Spanish classes in Medellin

[larrydarrell]

Hello.  Has anyone taken/heard any useful information about Spanish classes at Universidad Eafit in Medellin?  Here is the link, their curriculum looks quite good (and cheap,by U.S. standards), but you never know.

http://www.eafit.edu.co/EafitCn/Idiomas/spanishProgram/Index.htm

I am planning to move to SA at the end of the year and know no Spanish.  I am going to use books and tapes before I go but an intensive program like this seems to be the way to go to avoid the discouragement that will inevitably arise from sitting in a room in the U.S. staring at books and the gringas outside the window.

And Medellin seems to be a good place to study.  From what I read, the chicas there are as hot as any in Colombia, but more reliable than the Calenas.

Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Dash]

... in response to Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 27, 2005

learn here, speak there

[pablo]

... in response to Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 27, 2005


Hola Larry,

I visited the Eafit University a few months ago and spoke with the lady in charge of the language program and then was invited to sit in on one of their classes.  I posted about this before but can't remember if it was here at P-L or elsewhere.  Let me try to dig it up and if I find it, I will post it again.

In a nutshell, the Profesor de ingles was an extremely good teacher.  His class was naturally very small, but more importantly very interesting, a lot of one-on-one, and to my surprise, very entertaining as well because of his good sense of humor.  One very nice side benefit of enrolling at this university is the opportunity to meet many people, among them some extremely attractive Paisas.

I'm using the popular Pimsleur Spanish course and I think your plan on attending this particular university is a good idea to round out your learning experience.  (Heat's and Papi's ideas are good too.)  

I'm sure you have thought of this but just in case you haven't, since you are planning on moving to SA have you given some thought on the best way to live here long term, i.e, extended tourist visa (not that great as it only allows up to a six month stay), retirement visa, business visa, or student visa?  Don't leave this important aspect of your expatriate move (?) to the last minute.

Suerte.

[WS244]

... in response to Re: Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by pablo on Jun 27, 2005

test

[larrydarrell]

... in response to Re: Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by pablo on Jun 27, 2005

Thanks for the long post.  I am actually planning to look at Chile and Peru for long-term options.  I would not look at Colombia because of the crime/security situation.  I like to move around a lot, both inside and outside the city where I am living, and having large parts of the country/major cities as no-go areas is unacceptable to me.  Also having one's children (of which I have none) grow up in a fortress-type situation (which to a lesser extent happens in many cities in the U.S.) is really bad.  I have spent a few weeks in most of the S.A. countries and found Santiago, Chile to be quite appealing (though pollution is a huge problem, and cost of living is high).  Women there obviously do not match Colombians; therefore I may try to find a Colombiana willing to move to another S.A. country.

I am less worried about the visa situation than the tax situation.  (I am a tax attorney.)  I would be living off investment income which will be subject to tax in the S.A. country (most of which have higher tax rates than the U.S.) so I may have to spend a certain period of time outside of the S.A. country periodically to avoid residency.  The high S.A. tax rates kick in at a low rate of investment income if you are a citizen/resident there(presumably because so few people in those countries have much investment income, and so few care about this tax).  Apparently you can cut some kind of deal (official or unofficial) with taxing authorities if you plan to stay there and they want to keep you and your money there.  I would guess that posters on this board who move to S.A. never talk about their tax situation either because they do not have enough investment income for this to be a problem, or because they do not bother filing returns in the chaotic S.A. tax system.  The latter would probably work fine, until the S.A. version of the IRS comes after you.

[Cali James]

... in response to Re: Re: Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 28, 2005

Well they can't tax what they don't know about.  I'd keep most of my financial assets in the States and just draw from it for living.

[larrydarrell]

... in response to Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by Cali James on Jun 28, 2005

Won't work.  The first thing they will do is ask for copies of your U.S. tax returns.  And unless you are willing to lie on those, they will find out what you are making.

[Cali James]

... in response to Re: Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 28, 2005


The law in Colombia used to be that alien residents for the first 6 years of residency, were only taxed on Colombia source income, after 6 years it became worldwide.  So even if you follow the law exactly, Colombia won't tax your U.S. income for six years.  Anyway, in latin america people look at the tax system differently than here, under-reporting is basicly expected.  I wouldn't cough up a U.S. tax return for them, no way.  I don't think they'd have any way of knowing how much or how little my asset base in the U.S. was.

[papi]

... in response to Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 27, 2005

Here is my recommendation.  Don’t just rely on Spanish classes in Colombia.  Start now, but forget the tapes, books for starters and get yourself enrolled in a continuing education course here in the States.  You will learn the basics better in a classroom atmosphere here in the US.  Then continue with your education in Latin America but if you really want to learn Spanish well get yourself in an immersion school – you can find those in Central America – like Costa Rica.  If Colombia is your destination, I would recommend spending time in Cali, Medellin, Bogota and Cartagena before making a decision. There are pros and cons to all places.  A lot of expats are now going to Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua – if you want a closer, safer place to hang your sombrero

[Heat]

... in response to Spanish classes in Medellin, posted by larrydarrell on Jun 27, 2005

From what I read, the chicas there are as hot as any in Colombia, but more reliable than the Calenas."""

Are the people from New York more "reliable" than Texas"?

First off forget that crap.  There are plenty of scam artists there too.

Is Medellin a hell of a nice place?  You bet!  I've heard good things about that program but getting a girlfriend Will teach you more than any Spanish program.

Good luck!