Medellin Reports

[ParamySpam]

Speaking good Spanish was probably the greatest single contributor to my success on my recent trip to Medellin. I'd consider myself fluent due to being married to a Central American and working in Central America. I speak Spanish almost every day as my Spanish is stronger than my wife's English. Actually, one of the funniest backhanded compliments I got this trip was from one of the facebook girls, Sara, who told me "no hablas como un gringo. Tienes un accento como un campesino". Or you don't speak like a gringo. You've got a peasant accent. I'd notch that as a win for me and my Central American Spanish. That's not to say I don't make mistakes. I still get noun genders mixed up for some words and my grasp of the subjunctive is less than perfect. But being able to flirt with them and ask them about their lives and families pays dividends in terms of how they treat you.

I don't think Spanish is that hard if you're motivated and in the right environment. It probably took me 2 or 3 years to get close to where I am now. Just like lifting weights, it's about getting something done every day / week. In terms of environment, you can either travel and immerse yourself, or if you are in the States make friends with your Hispanic contractor, yard worker house cleaner, etc. That's also a great way to get discounts and contacts for other jobs. I find that most Spanish-speaking Latinos both abroad and in the US are usually really happy to speak with you, no matter how bad your Spanish, and really glad to teach you about their culture and language..

The correct word is not "concu nos". Is concu nados (with and enie).

[Huacho]

"I think with Spanish there is some frustration with for example having to learn all the conjugations because it is just counterintuitive for an English speaker to find out they have to learn so many different forms of what is one word in English."

All verbs in English must also be conjugated. To me, the problem is that because the US educational system sucks, native speakers of English don't know what a perfect tense is, for example, and when confronted with "conjugating verbs," they don't realize they have been doing it in English since they were three years old. Example verb, to fuck. Obviously I fuck, you fuck, we fuck, they fuck. Simple indicative. English grammar is no longer being taught in Yew Ess schools because it's been so long since they taught it, the teachers don't know it. I have fucked a hooker. Past perfect. I fucked a hooker. Simple past tense. I fucked one or more hookers a lot over some period of time. Imperfect. Or in general if I say I fucked a lot of but hookers. How I feel about that and where I am going with that will determine preterite vs imperfecto. If I think of my past fucking as being over and done with, 'Cogí con muchas putas. ' Pretérito because over and done with. But if I view my current situation as being more open ended and it's possible I might screw more hookers, I might go with 'Cogí a con muchas putas,' meaning I fuck a lot of working girls in general, no real time frame.

[Huacho]

I don't think they count conjugated verb variations in the numbers.

I am not sure either but it would definitely make a difference.

Scottish can be very tough. Scouse too. But for me the country accents of Ireland are the worst.

Probably equally challenging but I've spent time in England and Ireland but not in Scotland. So less of an ear for the Scots. I spent half my time in England so I can speak Scouse but it's tough, oi?

If someone wants to start a thread for talking about the Spanish language so it doesn't clutter up all the pussy, feel free. I just met a gringo in a bar and we were chatting and he said, 'It is a shame there aren't any hookers here. ' I said, 'Who told you there weren't any hookers here?' 'Um well I haven't seen any. ' So I showed him on Google maps where the *****houses were, and he did not want to go there because he 'could not speak Spanish. ' That gives one more data point on whether it does or does not matter if you speak Spanish. Now in this particular gringo's case, whether it was a language problem or a huevos problem, I am not sure. Some of both so why not eliminate the former problem?

[Recondite]

Speaking good Spanish was probably the greatest single contributor to my success on my recent trip to Medellin. I'd consider myself fluent due to being married to a Central American and working in Central America. I speak Spanish almost every day as my Spanish is stronger than my wife's English. Actually, one of the funniest backhanded compliments I got this trip was from one of the facebook girls, Sara, who told me "no hablas como un gringo. Tienes un accento como un campesino". Or you don't speak like a gringo. You've got a peasant accent. I'd notch that as a win for me and my Central American Spanish. That's not to say I don't make mistakes. I still get noun genders mixed up for some words and my grasp of the subjunctive is less than perfect. But being able to flirt with them and ask them about their lives and families pays dividends in terms of how they treat you.

