Important message for non-Spanish speakers visiting Colombia...............

Crazy Eagle says on Aug 10, 2005, 15:35:

which town you were in? well?

"Let there be spaces in your togetherness" Kahil Gibran

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

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toneloc24 says on Aug 10, 2005, 16:10:

LOL!!!! In ANY Colombian town. Doesn't matter which town.

The national language there is Spanish. Colombians are very nice people, very pleasant, but work with them. Learn their language, or at least try. They will be patient for the most part. After a while, they get frustrated too, as would anyone.

In general, I just don't get how people can come away frustrated by a language barrier when YOU KNEW going in that Spanish is the national language!!! High expectations.

Don't be lazy. Just do your part. Learn the language. Learn to communicate. Learn the local customs to some degree. Even bring your translation books with you. It's so much fun once you learn the language, esp. if you're just on vacation. You lose out on so much when you don't speak Spanish in Colombia, and no one else to blame but yourself.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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platano says on Aug 10, 2005, 16:24:

You are correct... Colombians are very nice But sometimes you will come across people who will not speak to you directly. Several times I had the experience of meeting someone who would involve a third party to speak to me: "ask him if he likes mondongo..." instead of asking me. This mostly happened when I was learning Spanish and I did have (still have) an accent... but even when I thought I had a pretty good command this would happen.

I remember more than once asking the person who was not talking to me: "¿Habla Ud. español?" (it's pretty hard to butcher that). When they answered "sí" I replied "yo también, me puedes preguntar a mi lo que quieres saber". They would... but with a pained look on the face when listening to my answer. Must have been painful listening to Spanish that didn't sound exactly like theirs. Fortunately most people did not seem to mind...

Plátano, el banano verde
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

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aztec says on Aug 10, 2005, 16:41:

Crazy Eagle The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

Apparently we have an intellectual among us.

Just kidding! Everyone should be familiar with Gibran's writings. Deep, you need to read over and over to get the real impact.

Have his work next to my bed. Must readings.

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platano says on Aug 10, 2005, 16:52:

Aztec, if Colombian parents read Kahlil Gibran a lot of grief... could be spared. The Prophet" Kahlil Gibran, wrote about children: "Your children are not your children, they are the life's longing for itself". He also wrote, "Your children come through you, not from you". Too many Colombian parents think they own their children and try to make them be what they are not... instead of letting them be the souls they are, not what the parents feel they should be. This is especially tragic when a child is homosexual and there is not acceptance and loving support of that child.

Plátano, el banano verde
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 10, 2005, 17:06:

Good post, Andy. Whenever I suggest the same thing, people are always going on about how many bilingual people there are in Colombia and how many people speak English....I never seem to run into any of them.

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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Colombiche says on Aug 10, 2005, 17:17:

Colombia is a Spanish Speaking country ... and since you are in a purely Spanish speaking country then you should learn the language. When I came to Canada, I had to learn English so I could communicate with the people, I didn't expect the people to learn Spanish so that they could communicate with me.

Go ahead. As funny as it sounds, there are other languages in the world besides English. There is a world out there beyond the confines of North America. Very beautiful world I might add. In that world, people speak other languages.

Americans expect everybody to learn English when people step into their turf. Now you are on our turf, your turn to learn.

Buena suerte amigo!

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Colombiche says on Aug 10, 2005, 17:20:

Utopia You are like the most vocal person on this forum about Colombian people not wanting to learn English in the States.

What is so good about this post? I think it is ridiculous. If you think Latinos in the States ought to learn English, then let the same rule apply to Americans in Latin America.

Que quieren, lo ancho para ustedes y lo angosto para los demas? Vea pues que tan acomodaditos los muchachos. Como que avispados, o que?

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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platano says on Aug 10, 2005, 17:51:

Colombiche, you say... When I came to Canada, I had to learn English

I always imagined you went to a bilingual international school in Colombia and arrived in Canada with a good grasp of English.

