bank deposits, my passport and driver’s license.
They took us to see an apartment for 1,100,000 a few blocks
south. It was on a noisy street and the
bedrooms were small. We looked at
another apartment for 1,200,000 a few blocks away. It was on a busy street, the place was dirty,
old, and with 4 small bedrooms. Teresa
for some reason liked the kitchen but I said “no way”. It was raining so we stopped across the
street at an internet café where I printed my bank statements. We went back to Carbón de Leña where we all had the special of the day.
We went back to the first agency where Teresa put her finca
up for sale. It stopped raining while we
were inside.
Back at the office they showed us photos of a couple other larger,
nicer, more expensive apartments we’re going to look at tomorrow.
We walked halfway to the metro station, stopped at a small
store where we bought a couple bags of dog food. We continued on to the station where we
caught a bus back to the finca right away.
When we got to the sideroad Mario was there in his SUV and
he gave us a ride up to the top of the hill.
There were 2 young men in the back seat and later Teresa told me they
are private security Mario hired to guard the fincas. That might buy us a little time but that
doesn’t mean they are going to be around when we need them.
We got past the G-dogs undetected and were back at the finca
by 4:45.
Teresa’s keeping busy cleaning out drawers and closets,
throwing out lots of stuff. She told me
she’s sold some of her large armoires to her friend Elda in Sopetran.
We’re running out of a lot of food stuffs so tonight I made grilled
cheese sandwiches. (Yes, I had to do a
quick search on the internet because I don’t cook.)
I checked MBE online and it says I have another set of
documents being processed in Miami
– that makes 3. Maybe it’s the books I
ordered.
I’ve been asking Teresa all day and she finally called
Natalia and got permission for me to pay my health insurance on Friday. (The 1st of May is a Sunday and
Saturday banks are only open a half day.)
T-shirt
of the day: I’m not antisocial, I just don’t like
you.
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