Are there more girls speaking English in Lima?

[neil-uk]

Shoot me down if i am talking crapp, but i was just looking at www.matchingsys.com , and most girls are rated some english, and middle level english on ther profiles.

as i dont speak a word of Spanish the is off interest to me, i am half decided  of going to Baranquilla in march but i imagine the language is going to be a big problem,,,

So Lima or Baranquilla???   any feedback would be great


neil

[Kiltboy1]

Neil

I have talked to a lot of Peruvian women in the past several years and many do indeed speak some English and some very well. They get to elect to learn English in school and many do. I have had several call me and speak great English even though i am fluent in Spanish, they want to practice there English. Peru is a good bet  and if i had not met my current Novia , i would be making plans to go there.

KB

[Chris F]

In my experience.....yes.

In my previous travels to Colombia before meeting my wife in Peru, I met very few women in Colombia that spoke any English. Then I contacted seven to eight women in Peru (through Matchingsys.com) and all but one spoke at least some English...some were fluent.

By the way....the one that did not speak any English is the one I ended up marrying!!..

Thankgoodness I took the advice of this board which was to learn some Spanish or it would have been very difficult to see if we had chemisty.

A poster here and a great guy named JimmyStLouis.....also has a lovely wife from Peru who he met on Matchingsys and she speaks almost perfect English.

If I can be of any help in regards to Peru....please E-mail me at KFremont"at"aol.com

Good Luck!!! 

[utopiacowboy]

Colombians seem to have an issue with learning English. I don't know if it's their excessive pride in their Spanish or their xenophobia or what but I've never met a Colombian who could speak even passable English. None. Zero. Nada. Even the Colombians that I have met and who have lived in the US a long time can't speak English. My wife has lived here for three years and if her English was dynamite, she wouldn't have enough to blow her nose off.

[Kiltboy1]

LOL

God one Cowboy 

KB

[Ricardo]

Hey Cowboy, 
I agree with you - somewhat.  Yeah, with all those t-shirts, logos, products, and ads with english words or phrases, you'd think that there would be more interest in learning english.  Nah!  Little among the professionals too, from my observation.  It still surprises me, and the (poor) quality English courses and schools - well just look how the (ladies) who take the (expensive) courses turn out.  Agency chicas who 'speak ingles' know only a few words, as a rule.  eg. ' how are ju?' 
I think part of the reason is the typical colombia 'pride' the being colombian and spanish speaking.  They don't seem to get it. 
My 2 cents! 

[Ricardo]

neil-uk -

Generally, if you want to get more out of your trips and mate-search, you'll have to get at least passable spanish skills.  The one lady you meet that has 'quimica' with you, may need you to talk with her in spanish, or it's not gonna 'float her boat'...
The concensus on this board is contrary to the 'agency line' - you have to communicate in her language. 
Cheers! 
Ricardo

[daytrader]

Neil -
Contrary to the many negative comments about women knowing english in Colombia, almost everywhere I go in Cali there is someone who wants to practice their english with me....if you hang with the poorest people in Colombia, yeah, they don't know and don't want to learn english....

-- if you are around economically successful people in Cali or Bogota, generally someone knows english.  This has happened several times in the past week I've been in Cali...(FIRST HAND info).
-- my first girlfriend from Bogota years ago had a Colombian passport, American visa, had traveled throughout Europe (her dad worked overseas as a cook), quit smoking in her 30's (this shows self discipline) and taught herself a fair amount of english while in London. 
-- yesterday (monday) was a holiday in Colombia, all of Cali Diamond's familia and 2 relatives from Bogota and me were enjoying a barbeque (yeah and the food was good, contrary to OTHER negative reports...find a latina that can cook...and she was economically able to BUY all the food herself)...and darned if there wasn't a family friend visiting that knew a fair amount of english. 

first CONCLUSION: if you avoid dating the economically poor class in Colombia they or their kids many times know english -- the better more expensive schools have english generally required.  Did you know that parents have to pay to send their kids to school in Colombia?  No Welfare state here...the better schools teach the kids english.

second CONCLUSION: you are STILL going to have to learn conversational spanish because you need to relate to her family!  I would be very uncomfortable listening to my girl talk in espanol by the hour on the phone to her relatives and NOT know a darn thing of what she was saying. 

If you want to date and ultimately marry a latina , you must show to her that you are willing to learn her language to some degree.  Want to STAY married to her?  Build GOOD, STRONG relationships with her relatives...which will require you to converse in spanish. 

