{"id":961,"date":"2011-07-11T23:00:21","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T04:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=961"},"modified":"2016-02-19T21:44:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-20T02:44:00","slug":"entering-an-alternate-reality-moving-to-bogota-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/07\/entering-an-alternate-reality-moving-to-bogota-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Entering an Alternate Reality: Moving to Bogot\u00e1, Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

An interview with Toby & Tiger\u00a0(Part 1 of 3)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Toby and Tiger have the answer to the \u2018Colombia problem<\/a>\u2019. It\u2019s the kind of answer you might expect from two idiosyncratic, erudite intellectuals that have spent time living in some of the world\u2019s most culturally rich capitals. \u201cWe\u2019ve entered an alternate reality; all you hear about Colombia is that it\u2019s bad, that it\u2019s full of danger. It\u2019s an alternative reality because we\u2019re here, walking the streets day to day and so little of what we hear matches up to what we see.\u201d The pair are convinced: there must be a gap between realities and they\u2019ve crossed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you compare what they say with the fact that we believe we\u2019re in the future capital of culture of the world, you\u2019ve got to believe that Colombia has a Department of Misinformation.\u201d Toby pauses for breath. \u201cAnd they\u2019re doing a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

If it all sounds a little far-fetched and dubious, maybe even optimistic, then take a moment to consider the credentials of the two men I\u2019m speaking with. Toby, the tallest of the pair, who speaks with soft but enthusiastic tones, was born into an international lifestyle. \u201cMy father was an international banker and always wanted me to fly. I developed my own little encyclopedic knowledge of airports and airplanes. I lived in Geneva, London, Kashmir, New York, Florida, Colorado, Montreal, Vancouver, Paris and much more of France.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Tiger, his upbringing involved much less travel. He was brought up in the suburbs of New York City. This is where he met Toby and, since, has found his own sense of wanderlust. The pair moved abroad and travelled extensively, taking Tiger to France, Mexico, Canada and, of course, eventually Colombia. This now is where they\u2019ve decided to settle.<\/p>\n

A Hidden Paradise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of the pair it\u2019s evident that Toby was the more disgruntled with life in the US. Though Tiger\u2019s desire to move is apparent as he talks now, it\u2019s Toby that talks with the greater sense of exasperation when speaking of his former home. \u201cWe were quite desperate to leave the US for a while. Me, having lived abroad, knew there were places with a better quality of life on offer. I think we in the US with our hubris tend to think life in the US is very peachy, but for me it\u2019s not. Politically, socially, economically and culturally things just weren\u2019t satisfactory for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sentiment that Tiger shares and the two made several unsuccessful attempts to move to France, but were blocked by various hurdles. Before they gave up, however, fate would gift them a nudge in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally we read an article in the Italian version of Vanity Fair saying that Bogot\u00e1<\/a> was a hidden paradise. Both Tiger and I had always been concerned about visiting from what we\u2019d heard on the news\u2026\u201d At this point Tiger interrupts to offer a slight edit to the story. \u201cActually I was never concerned about it. I actually just always wanted to come here.\u201d With this it becomes clearer that Tiger\u2019s desire to escape the US is more to do with his attraction to Colombia. An interesting concept when you weigh it against the onslaught of bad press that is directed towards Colombia in the US.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Toby and Tiger are seeking to change perceptions of Bogot\u00e1 and Colombia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy earliest memories of Colombia are from when I was 14. A friend had a Colombian stepmother who she hated. Firstly because she was her step-mother, and, secondly because she tried to feed her cow\u2019s tongue; not knowing it was a sign of love. She hooked all that hatred of her stepmother onto the bad image that perpetuates about Colombia and used to tell me about it. For some reason I just knew she was being irrational and ignored her. I really don\u2019t know how I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sensible attitude and, yet, as Tiger concedes, one that\u2019s hard to maintain. \u201cI have to admit I was bothered by the stuff in the media, I was affected by it. Toby was great because he had this determined attitude, but I was a little concerned. I\u2019d lived in Colombia as a boy and so of course I\u2019d get upset by the absurd portrayal of Bogot\u00e1 in the movies, of the city as a place with bombs flying everywhere. Some kind of tropical, dusty\u2026\u201d Toby pauses and Tiger ceases this opportunity to offer his summation. \u201cA tropical non-paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two chuckle at the phrase, and I chuckle too, but the three of us know the severity of the implications that these portrayals have had on Colombia. Fortunately for Tiger, Toby\u2019s instinctual desire to travel to Colombia spurned their decision to move, and the article in Vanity Fair was to be the final push they needed. Toby elaborates: \u201cI felt that I knew Colombia. I felt connected to it. I taught myself to cook Colombian food, to dance Colombian style, and so for me I had no negative preconceptions about Colombia. It\u2019s unusual for me, but there was a shroud over my analytical, cautious side. It just never crossed my mind there\u2019d be problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bogota Brilliance, Toby and Tiger’s informative webpage about Bogota.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Reality Check<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus the two moved to Bogot\u00e1, and so it was that their love-affair began. Shocked at the sophistication of the city, the elation they felt in their first few days still visibly moves them. \u201cWe had a reservation on our first night in a French restaurant that we missed, so we decided to take a walk and we found another French restaurant, Balzac,\u201d Tiger nostalgically begins. \u201cAs we were sat on the patio on a beautiful, cool evening, we were watching this people strolling past, arm in arm, and Toby turned to me…\u201d Once again the pair are tripping over each other to recount the stories they\u2019ve undoubtedly shared together many times. Toby blurts out, excitedly: \u201cPinch me! <\/em>I said. Are we in Paris? <\/em>And for weeks I had to keep asking Tiger to remind me we weren\u2019t in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n

