Medellín, Colombia

So here I am living in Medellín, Colombia!! I have been here for a month now and feel very comfortable and settled (probably not what you want to hear mum)!! Two decades ago Medellín was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but nowadays the reputation it still retains is definitely undeserved. For a major city it feels relatively safe helped by an obvious security presence everywhere- most buildings have a a security guard / electronic gate and there are lots of police everywhere in the main parts of the city.

The scariest moment i've had was when I was crossing the road during the day and a stocky policeman with a big gun started shouting at me and running over to where I had frozen! I immediately thought I was in deep trouble as I didn't have my passport on me which was in transit to Bogota without me to get my student visa. Instead of searching or shooting me (!) he simply handed me a bit of paper which had a series of words in English like 'cook by power', 'cook by weight' etc on it with the odd one already translated into Spanish. He'd obviously just spotted my English milky white skin and was using me to help him translate what i assume were the controls on his microwave! The people here are definitely the friendliest I have met in any foreign city. They are genuinely happy that you have come to stay in their city and keen to make sure you have a great time and see the sights.

Medellín is known as 'The City of Eternal Spring' – its like a British summers day all year round (well on a good year!!). It does rain every other day but usually just dumps it down for about 20 mins and then normal service is resumed!! The city is surrounded by hills so makes a great backdrop. The metro system is modern and efficient and has branches that allow you to get a cable car into the hills for great views over the city.

The first week was a slow start. The hostel I had based myself in was pretty empty for most of the week. It was owned by this woman called Natalie who was a bit of a control freak and did my head in after a while... telling me off for the smallest of things. It was like being 12 again!! However it was a good clean hostel in the best of locations so an ideal base for me to get my bearings. The area i've been staying in is the 'El Poblado' barrio (neighbourhood). It is viewed as one of best areas in the town and is where the majority of nice bars, restaurants and hotels are. It made me chuckle when I wandered around the area the first evening to find a hooters round the corner from the hostel!!

I spent the days exploring on my own and not doing very much in the evening even though this was party central for most travellers (well there was hardly anyone in the hostel to get to know). I met up with Ana (who I had met on the plane) during the week which was great to see a friendly face and break the solitude of the first few days. Ana is a marketing manager at a major bank here which has a really modern and swanky office in Medellín. She gave me a tour of the building (felt strange to be back in an office!!) before taking me out for dinner... I love the Colombian hospitality !!

I bumbled through my first week with next-to-no Spanish but at the same time checking out Spanish school options (not many of them here). I had some funny moments trying to communicate with locals. The most entertaining has to be when i was looking in a bookshop and an assistant came over. She spoke no English and I only had a few words of Spanish - yet we were very intrigued by each other and 'talked' for 20mins while bursting into laughter for most of it.

I eventually signed up to a Spanish course run at the language school of the local university (called EAFIT). I loved the feel of the large modern campus and the well-structured course....even if it was an expensive learning option by South American standards. I opted for an 'intensive' course which compressed a level into 2 weeks (usually it is a month per level), so I have 4 hours of class each morning followed by homework / self study and an assessment at the end of each level. I paid up for the first level with the intention of achieving level 3 before I leave (6 weeks of lessons).

After the first weeks stay in Medellín I moved next door into a new hostel called Casa Kiwi, which was where I began making new friends again. This is a hostel recommended to me by my friend Ash as one of the best hostels he had stayed in during his recent South American tour. He wasn't wrong - everything was new and something for everyone!!... hammocks, leather sofas, free wi-fi, bar, pool table, cinema room, steaming hot showers, free live music nights !!

Most backpackers only seem to visit the city for 3 days or so. Other than soaking up the nightlife and culture there isn't a huge amount of touristy things to do. There's therefore a regular turnover of different nationalities which made it great to meet lots of people while staying in one place! The hostel is a bit of a party place which didn't mix too well with me getting a good nights sleep and having to leave for uni at 7am each morning...... but it was a welcome contrast from my first quiet week and enjoyed a few boozy nights out.

One early morning I was just about to leave the hostel when I got tapped on the shoulder while talking to a fellow resident. I turned round to see Tim, a chap I had worked with on the same IBM project for the last year!! Small small world! He had also managed to wangle a career break and had pretty much done South America. Was great spending a few nights on the beers with him (including a beer in the local hooters for a laugh – check out the cheesy pic!!), hearing his stories of places I would be going to.

So how is my Spanish learning going? Well i'm enjoying the challenge immensely although I am finding it difficult with four hours of class each day and then an afternoon of homework / self-study. I only have a limited opportunity to try and cement one lesson into my brain before the next class is upon us. I know it is not going to be impossible to crack this challenge so i'm just going to continue putting a lot of effort in.

I passed level 1 after the first 2 weeks with a grade of 99% (a little generous if you ask me !!) which covered the basics fundamentals. I am now halfway through level 2 learning yet more vocabulary including many irregular verbs. Most of the challenge is remembering nouns and verbs as well as how to conjugate them depending who the subject is (I play, he plays, they play etc). Conversationally i'm rubbish which is frustrating as this is this is the area I see as the most important but I know its just about practice, practice, practice.

To immerse myself in Spanish more I moved out of the hostel into a homestay with a Colombian family. I've had some fun sampling the nightlife but now it was time to knuckle down. Its so nice to have my own bedroom again and a chance to unpack my bag. I'm being looked after by a mum, daughter and there are regular visitors for me to practice with including another daughter and 4 year old son who live next door. Only Paola (the daughter) can speak any level of English but we try to get by on as much Spanish as possible. We are often reaching for the Spanish-to-English dictionary which is never far away!! I am being treated like their son and get my breakfast / dinner cooked for me, clothes washed and packed away and they are being so patient when i attempt some sentences and help correct me!! I think I will find it really tough to leave....

Uni life is fun and great to be on a big campus with lots of facilities. I've made some good friends and through our 'conversation partners' have ended up with a good network of native-spanish speaking friends to practise with!! A group of us are doing salsa dancing lessons each Thursday for two hours which is a good laugh.

I'm enjoying just being in one place for a decent stint which is giving me the opportunity to build some good friendships. I think I will miss this when I am back on the road and spending only a few days here and there.