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Medellin: expat families

Hi guys,

I'm about to move to Medellin on a corporate assignment. Does anyone know if there are any clubs or other kind of social places for English-speaking expats to meet with each other and locals, SAFELY (I've read the post on PizzaUp, thanks)? Maybe an international business chamber or something? I'm moving with my wife and kid, and I don't want them to be home-bound while I'm at work. Equally, I don't want to worry all the time about them being kidnapped or something when I'm away.

[My question will probably be best understood by people who are DISTINCTIVELY not local-looking and are at the early stages of studying Spanish.]

Also - anything particular to keep in mind (local customs, safety considerations, etc.)? Please don't refer me to the "Guide" - I've read it, and my question is specifically about Medellin. I'm asking because most people I've subjected to my questioning so far live in Bogota and know nothing about Medellin.

Thanks in advance.

By elgie on Mar 23, 2005, 06:46 in Friendly Talkzone.

utopiacowboy says on Mar 26, 2005, 13:05:

Every time I read your posts, all I can say is "Wow!". There really must be something happening. We haven't been there since last April and we would like to go sometime this summer. Cartagena always seemed to have an expat population but Medellin! To be sure everyone I meet in Medellin will always drag out what English they learned in school but it's never enough for a conversation. When I am there it's Spanish 24-7. After a while I stop thinking in English and find myself unable to even respond to anyone in English. We went to a wedding in Rio Negro last December and the groom was from Montreal and could speak English and French. What language did we converse in? Spanish! It was ludicrous.

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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ColombianoX says on Mar 26, 2005, 15:13:

"My wife says in 25 years of living in Medellin she rarely encountered an English speaker. "

Qué envidia!!

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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dwmte says on Mar 27, 2005, 08:08:

when i first lived in medellin.... in the late 80's, english speaking people in the circles i circulated in were as rare as hen's teeth. they just didn't exist. i can remember feeling a longing to hear the tongue...so much so, that when pablo e. turned himself into his private jail, journalists from all over the world converged on medellin for the occassion. i went to the hotel intercontinental for the day just to hang out and hopefully find a few folks speaking english. i didn't. cest la vie.

well, some many years later, there are many more people speaking english. and i personally feel it is cosmopolitan colombians who have picked up the tongue, rather than zillions of foreigners running around. true, there are many more foreigners now, but still, their numbers are few. i had to get used to speaking spanish exclusively many many years ago. just like you, utopia.

dw

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pablo says on Mar 27, 2005, 14:26:

P29 y UC "Beep! Beep!"

At your service!

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pablo says on Mar 27, 2005, 14:27:

n/t

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