Monthly Archives: April 2014
Meet People & Learn Languages While Traveling
Hola, Como estas?
こんにちは、お元気ですか？
Olá, como você está?
हैलो, आप कैसे हैं?
Hallo, wie geht es dir?
The above are some of the many ways to say “Hello, how are you?” in the some of the over 6,000 different languages in the world. These words are the starting point to meeting someone new. This world is filled with so many different people which makes it hard to meet them all; especially when there is a huge language barrier. You know how it is. You travel to a foreign country where you don’t know the languag, you just feel like a ghost, invisible, like no one can see you, isolated and you don’t fit in. It is dicouraging feeling. What if there was a place to help you with that? What if you could meet people who wanted to learn more about you and help you communicate in their native language? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could help others communicate in your native language? Wouldn’t it feel good that you are helping each other out when you while creating a strong friendship with someone you never thought about meeting before? Let me tell you about a brief experience I had while in Bogotá.
It Started in Bogotá
When I arrived to Bogotá, I wanted to brush up on my Spanish. I wanted to practice with people who were native to the language. It is hard enough being in a foreign environment and not fitting in as the gringo. Even harder was trying to say hello to strangers, not knowing if they were willing to help you with your Spanish. So I started to look for some help. I went to a place familiar to me, meetup.com.
What is Meetup.com?
Meetup.com is a place where you can meet people with similar interests as yourself. How it works is that you insert a keyword that happens to be an interests of yours, whether it be Spanish, fishing, underwater basket weaving or just video games, and meetup.com shows you the groups made by other people who also have those interests. The difference between meetup.com and other online message boards is that it is designed to actually physically meet with these groups in person.
The First Language Exchange
With the help of Meetup.com I stumbled a Spanish/English Conversation club that happened to be meeting the day I landed in Bogotá. Right after my flight landed in the Capitol of Colombia, I made myself to Chapinero section of Bogotá, took a seat and introduced myself in Spanish.
The crowd was small group of men who arrived promptly at the start time, which a rarity to see in Colombia. Overtime it eventually it grew as locals and foreigners started to pour on in. I was one of 3 foreigners who spoke english fluently. While one other American and another person from England were surrounded by men, I was surrounded by curious Colombian women who had questions about different words, different sayings and curious of why I was in Colombia. The 3 - 4 hours of practicing talking went by so quickly, it seemed like I had just sat down. I headed back to my apartment with an amazing feeling of accomplishment, I was able to speak Spanish (not well, but I was speaking). I also got know 3 lovely women who were interesting. Due to this experience, I was addicted. I returned the next week to meet more interesting people and again I left with that ecstatic feeling afterwards. However this time. the group decided to go out for drinks and karaoke afterwards. Each week after that I went back to improve my spanish and add more friends to my list.
The List Grows
This addiction of feeling accomplished and feeling like I belonged resulted in looking for more language exchanges. I found out about Gringo Tuesday at La Villa from CouchSurfing (which I may never use again). While in Cali I came across another language exchange in the salsa club La Topa Tolandra. When arriving back in Bogota I found 2 more at beer gardens. Each time I was creating new friends. Friends like Dave from Switzerland with his amazing friendliness and optimism, Takaaki a very friendly man from Japan who treated us all to a home cooked meal at his place, the ever so curious and intelligent Fernanda, Fanny a beautiful Dutch girl who dances salsa like a native of Cali and John a jolly friendly Colombian who speaks the world of Apple. This list could go on with people like, the smart Marg, Liliana and her smile, the joker Jair, Rumi always smiling, the quiet Carlos, the photographer John Fredy, Adriana, the beautiful Nahya, the party girl Patricia, the creative Yudy, the cute and friendly, the willful Nelly…but I think you get the point.
A Realization
Over the past few months these were people who I can call a close bunch of friends, all wanted to learn something from me and I wanted to learn something from them. It makes me think that we are in relationships to grow and learn from each other. It is what life is all about and these friends demonstrated. Travel has made this possible to find so many amazing people in this world.
So, lets switch back to you. Doesn’t it seem a bit more interesting to try to learn a new language now? Perhaps even better to try to help someone learn your language? You two can feel like you finally belong with a sense of accomplishment. Then do it! Join a language exchange. Do it while you are traveling to a foreign land if you can. Check out meetup.com for one near you or CouchSurfing or even mylanguageexchange.com and conversationexchange.com.
