International
The following page is dedicated to providing quick summaries of any countries that our authors have visited. The ways that we rate these countries and the information provided on each will vary and be updated for each country as we improve the page content. The layout should be something like CIA world factbook, but rather than including a ton of useless information like most recent military coup, well include useful things like where and how to acquire alcohol, marijuana, or services from the opposite sex, you know, stuff that young men need to thrive in foreign environments. Initial key pieces of information might include for example:
USA:
1.)Drinking Age: 21
2.)Legal Drugs: Caffeine, Nicotine…???
3.)Availability of Illegal Drugs: High
4.)Females: 7/10 Trees
and so forth
Ireland
1.)Drinking age: None that I know of
2.) Pub(Club) density/volume: High in cities
3.) Towns not to miss: Dublin, Doolin, Galway, Cork
4.) Drugs: Not really, its mostly booze
5.) Young pseudo-Catholics with Guilt rating: High
6.)Girls: 4/10 Trees. Why? Theyre hard to find. Many of the women encountered at clubs and bars were british and foreign exchange students like myself. Additionally young Irish women are generally hostile towards American male college students. Better luck with the Brits in Temple Bar in Dublin.
7.) Athletics: Irish Football and Hurling at Croke Park, do not miss. Go Dubs!
8.)Terrorism: Low
9.)Kyle Shack lookalikes: High
10.) Major Export: Guiness, Wool, IT
Colombia (Bogota):
1.) Drinking Age: 18 (very loose)
2.) Club/Bar density: High. One should also know that in Colombia there are 3 or 4 different types of “bars and clubs.” There are you traditional nightclubs (don’t believe your text books, no one calls them “discotecas” they are “clubs”) and also your traditional sit down and move around a little bars. There are also convenience type stores that also will serve you beer. They usually have a few tables. There are also live music bars and clubs to check out.
Clubs to check out: Cha Cha (on the 54th floor of an office building, open until sunrise.
Drinks: Main beers are Aguila, Club Colombia, and Costeno. My favorite is Aguila, it’s cheap (usually around the equivalent of 75 cents to a dollar) and much better than American beers of similar cost. Also hugely popular is Aguardiente, which literally means “Fire Water.” It has the consistency and look of vodka, but tastes like Jager (licorice). I wasn’t a big fan, but it’s cheap and everywhere, so you will drink it and get done by it. Whiskey is also popular to drink on the rocks and tequila is around too. I was pleasantly surprised at the good beer selection at the bars in Bogota.
3.) Towns/Cities not to miss: Cartagena, Santa Marta, Medellin
Food: Varies by region. On the coast it’s more Caribbean style with a lot of fish, etc. Other areas chicken, other areas beef. By far the most popular dish is Bandeja Paisa, which is from Medellin (Medellin is kinda like the Texas of Colombia, there food is everywhere, people from there are really proud, and there soccer team is the most popular in the country). Bandeja Paisa is great though and a huge meal. Other great things to eat are Patacones (plantanes fried, then mashed, then fried again) and Chicharon (huge pieces of Pork Rinds). All the food in Colombia was great, except for their obsession with putting cheese on sweet things, like fruit. Fuck that.
4.) Drugs: The usual/same as the States mostly. I know you’re surprised, but it’s true.
5.) Young pseudo-Catholics with Guilt rating: Low-Medium Low.
6.) Girls: 8.5/10. While clearly not all girls in Colombia are hot, they are better then their American counterparts and it can be hard not to break your neck walking down the street. You should also know that they hold American girls in very low regards (they think there sluts). This is because their exposure to American women is seeing them in Cancun when the Americans are on Spring Break, but the Colombians on family vacation. Colombian women though, are top notch.
Music/Dancing: You might be intimidated when first going to Colombian parties/clubs because at first you will here normal American club music, then maybe a little Reggaeton, and then Salsa. When the Salsa comes on, you will feel ostracized because everyone there knows how to dance it and have been doing it since they were little. Don’t worry to much. Find a nice attractive girl, make a fool of yourself, and she will teach you to dance while also laughing at you. Don’t be a douche bag, and you’ll be fine. If no one is around you and you trust them (meaning they aren’t with other dudes) you can tell them that you are foreign and they might find that interesting.
7.) Athletics: Soccer crazy. Main teams are Millionarios and Santa Fe (from Bogota) and Nacional (Medellin). Make sure to check out a game, but be really careful. Make sure to go with a local, seriously.
8.)Terrorism: Stay in the cities. You can venture outside the cities if you are with Colombians who know what they are doing (a lot have nice country homes). Things have improved greatly, but the military presence is notable.
Transport: Traffic is awful, but not horrific at night. Cabs are everywhere, pretty cheap, and really easy to order by phone. You can get them easily on the street too, but some people will tell you not to (there are stories of people getting robbed). There is a sweet bus system too (by sweet I mean crazy). None of the buses look the same. Have a local friend go with you on the bus the first time and explain how they work. I was able to master the system pretty well and get around easily after some slight mix ups my first week. But once, again, be careful on the bus.
9.) Kyle Shack lookalikes: Low
10.) Major exports: Flowers, Fruit, Shakira, and some illicits.
Italia
1) Drinking Age – as far as I can tell, if you have the ability to consume liquids, your golden. For wine that is. As a well dressed Italian wine man once told me, you Americans need to learn to drink better, and less.
2) Drugs – If you don’t smoke cigs, get the fuck out of Italy. That is just how they roll, and when in Rome (I had to throw it in once, and this is as good of time as any) you smoke those cancer sticks. One drug I did see, and fairly often was ex. Not really my style, but if your into clubs and discos, I guess it is a must. Mostly you just want to get hammered off cheap wine like the bums.
3) Towns not to miss – There are many but the classics are Rome and Capri, but I’d throw Cinque Terre in there as well. That is actually five towns, but all are worth seeing. Naples is dirty and controlled by the Mafia, so not something highly recommended for general safety.
4) Bars – In Rome the bar scene is not really what you would imagine. While there are some good raging bars (most of which are actually Irish or English pubs) most Italians like to get hammered over a nice meal. Hence the reason restaurants are open till 2 am. I ventured into one underground club. Wild to say the least. So there are many nightlife activities in Rome, and Italy in general, but for the most part Italians get hammered in close company (with friends and family at home or together).
5) Girls – This is simple. Great to look at, impossible to talk to. Italian women apparently are not even that big into Italians, so Americans can fuck off for all they care.
6) Terrorism – If Guidos are terrorists than this place is full of them. If not I am not sure if I ran into an arab my entire stay. That is not true, but the heavily armed police forces of Rome (there are 3, 1 dedicated to anti-terrorism) do a pretty good job of scaring these mad men out of town. When you roll down the streets of Rome in an armored jeep with assault rifles and machine guns its pretty clear you cant fuck around.
7) Kyle Shack lookalikes – actually there are none, they are shot on site.
9) Athletics – All I know is I did none of this while I was there. I can not speak to the athletic ability of Italy or any persons within its country.
10) Exports – Fly clothes, fast cars, fine wines, and even finer women