Colombia Immersion - Student Handbook

Get involved with these local organizations to
become part of a local group that gives back. You’ll
practice your Spanish, meet friends, and do
something good all at once!

Join the mission to de-stigmatise homelessness with passionate young locals.
What is Fundación Visibles?
Funcacion Visibles is a nonprofit dedicated to feeding the poorest people of Medellin
and also to de-stigmatize homelessness by choosing to interact with the homeless and
taking the time to understand their struggles.
How to Participate
Join their Homeless
Outreach Project
Besides being a great way to practice your
Spanish, it’s an eye-opening way to
discover a different side of Medellin, it
feels good to give back, and it’s a fantastic
way to get to know and speak to locals in
an authentic circumstances.
The group meets every Thursday at Cisneros Metro station at 8:30pm. To get there,
take the Metro to San Antonio, take the stairs up to the higher platform and change
lines for the Cisneros train. Go 1 stop and get off at Cisneros and walk towards the exit
on your right. The journey can take between 30-45 minutes from Colombia Immersion.
When you leave the San Antonio metro station, you’ll see a group of people at the
bottom of the station stairs…. these are your new friends! After a short orientation
you will be given hot chocolate and bread. It's best not to wait to be invited to help
out… just start speaking to people. Remember to be respectful and polite. The activity
ends at about 10:30pm or 11pm.

Be part of a team of locals in one of Latin America’s most respected nonprofits.
About TECHO
TECHO is a nonprofit whose mission is to build houses in order to improve the lives of
those living in extreme poverty. It exists in 17 countries throughout Latin America.
Community outreach in the slums of Medellin
We recommend joining their community outreach excursions that they do every
Saturday. It’s an all-day trip that they do to get to
know the communities while taking surveys in
individual homes to understand the needs of the
community members. After doing the surveys, the
organization chooses which families to build a home
for.
How to participate
Join their Facebook page for updates and details.
Voluntarios TECHO Medellin:
www.facebook.com/groups/515163048540811
To get to the Saturday Excursion: Take the metro to
Acevedo station (unless the Facebook group states
otherwise). Look for the group of people in the
white T-Shirts that say TECHO.The group will stay
out until usually 5pm and will return you to a metro
station.
If you want to get more involved, TECHO has planning meetings throughout the week
which you can attend to truly be part of a local TECHO team: find more info in their
Facebook Group.
Read more on their website: ​http://www.techo.org/paises/colombia/
Read a former student blog on his experience: ​www.anotherfirstworldtraveller.com/blog/we-built-a-house-together

Find your “home-away-from-home” in this small community center
dedicated to serving its local area.
About Suma Pax
Suma Pax is a local nonprofit that provides social
and communication programs to underprivileged
kids, women, and elderly in their neighborhood.
Join the Community Center
The best approach for starting out is to go and
spend time at the organization first. This place is great: laid back, loosely organized,
with great people and a nice atmosphere. Once you’re ready, talk with Lis (the leader)
about your skills and interests and she will help organize a project around that. You can
teach English to children and adult community members, attend a workshop, or visit
while they record a radio program.
How to participate
Inform a CI staff member so they can
inform Suma Pax that you’ll be
arriving.
To get there​: Take the metro to
Alpujarra station. Walk south until you
reach Calle 41. Walk east until you
reach Carrera 43a, and turn right. The
building will be on your left hand side
and say ​Suma Pax.
Address:​ Cra 43a #39a - 120.
Upon arrival:​ Ask for Lisbeth and tell
her you’re from Colombia Immersion.
She will welcome you. Don’t expect a highly structured environment, but rather get ready to chat with
people, ask about the organization, and enjoy the atmosphere while practicing your Spanish. If you’re
interested in getting more involved, just ask!

Medellin has a bunch of weekly events happening throughout the city. Many of them
are cheap or free, so there’s no excuses. We challenge you to invite a local friend to one
of these events.
Day & Time Event Description Location
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
6:00pm
7:00pm
8:30pm
7:00pm
7:00pm
5:30pm
-
9:00pm
8:30pm
8:00pm-
9:30pm
8:00pm-
11:00p
m
CineClub EAFIT
City Monday
Free Salsa Class @
The Wandering Paisa]
Movie Club every Monday in EAFIT.
FREE.
In the theater Pablo Tobón Uribe in the
center of Medellín every Monday choose
a topic about Medellin and talk about it.
It's an oportunity to know more about
the city and to meet people. FREE.
The Wandering Paisa is a cool hostel in
Laureles with a bunch of events every
week. It attracts a good crowd of both
locals and foreigners!
EAFIT. Bloque 38,
auditorio 125
Live Salsa Music @
Eslabón Prendido Live music at a salsa bar downtown! el Centro
Free Salsa Class @
Paisa City Hostel
Tres Cordilleras Beer
Tour and Tasting
La Cabaña del
Recuerdo
Free Salsa Class @
DanceFree
Language Exchange @
the Wandering Paisa
Hostel in Laureles with some free events,
including Salsa class. Check their
Facebook page to confirm event.
Every Thursday 3Cordilleras Brewery
does a tour of their brewery and you can
get 5 beers for 24.000COP. Sometimes
they transmit soccer games (they give
away 1 free beer per goal!) and do other
events.
Quirky little bar in Envigado that has free
live music every Thursday evening. VERY
'tipico' and very worth going to. Right
across the street from a gourmet pizza
shop that has craft beer and wine by the
glass.
Free dance classes in Dancefree Salsa
school in El Poblado.
Language exchange at a cool hostel in
Laureles that has a bunch of events every
week.
Center of Medellín
carrera 40 N 51 - 24
colthes to avenida
oriental
Calle 44 A No. 68 A 76
Laureles;
Laureles, one block
from Estacion Estadio
Near Exposiciones
station.
http://3cordilleras.com
Corner of Calle 38 with
Carrera 35 in Envigado
Two blocks off of
Parque Lleras en El
Poblado
Calle 44 A No. 68 A 76
Laureles;