Ever meet a bunch of great people before? Ever struggle learning a language? Tell us Perhaps you have questions? We want to hear those stories. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels 
Why I Might Not Use CouchSurfing Again - Meet My New Brother Felipe
“Couchsurfing? No, I don’t thnk I will use that” I hear that a lot. And for a good reason. It is hard to want to trust a stranger to your home, or a trust a stranger you have never meet and stay with them for a time. How do you know they won’t do something bad or steal your items? Couchsurfing can be very scary. I can tell you that after my first time using Couchsurfing I don’t want to use it again.
What is Couchsurfing?
What is Couchsurfing? Well, it is a website designed to meet people around the world. It has groups where you can discuss with people with similar interests online. It has events where you can meet up with people that share you desires and interests. But the most powerful part is that people can open up their house/room/couch to a stranger and show them their life and culture and in return learn more about someone else’s life and culture.
My First Experience
I have always feared using Couchsurfing, it just did not seem like the right thing for me. But I was running out of money while staying in Bogota. I needed a place to stay, but even more so I did not want to stay in a hostel as I would be around other travelers rather than a local. My friend mentioned how much fun she had meeting and hosting people through Couchsurfing and that I should give it a try. I also have another friend who happens to be ambassador for her region and I hear the great stories she has of people she has hosted. With all these positive things people had to say about Couchsurfing it was time for me to dive right on in, eyes closed, unaware what might happen.
Finding Someone
After scouring through mounds and mounds of profiles I submitted a request to 5 different people who seemed like they were interesting people. One really stood out, he did not have a lot of references, just one… the thing that is said about this person “He is always smiling”. That was the person I wanted to stay with and learn more about. His name Felipe.
The Rejection and Acceptance
One by one each person proceeded to tell me that they did not have space available, were out of town, and one by one my heart started to sink and feel heavy. The pound of my heart could be felt as my disappointment set. Four people had said they were not available for host me at the time for the three week period. Felipe was the last person on my list. His response finally came with and I started to read it, my heart started to sink a bit more. The words “I do not have a room available…” were the first set of words I saw. At that point I did not want to read on. I was glad that I did though. The email continued “…until Monday, where I have a guest who is already staying with me.” I had accepted his invitation and so I booked a place to stay for the 5 days wait after I landed in Bogotá, Colombia.
Day 1
After those eventful filled five days we meet in the region of Suba in Bogota, an area I was used to as I had stayed there 2 years before. In my email requesting a place to stay I had mentioned that I was an excellent cook and enjoyed cooking. For the first night, I wanted to prove what I had said. We headed to the store and picked up the ingredients needed to create an Indian curry and combined the ingredients to create a steaming hot turmeric stained food that is very common in Inida. As we ate, we had some beers and moved our mouths and tongues as we conversed all night long. I don’t remember what our conversation was about, but it must have been a good conversation as we did not get some sleep until almost 1 am. It was starting to become a good connection. The connection kept getting stronger and stronger over the next few days, especially when the weekend came. How so you ask?
The Family
That next weekend we headed to Tunja where I was taken in as family. First we meet up with his cousins, two Colombians who lived in Brazil. The two were also on the same route, we shared a car ride with them. The car ride was a bonding experience with his family.
As I arrived to a square house on the corner of an intersection of Tunja I was given a room to stay. I got to meet his sisters and felt like I was starting of become part of the family. We had lunch, a vegan meal, which was fantastic since I am a vegetarian. I got to converse with his sisters as well as his father, who spoke very little English. I was shown around the town of Tunja personally by his father and I got take part of family activities. It was like I was having another family in a different land than my own. And from this I was learning what it meant to be in a Colombian family. We headed back to Bogotá and I thanked Felipe for the wonderful weekend.
Our Time
While in Bogotá I got introduce Felipe of what I know of Bogotá from the 6 times I have visited. We got to know the nightlife of Bogotá as it was now the week of my birthday. A week hard to remember and hard to forget. It was basically partying just about every night, not one night ending before 2 am. It made it hard for me to do my work, but the memories made (if I could remember them), were amazing. We both had a great time meeting new friends.
