Medellin info for a newbie

utopiacowboy says on Mar 23, 2006, 22:20:

I don't think I would use "La Virgen de los Sicarios" as a guide to contemporary Medellin daily life. Trust me on this.

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_Clavo says on Mar 24, 2006, 00:34:

Read "Rosario Tijeras" or see the movie... it will give you some recent history (1990's) of Medellin, but you may not like it....

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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cgs242 says on Mar 24, 2006, 03:48:

have I just spent some time in Medellin and have spent some time in Cali too.

how much traveling have you done in latin america ?

staying low key and very respectful of other people's culture and customs is always a good idea.

the second you open your mouth, the locals will notice you are not from colombia, but, that is fine and ok, becuase medellin gets its fair share of foreigners that have either vacationed or have moved to colombia.

will you be a celebrity in medellin, honestly, well, on one hand they will notice you are a foreigner, but, I think not a celebrity. Why do I think this ?

becuase Medellin is a very modern, rich, clean city and the paisas are educated and beautiful people. Just becuase we are gringos and look gringo doesn't mean squat to them, although some of the paisas like to practice their english. obviously, There are lots of rich and wealthy colombian men and upper class colombian men living in medellin, those are the guys live that live lifestyles similar to celebrities...they are the highest ones on the food chain, so to speak.

my point is, any outsider will be first noticed as a foreigner, but not as a celebrity.

sorry, can't recommend any books or videos. But if you follow you girlfriemd, you could probably write your own book after 2 years of living there.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 24, 2006, 05:09:

Is anybody stick out more than GIB? I Don't think so. ;)

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 24, 2006, 08:28:

be afraid GIB be very afraid ;)

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caligula says on Mar 24, 2006, 11:26:

Lions n tigers and Ladrones... OH MY

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cgs242 says on Mar 24, 2006, 11:39:

modefoque Be careful when walking down those dark alleys, there are some 'modefoques that wait in the shadows with their machetes...
Sorry, couldn't resist.

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johna says on Mar 24, 2006, 13:08:

Thank you all.... I am really a pretty relaxed guy, and I live in California now, which isn't the safest place either, so I am not all that worried. But thank you, I will check out the book you recommended, Miguel. As to the Modefoque (just kidding) who is trying to scare me with the machete stories, My travels in Latin America have been to Panama for two weeks, I rented a car and drove around con mi novia, we also drove my car from San Fransisco, CA to La Paz, Mexico.
I am actually really excited to see Colombia, but my main hesitiation is that I studied history and specifically the cold war in Latin America. One of the classes I took was on the justice system in Colombia I researched primary sources, which were mostly police reports from Medellin. So when my girlfriend told me where she got the job, my heart skipped a few beats, but I am back to my regular beat and chilling out. I realize the situation has changed in the past few years.

Also it is a relief that Med. isn't like la Virgen de Los Sicarios, what a crappy movie. but it did have some nice shots of the city.

Thanks again

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dread says on Mar 24, 2006, 13:33:

That about being caucasian/white in Medellin, it's like being black in Choco. You are the majority! You will blend in if it's up to physical features only. Where you will probably stick out is when they hear your gringo accent or by the way you dress.

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DonkeyDust says on Mar 24, 2006, 14:18:

Blendin-in is easy until you have to speak. I got a green and white striped nacional futbol shirt and people started asking me for directions. As soon as I opened my mouth they were like...jezzz I should have known he was a gringo. By the way my month in Medellin in February was uneventful danger wise but i can see getting into some serious trouble if unlucky. There are many things you do like not wearing a day pack after dark and blending in so when a car full of Sicarios drives by if you dont stare at them. When I saw the scars, tatoos, and hostile scary looks on 2 occasions I realized not a good idea to take a picture. A few precasions and you will probably not have a problem. The only problem I see as unavoidable (other than bad luck) is coming into the out of town airport. Coming on Copa from Panama i could only find a late flight and then you have to take the first cab in line. A drunk lady who thought she was helping us said fairly loudly "I have written down his number". My guess/impression is 1 in 500 times you will be in a very bad situation after leaving the airport. It is a crazy guess but it is my impression. Writing down the number doesnt help much as the taxi driver pretends to be a victim also. I loved Medellin and May return to the beachless place... depending on how next years trip to Argentina and or Brazil, uraguay and Chile goes.
Changes in Latitudes...attitudes.

Latitudes attitudes & platitudes.

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dread says on Mar 24, 2006, 14:28:

LOL at MEDELLIN "THE BEACHLESS PLACE"!!!!

