Dealing with homesickness in Colombia

Top Ten Ways to Combat Homesickness in South America....

10.  email

9.  Skype

8.  social media

7.  Expat gatherings

6.  Monday Night Football

5.  expat.com

4.  photo album

3.  listen to music from back home

2.  TV shows from back home

And the #1 way to combat homesickness....

1.  Plan a trip back home.

Strange enough after working in Colombia for 10 years and being here in Kuwait which I do not mind I regard Colombia as a home and miss Colombia.

If you don’t mind sharing what you miss about Colombia, please tell us, Coldon.

cccmedia in Medellín

Hi,
living in Kuwait now for three weeks and will be here for a couple of years a money run. But returning to Colombia as I have a apartament in Bogota.  Third time here in Kuwait so know what to expect with culture and life.  What do I miss about Colombia.  My girl friend who is in Bogota.  The life and the music and the spontaneous behaviour which although sometimes can drive you mad I miss.  The Caribbean Coast and certainly Medellin.  Will be back at Christmas to catch with friends and loved ones.  Wow its hot here in Kuwait but slowly cooling down. In general the sprit of Colombia.

Coldon wrote:

What do I miss about Colombia?  My girl friend who is in Bogota.  The life and the music and the spontaneous behaviour.... The Caribbean Coast and certainly Medellin.  Will be back at Christmas to catch with friends and loved ones.  Wow its hot here in Kuwait.

Hot in Kuwait, Coldon ?  I’ll say it’s hot.  According to weather.com, it’s already 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 Celsius in Kuwait City today!

Glad for you that you’ll be able to visit Colombia for the holidays.

By the way, it’s been in the high 70’s F. this week in Medellín, the high temps.

cccmedia in Medellín

Yer pretty hot here.  I am to be honest not a big fan of the climate in Bogota despite having an apartament there.  However Medellin has a great climate.  The eternal spring etc.  Enjoy Colombia

Hi!
My partner is currently in the US with me and will go back to New Zealand to finish his studies-he is from Colombia. To combat his homesickness for Colombia, we always talk about it and listen to salsa music while cooking! Recently, we found a mexican grocery store in our town that sells arepas and pony maltas. I think it is fun to include aspects of his country and experiencing the US at the same time !
G

dinodna wrote:

My partner is currently in the US with me.... To combat his homesickness for Colombia.... Recently, we found a mexican grocery store in our town that sells arepas and pony maltas.

Pony malta, y’say.  I had never heard of it.

It’s a malt soft drink made in Colombia and distributed to Panama, all the countries on the Pacific Coast of South America, and Spain.  (Wikipedia)

I’ll look for it at Carulla.  I’d like to try a Pony malta.

cccmedia in Medellín

I would like to live in Colombia. However I am not of retirement age. How would I earn money to pay my bills? Questions like these are what is keeping me from moving to Colombia.

Chris

Hi I'm not sure where in the US u r but there's usually a Latin community around. Have u googled that or anything else u r looking for?  It's a world of immigrants!! Have fun you'll find something.

Ginger0 wrote:

I'm not sure where in the US u r but there's usually a Latin community around....

It's a world of immigrants!! Have fun you'll find something.

According to Chris’s bio-page, he’s in Las Vegas .. but since he already speaks Spanish (per the bio), I don’t think he’s specifically looking for a Spanish-speaking community in the U.S.

“Have fun you’ll find something” is curious advice.  I took two trips to Colombia this year (12 weeks total) and didn’t see or meet any Gringos who work or do business there, except for a real estate guy in Medellín.

Unless Chris has some special talents we are not aware of -- or can do a business online from Colombia -- he is at a big disadvantage getting work there, even with Gringo-quality español.

FYI, this is the “Homesickness” thread,
                 so it is evident we are drifting

cccmedia in Ecuador

Chris,
It's hard getting decent-paying work in Colombia.  And even getting a job teaching English is hard because they don't appreciate the value of native speakers here, and many companies dislike working with foreigners because we like to take off to travel.  Also many English teaching jobs require you to commit your time--even up to 16 hours/day--then schedule you for only a few hours within that time, often non-consecutive ones as well.  If you can bring your job with you Colombia is great.  Otherwise it's very hard to amke a living here, even for Colombians themselves.