Why I Don’t Want To Use Couch Surfing Again
Felipe called me his brother, and I considered him to be my brother. And because of this experience, I may never want to do Couch Surfing again. It will be impossible to try to out do this experience. I can’t imagine a better host and a better connection than what I had for three weeks. It is hard to imagine that Couch Surfing can better than this experience. I fear that it can’t get any better than my time with Felipe. I meet a new a family member that I never knew I had and a strong connection to his family. I learned a lot from Felipe, and what it really means to be in a family. It is hard to forget what I learned in those three weeks (especially never to take a shot called Kill Me). I want to reach this article out to him and say thank you. I also want to thank Couch Surfing for making this happen.
Who knows, perhaps someday I will Couch Surf again, but that person has to be very special, or perhaps I will leap blindly like I did the first time using Couch Surfing. It is hard to get past that fear.
What do you think of CouchSurfing? Tell us Perhaps you have questions? We want to hear those stories. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels
Booze Drugs and Transvestites in Bogota & Theatron
“Do you know of Theatron?” My young friend with a red long hair, short body and cute freckles asked me. “No I do not know it” was my responded back to her with a smile on face. “Let us go tonight…” she says with a grin on her face. “…Oh it is a gay bar.” Now being from Northern California, I am very used to gay bars, I have visited a few, but this place, Theatron, puts any bar, gay or not, to shame that I have been to. So how did the night go? Well it was a doozy, it is a story that is worth telling.
The Story Begins
So we go to my young friends place where she lives with 2 gay men. We prepare for the night as the everyone, except myself, make themselves pretty. We jump into the car and head out to Theatron. The cover into Theatron is 35.000 pesos ($17 USD). Kind of pricey I must admit, but there is a perk to this 35.000 peso cover, you get a cup. A cup you ask? Yes it is a nice green tumbler that is small and fits in the palm of your hand nicely. And this cup allows you to drink all night until 2 am at the open bars. Yes, all you can drink.
It’s Huge
As we enter the place we walk up some stairs, and then more stairs, and then some more, until we find a place that is a courtyard. This place is huge. This courtyard reminds me of high school or a college courtyard filled with many people socializing in their groups. Here is where we conversed, socialized, drank and smoked (I don’t smoke). I meet a group of Gay men that I would be hanging out with for the night. One of them asked if I have seen the view from the top. I responded with a no so we went up even more. The top bar is an open area with a gorgeous view of Bogotá where you can see the lights of Bogotá and spin to see the mountains on the other side of the open area.
The next step was to walk through the 10 different discos that Theatron has. Yes you heard me 10 different discos. If you don’t like a song… walk to a different room. This place is one of the largest clubs in Colombia, and now I know why. This here is the other perk to the 35.000 peso cover, the many choices of music to choose from. From Industrial, to pop, to House to Latin dance. The place has it all.
We finally found ourselves in the main disco hall. It is large room with rays of lights that a flare through out the room and large videos on play on the jumbo television screen on the wall. This is the area where they hold most of the events as well. Here we meet with some transvestite friends. We dance the night the way as we start making our way from room too room again.
The After Party
It gets late and my cute, short redheaded friend and I go back to her place to just chat the night away, this also includes a bottle of aguardiente. Aguardiente is a liquor that is exclusive to Colombia. It is strong. We drink a bottle as my young pretty friend’s room mates come back. With some friends with friends of course, most of which are the transvestites we meet earlier in the evening.
At this point the after party starts really happening. We dance, we sing we drink a second bottle of aguardiente. And then some one offers me some cocaine. I kindly decline as the party keeps going. My eyes are getting to feel like they have anvils attached to them. At this point I pass out on my friend’s bed. The sun is up and my friend’s room mates land my friend into her bed, she is really passed out. We sleep more until I realize it is almost 2pm. It is time for me leave. At this point I am wondering if my friend had as great of a night as I did. This was a night that will stick in my head for a long time.
Ever have a crazy party or night this? Ever have a crazy travel involving such things? Tell us Perhaps you have questions? We want to hear those stories. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels
To Meet Cali, Colombia, Meet Sandra
Cali, a center of dance, a whole lot of dance. When I say dance, it seems like everyone in Cali moves their hips as if they needed to survive. Cali also has it’s place of history and amazing sites to understand. An old city with a lot of stories to offer from the cartel to salsa musical stars. But to really get to know Cali you really need to get to know Sandra. Who is Sandra you ask?
Who is Sandra?
