Medellín Part II / Guatapé
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This is the sequel of Medellín Part I
Part II: Week 3&4
Before I arrived here I got many suggestions about how to make friends in Medellín a.s.a.p., as people reckoned that’s what you need when you are going to live somewhere for a little while. But the point is… I rented an apartment because I wanted to be left alone completely for once. In 4,5 month I have never been in a room by myself, I never slept alone (I am talking dormitories, not a slutty-lifestyle, mom), and I never spent a day without telling ‘my story’ to a bunch of complete strangers. And that story even bores me at one point, even though my life is quite exciting.
Travellers ask each other the same questions all the time: “Which country and city are you from, where have you travelled so far and where are you going to next?” It must be either the easy, most uncreative way of filling up a silence, or a method of labelling people.
I am ‘from’ the Netherlands, but I lived in many different places there. I also lived in France, Italy, Australia, I’m in Colombia right now and I’ll live in many other places soon.
So: I am from the world.
Before I arrived here I got many suggestions about how to make friends in Medellín a.s.a.p., as people reckoned that’s what you need when you are going to live somewhere for a little while. But the point is… I rented an apartment because I wanted to be left alone completely for once. In 4,5 month I have never been in a room by myself, I never slept alone (I am talking dormitories, not a slutty-lifestyle, mom), and I never spent a day without telling ‘my story’ to a bunch of complete strangers. And that story even bores me at one point, even though my life is quite exciting.
Travellers ask each other the same questions all the time: “Which country and city are you from, where have you travelled so far and where are you going to next?” It must be either the easy, most uncreative way of filling up a silence, or a method of labelling people.
I am ‘from’ the Netherlands, but I lived in many different places there. I also lived in France, Italy, Australia, I’m in Colombia right now and I’ll live in many other places soon.
So: I am from the world.
I have absolutely no clue where I am going, as I value the journey more than the destination. How much time do I have left to travel? My life, if you don’t define ‘travelling’ as merely booking a hotel and checking off a guidebook with sightseeing-highlights. You can travel the world working, volunteering, studying, house-sitting… the possibilities are endless. It just means you don’t settle down in one single place.
I met INCREDIBLE people along the way who will never leave my memories, but many others I got to know on a very superficial level only: Quantity beats quality quite often, especially with the pressure of socializing every single moment in hostels. Pfff, and many people thought travelling by yourself would be lonely!
I met INCREDIBLE people along the way who will never leave my memories, but many others I got to know on a very superficial level only: Quantity beats quality quite often, especially with the pressure of socializing every single moment in hostels. Pfff, and many people thought travelling by yourself would be lonely!
In my own secluded room I greedily consumed all the Stephanie-time I needed, at last. I hummed along with guitar solos while discovering the new releases in the world of death metal, or bashed my head in the pillow on the rhythm of the beat (try it, it’s the most liberating thing you can do, you just look like a retard). I walked around without pants or loudly let out a fart if I felt urged to do so. I skipped nights while watching documentaries while burping away a 2,5 litre bottle of diet coke. And one thing I certainly did not do: chit-chat with anyone. I just answered questions and made conversations disappear in a cloud of awkwardness. Very very very un-Steph, but what a great feeling!
This autistic attitude was obviously very beneficial for my study mentality. In the third and fourth week I got acquainted with the preposiciones, futuro, conectores, imperativo, subjuntivo and oraciones temporales. Every day I read a Spanish newspaper and learned the new words I found in there to get a more intellectual vocabulary (I don’t know the word for ‘pooping’, but I know how to say ‘ratify’, ‘deputy mayor’ or ‘fiscal analyst’ in Spanish). I also read it out loud to work on my pronunciation, as I apparently sound like an Italian speaking Spanish (which fulfills me with pride, to be honest, Viva Italia! Vaffanculo!).
In order to actually get an idea about the city I was staying in for quite a while now I switched autism-mode off for a sec to explore Medellin. I had already visited the Plaza Botero and Museo Antioquía to check out some fat statues, which were quite lame as expected (check my harsh opinion about ‘national maestro’ Botero here). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s worth knowing how the psychological sanity of this beholder can be defined.
