Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=JuiceGuy;2152951]I don't speak much spanish and now I live in Medellin part time! Speaking spanish is over rated. You can use the translation programs on your cell phone. Even though very few people speak English there, most people are very cooperative. I would go to MDE.[/QUOTE]It's certainly possible to get by using translation apps, but speaking the local language is not overrated. If anything, it's underrated.

Without knowing at least the basics of the local language, you've placed strict limits on every experience. You've decided "this is good enough. " Coming from the US, good enough seems great, but it gets so much better when you add the ability to communicate without constantly reaching for your phone.

Unfortunately, learning the language isn't easy. It takes time to be able to hear and understand what the natives are saying. It's difficult remembering which tense to use. Then there's pronunciation. However, once you reach a certain point it becomes easier. You begin to recognize enough words to figure out meanings of words you don't know. You'll find that there are hundreds of words you already know, except the spelling is different, or different.

It's the difference between listening to a song on a cheap music box or listening to the same song performed live.

[QUOTE=PolloNegro;2153471]I like the look of some of the rooms but my biggest question is, are these hotels girl friendly and allow you to bring girls back to the room?[/QUOTE]Not sure about the Grand but I think the other 2 might be Love Motels that also rent short time so I would think for sure with them. But I would check with them to be sure.

You should not have any problem with chicas at Blux, as long as the chica has a legitimate cedula. Blux is nice. The location is good. Has a pool, although it's cold.

You can also go with Poblado Rentals. They have some nice apartments. If you are looking for something a little more upscale, try Energy Living. There are new apartments not far from the Mansion. I think the building is Oasis? But I don't know much about it. Good luck!

[QUOTE=TimeKeeper281;2153449]I appreciate the response. I am going to do Poblado, even though in the future I suspect I will prefer Laureles. I am just having hell picking an airbnb in Poblado. I want something really nice. I guess Blux, but I am not even sure if I will run into issues there with girls, even though it says guests are OK.[/QUOTE]

Since my flight was so cheap, I went with Energy for a place that was $892 for 9 nights. Flight and lodging, was only $1500. And to think I was going to go to Sao Paulo and spend 1600 on just a flight.

[QUOTE=ColombiaLover;2153788]You should not have any problem with chicas at Blux, as long as the chica has a legitimate cedula. Blux is nice. The location is good. Has a pool, although it's cold.

You can also go with Poblado Rentals. They have some nice apartments. If you are looking for something a little more upscale, try Energy Living. There are new apartments not far from the Mansion. I think the building is Oasis? But I don't know much about it. Good luck![/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Turgid;2153186]I like Laureles. However, I've never found a good hotel to stay in there. There has always been one problem or another the major one being noise. If I find a nice hotel in Laureles suitable for my needs (quiet, good wifi, fridge, good breakfast, safe, etc.) I would certainly stay there.[/QUOTE]You might try Hotel Verony San Joaquin. It's 1 block off of la 70 towards the south end. Tonight around 8 when I walked past there wasn't much noise at street level. Looks like breakfast is available and rooms start at 60 k. There are several little restaurants close by as well.

[URL]http://www.hotelveronysanjoaquin.com/[/URL]

[QUOTE=JjBee62;2153585]Unfortunately, learning the language isn't easy. It takes time to be able to hear and understand what the natives are saying. It's difficult remembering which tense to use. Then there's pronunciation. However, once you reach a certain point it becomes easier. You begin to recognize enough words to figure out meanings of words you don't know. You'll find that there are hundreds of words you already know, except the spelling is different, or different.[/QUOTE]While learning other languages is indeed difficult, Spanish is one of the easier ones to learn, because the pronunciation rules are clear and absolute, as are the rules on which syllable to stress. There are very few homonyms. Certainly it is easier to learn than English! I am reminded of the [I]I Love Lucy[/I] episode where Ricky becomes frustrated because rough, through, and bough don't rhyme. None of that nonsense in Spanish. Plus you have a final authority on what is correct Spanish: La Academia Real (The Royal Academy) de Madrid. As an added bonus, the Spanish spoken in Colombia is some of the clearest around, especially in the highlands. So Medellíand would be an ideal place to learn Spanish.