I ask Toby how the country matched against the fears that had been stirred up during his time in the US. \u201cI had preconceptions and then the reality his me in the face here. The reality was for me an emotional, heartfelt one. The most important thing was the sophistication, the culture of Colombia and Colombians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am someone that is passionate about art, I\u2019ve always loved Paris because of it, they always protected it. Colombians have a deep respect for culture on whatever level, music, dance, art\u2026 So it was the sophistication of the city, Bogot\u00e1, that surprised me. It was so international, even though it had so much bad press in the media and the reputation of the country puts people off coming here. There was so much international selection in cuisine, foods from France, Israel, Serbia\u2026 You\u2019ll find anything you want here. That\u2019s important for me: to feel grounded with that international aspect of my personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving From an Alternate Reality<\/strong><\/p>\n

And, so, with their love of Colombia visibly still intact, Toby and Tiger, two successful businessmen from New York that have traveled extensively throughout the world, see themselves settling down together in Bogot\u00e1, a city famous internationally for little more than crime and drugs. The reality, as the two have mentioned, is very different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more time we spent here we were so upset, more and more and more about the horrible negativism towards Colombia and Bogot\u00e1 that it just became unbearable. We always hated it but now we\u2019re here and settling in the gulf between the perceptions of this country and the reality just gets wider and wider to us.\u201d It\u2019s this gulf that juxtaposes so dramatically with their reality here, that spawned the idea for their project, Bogot\u00e1 Brilliance.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bogot\u00e1 Brilliance is a website dedicated to correcting the misperceptions that are perpetuated about Colombia. It seeks to show people the truth about Colombia and, using Toby and Tiger\u2019s passionate love for Bogot\u00e1, aims to demonstrate to the world that the city is ready for international, cultural tourism. The cultural scene is ready, the pair are convinced, and should be seen by the whole world.<\/p>\n

With Bogot\u00e1 Brilliance, and with the help of the many people they\u2019ve met in Bogot\u00e1 with a similar aim, Toby and Tiger are seeking to change perceptions of Bogot\u00e1 and Colombia. Their aim, to put it in their terms, is to take themselves out of their alternative reality, and plant themselves firmly in the real world. A world where Bogot\u00e1 is recognized as the truly sophisticated, international city it is.<\/p>\n

You can find Bogot\u00e1 Brilliance here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.bogotabrilliance.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with Toby & Tiger\u00a0(Part 1 of 3) Toby and Tiger have the answer to the \u2018Colombia problem\u2019. It\u2019s the kind of answer you might expect from two idiosyncratic, erudite intellectuals that have spent time living in some of the world\u2019s most culturally rich capitals. \u201cWe\u2019ve entered an alternate reality; all you hear about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[35,3,115,66,97,65],"tags":[2976,2868,2735,2884,356],"yoast_head":"\nEntering an Alternate Reality: Moving to Bogot\u00e1, Colombia - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2011\/07\/entering-an-alternate-reality-moving-to-bogota-colombia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Entering an Alternate Reality: Moving to Bogot\u00e1, Colombia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An interview with Toby & Tiger\u00a0(Part 1 of 3) Toby and Tiger have the answer to the \u2018Colombia problem\u2019. 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