I took the affordable Metrocable up to Santo Domingo (city views!) and the gorgeous green Parque Arvi. Every time I walk through pleasurable nature like this I realize I am not a city girl at all. For sure, I adore city’s museums, theatres and nightlife… but a city never overwhelmed me in a way that nature does: The tranquillity, the fresh air, the lush green colours, its unspoiled beauty…
I pre-booked the popular ‘free’ (tip-based) Real City Tour to hear a local talk about the background of my temporary home base. Obviously, much of this background is shaped by the man of whom you better not say the name out loud in public (Starting with a P and ending with ablo Escobar… the Voldemort of Medellín). The cartel of this notorious drugs lord is responsible for hundreds of deaths and, some argue, the destruction of Colombia.
The failure of the monetary system becomes quite clear once realizing how powerful this ‘King of Coke’ became, thanks to the insane amounts of money that came in because of mankind’s ‘need’ for narcotics (To give you an idea: Rats ate 1 billion dollars of stored money each year and a monthly $2500 was spent on rubber bands to hold the money together). By bribing, kidnapping, torturing and murdering everyone that stood in his way he put Colombia in a situation of war and bloodshed…
To get a better idea, check out the series ‘Narcos’ on Netflix
But, to use the words of my brilliant guide, “If you have been stuck in a swamp and almost drowned completely, only gratefulness and intense happiness are left when you survive it.” Nothing describes the mentality of the incredible Colombians in a better way, because in spite of their violent, dark history these are the happiest and most open people I have ever seen. This tour perfectly showed the different faces of Medellín, now a backpackers’ favourite. A must!
[It didn’t seem quite ethical to participate in a touristic city tour turning the man that caused the deaths of so many Medellín-residents’ loved ones into a ‘cult figure’. Neither did snorting a line of coke from his grave stone, what seems to be common practice. That’s why I skipped the Pablo Escobar Tour.]
I also made time for an overnight trip to Tripadvisor-favourite Guatapé. Together with some perky Germans I met on the walking tour, Justus und Christian, I endured the nauseating ride to this charming little town.
But, to use the words of my brilliant guide, “If you have been stuck in a swamp and almost drowned completely, only gratefulness and intense happiness are left when you survive it.” Nothing describes the mentality of the incredible Colombians in a better way, because in spite of their violent, dark history these are the happiest and most open people I have ever seen. This tour perfectly showed the different faces of Medellín, now a backpackers’ favourite. A must!
[It didn’t seem quite ethical to participate in a touristic city tour turning the man that caused the deaths of so many Medellín-residents’ loved ones into a ‘cult figure’. Neither did snorting a line of coke from his grave stone, what seems to be common practice. That’s why I skipped the Pablo Escobar Tour.]
I also made time for an overnight trip to Tripadvisor-favourite Guatapé. Together with some perky Germans I met on the walking tour, Justus und Christian, I endured the nauseating ride to this charming little town.
Charming but highly touristy. When I proudly asked a local in grammatically correct Spanish where to ‘eat where the locals eat’ he started laughing and said “Eso no existe aqui, mi reina, this is gringo town”. Aha, ok. So let’s behave like a gringo then: Rent a canoe and pretend to have a marvellous time at the lake in the pouring rain, while thunder & lightning decorates the sky (yeah, Colombia seemed a bit too safe for me, so why not defy fate?!)
I also showed off a bit when running up the 750 steps of La Piedra, just to underline the difference between me and the dense masses of panting and sweating tourists invading this hotspot.
A sign informed me that this was the ‘Best viewpoint in the world’... Really cool that they first checked all viewpoints worldwide before putting that sign down!
A sign informed me that this was the ‘Best viewpoint in the world’... Really cool that they first checked all viewpoints worldwide before putting that sign down!
There was not much more to do, so we arranged a hitchhike home with yet another two Germans (quite the moffen-magnet, this one… spoke more German than Spanish in Guatapé). Don’t get me wrong, Guatapé is beautiful, but I might have expected a bit more after the lyrical stories of my fellow backpackers… the downside of a pre-conditioned mind.
In the last week I wrapped up my Spanish course and finished my sightseeing with a visit to Museo de Arte Moderno, where I caught up with my buddy Marcel Duchamp again… yeah, that weird Dadaïst that exhibits urinals. Let’s say it’s a place for the art enthusiasts only. Which I am.