Plátano

plátano

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Colombiche says on Aug 10, 2005, 17:58:

I did have a grasp I didn't attend a bilingual school, but we had compulsory English classes back in the school that I attended.
When I arrived I could say things like "What is your name, my name is --", "What time is it?" etc. I could also conjugate some basic verbs, read simple books and pick up 30% of a slow conversation in clear English.

Platano -- why did you imagine that I attended a bilingual school in Colombia? I never claimed to have done that.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Gomezman5 says on Aug 10, 2005, 18:07:

I see Andy's point Look, the Spanish speaking countries that a lot of tourism, especially tourism from the US, are going to have the most English. Colombia, with the exception of Cartagena because the ships go there, has next to no tourism from the US. On the other end are place like Cancun, Acapulco, and Puerto Vallarta Mexcio. If you went to these countries, as long as you stayed in the huge touristst zones, you would have to look hard to try and find someone that does NOT speak English. Even the police on the street know English. On the other hand, if you go to Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, and on a short trek from Vallarta because they are both in the state of Jalisco, you will only find the receptionists in the finer hotels or employees in the better restaurants speaking English.

Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and a good part of Costa Rica also has a lot of English speaking people.

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platano says on Aug 10, 2005, 18:38:

I imagined that... you never claimed it... I imagined it because Your English is so good! You are another example of the superiority of Colombian schools. I know USA high school students who had three years of Spanish and can barely say "hola" (and they write it "ola")

:-)

plátano

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:08:

Give me a break, Platano. My Colombian stepkids went to private school in Colombia and had taken English classes for years. When they arrived they could not speak a word, literally, NOT a word! I saw absolutely no evidence that they knew any English and I asked my wife what gives? I thought they had taken English for years. She said, yeah but they just learn grammar and they are not taught by teachers who can speak English themselves. My daughter took Spanish here for 6 years. She received 10 credits of advanced placement credit at Texas Tech in Spanish and her Spanish is outstanding. So much for "Hola".

And Colombiche, Andy was agreeing with you in his post. Colombia is a Spanish-speaking country and if you don't know Spanish, you've got no business being there. He was not suggesting that anyone there learn English - hell, I have no expectations of speaking anything but Spanish when I am there. No problema!

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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Gomezman5 says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:14:

UTC Whatever happened to your taxi driver chauffeur....what's his name???Didn't he help you when your wife was elsewhere and you and (what's his name) were riding all over Medellin Didn't he help you in some of the tranlations?

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:20:

My taxi driver, Pablo, is a purely imaginary character. I imagine that he will return when I need him but he's on vacation right now. I don't go anywhere in Colombia without my wife or one of her siblings. Actually she's the only person I can understand 100% of the time but her sisters are fairly close behind her. The brothers and brothers-in-law I have a harder time understanding. In any event no one translates anything - they just speak rapid-fire Spanish and expect me to follow along.

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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Colombiche says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:23:

Thanks Platano I remember that as soon as I hit the 4th grade, English became a compulsory subject. It is hard for me to say now whether my English teachers were actually fluent in English or not, because back then I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Anybody that knew more English than me seemed amazingly fluent. I do know that I had a very basic grasp of the language, enough to put me a little bit ahead of the other recent latin american arrivals in my ESL class. I was quite young at the time (10 years old), so I basically learned English by osmosis. Just listening to people talking and watching television. I remember one day six months later, I realized I could speak (albeit with accent) and understand everything that was said. I imagine this is the case for any child that has to pick up a language at the age of 10, I was no prodigy child.

