| Americans avoid Colombia for good
| |
| | Most conflicts occur in the countryside.
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| reasons. A virtual civil war has been
| |
| | While this can make inter-city travel
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| waged for nearly 40 years. Rates of crime
| |
| | risky at times, residents inside major
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| and violence are among the world's
| |
| | cities like Bogota, Cali, and Medellin
|
| highest. And then there's the "drug
| |
| | feel little impact and live quite
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| problem." Why would anyone consider
| |
| | normally. Adjusting to power failures,
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| coming here to teach English?"I came
| |
| | phone or water outages, and rainy season
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| because a friend who was working in Cali
| |
| | flooding is more of a nuisance than
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| liked it here and recommended it," says
| |
| | life-threatening. Larger cities are
|
| Glenn Yates, a teacher now in his second
| |
| | reasonably well policed and usually safe,
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| year at a bilingual school. Tired of
| |
| | if you're careful.Drugs? Most illicit
|
| Canada's frigid winters, he fled to a
| |
| | production is for export, so, except for
|
| land of year-round warm weather and an
| |
| | warring drug factions in the coca-growing
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| even warmer welcome.Colin Jacobs, weary
| |
| | areas, there's not much everyday impact.
|
| of gloomy days and drizzle, found his way
| |
| | During major holidays the government
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| to teaching English in Cali from his
| |
| | steps up military patrols of principal
|
| native England more than 20 years ago and
| |
| | highways and vacation resort areas to
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| hasn't left since. "I don't think I could
| |
| | insure protection and safer travel for
|
| live in London again," he says. "After
| |
| | vacationers.Quality of LifeCali, with two
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| adjusting to the near-perfect weather,
| |
| | million residents, is known as the "Salsa
|
| the food, and the easy-going lifestyle
| |
| | capital of the world," rivaling Cuba. The
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| here, I'm not really keen to go back. I'm
| |
| | two largest shopping malls house
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| spoiled for life."So am I. Hundreds of
| |
| | multi-cinema complexes featuring
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| varieties of flowers perfume the air,
| |
| | first-run U.S. films in English with
|
| even in winter. Pantries abound with
| |
| | Spanish subtitles. English publications
|
| exotic fruits like Guayaba and Carambolo.
| |
| | are readily available at bookstores and
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| The year-long growing season allows
| |
| | newsstands. Material in English can be
|
| papayas to reach nearly the size of
| |
| | borrowed free from the Universidad
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| watermelons; mangoes can weigh up to two
| |
| | Santiago de Cali and for a $3 annual fee
|
| pounds each. Colombia's strong, black
| |
| | from the Centro Cultural Colombo
|
| coffee, considered the world's richest,
| |
| | Americano. The Municipal Theatre,
|
| is served everywhere.But Is It Safe?There
| |
| | Tertulia Arts Complex, and Jorge Isaacs
|
| are problems, yes, but not of
| |
| | Theatre offer regular productions in
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| "run-screaming-to-the-hills" intensity.
| |
| | Spanish.
|