In the last week I wrapped up my Spanish course and finished my sightseeing with a visit to Museo de Arte Moderno, where I caught up with my buddy Marcel Duchamp again… yeah, that weird Dadaïst that exhibits urinals. Let’s say it’s a place for the art enthusiasts only. Which I am.
Then my Argentinean roommate took Justus and me to the Poblado Castle where I could admire a place that seemed to be copied straight out of the ‘sleeping beauty’ fairytale. It felt like I walked through a fake version of Europe (or how the Colombians think Europe must look like), but it was pretty nevertheless.
And there you go… a month in Medellín can be crossed off the calendar. Thanks for having me, I’m off to explore some northern Colombian grounds!
Again, let's give a (hopefully) understandable recap for my Spanish-studying readers:
I assume all basics likes counting (ordinales & cordinales), talking about the weather, time, your family, shopping, emergencies, food, animals, the human body, landscapes, sports, nightlife, clothes, traffic, money, work, travelling, the house and other random stuff are all clear. You probably also studied the indicadores of time / frequency / place, the marcadores, the difference between ser & estar and por & para and muy & mucho, the reflexivos, the usage of quedar and paracer, the objecto directo & indirecto, and the preposiciones. If not, the internet is full of it, I’m not going to repeat that shit. Also, I suppose you know how to talk in present tense and the 4 different past tenses (if not: for the latter, check my previous blog). For studying words just check a dictionary, newspaper or make notes while walking down the (Spanish/Latin) streets… Let’s now just focus on the skeleton of the language: the GRAMMARRRRR, I hate-love it!
So what are we going to do? Well, explaining the Future Tense, yeah! Luckily, it’s damn easy! The close future is formed by ‘ir’ (going: voy / vas / va / vamos / van) + a + infinitivo (complete verb). You get sentences like “Voy a comer verduras” & “Vamos a ir al teatro”. For things that don’t happen tonight or any time soon you use the futuro formed by the complete infinitivo + -é / -ás / -á / -emos / -án: it forms 1 word and is the same for all verbs ending on –ar/-ir/er (amaré/comeré/viviré). Memory aid: It sounds like ‘haber’ in present tense (he / has / ha / hemos / han). Obviously, there are some irregulares with different roots, like ‘tener’ (tendr-), ‘salir’ (saldr-), ‘haber’ (habr-) etc., but we’re used to that inconvenience, aren’t we?
Again, let's give a (hopefully) understandable recap for my Spanish-studying readers:
I assume all basics likes counting (ordinales & cordinales), talking about the weather, time, your family, shopping, emergencies, food, animals, the human body, landscapes, sports, nightlife, clothes, traffic, money, work, travelling, the house and other random stuff are all clear. You probably also studied the indicadores of time / frequency / place, the marcadores, the difference between ser & estar and por & para and muy & mucho, the reflexivos, the usage of quedar and paracer, the objecto directo & indirecto, and the preposiciones. If not, the internet is full of it, I’m not going to repeat that shit. Also, I suppose you know how to talk in present tense and the 4 different past tenses (if not: for the latter, check my previous blog). For studying words just check a dictionary, newspaper or make notes while walking down the (Spanish/Latin) streets… Let’s now just focus on the skeleton of the language: the GRAMMARRRRR, I hate-love it!
So what are we going to do? Well, explaining the Future Tense, yeah! Luckily, it’s damn easy! The close future is formed by ‘ir’ (going: voy / vas / va / vamos / van) + a + infinitivo (complete verb). You get sentences like “Voy a comer verduras” & “Vamos a ir al teatro”. For things that don’t happen tonight or any time soon you use the futuro formed by the complete infinitivo + -é / -ás / -á / -emos / -án: it forms 1 word and is the same for all verbs ending on –ar/-ir/er (amaré/comeré/viviré). Memory aid: It sounds like ‘haber’ in present tense (he / has / ha / hemos / han). Obviously, there are some irregulares with different roots, like ‘tener’ (tendr-), ‘salir’ (saldr-), ‘haber’ (habr-) etc., but we’re used to that inconvenience, aren’t we?