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ColombiaBoard says on Mar 24, 2006, 19:32:

Medellin Well, what about this.... I KNOW WHERE YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS GOING TO WORK...AND I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE... though I don't know and couldn't care less what you did last summer... :)

Anyway....

She'll be working at the Colombus School, you'll be living in El Poblado...the posh neighborhood, lots of high rise condo buildings, don't worry, you won't be the only white guy in the city, there are actually paisas (people from Medellin) who are european white with blue eyes.

Don't worry too much and don't use those books as a reference.

How do I know where she'll work and where you'll live? because I know a lot of foreign teachers that work at that bilingual schoo, they usually get a two year contract and they're allowed to live only in El Poblado.

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utopiacowboy says on Mar 24, 2006, 21:51:

Now this has me curious. Why are they only allowed to live in Poblado?

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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ColombiaBoard says on Mar 25, 2006, 06:34:

Why only in El Poblado? Because the school is extra careful about the security issue so they tell them they can live only in El Poblado.

I know one canadian teacher who wanted so bad to live in the downtown area that he had to sign a sort of "security waiver" document. He's been living in the downtown area for two years. Besides he's saving a lot of money.

Apparently they're relaxing that rule for this year's new teachers which will beging to arrive in August and they'll be allowed to live in Laureles and Estadio too.

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johna says on Mar 27, 2006, 07:28:

Your right! Yep you got it. Colombus School, I am not sure where we will live as it is provided ,but I will trust you that it is most likely in El Poblado. They said they had a teacher about 10 years ago who wanted to live in a not so great area and got kidnapped for a few hours.

Another question: I don't have a job offer or any kind of Visa yet.
I have taught english as a second language and have a BA, I also am taking a TEFL course on line. Can anyone give me any pointers? Visa, jobs, student visas? Maybe I should open another thread? Well if you feel like dishing out advice, go for it.

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ColombiaBoard says on Mar 27, 2006, 20:03:

Visa The truth is I don't know exactly what type of visa you'll get, probably a spouse visa.

If you want to teach english at some local institute you do need at least a TEFL or CELTA certificate otherwise you won't find a job teaching english.

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DonkeyDust says on Mar 27, 2006, 21:19:

Well my experience is I was offered jobs at several schools. I didn't want the jobs so we didn't get down the any specifics but even the big school in Tesoro mall offered me a job with NO qualifications but I had to be available for some time, I don't know how much because they had to train me.
Johna can you give me the link to the online tefl course and maybe a bit of discourse on what you think of the course.
Thanks, Donkeydust
Changes in Latitudes...attitudes.

Latitudes attitudes & platitudes.

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johna says on Mar 31, 2006, 16:09:

DonkeyDust I haven't started a course yet, but have been getting some of them to send me info so I can decide which one. I know that I said I was taking a class. Very loose english for a prospective teacher, huh? Check out daveseslcafe.com they have some reviews of the courses. I will let you know when I start what I think.

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webmanco says on Apr 1, 2006, 11:13:

Guatape

Guatape

Iglesia en Guatape

Medellín

El Peñol

Sabaneta

Guatape




COLOMBIA

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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johna says on Apr 1, 2006, 14:41:

thanks for the pictures............ ..........I am getting excited!!!!

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caslug says on Apr 1, 2006, 19:01:

John.. see if colombus school will help you.. with a work visa since you're coming with your GF. While they may not hire you they may recommend places for you to interview at. EAFIT has TEFL course, it cost about $2000USD but it's not international accredited. Short of work visa, just get a student visa from EAFIT and to allow you to live in the country for a year. Then you can always do private tutoring until you find a place that will offer you work visa. With the salary you GF is making, it's not like you need to bring home the bacon... Her salary will MORE THAN ENOUGH support BOTH of you.

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johna says on Apr 2, 2006, 14:53:

To Caslug. Thank you for the advice. I am following up on it I have emailed the school about signing up for spanish classes and getting a student visa. Thanks again, most helpful.

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caslug says on Apr 2, 2006, 16:25:

John.. when you get to MED.. look up COLBoard and paisa29, they are both great contacts and can give you lots of info on MED. Plus they speak english.

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robhay says on Apr 4, 2006, 22:24:

Apt near Parque Lleras/ Spanish School in Medellin? Can any of you guys recommend a real estate agent in Medellin for a furnished apartment near the Parque lleras. Anything under $700/month should be fine...

Also has anyone used a language school down there? I'm looking for a good one that someone has had sucess with...i have a month between my summer internship and the start of my 2nd year of mba courses so this will be prob. the last time i will have this much time in my life and I'd like to do it right.

Been to Medellin a few times while on biz in BGT so am somewhat familiar..

Feel free to email
robhaynie at yahoo.com

thanks

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