If she feels isolated living in a far off land, you are not helping the situation by not conversing with her in her native language at key moments in the day (& night).  I would think "pillow talk" in espanol would be very effective to strengthening the relationship. 

When I return to Ft. Lauderdale next week, I'll be enrolling in conversational espanol to keep the ball rolling down here in Cali because I want the best for our relationship. 

LIVE from South Cali,


DayTrader

[utopiacowboy]

Daytrader, my wife and her family are all professionals. She is a chemical engineer and the rest of her family are all teachers, lawyers and engineers. She owns her own apartment in Medellin and they all have plenty of money. In fact they recently completely a three week long visit to the US complete with trips to Disneyworld and Sea World. In Bogota I believe that you can find people who can speak English but I haven't spent much time there. Out in the cities like Monteria, nobody speaks English and even the English teachers can't speak English. Medellin is not much better. The "certified translator" who translated my documents from Spanish into English couldn't speak English either.

[daytrader]

Thanks for making my point Utopiacowboy..my "firsthand" experience is with Bogota and Cali, of which there are numerous examples I could add if the ones I listed aren't enuff. 

A rereading of my post -- particularly the last 4 paragraphs -- has major implications for guys reading this forum IMO. 

DayTrader

[daytrader]

I was speaking (in english) with a nice older guy from Cali Diamond's church sunday; he stated that the congregation found 37 different member families  that had at least one english speaking person -  the congregation needed to house 37 english speaking visitors from the States last summer and the requirement was that someone in the Cali area casa had to speak english.  He was really suprised at the number.  If I relocate down here, I'll have lots of folks to converse with while getting my training wheels in espanol. 

I would guess the congregation is about 400 to 500 people, total. 

He also stated that there are several english speaking guys that exercise at the park near his home every morning and invited me to come and meet them sometime. 

if you are around economically successful people in Cali or Bogota, generally someone knows english.

Just to repeat that I used the word "someone"  in the above quote, I did not say "everyone" or "most", I said 'someone' and it was specific to Cali and Bogota.

DayTrader

[daytrader]

Hey Neil, while driving to my Cali Diamond's congregation in the south of Cali, there are 3 (THREE) multiple language schools within about 3 or 4 kilometers, one is British - Espanol, and another is kinda different, it is French - English - Espanol.  The British-Espanol campus is huge, probably 10 acres or more with multiple story buildings.  Gotta be some Brits around there! 

DayTrader

[Dan Las Vegas]

I must have lucked out and found one of the exceptions, my girl is  fluent in English and is currently studying French as well. She lives in Medellin and would not be considered well off by any means.

Dan

[Gringo Joe]

Colombian Chicas all know a little English like Western Union and I need money to buy my mother medicine.

[Ctg Bound]

You are correct in what you say, you are far more likely to find English speaking Colombians in the proffesional classes in Colombia.

I don´t know Bogota and only really know Medellin and Cartagena, in both those Cities I know plenty of people who speak English, some of them perfectly, they are generally from proffesional backgrounds.

This DOESN´T mean that everybody from a professional background in Colombia speaks English, few do.

I have never been to Peru, so can´t comment on there.

[neil-uk]

Thanks Daytrader for the insight, my gut feeling about looking for professional women from middle to upper classes that know English is ok for some folk, but i imagine these girls have standards in what there looking for, for example her expectations of her life in England would surley to be of equal or higher status. Also whould want a man who is also a professional with a extensive education and social status. In my case i am none of the above, i am pretty much a working class bloke with a good business.

so i wonder if looking in this group of ladies from the capitol would be worth the jump in English ability, although i do take the point if i did get hitched with one off these gals therse less chance shes a fake.

hmmm

neil

[daytrader]

I can see your point from the Brits' perspective...but these women are different (at least some of them)...

I wouldn't sell yourself short just because you are a working stiff...A woman that is unattached might live with familia or a roommate in a townhouse; the uppercrust ones will have a car, most will not; they will use a bus to get to work.  There's lots of women that don't fit the uppercrust category in Bogota. 

These women have so much to give to a man and they are turned off from the "machismo" of SA men (and some idiot Americanos!).  The introductionsbyconsuelo.com website struck me as containing a fair amount of women that are IMO, overly materialistic by the content of some of their webpages.  Still, they have some knockouts that might be worth meeting. 

