There are many associations that you can join:
- http://www.acdac.co/#!notas-a-los-asociados
- http://www.amsocbogota.org/join/index.html
Saludos,
Avila
Monday, February 10, 2014
Diplomatic Assocation
Dear Bogota Expats,
There are many associations that you can join:
There are many associations that you can join:
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Transforming the Bogota Bus System - TRANSMILENIO
Dear Bogota Expats!
The first thing that anyone mentioned to us about moving here is that the traffic is terrible. It's true. In the less than 20 times I've been in a car during the first two month, we have often been at a standstill - especially if you head out of town.
Enrique Penalosa, mayor of Bogota from 1998-2001, gets the credit for creating hundreds of km of bike lanes and bus lanes all over the city and for strongly improving the city and its Ciclovia. He has a philosophy that pedestrians have the same rights as cars, so that a bus filled with 80 people deserves the space of 80 cars, and large sidewalks. He created the Transmilenio bus system (dual bus lanes in both directions) that gives buses a private lane. He wanted to transform the idea of bus - that the people never use the word "bus" - he changed the color, design and name of these massive system.
Problems that existed in Bogota:
- there were very few sidewalks
- people parked their cars all over
- too many cars (idea to put more money into the highway system - built for cars - is immoral)
- few recreational spaces for the poor
- high crime rate (more killed from cars and motos than from the guerrilla warfare)
Good videos on Bogota's transportation transformation:
The first thing that anyone mentioned to us about moving here is that the traffic is terrible. It's true. In the less than 20 times I've been in a car during the first two month, we have often been at a standstill - especially if you head out of town.
Enrique Penalosa, mayor of Bogota from 1998-2001, gets the credit for creating hundreds of km of bike lanes and bus lanes all over the city and for strongly improving the city and its Ciclovia. He has a philosophy that pedestrians have the same rights as cars, so that a bus filled with 80 people deserves the space of 80 cars, and large sidewalks. He created the Transmilenio bus system (dual bus lanes in both directions) that gives buses a private lane. He wanted to transform the idea of bus - that the people never use the word "bus" - he changed the color, design and name of these massive system.
Problems that existed in Bogota:
- there were very few sidewalks
- people parked their cars all over
- too many cars (idea to put more money into the highway system - built for cars - is immoral)
- few recreational spaces for the poor
- high crime rate (more killed from cars and motos than from the guerrilla warfare)
Good videos on Bogota's transportation transformation:
- PBS E2 (squared)'s program: Bogota: Building a Sustainable City
- TED talk by Enrique Penalosa
Think about how to make better community where you can live...
Saludos,
Saludos,
Avila
Friday, November 22, 2013
Nanny Conundrums...
Dear Bogota Expats!
Wow, as most of will have at least one person or more helping us in our home, this can be a frustrating and bewildering process of learning, on both parts - both for the empleada/ninera and for you!
Some tips as we've been through a number of nannies even within our first 40+ days already:
Wow, as most of will have at least one person or more helping us in our home, this can be a frustrating and bewildering process of learning, on both parts - both for the empleada/ninera and for you!
Some tips as we've been through a number of nannies even within our first 40+ days already:
- Make sure the person is someone you will be comfortable with in your home, has a good attitude, not too exigente (demanding)
- If the person is young with children (or even older with young children), consider that her children will get sick often and 1) make her sick, and 2) possibly not be available for work
- If the person is young and single, be aware if they do not go out late at night and do not have the energy to come to work
- Have a talk about all of your expectations:
- Feeding/sleeping schedule
- Arrival/departure time
- Payment schedule
- Vacation, sick leave, etc (if you are paying a salary)
- If they wear perfume, have long nails, what they wear (sandals, non-street shoes)
- If they are going to use/open anything in the house, they should ask; speak specifically about what machines/appliances they are allowed to use
- Lunchtime meals
- Cooking expectations
- Developmental preparation for the children -
- If they are sick, they should not come
- Extra hours
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Baking at high altitude... 8,261 ft!
Dear Bogota Expats,
Anyone bake at high altitude? Denverites? Yesterday I tried my first baking experience of chocolate chip cookies (The famous New York Times recipe!)... yes, a total flop (though still edible). Then I consulted King Arthur's webpage... increase the temp, decrease baking time, increase liquid, increase flour... I can see how all these would definitely help!
[Update Dec 8. 2013 - we had some Colombian friends over and they said something sort of simple... go buy some cookbooks for Colombia? But what am I 1) to do with my recipes from the US which are excellent, and 2) what do I do when I leave with these Colombian recipes? Maddening???
