Reader Stewart says:

I wanted to ask how you started your blog. Did you design it yourself?

I myself am an expat thinking of starting a blog and telling my story on GringosAbroad.com so
any feedback you can offer I appreciate. We moved to Ecuador from USA last year.

gringaColombiana says:

Hi Reader Stewart,

Wow, thanks for your message! How is Ecuador going? I have loved moving abroad and GringosAbroad.com is a fab website, which is doing really well.

I thought I would publish my response as it may help inspire others to start their own blog. After all, if I can do it, so can you!

I didn’t have a clue how to make a blog, all I knew is that I wanted to start one. Luckily, everything is on the web, so you can simply Google everything you want to find out.

Here are some things that got me started with my site, which may help you:

1. Inspiration
Firstly, to understand what a blog actually was, I looked at others for inspiration to get kick started. I recommend you look around at other similar blogs to follow the ones you like.

My personal favourite is www.designmom.com. As you can probably tell, I used a similar style with mine, as I especially loved the clean, simple layout, use of photos etc.

2. Getting started
I stumbled upon this fantastic article, which pretty much covers all the steps through to the end: www.howtostartablog.org.

From this, I decided to host my site via Dreamhost where I paid about £50 for the year’s subscription. The design and layout is thanks to WordPress, and they make it really easy to install and get started on the content. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to use WordPress as they have lots of step-by-step guides and there’s also plenty of info available on YouTube.

3. Pimping up your site
After I had my basic site set up, I wanted to add social media tabs to link my blog to my Tiwtter and Facebook accounts. Again, I needed help as I had no idea how to do this. Luckily, via my Twitter account, I got help from @2createawebsite who gave me the following link: michelleshaeffer.com

4. Knowing your audience
It’s useful to know if anyone (apart from your mum) is actually reading your blog, so I recommend adding Google Analytics to monitor your traffic. It’s a FREE service and you can find the link here.

This was invaluable advice given to me by @uzi_1

Well, that’s it. Now you know everything I do. There’s lots more things you can do with blogs, but I am happy with mine at the moment.

Maybe my readers will get in touch with their experience.

Good luck!

gringaColombiana x

Reader Rob says

1. I was just wondering what the weather’s like in Bogotá? I see that it’s low 70′s which is enough for me to think wearing t-shirts would be fine but I was reading that most people dress for warm weather. How cold does it really get?

2. Also, did you get any vaccinations (such as Typhoid or Yellow Fever) before ariving?

gringaColombiana says

1. The weather at the moment is pretty good as it’s not raining too much. People here wear light jackets or jumpers. If it’s sunny, then T shirts are fine. At night it gets colder as we’re high up in the mountains. I would definitely pack an umbrella and warmer clothing too…when it rains, it pours. My wellies have been a godsend.

Good news is that if you do get caught in the rain, there’s always a street vendor at your rescue selling cheap umbrellas.

2. I didn’t get any special vaccinations before coming here, but only because I was up to date on mine. I do recall having to get Yellow Fever for when I went to Tayrona National Park, but don’t think you need any specifically for the city.

I’m no expert though, so do check with your doctor, or online with sites like netdoctor. (You can click here for the link).

Better to be safe than sorry!

Hope this helps, and if you have any more info, please feel free to add your comment!

Besitos
gringaColombiana x

Reader Angela says

I love spending the afternoon with you, Luz Helena and Daniel in Tabio we had a lovely afternoon together!!!!.

I love your blog! I think it is just amazing how you came from the UK to Colombia and I hope you feel like at home here.

Angela

gringaColombiana says

Thanks Angela, I had a great time too and yes, I do feel at home here in Colombia!

I took lots of great photos…here they are:

Sunny Tabio

(Which one is the gringa?)

Besitos
x

…For getting in touch with me. I get a LOT of spam mail, with ‘people’ trying to sell me naughty things, so LOVE it when genuine readers get in touch with encouraging, helpful or similar stories.

There have been many, but over the weekend, I have selected two to highlight:

Reader Rob says
I happened to stumble upon your blog while searching for jobs in Bogota and I’m glad I did since now I know I’m not the only one really stressing about finding a job and I haven’t even arrived yet. I’m in a not so quite but similar situation as you, worked in education for 5 years here in the U.S. but woke up one day and realized I couldn’t handle the routine of working 8-5 in an office for the next 35 years of my life and among a lot of other stress at the time I just decided to start over and focus on my passion, social work. Anyway, sorry for the long post but if you’re interested in volunteering you could try http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net.

I’ll definitely be following your blog.

Reader Sandy says
I like your lively style of writing – perhaps that is where you next ‘j.o.b’ is going to be… I am a retired writer/photojournalist living in Barichara and I write about my adventures in Colombia as a sort of ex-pat. I’d be a complete ex-pat if I could have a permanent visa, but am settling now for an annual one. Stop on over, or even come to Barichara sometime… and keep on writing!

Thank you both for your kind comments. I love reading them and make sure I get back to everyone.

gringaColombiana
x