Where I did see a big difference was in terms of academic standing. When I left colombia, I had finished the sixth grade. Here in Canada I had to take subjects like history, geography and mathematics in a mainstream sixth grade class. I was way ahead of the other kids in the class, especially when it came to history and geography. My command of the written English language was also above average, but that could very well be because I was always a very language oriented person. I am not gloating, I am just relating how things were for me. I remember in Colombia we had been learning basic algebraic equations in the sixth grade. Here in Canada, the children were learning how to do division. I couldn't believe it, because I always imagined that a technologically advanced society like Canada would have been way ahead of Colombia in terms of its educational system, but I can attest to the fact that it certainly wasn't the case for me.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Gomezman5 says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:23:

Ahhhh Pablo..yes! And I knew he was imaginary... You made up some comical situations. Look, from the stories that wrote last fall/winter, I would have had to have been out of my mind if I were to have thought that this guy actually existed.

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Colombiche says on Aug 10, 2005, 19:29:

On a side note Many people that think they speak English in Colombia, find out that is not case once they step on North American soil.

My aunt and uncle immigrated to Canada a few years before my family. On the way to Canada, my uncle was very confident that my aunt's English (she claimed to be fluent) was going to make life much easier for them at the American airports.

I once asked my uncle if her English was useful at the airport and he said "Yeah, if was useful up to the Bogota airport, from there on, nothing".

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

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Inlovewithacolombian says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:02:

Regarding Side Note It really is awful being ignorant. I thought that maybe the schools within Colombia would offer some sort of education in English or that maybe someone might be able to speak the language. But, you all are right. No one speaks English, it isn't their language. My problem is that I am taking a trip there soon and I have a grasp on the language but I do not think it is enough. I have been trying my best to learn it because I will be meeting my fiance's mother who happens to live in Bogota. I want to make a good impression but am scared because maybe she will be frustrated with me and my-lack-there-of in the language itself. Any tips on how to avoid too-many communication barriers? It would have been great if I were still young again and I could learn the language quicker like a ten-year old, but I'm not. And I know I'll be faced with rapid Spanish speakers...I already have faced it with half of my fiance's family but they were a little more helpful because they live in the states. Got any tips?

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:12:

Yeah. Pablo, my taxi driver, always advises me to smile a lot and say "Mucho gusto".

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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Rubiazo says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:15:

Spanish HAS to be the easiest fucking language on the planet to pick up. And immersion is the best way. ANYBODY can learn another language if they are immersed in it; why, because they have no damn choice- it's either learn or die :))

Just think as hard as it is for you it's many times harder for a Spanish speaker to learn English, especially the messed up way it is spoken in Canada and the US.

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platano says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:15:

UTC, I think I have the answer on the education thing... My example comes from students who studied 3 years in a place where no one speaks Spanish outside Spanish class.

Your example (your daughter) studied for 6 years and I'm guessing there were people to practice with in Texas.

My condolences for Texas Tech though. Lubbock was not my favorite place. I interviewed there and West Texas was not the most inspiring... almost died from harsh weather....flash floods....lightning.... airport closed... flights cancelled...etc. Thought I'd never get out of there alive.

But I guess some people love it there.

Plátano, el banano verde
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

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Diez Y Siete says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:18:

jeje IM staying with my boyfriends family for christmas and they cant speak ANY english! he can fulently speak english though, my spanish is aweful and i have taken 4 years in school. i mean i can ask things and go about a normal conversation but verbs kill me with all the diffrent endings and conjugating. And as everyone has said yes it is mandatory for tehm to take english but when my boyfriend first came here last year(he was an exchange student) he could barely talk and he had taken like 8 or 9 years of "english" classes.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 10, 2005, 21:26:

Tienes razon, Platano.

I love Lubbock and West Texas. It's just you and the horizon. No damm trees to block the vew.

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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Miguel says on Aug 10, 2005, 22:42:

Interesting Comments In This Thread Like Brother Tone offered, make the effort, learn the language, and see how much richer your experience in Colombia will be. I was VERY THANKFUL I had put in the effort, when on the last trip I had to explain to DAS why my newly-issued passport showed no record of an official entry into Colombia.

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Sylvie says on Aug 10, 2005, 22:59:

I found quite a few people to be biligual in Bogota. Cali and Cartagena there are a tiny few that I met that were bilingual so I had a harder time communicating with them. BUt I find that If you give Colombians a big smile they force themselves to understand you.... its like that in Venezuela too.