I did see amazon has a few recommended books, like Pie in the Sky... I might have to download or order those!]
Happy Baking,
Avila
Anyone bake at high altitude? Denverites? Yesterday I tried my first baking experience of chocolate chip cookies (The famous New York Times recipe!)... yes, a total flop (though still edible). Then I consulted King Arthur's webpage... increase the temp, decrease baking time, increase liquid, increase flour... I can see how all these would definitely help!
[Update Dec 8. 2013 - we had some Colombian friends over and they said something sort of simple... go buy some cookbooks for Colombia? But what am I 1) to do with my recipes from the US which are excellent, and 2) what do I do when I leave with these Colombian recipes? Maddening???
I did see amazon has a few recommended books, like Pie in the Sky... I might have to download or order those!]
Happy Baking,
Avila
high-altitude baking
The higher the altitude, the lower the air pressure. While this is an excellent environment for training athletes, it is a difficult one for baking recipes. Baking depends on the specific interactions of several kinds of ingredients: flour, leavening, fats, liquid. To complicate things further, individual microclimates vary greatly in the mountains, so the adjustment that works for you may not work for your neighbor down (or up) the road.
These charts are meant as a starting point, to help you convert recipes. Different types of baked goods need different adjustments, and we offer suggestions about where to start further on including adjusting chemical leavens according to altitude and baking cookies at high-altitude. It may take a few tries to get results you’re happy with; if possible, try to adjust only one ingredient at a time, so you can isolate the effect it has. Be sure to keep notes on what you’ve done, and try the smaller adjustments first when a range is given.
For more information…
Because high-altitude baking is a complex subject, we recommend a set of publications that cover all aspects of baking at 3,500 feet and up, from the Colorado State University Extension Resource Center. For questions, call toll free at 877.692.9358, refer, to their website, or at e-mail them.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
VAT Tax Reimbursement - IVA-free shopping!
Dear Bogota Expats,
One of the great benefits of my husband's "diplomatic" status is that we exempt from paying IVA taxes. In Colombia, there are different taxes - 5%, 8% and most common and worst of all, 16% tax for most non-food items and non-service items. (Unfortunately if you go to a restaurant, it is counted as service and you cannot be reimbursed for any of those costs!) Every quarter they collect taxes and after about 4 months, we will receive the reimbursement of each prior VAT tax submission.
So what information do you need? Please see below the process and procedures to this:
Happy reimbursements!
Avila
One of the great benefits of my husband's "diplomatic" status is that we exempt from paying IVA taxes. In Colombia, there are different taxes - 5%, 8% and most common and worst of all, 16% tax for most non-food items and non-service items. (Unfortunately if you go to a restaurant, it is counted as service and you cannot be reimbursed for any of those costs!) Every quarter they collect taxes and after about 4 months, we will receive the reimbursement of each prior VAT tax submission.
So what information do you need? Please see below the process and procedures to this:
- Keep all receipts that have IVA on them
- No need to keep the small credit card slips (ditafono)
- On each receipt, you will have find the following:
- Name of the company "sociedad anonima (S.A.S.)" which is often different than the name of the store/restaurant
- The company's NIT number
- Invoice number
- Address of the store
- Total amount of the receipt
- Total amount of the IVA
1. If it says "impuesto consumo" or "impuestos" on the receipts (mostly from restaurant receipts), do we include these?
- Please include the impuesto al consumo
2. On McDonald's receipt, for example, it doesn't explicitly say IVA, but it says "subtotal" then "Total aqui con IVA" - should I calculate the IVA amount myself?
- One of the requirements of DIAN is that the receipt should explicitly say IVA however please include those invoices, we will check if we can include it.
3. What is the date from which you are able to claim VAT reimbursement from?
- Ask your office administrator when you were issued your diplomatic number (though the physical card may not be in your hands just yet)
4. Just to confirm, should any of the ditafono (credit card machine) receipts be submitted? Should we keep them for our records?
- Credit card machine receipts are not necesary,
5. How should the receipts be organized, with a paperclip in order alphabetically?
- The receipts should be organized just as you said alphabetically with a paperclipHappy reimbursements!
Avila
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Private Clubs, Part II - First Invitation
Dear Bogota Expats!
