Going to Medellin 2005

paisa29 says on Nov 27, 2004, 08:12:

hi. most of the foreign students in EAFIT are from germany and they are happy, surely it will be a good experience for you.

"Fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" Conrad Hilton

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eafit2005 says on Nov 27, 2004, 11:06:

hi!...I've been in touch with one of them who was from Austria though. He even stayed to write his thesis in Medellin because he liked it so much. Do you know the university?

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ColombiaBoard says on Nov 27, 2004, 15:38:

EAFIT Eafit University is a private university, it´s located in El Poblado area (a posh neighborhood...more or less). It has a large campus with a huge modern library, they have several buildings, one swimming pool, football field, cafeterias, a small theater, lots of parking space.
If you want to live near Eafit search for apartments located in El Poblado or Envigado. There are several apartment buildings across the street from the campus and they usually rent apartments to students but this has to be done once you´re there.

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eafit2005 says on Nov 27, 2004, 17:30:

at ColombiaBoard, thanks for the info. Doesn't sound too bad...a swimming pool on campus ;-)...as long as people aren't too posh I guess I'll have a great time! Anyways, I'll sure post about my impressions on Colombia once I'm there. I just fear I could like it as much as some of the people here on this forum. I've been to Mexiko City for half a year doing an internship & I already had a great time over there & difficulties leaving...!

"Wer heute immer das tut, was er gestern schon getan hat, der bleibt morgen, was er heute schon ist..."

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paisa29 says on Nov 28, 2004, 06:18:

yes, I do
if you need more information, feel free to ask me.

"Fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" Conrad Hilton

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eafit2005 says on Nov 28, 2004, 08:44:

at paisa29 thanks, actually maybe you can help me with some info about accomodation in medellin. A woman from the international relations office at eafit offered me to help me get a room in el poblado that is close to the university. At the same time, however, I could get a room for free in copacabana. Apart from studying at eafit I`ll help in a street children project called patio13, so the professor running this project offered me to stay with a family he knows in copacabana. As I understand, copa is not really close to eafit & especially when wanting to go out at the weekend this could be a problem. As I've never been to either of these two locations, maybe you can describe them a little or recommend me sth.?

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paisa29 says on Nov 28, 2004, 15:38:

Copacabana is too far from EAFIT, in the opposite sides,EAFIT is in the south and Copacabana in the north, you could take more than 1 hour every day.

"Fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" Conrad Hilton

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dwmte says on Nov 29, 2004, 17:09:

THE OTHER EAFIT I'M A GRINGO WHO LIVED 4 1/2 YEARS IN AND AROUND MEDELLIN...THE LAST TWO IN LLANO GRANDE. THE FIRST TWO AND A HALF IN POBLADO. MY WIFE AND I HAVE A HOUSE IN ENVIGADO BUT ARE CURRENTLY LIVING BACK IN FLORIDA...MY LAST STAY ENDED WITH A GUN TO MY HEAD SO WE DECIDED TO TAKE A BREAK!!

I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE MEDELLIN CAMPUS, BUT I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE LLANO GRANDE CAMPUS. IT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I KNOW OF IN COLOMBIA....THAT IS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW COLOMBIA. IF YOU ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN GETTING LAID, HANGING OUT, AND PARTYING, YOU ARE BETTER OFF IN MEDELLIN. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU WANT TO MEET REAL COLOMBIANS...NOT THE COLONIZED VERSIONS...YOU'LL LOVE LLANO GRANDE.

IT'S ABOUT 45 MINUTES FROM MEDELLIN TOWARD THE AIRPORT JUST OUTSIDE OF RIO NEGRO. ACTUALLY BETWEEN EL RETIRO AND RIO NEGRO, TAKING THE DON DIEGO TURN OFF.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK IT OUT BEFORE ENROLLING IN EITHER. PLUS YOUR LIVING EXPENSES WILL BE MUCH LESS AND I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO RELIABLE FOLKS IN THE 'NEARBY'.

I OWNED A BAR, 'FLOT' ABOUT TWO MILES TOWARDS DON DIEGO FROM THE CAMPUS AND WAS ONCE ASKED TO TEACH THERE. I WAS TO BUSY AND WASN'T INTERESTED.

LET ME KNOW IF I CAN BE OF HELP TO YOU, BOTH FOR UNDERSTANDING MEDELLIN AND IT'S SURROUNDS AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE LLANO GRANDE AREA. IT'S THE BEST I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY COLOMBIA YEARS.

E ME AT: DWMTE at BELLSOUTH.NET IF YOU CHOOSE. WE'LL BE MOVING BACK TO COLOMBIA IN ABOUT A YEAR.

