Cartagena, “the pearl of the Caribbean” they call it. A seemingly perfect city, full of colors, narrow stone streets and a relaxing atmosphere. It can be said that Cartagena is anything but ugly, because it is actually a spectacular city.

However, the REAL Cartagena is one that, as a tourist, you don't see, you don't notice and you never imagine.

The real Cartagena is the one outside and far from the walls, the one that has nothing to do with not even luxury bars and restaurants, the one with real people, the one with smiles, the one that gets up every morning at dawn and work hard under the sunny day all day!

The real Cartagena is the one you know when you decide to get in touch with them, just as it happened to me during the “Spanish and Volunteering” in Colombia with the Spanish school Nueva Lengua.

Every Thursday, after Spanish classes, the children of the Getsemanì district come to school, where the school is located. Children are a bomb of joy and energy! It doesn't seem real to him to be able to meet people who come from so far away!

One day I showed on the map where Italy was and where Colombia was. They were stunned!

A child told me: “But how did you get here, with the camel?!”

According to him, in fact, he had arrived by land, climbing over the North Pole, crossing Alaska and descending to the American continent!

His view of the world made me smile at what, in fact, I hadn't thought of!

The volunteer work consists of teaching English to children. You don't have to be a teacher or a great connoisseur of the English language! In fact, they want to learn the names of animals, body parts, and other basic things.

Think what a fantastic experience it can be for them to have foreign English teachers like us!

Cartagena is one of the ideal cities to combine the study of Spanish with volunteering.

In fact, in the morning you always study at school, then in the afternoon you dedicate it to donating your time to a foundation, where you have the opportunity to practice the language. And at night, going out in Cartagena is a must, if not necessary, as it is the coolest time of the day! Among other things, in the city there is always something to do, always party and always fun!

Don't miss out on this wonderful experience, it will stay in your heart forever as it did for me!

This article was originally written in Italian