Next? Learn Spanish!!! Yes, everything with an ‘!’ or sounding like an order is an Imperativo. “Eat! Drink! Go! Shut up!” You want to be a bitch in daily life sometimes, so pay attention: Only the forms of ‘you’ exist in imperativo, in singular and plural, and informal (tú) and formal (usted/ustedes). In Spain they also use ‘vosotros’ and in Argentina ‘vos’, but I’m in Colombia now so screw that. First, you have the ‘positive’ form: verbs with -ar conjugate like root + -a (tu), -e (usted) and -en (ustedes)… and -er/-ir verbs conjugate exactly the opposite: root + -e / -a / -an. BUT, to confuse you: In the negative form (“Don’t eat!), the tú-form changes in -es for the -ar-verbs, and in -as for the –ir/-er-verbs. Which is the same form as the SUBJUNTIVO. Ok, I lost you now, didn’t I? Of course you have irregulares here as well (like ‘hacer/ir/poner/salir/ser/tener/venir/decir/oir’), and they are differently formed than the irregulares in present, past and future tense (except of the phonetical ones). So happy studying, nerds!
Alright, get a cup of caffeine right now… we are going to discuss the Subjuntivo. Where the convenient English language just has ‘would’ or ‘could’ for surreal situations, the Spanish language has a whole new division of grammatical conjugations. Yes, every damn verb has its own present, future and 2 past tenses when talking about a wish, desire, possibility, opinion etc. If the Spanish language was a person I would spit him in the face.
First: Whoopie, let’s make some subjuntivos!
First: Whoopie, let’s make some subjuntivos!
- The subjuntivo in present tense is the exact oposite of the ‘normal’ present tense, except of the yo-form. Verbs ending with -ar: root + -e / -es / -e / -emos / -en, verbs ending with -er / -ir: root + -a / -as / -a / -amos / -an. The irregulares have the same endings, but a change in the root: Grab the irregular root of the yo-form in present tense and use it for all forms in subjuntivo. Example: Traer, yo-form in present tense = Yo traigo… so in subjuntivo traiga / traigas / traiga /traigamos / traigan. But, then you have the…*sigh*… IRREGULARES IN THE IRREGULARES: Like ir (vaya / vayas / vaya / vayamos / vayan) and saber (sepa /sepa / sepamos / sepan), and many, many more.
- There are 2 forms of the subjuntivo in past tense.
- The first one is the Imperfecto Subjuntivo, which is formed by the root of the ellos-form in past indefinido minus –on / -an… this root + -a / -as / -a / -amos / -an (yihaaa, same as present -er/-ir-verbs in subjuntivo). And it’s the same for -ar / -ir / -er verbs! Example: saber in past indefinido is ellos supieron (yes, it’s irregular remember?), minus -on = supier-, which forms supiera / supieras / supiera / supieramos / supieran. It’s like bloody mathematics! Then you also have the ‘textual form’: -ase / -ases / -ase / -asemos / -asen, and –iese / -ieses / -iese / -iesemos / -iesen, but just pretend that I never told you that, screw that.
- Okay, after this we deserve an easy one: Perfecto Subjuntivo. It’s formed with the present subjuntivo of haber’ (which is irregular): haya / hayas / haya / hayamos / hayan + Participio. Example: Haya ido, haya trabajado. Yes, we get that right?
I owe you the Futuro in combination with the subjuntivo, as the Spanish language is the gift that keeps on giving!
Alright-y… when do I use this then? And how?
Alright-y… when do I use this then? And how?
- First of all, you use it for advise / wishes / recommendations, which are surreal situations. You use verbs like esperar / querer / desear / preferir / necesitar / prohibir / ordenar / permitir etc., or ojala (beginning of a wish). If it is meant for YOURSELF, it’s these verbs + indicativo, like ‘necesito salir’. If it is for SOMEONE ELSE, it’s these verbs + que + subjuntivo, like ‘necesito que (tú) salgas’.
- You also use it for possibilities, which are also scenarios that didn’t happen yet. If you use it in a personal way (I think, you imagine, we assume), you use verbs like creer / imaginar + que + indicativo futuro. Example: “Imagino que hoy saldrás”. If you use it in a general, impersonal way (it’s possible, it’s likely), you use expressions like ‘es posible’ / ‘es probable’+ que + subjuntivo. Example: “Es probable que haya más frío.” Words for ‘maybe’ (quizás / talvez / a lo mejor) can be used with both constructions.