Today, a lightly rainy afternoon, we were invited to Club Campestre Guaymaral by one of my husband's senior colleagues. The club is located north of Bogota, about 45 minutes out of the city depending on traffic (which of course always exists)! As we drove into the complex, it was extremely impressive, beautiful, verdant and very well kept up. We passed horse stables, an expansive golf course, and saw many tennis courts in the distance and a lovely clubhouse! In some ways, it reminded me of West Virginia's famous The Greenbrier Resort though the feeling is distinctively different. Though also very 'white' there is a different feeling of 'white' in Latin America than the 'whites only' feeling of the American South. (Both of course are a bit unsettling, but for me it seems a bit more pronounced - elitist - in Latin America.)
We had a delicious lunch - the special menu was focused on Mexican cuisine - and we were extremely well attended to, I must admit. There are so many staff people underfoot, and even a dessert cart came out in the end. [Of note, there were tons of young children around, including lots of strollers, and in Latin America they are always welcome and well cared for.]
We were told that as we hold diplomatic status, we would be exempt from paying the initiation fee, but would have yearly fees of about $5000USD - around $500USD per month.
We are considering joining a private club as a social outlet though I'm not sure if 1) this would the style in which we would like to live, and 2) if this would be worth it for us if we just went 1-2 times per month. It seems the money could be spent in other ways in a more productive way for us. We would like to see some other clubs, but I certainly did enjoy our time though I'm not sure about the elite feeling of a private club.
[Update Dec 11 - I wonder if the "invitation" to a club in Colombia is the equivalent of being "invited to an asado" in Argentina... words that are thrown around but never "cumplidas"? I was recently chatting with someone from our new daycare (jardin infantil) and the person, who is actually fro Spain and married to an Argentine put forth this invite. Thoughts anyone?]
Love and equality,
Avila
Today, a lightly rainy afternoon, we were invited to Club Campestre Guaymaral by one of my husband's senior colleagues. The club is located north of Bogota, about 45 minutes out of the city depending on traffic (which of course always exists)! As we drove into the complex, it was extremely impressive, beautiful, verdant and very well kept up. We passed horse stables, an expansive golf course, and saw many tennis courts in the distance and a lovely clubhouse! In some ways, it reminded me of West Virginia's famous The Greenbrier Resort though the feeling is distinctively different. Though also very 'white' there is a different feeling of 'white' in Latin America than the 'whites only' feeling of the American South. (Both of course are a bit unsettling, but for me it seems a bit more pronounced - elitist - in Latin America.)
We had a delicious lunch - the special menu was focused on Mexican cuisine - and we were extremely well attended to, I must admit. There are so many staff people underfoot, and even a dessert cart came out in the end. [Of note, there were tons of young children around, including lots of strollers, and in Latin America they are always welcome and well cared for.]
We were told that as we hold diplomatic status, we would be exempt from paying the initiation fee, but would have yearly fees of about $5000USD - around $500USD per month.
We are considering joining a private club as a social outlet though I'm not sure if 1) this would the style in which we would like to live, and 2) if this would be worth it for us if we just went 1-2 times per month. It seems the money could be spent in other ways in a more productive way for us. We would like to see some other clubs, but I certainly did enjoy our time though I'm not sure about the elite feeling of a private club.
[Update Dec 11 - I wonder if the "invitation" to a club in Colombia is the equivalent of being "invited to an asado" in Argentina... words that are thrown around but never "cumplidas"? I was recently chatting with someone from our new daycare (jardin infantil) and the person, who is actually fro Spain and married to an Argentine put forth this invite. Thoughts anyone?]
Love and equality,
Avila
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Language Classes - Perfecting your Spanish
Dear Bogota Expats
I've taken so many years of Spanish class, it's shocking that I still want to (and need to) brush up on my skillz. I have been introduced to a number of locations in and our the Cabrera-Rosales area in which to take classes. I took the test at Berlitz and tested at a lower-middle intermediate level - that pluscaum perfecto still kills me!
Anyways, ahem, I present a short list of places where you can take different types of classes (private, business-oriented, etc.)
I've taken so many years of Spanish class, it's shocking that I still want to (and need to) brush up on my skillz. I have been introduced to a number of locations in and our the Cabrera-Rosales area in which to take classes. I took the test at Berlitz and tested at a lower-middle intermediate level - that pluscaum perfecto still kills me!
Anyways, ahem, I present a short list of places where you can take different types of classes (private, business-oriented, etc.)
- Berlitz
- Universidad de EAN
- Universidad de Sergio Arboleda
Happy learning,
Avila
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