Hey,

I will be staying at hotel Torre Poblado in a few months. What casas and strip clubs are near there. Also, if you had to rank the top 3 to 5 strip clubs in Medellin and top 3 to 5 cases in Medellin how would you rank them. I don't care about money. Looking for quality at the clubs and cases and want street hookers which can be lower quality but better performance. Is Parque Lleras where you go for the street hookers.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;2153943]While learning other languages is indeed difficult, Spanish is one of the easier ones to learn, because the pronunciation rules are clear and absolute, as are the rules on which syllable to stress. [/QUOTE]It depends on the mother tongue of the learner. I have seldom listened Americans and English speaking a decent Spanish, at least as far as the pronunciation is concerned. And not to mention the grammar rules and verb conjugation, which is an obscure land for English native speakers.

I know, also French never lose their way to speak, and Greek in particular never lose their accent (I know some who have been living in US for 20 years and still say "fres fis" because he seems to refuse saying "sh").

However, even before people will start jumping on me, I am able to enumerate on my own various ways to argue with what I wrote.

I think the easiest language I have tried to learn is Indonesian. Pronunciation is easy for all those who are used to speak as they write, with few clear rules of pronunciation. However, for any language including Indonesian, there is a huge step between learning the basic survival language and the being able to speak correctly more than a few thousands words. Any language is difficult, if one wants to speak correctly and fluently with appropriate words.

[QUOTE=BlackPage;2154064]It depends on the mother tongue of the learner. I have seldom listened Americans and English speaking a decent Spanish, at least as far as the pronunciation is concerned. And not to mention the grammar rules and verb conjugation, which is an obscure land for English native speakers.

I know, also French never lose their way to speak, and Greek in particular never lose their accent (I know some who have been living in US for 20 years and still say "fres fis" because he seems to refuse saying "sh").

However, even before people will start jumping on me, I am able to enumerate on my own various ways to argue with what I wrote.

I think the easiest language I have tried to learn is Indonesian. Pronunciation is easy for all those who are used to speak as they write, with few clear rules of pronunciation. However, for any language including Indonesian, there is a huge step between learning the basic survival language and the being able to speak correctly more than a few thousands words. Any language is difficult, if one wants to speak correctly and fluently with appropriate words.[/QUOTE]Most people whose mother tongue is neither Spanish nor English would find it easier to learn Spanish, I would posit. That would be especially true when it comes to writing, since English spelling makes no sense and Spanish has absolute rules. For example, there is no situation in Spanish where two different words are spelled identically but pronounced differently. And native speakers of other Romance languages such as Italian or Portuguese would find it much easier to learn Spanish than English, just as I found it easy to learn Italian after becoming fluent in Spanish. Even Portuguese, which I can't speak, I can read. I would also say that learning a third or subsequent language is quite a bit easier than learning the second one.

Starting younger makes it easier. Of course, we no longer have that option. My advice to make maximum progress in the shortest amount of time is to focus on the spoken language and leave reading and writing for last. Another helpful tactic is watch lots of television and film, preferably without subtitles. Even with subtitles TV and film are helpful because you learn vocabulary as you see people acting out and reacting to the spoken dialogue. It also helps improve pronunciation and comprehension. It takes a bit of discipline because the path of least resistance is to go back to what's familiar, but that only interferes with learning.

The written language, reading and writing, is not as useful for our purposes as the spoken language. In fact, unless you need it for work, you will find not being able to read or write to be only a minor inconvenience. In less developed countries, large segments of the population are illiterate.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;2154075]Most people whose mother tongue is neither Spanish nor English would find it easier to learn Spanish, I would posit. That would be especially true when it comes to writing, since English spelling makes no sense and Spanish has absolute rules. For example, there is no situation in Spanish where two different words are spelled identically but pronounced differently. And native speakers of other Romance languages such as Italian or Portuguese would find it much easier to learn Spanish than English, just as I found it easy to learn Italian after becoming fluent in Spanish. Even Portuguese, which I can't speak, I can read. I would also say that learning a third or subsequent language is quite a bit easier than learning the second one.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Dickhead;2154075]Most people whose mother tongue is neither Spanish nor English would find it easier to learn Spanish, I would posit. That would be especially true when it comes to writing, since English spelling makes no sense and Spanish has absolute rules. For example, there is no situation in Spanish where two different words are spelled identically but pronounced differently. And native speakers of other Romance languages such as Italian or Portuguese would find it much easier to learn Spanish than English, just as I found it easy to learn Italian after becoming fluent in Spanish. Even Portuguese, which I can't speak, I can read. I would also say that learning a third or subsequent language is quite a bit easier than learning the second one.[/QUOTE]Which in your opinion is the hardest Romance language? I have limited exposure to most of them, but for me, Romanian is by far the most complex. Also, any suggestions for the best course for learning Spanish?