ALL THE BEST,

D W MARTIN, THE ELDER

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FrankLeal says on Nov 29, 2004, 18:41:

Proud to find someone interested in Eafit Hi!
I'm from Bucaramanga - Colombia and I lived in Medellín 1 and half year while I studied Finances at Eafit. Eafit is a great university with a wonderful campus, and as D.W. Martin said, LlanoGrande is also wonderful, the landscapes overthere are amazing, I used to have classes on Friday nights and Saturday mornings there, the only problem is that it is quite far from Medellín and the road from Medellín to Llanogrande is not safe if you take it at night. I guess your classes are going to be in Medellín, but anyway you must visit one day Llanogrande. By the way what are you planning to study in Eafit? One more thing to say, besides being one of the best private universities in Colombia specially in what concerns business administration (actually they're going to start the first PhD in business administration in Colombia), Eafit is the place with more pretty girls per square meter (or per square foot), you'll see that :-)

Francisco

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ColombiaBoard says on Nov 29, 2004, 19:30:

Ein Paar Dinge Copacabana is too far away from Eafit, so, no, I wouldn´t recommend that you live there, it´s on the opposite end of the valley. You´d have to take the metro to the last station and then take a bus.
Tell the lady at Eafit if she can help you find an apartment in Conquistadores or Laureles, they`re both good areas (in my opinion, better than El Poblado for a few reasons) and the rental prices and utilities are lower, once you get there you´ll understand the term "estrato", the neighborhoods are classified according to their "class" level, so the higher the class the higher the rental prices, the utilities (water, electricity,etc.) and everything else.
If you need more info please email me at colombia at saexplorers.org
Ich kann auch Deutsch. Bis bald.

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mark says on Nov 30, 2004, 00:18:

I hope you look hispanic What are your plans for security?

http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/observatorio/modules.php?name=informacion&file=article&sid=194

here's a web site with statistics on the civil war over there.

cheers..

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dwmte says on Nov 30, 2004, 03:22:

FRANCISCO...EAFIT it was nice to hear from someone who is remotely familiar with llano grande; as well the eafit campus there.

as far as safety, personally, since i go back to 1989 in medellin, and know every barrio near and far, i would trust the area in the mountains way over any area in medellin...as far as safety is concerned. whether its poblado or nikitao, belen or laureles, itagui or bello, etc. give me llano grande.

i have walked/driven those roads at night and during the day and have never had problems. true, i have a long, well developed knowledge of what/where/who is safe and what/where/who is not, but in my long years in the metropolitan area, i saw people murdered right in front of me, witnessed bombings, robberies and ssequestros. on the contrary, with the exception of a crazy landlord, i never had a problem in llano grande.

i should point out to anyone who's visiting the area, there are several areas to avoid. first and formost is la ceja...very dangerous, and maranilla, also dangerous if you're not with someone who is well familiar with the area. however, maranilla is a fun place and one can enjoy themselves there. unfortunately, the armed factions (of all flavors) also enjoy the area. then there's san antonio...it's really great, especially on saturday nights. but i would recommend good company for starters. and the best, is gualanday it's just the best.

as i said, we have a home in of all places, envigado, and when we return, we'll stay there a while, but few places are more boring to me than envigado--a lotta mafiosi wannabes--i'd rather be in sabaneta than envigado. but ultimately, i believe we'll retire back up in los llanos, or there abouts.

are you colombian? what area do you live in.

thanks for your input and thoughts,

douglas martin

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litost says on Nov 30, 2004, 05:27:

Mark,

What's your problem man... "I hope you look hispanic". Get real! This guy going to Medellin has surely investigated about security in Colombia, and we are all more than happy to help him out. Don't think you know more than all of us just because you read websites and statistics on the conflict (which is not at all a CIVIL war by the way). Have you been to Medellin??? To Colombia???

If you don't have anything useful to say, do us a favor and go try scaring someone else with those tabloid phrases.

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FrankLeal says on Nov 30, 2004, 07:42:

Hi Douglas! Well I am from Bucaramanga, I lived in Medellín in 2000 and 2001 and now I'm back in my city, do you know Santander?
Maybe I'll go this June during some days to Medellín, just to visit some friends over there and have a good time. I would like to know Jardín, because when I was in Medallo I never went to that beautiful town. If you want write me you can do it at franklealt at yahoo.com.ar
See you, bye!

Francisco

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 30, 2004, 07:48:

Why do you say La Ceja is dangerous, Douglas? My brother-in-law's family has a finca outside of town. We went out there one Sunday and it seemed to be a lovely place. Because of the paramilitares that are headquartered there?