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Diez Y Siete says on Aug 10, 2005, 23:35:

lol *insert big smile*

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JustinCredible says on Aug 11, 2005, 05:36:

Spanish takes practice
Learning Spanish in the UK or US is a bit like swimming against the tide. When I tried learning, I found myself wondering "How on earth I am going to learn this language with so much English in my face??" Every time I learnt a new Spanish word, I'd forgotten it by the next week as it was replaced by the latest English buzz word. (like "blinging")

It was only when I went to Colombia for the first time that Spanish really slap me in the face. (Especially as I was told that everybody in Colombia can speak English! Why I believed that I will never know) However, it was there where I could actually practice Spanish...all the time. It is a shame that every time I'm on the verge of getting the hang of Spanish, it is time to go home again!! (In where everything I know about Spanish gets locked away somewhere deep in my brain, never to be used again!!)

J

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mrxcol says on Aug 11, 2005, 06:26:

Spanish is hard for most of the people who don't speak a romance language. As you may already know, we conjugate verbs in a different way for each person, each gender, each number, depending on the kind of verb (regular and not regular as well as depending of the verb's termination). In Colombia, there are so many local variations of spanish, so many accents, that learning a very good spanish is not an easy task.

If that wasn't enough, we change everyone of this wordas when conjugating past and future. (let's not speak about conditional and other spanish only variations of present).

Is simmilar to learning french. But, for english speakers, harder. Spanish is "pronounced-as-written". french and english aren't.

Instead, english is very much easier.
Future ? - will
Past ? - did / 'ed termination
present ? - add an 's' to 3er person
gender ? - none
number ? - add an 's'

When i was learning japanese i remember i consolate myself by thinking about some japanese student breaking their heads thinking trying to learn spanish in Tokyo.

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Lostgringo says on Aug 11, 2005, 06:48:

Rubiazo You can certainly swear in English...but it that good English?

Your Home Away from Home www.welovebogota.com and www.apartmentinbogota.com "Luxury apartments and rooms Cheap" Only 2 blocks from the American Embassy! 24/7 hour security.

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Rubiazo says on Aug 11, 2005, 07:44:

Good English is mostly spoken overseas, Franko :)) Like I said before, the WHOLE western hemisphere has a big problem with languages. Expletives are not grammatically fucking incorrect, however. :)

English has a LOT more local variation than Spanish does. Hell, there are different accents for different NEIGHBORHOOS in the Bronx and Brooklyn. (Bugs Bunny was from Canarsie BTW, and 80's porn star Keli Richards is from Morris Park, Bronx.) I had a hard time understanding a lot of the English when I got here, even moreso than the Spanish!

Spanish verbs are more complicated than in English, and they have a subjunctive, which is a difficult concept to comprehend if you've never heard of it before. Of course a lot of western hemisphere Spanish speakers fail to use the subjunctive correctly so if you fuck it up or ignore it you'll blend right in :))

But if you think Spanish grammar is a mess, try Italian. For example, they have FOUR different past tenses (not including the imperfect subjunctive).

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caslug says on Aug 11, 2005, 08:26:

i been in col going on 3 weeks now.. in medellin and now cali. As Andy-NY can attest, my spanish is not the best, but i get buy and get my point across. for difficult words i just tell my friends to escribeme porfavor, then i look up the word i dont know in the dictionary. I ALWAYS carry a notepad and dictionary with me. Spanish is a VERY easy langauge to learn on a basic level. I still have problem pronounication the words, but that about it, my vocabulary is growing.

I have not meet many COL that know english well, COLBOARD knows it almost native and Paisa29 is VERY GOOD, but the rest of the ones i ve met, their english is non existants. Which is great because it forces me to practice. The only english i hear in COL is when i met OTHER americans or europeans, which is ALOT in Medellin. I ran into a fellow california while waiting in Poblado Metro station, turn out he ALSO went to me College, what a small word.