[QUOTE=Dickhead;2154075] Romance languages such as Italian or Portuguese would find it much easier to learn Spanish than English, just as I found it easy to learn Italian after becoming fluent in Spanish. Even Portuguese, which I can't speak, I can read. I would also say that learning a third or subsequent language is quite a bit easier than learning the second one.[/QUOTE]I agree. I started to learn Spanish in the mid 1990's after a buddy took me to Puerta Plata in the DR and I loved the Latinas, but the only thing I could say to them was "juevos rancheros" cause that's all I knew, LOL.

Didn't get very far with that phrase, LOL, so I got dedicated to learn Spanish, and I mean dedicated.

I really wanted to learn, and I did.

We all can if we put our mind to it. Most people half ass it and / or get frustrated and just give up.

Years later I started visiting, and semi living in Brazil, so I took up Portuguese with the same vigor, however, as you say, the subsequent Romance languages are much easier to learn than the first.

Also, like you said, with Spanish you can look at a word and easily know how to pronounce it, even if you don't know what it means.

It's intuitive.

Portuguese is not like that.

When I switch from Portuguese to Spanish, I feel my mind relax.

Though I actually find Portuguese a sexier language, and even the Latinas like when I whisper sweet and sexy Portuguese in their ear.

The idea that speaking the native language is overrated is very naive.

I suggest we take this to the Chit Chat section at this point.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;2154210]I suggest we take this to the Chit Chat section at this point.[/QUOTE]Wow so much about learning Spanish, yes indeed it is important to successfully monger in El Centro. This last week I was walking around the Museum and the Church on the look out for girls I have never seen before besides the same ones that are there every day. I ran into a petite young thing on the backside of the Church, no beauty queen but not ugly and asked her how much to go to the room. I was quoted 15,000 Pesos and upon clarification she said the BJ would be uncovered. I had never seen this one out before so I decided to give it a go, what the heck for $ 6 US and $ 2 US for the room I'm not going to go broke. She was a great performer and upon learning her story she lives with her three brothers and her baby and told me that her brothers were lazy, hardly worked, and that her Mom didn't treat her well and favored her brothers. Hence she was out on the street trying to make ends meet. This one is a little gem, totally unspoiled and I gave her 30,000 Pesos after hearing her story and she could not believe it. She was so poor she told me she couldn't even afford a cell phone when I asked her for her number. She only works a few days a week and her Mom thinks she's working in a restaurant. So my experience was bittersweet, she was tight, so tight, and I will see her again, but what a sad story, however there are many others on the streets just trying to make ends meet whatever they have to do.

Just would like to co-sign what others have said about using Uber in Medellin. I got tired of the 444-0000 main taxi number always being busy and ordered my Chica an Uber. It worked flawlessly and it kept me from having to try to always have change for a 50k note for her taxi. You are also able to view the entire ride and see when she reaches her destination.

Few quick tips:

-When the Uber arrives be sure to walk your Chica to the Uber and let the driver know that the Uber is for her.

-Make sure you tell your Chica that the Uber is just to her house / main destinations ONLY. No problems with it yet. I think Uber will end the ride if the passenger exits the vehicle at any point.

-Make sure you put a travel alert on the card that you are using with Uber so that your bank won't block your card.

The one thing I haven't tried yet is sending an Uber for someone. This is a great option for chicas as she doesn't have to come out of pocket initially (most of them don't have any money until after visiting you, LOL), and it also allows you to see the fare estimate and have it charged to your card instead of reaching into your pockets.

Here is a link for anyone interested in learning how to send an Uber to pick someone up: [URL]https://ride.guru/content/newsroom/how-to-request-an-uber-for-your-friend[/URL]

NOTE: If you read the article it says something about sending the person a text message with a link to confirm their pickup, so your Chica most likely needs to have a cell phone with data and minutes.

Hopefully more of you will get onboard with using Uber there. It is a great resource and tool for our hobby and we should support them so that they continue to thrive here and improve their service offerings. After using Uber its kinda hard going back to the regular yellow taxis, lol.