Medellin Living

Two years ago, I was offered a job working with Colombian students who were going to participate in an English immersion program at my university. I was just beginning my graduate studies in TESOL and was happy to accept the job, but I was extremely curious about these Colombian students. First of all, I wasn’t [...]

A small cafe in Near Casa Kiwi (in El Poblado) called Tinto Tintero offers free English discussions every Tuesday night at 8pm.  The topics are very diverse and can be funny, meaningful, or just intriguing. I have been to three of them since I have been in Medellin, and I find it’s a great way [...]

Course Correction I bet you have been wondering why I’ve spent more electronic ink on nightlife and salsa dancing the last few weeks then my trials and tribulations teaching English. The reason is simple….I decided to stop stressing about trying to teach English and focus instead on writing for my blogs – Medellin Living and [...]

I ran into a gregarious Colombian English teacher at the print shop.  Her first question to me was whether I was a teacher, perhaps because there is little reason for me to be at such a place if I weren’t.  She said she use to teach at EAFIT University’s language center, however moved to private [...]

My efforts to build a clientele of private English students is slowly but surely moving in the right direction.  I am receiving interest from potential students via my advertisements, networking, and chance encounters.  It seems the more I embrace the role of teacher, the more potential students emerge from thin air.  The challenge seems to [...]

I gained my first two regular students last week, and both were through networking. First, on Monday, I forwarded my teaching advertisement and rates to David, an engineering student from Mexico.  He forwarded them to a classmate, who forwarded them to her friend taking English classes at the university’s language center.  We were introduced two [...]

In addition to meeting Ken last week, I also reconnected with Clint from Australia.  I met him at Casa Kiwi Hostel, and got his contact info after learning he was also looking for work as an English teacher.  The difference between us is he has been away from home for far longer, 5 years, having [...]

On Wednesday evening, I met with my first paying student at the San Diego Mall.  We had met once before my first week in Medellin through a mutual friend.  She is heading for a series of interviews in the United States this weekend, and wanted to work on her pronunciation.  Unlike trying to sell myself to a school [...]

On Tuesday, I printed 30 color copies of the advertisement below. I then dropped by EAFIT’s Culture and Communications office.  Their protocol is to stamp up to four copies of the advertisement, and then post them on campus bulletin boards.  They only update the boards every Monday and Wednesday, so I was glad to have [...]

Sundays in Medellin are quiet. The young people are recovering from their late nights out, while others are going to church and exercising along certain main roads which are closed every week to encourage walking, running, and cycling. On Monday, I resumed the English for Spanish classes with Rodrigo. We began with Spanish, reviewing a [...]