In a nutshell: I spent three weeks studying in Colombia—two in Medellín and one in the mountains. Now, I can mostly communicate when I go out. It’s not perfect—there are still moments where I don’t catch every word—but it’s definitely good enough to get by.
Why Not Guatemala 🇬🇹?
In my second month of travels, I visited Guatemala 🇬🇹 and checked out a learning environment by the lake. Unfortunately, it felt too basic for my liking, with limited food options. To make matters worse, I met a Japanese traveler who had studied there for two weeks but whose Spanish level left me discouraged. It just didn’t feel like the right fit.
Over the next few months, as I journeyed from Peru to Bolivia, I kept searching for the right opportunity. Then, I started hearing rave reviews about Medellín, Colombia 🇨🇴. Considering the city offered solid living conditions, I decided to give it a shot. After five months of trying (and failing) to achieve fluency through self-study, I was more than ready for a change 😮💨.
The school I chose was recommended by GPT. At first, I leaned toward a private university, but their slow customer service pushed me to opt for plan B. What truly blew me away? They taught entirely in Spanish—even for beginners—with only occasional English assistance. The first week was brutal, but by the second week, things began to click. Out of the four teachers, three were fantastic 😌.
Even so, I still craved more learning opportunities. By chance, I stumbled upon a mountain retreat that offered Spanish lessons alongside organic meals, yoga, swimming, salsa dancing, and other activities. It was pure perfection 😍! You can customize packages based on your needs, and they even offer volunteer work in exchange for classes. Oh, and their “organic” label isn’t just lip service—it’s genuinely delicious!
What made this experience shine was the teacher herself—she was incredible 👍. She clarified all the confusing points I’d struggled with before, and her excellent English saved us both a lot of frustration. The one-on-one format allowed her to tailor the lessons perfectly to my needs: two hours of grammar, one hour of conversation (with another teacher), and two workshops that left me slightly bewildered (Colombian geography, anyone?
😂). But if you stick with it ✊, you’ll find yourself understanding just a little bit more 🤏. I regret not staying longer 😂. If you’re someone who loves nature, tranquility, and outdoor adventures, I highly recommend this eco-retreat. Located 3.5 hours from Medellín, it’s worth at least a week-long stay to fully immerse yourself.
Having a great language teacher is absolutely crucial ‼️. While taking detours helped spark my interest, I often found myself discussing with teachers *why* certain expressions worked the way they did. Spanish verb tenses are endless, and rote memorization would have been impossible for me. Instead, understanding the reasoning behind them, combined with practice and immersion, made all the difference.
The biggest advantage of studying Spanish in Latin America? Daily practice opportunities abound, and people are always eager to chat 💬. This immersive approach is far more efficient than my previous experiences learning Japanese and German in Shanghai [😂]. Even after an entire vacation dedicated to study, I still felt lost when arriving locally [😂].
A good language teacher makes all the difference ‼️. Those twists and turns along the way helped fuel my passion, especially when I could dig into *why* certain phrases worked. With Spanish’s complex tenses, memorization alone wouldn’t cut it. Understanding the logic, paired with repetition and immersion, amplified my progress exponentially.
The best part of studying Spanish in Latin America? Every day brings new chances to practice, and locals love striking up conversations 💬. Immersing yourself pays off big time—far more efficiently than my past attempts at learning Japanese and German in Shanghai [😂]. Spending an entire holiday studying only to arrive in-country feeling clueless [😂] wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for.
A truly exceptional language teacher can make all the difference in the world! A great teacher not only sparks your interest but also deepens your understanding. I vividly remember the countless engaging discussions with my teacher about “why we express things this way.” Spanish, with its intricate array of tenses, simply cannot be mastered through rote memorization.
Instead, grasping the logic behind the grammar and developing a natural feel for the language—combined with the immersive influence of a Spanish-speaking environment—multiplies your learning effectiveness exponentially.
The ultimate perk of studying Spanish in Latin America is the sheer abundance of daily opportunities to practice. Locals are always eager to strike up a conversation 💬. This full-immersion approach is far more efficient than when I was learning Japanese or German back in Shanghai [laughing face]. Even after an intensive period of study, I still found myself a bit bewildered when I first arrived in the region [laughing face].