I don't think Spanish is that hard if you're motivated and in the right environment. It probably took me 2 or 3 years to get close to where I am now. Just like lifting weights, it's about getting something done every day / week. In terms of environment, you can either travel and immerse yourself, or if you are in the States make friends with your Hispanic contractor, yard worker house cleaner, etc. That's also a great way to get discounts and contacts for other jobs. I find that most Spanish-speaking Latinos both abroad and in the US are usually really happy to speak with you, no matter how bad your Spanish, and really glad to teach you about their culture and language.

Also, don't be shy. Use what you know and you will get better / learn more. I've found at least that some of my biggest language mistakes from when I was learning Spanish ended up making good stories later. For example, I used to work with my wife's brother-in-law in Honduras. We don't have a concise term for this familial relationship but in Spanish, he and I are "concuños". Now my big Spanish mistake happened after someone asked us how we knew each other and I proudly stated "somos con cuernos" wanting to say concuños. The literal translation is we are with horns. But the expression "con cuernos" refers to someone whose been cheated on by their spouse. It's something he and I still laugh about.

[BeachBumCeo]

Currently shopping for Airbnb's. Wanting something for under $50 a day with a nice balcony w great wifi so I can smoke cigars and work from my laptop. It's interesting trying to read between the lines in the descriptions to figure out if they're "guest" friendly or not. I remember reading on here to first book an airbnb for a day and then negotiate with the owner for a longer stay, right? Also, I've found an apartment I think I like in Poblado but it's on the ground floor with no security. I see this as good and bad. No guest fees or hassles but I feel like a bit of a target too. Do you guys know of any spots in Poblado where I could smoke a cigar and get some work done too? I was looking at Laureles but my Spanish sucks (working hard on it though) so I figured I'd just stick to Poblado.

When looking at Airbnb's, always check the "house rules". Also, make your reservation for 2 people. Not one. So you can always justify your guest. PobladoRentals is a place I used to rent from when I first started coming down here because they are very chica friendly, and they have some nice properties.

[Mojo Bandit]

Haha, I will be one of those that think translator is fine, at least for the first time.

Especially with regards to pronunciation English is much harder to learn than Spanish. To, too and two rhyme with you, flu, slough, flew and true. Most of us here grew up with English, making every moment of every day a learning opportunity.

I have studied Spanish on and off for years, wish I had more time to study the immersion way it is the best. Use it or lose it.

I agree that comparing learning Spanish to learning English is a moot point for a native English speaker. We learned English so young and picked up our language habits so young that there is know way to remember the learning of it,

I think with Spanish there is some frustration with for example having to learn all the conjugations because it is just counterintuitive for an English speaker to find out they have to learn so many different forms of what is one word in English. We get off easy in English by just haveing to add an S to a verb when talking about the second person (I write, you write, they write, we write, he writes) compared to Spanish (Yo escribo, tu escribes, ellos escriben, nosotros escribimos, el escribe) of course in some cases it saves writing because if I say "escribimos" then I do not have to write "nosotros" for the reader to understand - so this does have its advantages - but it just adds to the learning in the meantime.

About a year ago I started studying French. And now Spanish seems much easier LOL. I do appreciate that Spanish has a straightforward 5 vowels sounds. English has 14. Spanish has 16 and 4 of them are nasal vowels which explains why the French sound like snobs when they talk LOL.

[Surfer500]

I hit ground zero today at high noon, and it was quite disappointing.

Lots and lots of ugly chunky Venezuelans milling about, and I didn't see any thin cute ones out, perhaps they were all occupied.

Perhaps it will be better tomorrow.

[Mongo1]

What I have found in Medellin is a lot of the girls are not hardened prostitutes but more like regular girls that have a little side hustle.

I consider myself half fluent and have no problem carrying on a conversation. I have met working girls and take them out to dinner and go dancing and back to my apartment afterwards. If I didn't know any spanish it would be a little awkward in my opinion. Sex is nice but it is much better once a mental connection is made and the girl likes you. Yes you can go to Medellin with little or no Spanish but if you take the time to learn it there is so much more that you can tap into.