BUT if you want to be a tourist, you can have minimal spanish, a good phrase book, and friendly attitude and you ll be fine. Granted, you wont be making to many friends. this is my third trip to COL, my first trip my spanish was like Andy(even less) and i had difficulty making new friends, but as you can gather from my post about Medellin, i had a very easy time this trip. The improvement wasnt because i became better looking! LOL! It was because my spanish improved to a point i could hold a basic conversation..

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 11, 2005, 08:32:

I know how you feel, caslug. Now I can actually have a normal telephone conversation with members of my wife's family and at times, it's almost like talking English with them. You are the man, dude!

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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lpdiver says on Aug 11, 2005, 08:55:

Spanish in Colombia... Is easy. I asked my now wife for change for 20,000 pesos and now we are married with children. Liberal applications of cervesa tremendously improves my spanish, from where I sit anyway.

If venturing out alone I ALWAYS have paper and pen as I can read a whole lot more Spanish that understand from a native speaker. I also carry a small electronic translator and small dictionary. I can alway communicate if given sufficient time.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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CaryGrant says on Aug 11, 2005, 09:11:

So, Lp, you asked for change... ...and she accepted your proposal? :-)

I went to Cali with Spanish learned from Pimsleur's 8-CD introductory Spanish course, and did fine. Of course, there is a risk that I could have found myself in a situation where I was unable to explain myself, and suffered as a result. This is a risk of traveling to *any* foreign culture.

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CaryGrant says on Aug 11, 2005, 09:17:

quinceanera For complex conversations with inlaws, I found my laptop with PROMT translation software ($USD 50) to be invaluable. You can type words, sentences - pages, if you want. I used it to talk to my future mother-in-law and other family members, and it was very helpful for them and me. Also takes the pressure off your fiance to translate everything. It's not perfect, of course, but it generally gets the gist across.

Much of the time, I knew what the person meant after I read what they had written in Spanish - I find it easier to understand written Spanish than spoken.

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mrxcol says on Aug 11, 2005, 09:29:

Rubiazo Yes english has lots of variations too. For me, the hardest to listen is australian next to some variations of old texas english i heard once at a Disney show. What a shit ! i couldn't understand 19 words of 20 !

Actually, upon finishing my french learning i'm about to start latin. One priest told me it's terrific and very hard to learn. But has unique concepts. Why learn an old language ? as mother of many languages should be awesome to know it. Every language is unique and has many unique ways of telling something you can't in other language.

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Miguel says on Aug 11, 2005, 10:16:

The Hardest Language? Is the one you are trying to learn! I received many "cumpledos" on the last trip to Barranquilla for my much improved Spanish. I also noticed that when it was time to gossip about me, the conversation moved to another room. Personally, I still don't think much of my Spanish ability, but what has changed is that I concentrate harder on LISTENING, and that enables me to respond more accurately. I am getting more comfortable with the the conditional, the imperfect,, etc;

I have talked with the moderators about starting a new zone here on PBH that would allow us gringos to pose questions about Spanish, and our Colombian members to do likewise with English. Comments?

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elmodefoque says on Aug 11, 2005, 10:35:

Miguel, that sounds like a splendid idea, I always wanted the correct English translation, for “mi amor, te prometo que solo voy a enterrate la cabeza y lo saco enseguida.

ASK NOT WHAT THE PUSSY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THAT PUSSY!!!!!!!!!! CAT LOVER

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CaryGrant says on Aug 11, 2005, 10:41:

Miguel A translation zone: I like it.

And pretty funny about the gossipers moving to another room. I am trying to learn a lot more Spanish before my next visit, but am tempted to still act like I understand very little. Then I'll find out what my suegra *really* thinks of me. :-))

Another helpful zone would be an international visa zone, where the non-US citizens could post questions. I notice the UK, Canadian, etc. stuff gets lost among the fiance visa/green card/RFE/etc. inquiries.