Sunday
7:00am -
1:00pm
9:00am -
2:00pm
Farmers Market @ El
Poblado
Farmers Market @
Ciudad del Rio
This farmer’s market brings together
locally grown or made products for sale
every Sunday on the park.
Farmer’s market every Sunday, where
locally grown/made products are sold
right in front of the modern art museum
on Avenida Las Vegas.
Parque Lineal La
Presidenta
Cra. 43a #7
Medellín, Antioquia
05001000 Colombia
Parque Lineal Ciudad
del Rio
Carrera 45 #17-100,
Poblado
Medellín, Colombia
It’s the irony of this moment in history that sometimes the best place
to meet people in real life is… online. The following tools are
awesome ways to meet local people and learn about local events in
the city. Don’t be shy and get clicking!
1. Couchsurfing.com
The basic premise of the site is that hosts around the world offer a couch or spare bed
to travelers, but it’s grown into a community of millions of open-minded people that
like to travel and meet people from all walks of life. Use the following strategies to meet
people through couchsurfing:
● Couchsurf around Medellín. Find a
host here in Medellín, and stay with
them for a few days or a weekend.
● Find a language buddy. Browse
through profiles nearby and send a
message to people that look cool or
interesting.
● Join a local Event. Search for events in the local area… and attend! Usually these
events attract a mix of locals and foreigners.

● Hangout. This is a new app designed to help you meet up with nearby people.
Think of it as the Tinder for local friends.
Tips: People get lots of messages and requests on the site, so write thoughtful,
personalized messages with the knowledge that they might not reply. It’s not that they
don’t care, just that they get busy.
2. Meetup.com
Just like the name implies, this site will help you meet up
with other people. The site is nice because it’s
interest-based. Search for a nearby group, find an event that
looks fun… and go!
3. TalkTalkBnB.com
This is like couchsurfing, but with languages! Stay with a host for free in exchange for
talking with them OR learn Spanish with native speakers in exchange for hosting them
yourself.
4. Facebook

Turn your facebook feed into a list of the coolest upcoming events in town. Follow the
below pages, and set the page to “see first”. Now, your home screen will show you all
upcoming events and notifications about these organizations. Cool, no?
Group Description www.facebook.com/
Colectivo SiCLas
Alcaldia de Medellin
Casa Teatro El Poblado
El Garaje
MAAM Medellín
Biking collective that offers weekly rides around the
city with like-minded people. A great group for
making friends
Local government page with government sponsored
events.
Cultural center in "la frontera". Lots of movie nights
and events are ALL THE TIME.
Underground magazine fairs all over medellin.
Expect: lots of art (in addition to LOTS of magazines),
graffiti, beer and Medellin's hipster scene.
Medellin's Museum of Modern Art. Lots of films, and
other art exhibitions/ cultural events
/colectivosiclas
/CulturaMed/events
/CasaTeatroElPoblado
/el.garajezine
/mammedellin
La Ruta Trekking Hiking events in various parts of Antioquia /larutatrekking
Elemental Teatro
Centro Plazarte
Local theater near Alpujarra station with cool events. /elemental.teatro
Art and cultural center… with alternative cultural
events and happenings. Think: film nights, poetry
readings... cool stuff.
/centroplazarteprado
Son Havana Salsa Bar in Laureles /sonhavana
Eslabón Prendido
Teatro Pablo Tobón
EAFIT
Salsa Bar in El Centro
Theater in the center
University in Envigado - they have cultural events
too-- check their website
/Eslabón-Prendido-145411115
567828
/Teatro-Pablo-Tobón-Uribe-138
600167090
/universidadeafit/events
Café de Otraparte Coffee shop in Envigado with events /CafedeOtraparte
Museo de Antioquia Art and culture exhibitions, workshops, etc. /museodantioquia
Sloth Sanctuary
AIUNAU
AIUNAU is a sloth sanctuary and if you coordinate in
advance you can go on a tour.
/aiunau

E2E Foundation
Help various non-profit projects with impact
measurement services, project design, and
management. Big demand for volunteers, especially
in office, but also opportunities to work in the field.
/FundacionE2E
Take charge of your learning process. ​You are the master of your future, the
captain of your destiny. Plan ahead, motivate yourself, and dedicate yourself to your
studies and learning. Nobody else will do that for you.
Plan your week ahead of time. ​When will you
study? When will you play? Before jumping into the week,
think about what’s most important to you and plan
accordingly. There’s no “right way” to experience this city
or learn Spanish, but if you spend time thinking about what
you want in advance, you’ll get more out of your time.
Spend as much time as possible with locals…
that don’t speak English.​ ​It’s no surprise that the best way to expose yourself to
Spanish is to, well, speak the language. Make friends that only speak Spanish. This can
be challenging if you’re a beginner, but if you relax, have fun with it, and use
sign-language, you can build a unique friendship you wouldn’t have otherwise (that also
will help you learn the language).
Create a mini-immersion environment for yourself. ​Set all your devices
and applications to your target language. That means your cell phone, facebook, and
email should all be set to the Spanish language. You might be surprised by how much of
the information you’ll understand based on context alone.

¡Buena Suerte!