I would come up with some good questions in this regard when interviewing the agency owners (I'd check out LLM first) before committing to any of them. So don't sell yourself short, a lot of these women are "underemployed" or "students"  -- the agency owners should be able to give guidance on how you might come across to some latinas.

I have dated a couple Peruvian women (in the USA), one of them was an awesome cook (and excelled in many other areas as well).  I'd check out Bogota, the women that I saw were taller, usually nice and thin, well-mannered and gracious.  Some of the upper crust were definitely a little stuck up but considering there are 5 million plus people in Bogota, me thinks your odds are pretty good. 

It might take 3 or 4 trips over a year (plus some spanish lessons).  British weather probably isn't much worse than Bogota weather and you will maybe find a pure hearted gal that will spoil you 24x7 if you are a nice, thoughtful gentleman.  Of course, if you are a selfish slob, all bets are off!  LOL. 
 
I've heard good things about Peru and Ecuador (women in Ecuador tend to be on the short side from what I see and hear) from others.  I'd say give Peru or Bogota a shot depending on how the agencies come across to you.  I'll try to find contact info on that British/Espanol academy in south Cali; maybe there are some Brit contacts there that might be useful for you down here in Colombia!

I'll be interested in what plans you come up with.

Regards,

DayTrader

[Tapeguy]

Guys,

Tonight at the supermarket I was thinking about this topic. I looked at all the American women in the store who speak English. I asked myself if I would trade my Colombian lady with her broken English for any of the American women?

My point is that language is only a small part of the package and can be overcome. Base line personality, life goals etc. are much more important. If she is sexy, sweet, spoils you rotten then I can work with the language issue. When I met my lady 6 months ago she spoke ZERO English. Now she goes to a private English school in Cali and her progress has been amazing.

Tapeguy (happy as a pig in the mud)

[el_ruso]

DT has IMO a surprisingly good grasp on what he is talking about.  Let me just add a few more thoughts.

Unless you go for a girl from an elite, you should not worry about your social class because more than likely you are wealthier than most colombians.  In fact the girls from the elite are more trouble than they are worth, so you are not missing out on anything.  Beware though that if you go for a very poor girl, you might end up supporting her entire family and being their Santa Claus because they simply will not have anyone else to turn to.  Having said that, colombians tend to be very enterprising and ambitious, and the girl will want you to be that way.  Even if a guy is wealthy for instance from inheritance, but is lazy and lacks the drive, it may cause resentment on her part.  So if you have a business, whatever it is and even if it doesn't make your super rich, it will be a big plus in the eyes of the girl as she will be impressed by your character, as in my experience they value achievement a lot more than wealth per se.  Don't worry and be positive. They typically don't like the traditional "macho" attitude, but equally dislike guys who will not stand up for them. 

Women in Colombia particularly want a guy who is loyal, stable, and will take care of the family.  Apparently those qualities are lacking over there.  I do have close Colombian friends, and they are very loyal to their families and stable, but maybe it's different over there.  And don't be intimidated by their beauty either.  There are a LOT of beautiful women there so in most cases they will not think of themselves as a model material even if they are, and on the contrary they may find your looks exotic and interesting.

Also, do make an attempt to learn Spanish.  At the same time don't expect or try to speak it perfectly because you will not.  Just do your best, and you will learn a great deal, but you definitely need practice to accomplish that.

Well, good luck.

[Ricardo]

DayTrader, 
I agree the typical chica from a lower (poorer) class will not speak english, for obvious reasons.  But I know plenty professionals in Colombia, and relatively very few speak passable english, sure many have studied, but rarely can carry on a basic conversation.  However, if they have spent time in the US or other english-speaking country then there is a good chance they speak a reasonable amount.  I have been told that after many classes in english many students still are not able to converse - their conclusion: if you want to speak english you need to go abroad.  And keep in mind I know a good number of Colombian professionals, in Bogota as well.  My wife was taking classes for some time at one of the better ( and more expensive language schools) and was  not making a great deal of headway in conversations.  She found that her english skills and understanding of grammar improved more with my help (a native english speaker who speaks spanish relatively fluently also) than with any of her previous teachers. 

[JimmySTLOUIS]

The profiles are filled out by the girls and it is hard to tell what fact and whats fiction.

I guess I could say my Spanish is intermediate! LOL!

Its also hard to say who is middle class and upper middle class etc.

TE AMO PERU!!!

jim