First, let me begin with a little background of what happened before this December trip to Medellin, Colombia.  I went to Medellin in October 2004 for a little bit of computer work and took some vacation time once I had finished my work.  Since I also knew a couple friends in Medellin I thought it would be nice to stay and discover the city and its people.  I knew of the Colombian Sweethearts (CSH) agency from this list and decided to stop by the agency and talk with some of the women that I had seen on the CSH website.  I admit that I am picky with women so I only found six women that I was interested in meeting.  Since I am 34, no kids, never married, I wanted to meet a women that was similar to myself (no kids, never married, educated).  I also did not want a very young woman so the minimum age I started with was 23 or older and my preference was 25 -28.  I do not consider myself fluent in Spanish but I can definitely hold a conversation with ease and understand more than I speak.  I will just reiterate what has been said before on Planet Love (PL) the more Spanish you can speak the more you will be able to connect with the ladies.  I also think it shows a degree of respect for the woman’s culture and they truly appreciate it when you make an attempt to learn their language, plus you can speak with the ladies without an interpreter.  Well, I did interview several women and I must say the Paisas are extraordinary, they are typically hard working, educated, and of course very beautiful.  I met some very nice women and then I met my media naranja (better half, soulmate, etc.).  When I met Vivi (my finance) we immediately had chemistry and could easily talk with one another, the conversation flowed smoothly and we were able to make each other laugh.  After meeting Vivi, I met a couple of other women and although nice I did not find another woman that had the chemistry that Vivi and I had, therefore I started only dating Vivi.  I was in Medellin for 2 weeks in October, I spent the majority of that time with Vivi and when I left we were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Now, prior to my Medellin trip in December Vivi and I talked on the phone almost every night and of course exchanged our fair share of e-mail.  It was decided that I would stay with her and her family during my little vacation in December.  I arrived on December 24, 2004 and was met by Vivi at the airport and celebrated Christmas with her and her family.  I spent the next 10 days with Vivi and her family, visiting various smaller towns close to Medellin (San Jose, San Geronimo, La Piedra en Penol, and Santa Rosa de Osos), one really gets a sense of the people and the culture when one travels outside the big city.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of time with Vivi’s family and friends; I think I met almost all of her family that live in Medellin.  It is a good sign when the woman you are involved with introduces you to the family especially the grandmother.  Also, staying at her home I got to really know her and her family quite well, we joked and talked about the differences in our cultures.  One thing that was especially well received was the photos that were taken with my digital camera, everyone loves viewing the photos and I also made a slide show on my laptop computer to show the various relatives.  Staying with the family really helped me get to know Vivi, breakfast conversations with her mother gave me a lot of insight into how Vivi was raised and her background.

Well, towards the end of my trip we went to see the Christmas lights on the river and at the end of our walk I ask Vivi to marry me, she said yes and we spent the last couple of days visiting all of the family again.  Now normally, I would date someone for longer than two months before deciding to make such a big decision and I have had a Calena girlfriend before and dated her for six months, but it just did not work out with her.  Vivi is everything that I have been looking for and the chemistry is just there, she did not demonstrate any red flags.  She really showed her sincerity, never asked for money, never asked for any expensive items or shopping trips, openly introduced me to her family/friends, is educated, she knows how to joke and has a positive attitude on life, of course being a Paisa she is gorgeous.  I have said it many times to my friends, when a woman likes you she makes it easy for you, if you have to ask yourself if she likes you then your subconscious already knows the answer to that question.

So that is my story and trip report.  Now I am completing all the documentation for the K1 process and preparing things for her arrival in the US.

... in response to My Story/Trip Report, posted by Nikkyo on Jan 17, 2005

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... in response to My Story/Trip Report, posted by Nikkyo on Jan 17, 2005

Mazel tov, Nikkyo!!  I'm hoping I will be so lucky. Best
of luck to you and my sincerest good wishes.

Michael

... in response to Re: My Story/Trip Report, posted by OkieMan on Jan 17, 2005

Okieman,

Here are your answers:

1.  We made the decision on the K1 visa because we believe it is easier to obtain and can get this visa in a shorter time period than the K3.  The plan is to have a civil ceremony here and a religious ceremony back in Medellin.

2.  Her family is comfortable with Vivi marrying me, I think mostly because they have met me and were able to get to know me.  I believe the family is comfortable with me because I was able to communicate with them in Spanish and of course the interaction between myself and Vivi.  Her mother and I talked quite a bit every morning and she was pleased to know that I wanted to have the religious ceremony in Medellin.  I do not think you will have any problems with the parents as long as they see you are truly in love with their daughter and treat everyone respectfully.

Good luck with your Calena, although I have found a lot of Calenas to be more into partying, I have met some nice women there as well but for my personal taste I find the Paisas to be more of the type of woman that I was looking for to share my life.

Nikkyo

... in response to My Story/Trip Report, posted by Nikkyo on Jan 17, 2005

Congrats Nikkyo!!!

Nice to hear you found your soulmate in Medellin. I see you had been to Cali before and did not have success. As I have said many times before....there is more to South America then just Cali, Colombia. The best of luck to you!!!!

... in response to My Story/Trip Report, posted by Nikkyo on Jan 17, 2005

Congratulations on finding someone & thanks for sharing your story.  I hope everyone pays attention to the part about studying Spanish!