Romain Fontaine is one of the students school Nueva Lengua-Cartagena, is a twenty-one-year-old boy, very cheerful and charismatic, he loves the food and the atmosphere of the city. He has been in the city of Cartagena for almost three months, and every day he falls a little more in love with Colombian life and culture. In Switzerland, his country of origin, he works in a postal company and came to Colombia to have new experiences and build a life here.

Next, we are going to know a little more about the thoughts of this boy about his experience in Cartagena and at school Nueva Lengua.

What things do you like about Cartagena? 

"What I like the most is my girlfriend (says it with a nervous laugh), but I also like the colors of the houses, here the houses are all different colors, it's like a carnival, in Switzerland the houses are not so colorful and I like that a lot about Cartagena. Also that all the streets have a lot of art and are always full of paintings about the city, the neighborhood Gethsemane for me it is like a museum because there are many paintings and everyone can see them.

The climate and the mentality are two things that I also like about the people of Cartagena. The climate because the heat of the city and its streets is not only in the air but also in the people, they are very warm and they really enjoy being together as a family, they are very close. People here are very friendly and always want to help, so I also like the way they think, in Switzerland people are a bit cold and it is not easy to make friends, but in Colombia it is very simple. The mentality is that they are open with people and you can talk and meet people on the street, I have had the opportunity to integrate with Cartagena and with a typical family from Cartagena and that has helped me not only to improve my Spanish but also to learn about culture and about the city. " 

In the Nueva Lengua School Romain had the opportunity to participate in student volunteering to help children in the community learn and practice their English. This was what it meant for Romain to be part of the volunteer jobs..

What was it like for you to volunteer at the school Nueva Lengua- Cartagena?

“It was very good and a good experience to help the children, I have never done something like this before. For me, it was the first time that I was a teacher, so it was something totally different from what I do in Switzerland, but it was a lot of fun and I liked being able to help the children and spend time with them. "

What did you do in class that day?

“That day I taught the children to say the months of the year and the sizes, if something is big or small. We also learned about the different seasons of the year, but they taught me that in Colombia there are not all seasons, which was very surprising to me and at the end of the class the children took an exam to see if they had learned and could remember all the seasons. things we practice that day. "

And did you like being a teacher?

“It was a lot of fun but it was also very difficult, but a good experience, because it was a very different activity from my usual work, with the children it was a little less difficult, because they always make jokes and the class is very good; but on the other hand it was hard because I did not have the tools to be a good teacher and at that moment my Spanish was not very good, but the dance teacher helped me a lot because she did exercises with me to help the children remember what I taught them. "

What things do you still have to do in Cartagena? Do you think it is a good place to live?

“Yes, because I like the climate, and the people, the truth would not change anything about Cartagena. The view of the city is very beautiful with the sea and the sun and sometimes the sky looks amazing with so many colors, and the people are friendly. The food is good, it is very different from the food of my country, but it is full of flavors and colors. I always enjoy lunch time at school, Mrs. Yenny and Mrs. Marcela are great cooks. I really hope I can be here for a long time and one day be able to feel like a true Colombian because Colombia has made me feel at home. " 

If you want to know the city of Cartagena y study Spanish as Romain has done, the school Nueva Lengua has the doors open for you. We are looking forward to seeing you in this Special Mini-webinar!

Written by Tania Correa - Professional in Linguistics and Literature and Teacher of Nueva Lengua-Cartagena.