Very true what you and Mr. Entertainment brought up. Learning Spanish has become a top priority for me.

[JustTK]

Comparing the number of words gets tricky

I don't think they count conjugated verb variations in the numbers.

Scottish can be very tough. Scouse too. But for me the country accents of Ireland are the worst. Try this fella out:

https://youtu.be/pit0OkNp7s8

[Orgasmico]

Punto Com is 55 K now I was told. An increase of 5 K. Talent looked the same as always. They could use an upgrade, but a decent spot for those that have never been. Had a good session with a repeat. BBBJ and sex in several positions.

[Huacho]

Comparing the number of words gets tricky if you consider every conjugation of the verb tenses and moods. And of course the imperfect subjunctive can be formed two ways. Are the two alternatives 'hubiera' and 'hubiese' different words? We had a long and inconclusive discussion about this in I believe it was Spanish IV. I will give one piece of anecdotal evidence leaning towards Spanish: a good friend of mine from Argentina said her brother knew over forty different words for 'pussy. ' I don't know anywhere near that many.

Another thing about Spanish is you could learn it in Country A and then go to Spanish-speaking Country be and not understand jack shit for quite a while. I learned mostly in Spain and then I went to Argentina and had NO idea what the fuck they were saying and why they misspelled so many words all the time. I remember going to La Boca in BsAs and a guy in a kiosko was counting out my change in one peso coins (which are now completely worthless). 'Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, chinco' and I am like 'chinco? Where the fuck am I?' Or learn in MDE where the Spanish is quite clear IMO, and then go to Puerto Rico. Good luck with that!

Of course that is true in English as well. If I am absolutely sure someone is speaking English, but I have absolutely no idea what they are saying, they are Scottish. I had an employee from Louisiana and I asked him his name three times. Then I went and looked at his timecard.

[JustTK]

When this covid is over we will all be Spanish experts after having to listen and interpret through all these masks and glass windows and shit for all this time.

Haha, that's very true. I am going to develop a Spanish speech impediment accent. Makes it extra-difficult to understand with muffles and without lips.

[Mr Enternational]

Another factor that slowed my own learning down is this. Colombia is a hugely noisy country and my hearing is not what it once was. It would be difficult enough to pick up small but important inflections in tone, but impossible in a club with 1. 000 decibels of reggaeton.

When this covid is over we will all be Spanish experts after having to listen and interpret through all these masks and glass windows and shit for all this time.

[JustTK]

So I really, really do not agree that Spanish is the harder language. There they're their. Rough doesn't rhyme rhyme with through and neither rhymes with bough.l.

There are 8 different ways to pronounce '. Ough" in English. It is not a phonetci language, unlike Spanish. So also has way more exceptions to rules. So it is much harder to read and write than Spanish. It also has 1. 000 upon 1. 000's more words. A consequence of its evolution through mergers with Latin, Nordic, French, Germanic.

Yes, Huacho is correct (twice in one week) about subjunctive. It does exist but is often not used / used incorrectly. But its use is more limited than in Spanish.

Another factor that slowed my own learning down is this. Colombia is a hugely noisy country and my hearing is not what it once was. It would be difficult enough to pick up small but important inflections in tone, but impossible in a club with 1. 000 decibels of reggaeton.

Here's one way to compare the two languages' vocabularies: Current editions of the "Diccionario de la Real Academia Española" (the "Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy" the closest thing there is to an official list of Spanish vocabulary, has around 88,000 words. In addition, the Academy's list of Americanismos (Americanisms) includes about 70,000 words used in one or more Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. So to round things off, figure there are around 150,000 "official" Spanish words.

In contrast, the Oxford English Dictionary has about 600,000 words, but that includes words that are no longer in use. It has full definitions of around 230,000 words. The makers of the dictionary estimate that when all is said and done, "there are, at the very least, a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary not covered by the OED, or words not yet added to the published dictionary. ".

[Nounce]

...is that it's largely unreliable because a 10 to some guys is usually a 6 to him, so the datasets will be inevitably compromised or need adjusting to account for this wild deviation.

What others think about his 10? It is possible that others all agree with him when he does not agree with others.