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DCShoeCo says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:15:

I dunno, I meet people who speak English here in Colombia all the time, usually these people suss out that I´m a gringo and are eager to speak English with me.

However it is next to impossible to get around without Spanish. Costa Rica on the other hand, you just didn´t need it.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:38:

Yeah and I've always wanted a good translation for "blow job" and don't tell me sexo oral.

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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elmodefoque says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:39:

uc, you ask your lady friend, 'mami, chupame la verga, please!

ASK NOT WHAT THE PUSSY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THAT PUSSY!!!!!!!!!! CAT LOVER

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:44:

There isn't anything like "hummer"? Or BJ? Or "head"? Or "going down"?

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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kernow62 says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:49:

Without a doubt the clearest English is spoken by Geordies.

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elmodefoque says on Aug 11, 2005, 11:52:

the exact translation would be soplame , which means, blow me. that might work.

ASK NOT WHAT THE PUSSY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THAT PUSSY!!!!!!!!!! CAT LOVER

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YANI-34 says on Aug 12, 2005, 12:05:

as usual........ As usual, off topic again.

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ws244 says on Aug 12, 2005, 12:30:

spanish Well the bright side of not speaking spanish is i do not have arguements with my girlfriend, so i am happy to trade 20 disadvantages of not speaking spanish for this one alone. After all it is my attached head one is speaking of..

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ryanmaudi says on Aug 12, 2005, 14:39:

bilingual in bogota wow I lived in Bogota for about 16 months and ALWAYS found someone that spoke english either at the store, movies, mall. People are more willing to help out. They love foreigners. FYI: There is a church for english speakers. Basically everyone was expats so it was so nice to know I was not alone. Alot of Dutch and Brits there.

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Lucia Rojas says on Aug 12, 2005, 14:53:

Andy How`s everything? have you had a good time? I`m in Bogota now... so do call me if you have any problems...

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poco says on Aug 12, 2005, 16:07:

Cambio instead of letting them be the souls they are, not what the parents feel they should be. This is especially tragic when a child is homosexual and there is not acceptance and loving support of that child.

This makes me wonder about your “experience”. You seem so out of “wack” with reality in Colombia it makes me think you have a yet another personal agenda and not a Colombian view held by the majority.

NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE what a person is, especially their mother. My personal experience with a 16 year old:
He was given responsibilities, one of which was cleaning the kitchen and washing and drying dishes one meal a day. He did NOT seem very unhappy. However, after finishing dinner one day, he mentioned boys DO NOT WASH DISHES or WORK in the kitchen. I said they wash them in the United States and this goes for Colombia. Obviously I didn’t have a clue, he said this could cause a person to become GAY. I thought this a joke,, no,, his mother agreed. NOW THE BAD part,, being GAY wasn’t the MAIN problem. Gay males worked for HALF the price of female domestics and female domestics receive LOW pay.

Not wanting to be responsible for any of his predilections, the kitchen responsibilities were replaced with more yard work. Little do they know that he is now destined to become a Straight Mexican Gardener.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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terco panzone says on Aug 13, 2005, 16:58:

Can any of you guys tell me ... why spanish speakers cannot seem to deal well with accents, for the most part. With english, everyone that uses it has an accent of one kind or another, different parts of the US, or other countries, or people for whom it is a second language. Unless they just don't know how to speak at all, we usually understand what they are saying. Sometimes it is even an advantage to speak differently as it kinda makes you stand out with the ladies. But my experience in colombia is that if you don't pronounce it almost exactly the way every one else does, they just give you the "what the hell did you say?" look. Even when I had a mexican girlfriend and took her to Puerto Rico, there was a problem with the different accents for her. I can say something to someone here in colombia that sounds right to me, but they don't get it. I ask my carino if I said it wrong and she says no, she doesn't know why they didn't get it. A couple of time she has even interupted when this was going on and told the person basicly what I said over again and asked them "why don't you understand, he said it correctly." To which they only shake their head.

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