- You use it to express an appreciation for something. If the subject remains the same, you use verbs like ser / parecer / estar + adverb / adjective / noun + infinitivo. Example: “Me pareció mal no ir a la fiesta” (It seems bad to ME that I don’t go to the party). If there are 2 different subjects, you use the same verbs + adverb / adjective / noun + subjuntivo. Example: “Me parece bien que hagas deportes.” (It seems good to ME that YOU practice sports).
- You use it to express opinions. In the positive form you use expressions like creo que / me parece que / pienso que/ para mi etc. + que + indicativo. Example: “Creo que esa pelicula no es muy buena.” In the negative form you use the same construction, but with the subjuntivo. Example: “No creo que esa pelicula no sea muy buena.”
- You use it to confirm reality. In the positive form you use ser (es / son) or estar (está / estan) + adjective + que + indicativo. Example: “Es verdad que hace mucho calor.” In the negative form you use the same construction, but with the subjuntivo: “No es verdad que haya mucho calor.”
You think you can remember this when speaking 500 words a minute, like the locals do? Shall I tell you then that this is only a fraction of the subjuntivo, there are a 1001 more subjects to study, just for this concept only. Hurray! Studying rocks, thank you Spain for making us never stop doing that!
This brings me to the conclusion of the last few weeks. Did I or did I not become fluent in Spanish? If you define ‘fluency’ as speaking, thinking and discussing things like the locals do, where words flow out of the mouth like verbal diarrhea without the necessity to think: Definitely not! Even if I would know every single grammatical construction, or if I managed to learn every god damn word from the dictionary in 1 month (and I don’t even know all existing Dutch words) my brain still needs some time to put all this information together when constructing sentences in every specific situation. This is time I have when writing, so that’s something I am pretty good in right now. I couldn’t write a novel, but I for sure could write this blog in Spanish. Listening (understanding) and reading Spanish is something I am also pretty advanced in after these few weeks. Talking? I need more practice for sure. And I don’t have plans to leave South or Central America any time soon, so there’s plenty of opportunity.
As with everything in life: There are always things left to learn. If there’s no struggle, there is no feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Nothing in this world worth having comes easy. *End of peptalk*
Photo credits: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
This brings me to the conclusion of the last few weeks. Did I or did I not become fluent in Spanish? If you define ‘fluency’ as speaking, thinking and discussing things like the locals do, where words flow out of the mouth like verbal diarrhea without the necessity to think: Definitely not! Even if I would know every single grammatical construction, or if I managed to learn every god damn word from the dictionary in 1 month (and I don’t even know all existing Dutch words) my brain still needs some time to put all this information together when constructing sentences in every specific situation. This is time I have when writing, so that’s something I am pretty good in right now. I couldn’t write a novel, but I for sure could write this blog in Spanish. Listening (understanding) and reading Spanish is something I am also pretty advanced in after these few weeks. Talking? I need more practice for sure. And I don’t have plans to leave South or Central America any time soon, so there’s plenty of opportunity.
As with everything in life: There are always things left to learn. If there’s no struggle, there is no feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Nothing in this world worth having comes easy. *End of peptalk*
Photo credits: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
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Related:
- Medellín Part I
- Go to the Colombia Page for more blogs!
- Learning the Kriol language in Belize
- Hitchhiking with a drug dealer in Paraguay
- The adventures on the Guatemalan coke boat
- The cocaine-bar Route 69 in La Paz, Bolivia
- Other places where I (shortly) lived: Buenos Aires [Argentina], Florianopolis [Brazil], San Jose [Costa Rica], Roatán [Honduras], Granada [Nicaragua], Boquete & Isla San Cristobal [Panama], Port Waikato [New Zealand], Haarlem [The Netherlands]
- Medellín Part I
- Go to the Colombia Page for more blogs!
- Learning the Kriol language in Belize
- Hitchhiking with a drug dealer in Paraguay
- The adventures on the Guatemalan coke boat
- The cocaine-bar Route 69 in La Paz, Bolivia
- Other places where I (shortly) lived: Buenos Aires [Argentina], Florianopolis [Brazil], San Jose [Costa Rica], Roatán [Honduras], Granada [Nicaragua], Boquete & Isla San Cristobal [Panama], Port Waikato [New Zealand], Haarlem [The Netherlands]