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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dwmte says on Nov 30, 2004, 09:24:

la ceja hi, utopia,

la ceja is nice. only problem is castano hangs out there with some his not so nice pals. the worst slaughter i was privy to was there while i had my bar in llano grande. some of the paras drug out twelve young boys from a school and shot them in front of the class and the teacher because their parents (campesinos) were alledgedly sympathetic to the various armed groups. i avoided the place after that. never was too taken by the place anyway. lots of places more cool/casual/etc. i think castano has a home there. ??

with el retiro next door, marinilla not far away, san antonio close by and llano grande around the corner, why go to la ceja?

peace, brother,

douglas

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 30, 2004, 11:52:

I don't think Sr. Castano is hanging out anywhere these days. Some people think he is lying low but I think his pals did him in. The only reason I went there was because of la familia de mi cunado. The paramilitares are bad news all right but at least they leave the gringoes alone.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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eafit2005 says on Nov 30, 2004, 15:19:

This forum is really a great help. I didn't expect that many people to be familiar with Medellin & the surroundings. Studying at llanogrande also seems interesting, but the stay at eafit is already fixed as the visa is being processed.
Anyways, people from their Int. Relations office with whom I've been in contact with are more than friendly. Really, when you're used to a more formal, distanced way of dealing with people you don't know it really suprises you...

ColombiaBoard, schön das sich hier auch Deutsche bzw. deutsch sprechende auf dem Board tummeln. Ich schick dir ne E-Mail ;-)

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eafit2005 says on Nov 30, 2004, 15:33:

Francisco, almost forgot your question... Actually I'm currently studying Business Administration in Germany. But at eafit I decided to go for some subjects which are not really covered in a classical mba program. That is entrepreneurship, int. relations&diplomacy and Business Mngmt. Game. Good to hear that you liked it there!

As to marks comment...sadly I look rather not hispanic. Hope that`s not gonna make my stay a lot more dangerous. Anyways, can you move around more or less save in the city centre during the day? I'll be staying in an area called "El Hueco" at times (only during the day) so if anybody knows this shopping district, please let me know how security is for gringo looking guys walking around there ;-)

My E-Mail: Chris_St81 at hotmail.com

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mark says on Nov 30, 2004, 21:38:

hety litost.. chill out Just goofin..

and yes i've been to colombia about 5 times, la ceja, envigado, rio negro, el retiro to name a few.. & Medellin. Bogota in a few days..

but lets be realistic.. if he don't look hispanic he'll stick out like a sore thumb, if he gets pulled over at a road block by the FARC, he'll have a hard time blending in.

and yes colombia is a very lively place, every time I go i get an adreline rush, colombia keeps me alert , kinda like a double sided sword .

But it saddens me to hear when they kidnapp foreigners and residents, 18000 FARC members do a great deal of harm to colombia it's reality.. they recently killed a child and were still trying to get money for her.. very sad.. (thats not media hype.. simply factual)

sometimes its necessary to accept the reality, last sunday another bomb in bogota.. dude i'm being real here.. not hating Colombia.. I love it there..

But at the same time I would not recommend a non-native lookin friend to accompany me.

and yes Colombia is no walk in the park , but when i read naive statements from these people it appears that they have not done their homework.

a little humor with reality is part of life..

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mark says on Nov 30, 2004, 21:43:

hey utopiacowboy is there a waterfall near La Ceja?? I think I saw it when i was driving past La Ceja?

I keep forgetting to check it out.

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eos-poor says on Dec 3, 2004, 22:08:

Just enjoy your stay at Medellin! Maybe the person at Eafit is able to contact you with other foreign students so they'd share their experiences at Medellin with you. As far as I am concerned, they will be mostly positives. So, don't swear and I think you will enjoy your stay here.
To Mark: Yes, there is a waterfall near La Ceja. It is named "Tequendamita".
eos31415-poor at yahoo.com

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dwmte says on Dec 3, 2004, 22:11:

mark....waterfall the only real nifty water fall i'm familiar with in the area is about a mile + or - from the la ceja turn off at don diego. it's up around the bend on the llano grande road, about 500 yards past la trucha. i used to have a bar called 'FLOT' right across the street. it's easy to miss the bar, as it sets down on the property.

i've been swimming in that waterfall many a time...it's ice cold. can only jump in and out. it's not like a hang out swim. the water fall must be near 100' tall.

lived there 2 + years and got to know the area real well. too, i wasn't new to colombia. my previous years had been spent in el poblado in medellin. llano grande is much more colombian than poblado. it's an introduction to what colombia's really about. in a real nice setting. the main 'hang-out' is gualanday, further down the road about five miles towards rio negro. it's just before you get to 'tutucan' a confama 'theme park'. it's a very artsy place with painters, writers, sculptors and the like. lots of real well educated folks, but rural folks, and hang-out prone. when several of us would decide it was party time, it would begin on friday and last easily til monday, often moving from one finca to another and occassionally from one estadero to another. GOD, i love it there.

we (my family) will be moving back--GOD willing--in about a year, putting my wife closer to her family and all of us back in the colombia we love so much.

i've always recommended medellin visitors and even dwellers get to know the area...and then get to know it better. it's the best. and as far as rural colombia gets, it's the safest, and it's the REAL thing. granted, there are areas where the armed groups are in residence, but once you get your colombian ships legs and know how to conduct yourself, useing your common sense and not being foolish; you're in. anything less, can get you dead. remember that. colombia is a panorama of surprises, and it serves one's health well to alwayse be alert and conduct oneself wisely.

good travels,

dw

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