I went to Medellin, Colombia for 5 weeks to study Spanish. The reason why I chose to go to Nueva Lengua was because as well as the Spanish lessons, there was course that included XNUMX hours of dance lessons per week. I thought that I wanted to learn how to bailar which is one of the main traditions in South America.

The best thing about Nueva Lengua is that people are kind and you can feel at home. Teachers are all very friendly, and they would help me with sightseeing tips or how to get on the local buses, or anything else. I was a super beginner at learning Spanish, but they would always be super patient listening to my stories with much interest. The size of the classes varied up to a maximum of about 6 students. I once had a class with onlu XNUMX of us. The teachers would treat the students equally so that everyone could take turns to talk. Also there were many interactive lessons so that we don’t get bored, for example moving, learning words by using our visions, playing games, singing Spanish songs, so I was able to have much fun while studying.

I enjoyed learning.

The total number of students would depend on the time, but is about 20, which made the school like a family. The nationalities of the students varied with many American, Canadian, Germans, Dutch, Swiss, French, Australians, etc., but there were not many Asians like me. Everyday after class, there were dance lessons, traditional cooking lessons, city sightseeing tours, volunteering at an orphanage, etc. which made my stay interesting. Every weekends, small trips were planned, and if there were some numbers of people that wanted to go somewhere specific, they could arrange that trip.

I had a homestay house introduced by the school, it was a house with a sweet lady in her 60s.She became my Colombian mother, and took me around walking in the neighborhood of nice and quiet Envigado, went to exercise sessions nearby the house, which is why I really enjoyed staying there. She cooked breakfast Arepa and dinner everyday, was my conversation partner, so at home I was happy to even have my brain tired of trying my Spanish very hard. Having the house on top of the hill was another good thing that made me exercise everyday!

In Medellin the people are very kind, the nature is green and beautiful, the weather is perfect, the city is nicely developed, there are many activities, and it is a very nice city. Even now I am in touch with the teachers and my host mother and was able to have a chance to visit them again after a few months from my first stay. If you are thinking of studying Spanish abroad, I definitely recommend Nueva Lengua in Medellin!

June 2019 Akino Hasegawa

This article was originally written in Japanese and in English