Sandra happens to be a girl I meet in Cali, a 28 yr old young lady who can salsa dance as if her Cali blood calls for it and also studied Industrial Engineering. Her experiences being in the areas of production, quality, logistics and management of interdisciplinary projects aimed at improving and redesigning processes, pharmaceutical companies, agrochemical, mechanical and computer metal. Why I am telling you this? Sounds boring doesn’t it? Well, after some time it did to Sandra as well, and started following her passion instead.
Her Story
In 2011 Sandra went to Europe, using the platform Couchsurfing she wandered place to place being hosted by locals who showed her their hometown with much gratitude. When Sandra returned to Cali a year later in December 2012 she felt inspired by the people who helped her in Europe. She wanted to pay back those who helped her and hosted people through Couchsurfing. In doing so she started to show off they city of Cali so that she can have the visitors understand more about her home city.
With the help of her cousin, Camila, she was able to get together a couple of statues, bridges, churches and buildings as well as intricate stories to go with them. Since she had no access to a car, the only way to make this tour of places of history possible was do it all on foot. With all the planning going on, both Sandra and Camila found that what they were doing could be benefit more than just tourists but also locals to recognize the public spaces of Cali.Colombia Walking Tours is Born
The two noticed that this could become a business to benefit all and for 4 months a business plan was put together to create walking tours. In June 2013 the business Colombia Walking Tours was born. The tours are built to both accommodate English speaking tourists and Spanish speaking locals.
My Experience
I had the pleasure to enjoy some time with Sandra as she gave me and a group from around the world a free tour of her city. Every Monday and Friday is a free tour of Cali where a local shows off their city. It starts at 4:00pm and lasts for 2 1/2 hours where Sandra and her partners help you understand why they love their city so much. It all starts at Ermita Church, a grand church that is gorgeous to look at. And from there we explored the historical areas of the downtown.
After all the tour was done Sandra invited us all to Topa Tolondra, a small salsa bar where they had a language exchange where gringos could practice their Spanish and Colombians can practice their English (or other languages). After all was said and done, we got to dance some salsa, where I learned that Sandra is an excellent salsa dancer.
I had a lot of fun in Cali, thanks to the service and passion that Sandra and Colombia Walking tours had to offer. Colombia Walking offers different tours and more can be found on their website: Monday and Friday, The free tour through the historic center of Cali : Includes La Ermita, the Poets Park , Teatro Jorge Isaacs, CAM , Caicedo Square , San Francisco , Municipal Theatre, among others.Duration: 2.5 hrs. Tuesday Tour ” The Sports Tour” : Includes Alameda Park, San Fernando Rey Church , Apple of Knowledge, Dog Park , Park of Flags , Unit , among others.
Duration: 3 hrs.
Price : $ 15,000 COP per person - Includes ” Cholado ” . Thursday Tour ” The Salsa Tour : Includes 5 clubs , salsa class, welcome drink two of them a beer and entrance to “Tin Tin Deo Disco ” .
Duration: 2.5 hrs.
Price : $ 40,000 COP per person. Saturday and Wednesday Tour ” The Cultural Tour ” : Includes Monument Jovita , Loma de la Cruz, San Antonio, Sebastian Belalcazar , Museo La Tertulia , Cat Tejada , among others.
Duration: 3 hrs.
Price : $ 15,000 COP per person - Includes ” Champus ” . Moreover, currently Colombia Walking Tours also offers services in vehicle to some companies, and private who prefer to tour.
Have some questions about Cali? Ever meet some amazing people with a great passion? Perhaps you have questions? Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels
Welcome to Estereo Picnic Festival in Bogota
What the heck is an Estereo Picnic? Yeah that the is the same thing that I asked a few years ago when I was invited to go. A year ago my loved one and I had a birthday that we wanted to share with each other. Since my significant other was a huge fan of music she suggested the 3 day festival held in bogota known as Estereo Picnic. This festival is one of the largest modern day musical festivals held in Bogota after Rockn in the Park.
Like I mentioned in 2013 I had the privilege to enjoy entrancing music of Crystal Castles and Steve Aioki, as well as rocked out to Two Door Cinema Club and The Killers. In 2014 I get to cover the event with amazing bands like NIN, Red Hot Chili Peppers ,Tiesto and much much more. To find out more check out Estereo Picnic’s official site