I am originally a Pakistani who had been living in London before I moved to Bogotá. Its been 5 months and the experience has been nothing short of spectacular. The city combines the rough with the elegant and the odd with the familiar. Living here you are constantly experiencing the city on a daily basis when using the public transport, exploring the markets, admiring the street art/graffiti, adjusting to the altitude, visiting the museums, partying at some of the most eclectic clubs, understanding the Spanish, tasting the local and international cuisine, making new Colombian friends, cursing the traffic, being wary of muggers, speak a lot of spanish, making weekend trips outside the city, hanging out with friends in bars and the list continues. I would have loved to explore the city more and the great people that live here. Maybe, next time. I would recommend you to put Bogotá y Colombia on your to-do list right now!

When I arrived in Bogotá, I barely spoke basic Spanish and I didn’t understand a word of what someone would say to me on the streets. Spending time at Nueva Lengua (NL) with their Intensive course y private classes changed all that. While learning to ‘master’ the many different grammatical forms and reaching advanced level C1, I also engaged in many discussions on politics, history and contemporary society in Latin America. I got the chance to meet some of the most amazing Spanish teachers who took a personal interest in improving my Spanish. School activities such as free dancing and cooking classes, the trips to nearby touristic locations, tours around the city were all part of the experience in Bogotá. With help from the teachers and other students, I familiarised myself with the local slang, the local music, the local culture.

My Colombian experience would have been incomplete without Nueva Lengua!

Thanks everyone, you are all amazing!!

I hope to see you soon

This article was originally written in English