After 4 wonderful weeks with Nueva Lengua in BogotaI decided to continue my intensive Spanish course in a slightly warmer place.

So I took a plane to Cartagena on Sunday!

Proclaimed the "undisputed queen of the Caribbean", Cartagena is the ideal destination to immerse yourself in Caribbean culture and breathe that party zone that replaces summer days.

However, even though I knew very well where I was going, there are a few things that surprised me as soon as I got here:

the heat of the city

Ok, we are in the Caribbean, what am I complaining about?

But guys, going from the cold of Bogotá to the heat here in Cartagena, I admit it was a bit hard. Pack shorts, slippers, a t-shirt, and a swimsuit, and don't forget to book an air-conditioned room! (I sleep at home from school Nueva Lengua and luckily there is air conditioning!).

the colors of the city

That are beautiful! Just take a walk through the Getsemaní neighborhood (which is the neighborhood where the school Nueva Lengua), where each house has its particularity. Colors and plants that climb to the window, but also graffiti drawn on the walls as works of art.

language in the city

Yes, Spanish is spoken, but don't expect a clear accent like in the rest of the country. For a moment I was afraid that I had forgotten all the Spanish I had studied in the last few months… But then I had confirmation from other Colombians: Costeño is one of the most difficult accents to understand! They don't pronounce the “s”, they speak very fast and sometimes they eat the words. That is precisely why we need a Spanish course in Nueva Lengua, where in addition to the Spanish spoken and understood throughout the world, the teachers also explain the differences with Costaño and other dialects of the country.

This article was originally written in Italian