Outside the Museo de Arte Moderno, it's pretty clear: "I LOVE MEDELLIN"
Editor’s Note: As of 2015, this program is no longer available.
“Where’s the best place to learn Spanish in Medellin?”
It’s a common question for those planning to spend any length of time in the city, from a few weeks, to a few months or even years.
I Speak Paisa is a new three-month course created by Vince Robson, an American expat with 20-year military background, and experience visiting over 40 countries around the world.
Together with Monica Davila, a bilingual paisa Spanish Professor, their goal is to put their students on the fast-track to conversational fluency in the paisa dialect.
This is exactly the kind of course I would’ve jumped on back in 2009, when I was a new arrival in the city.
Without any money to spare on formal Spanish classes, I took the long and slow road to learning enough Spanish to get by in everyday situations.
One of the biggest discoveries I made back then was that learning the local paisa dialect was a fast track toward establishing rapport with Colombians here.
If I said certain Spanish words more commonly used in Medellin by paisas, they immediately began to speak back as though I was fluent, even though I was nowhere close to it!
What’s genius about the approach taken by I Speak Paisa is the expediency.
The course is designed to cut the BS grammatical formalities and vocab, and get you talking to people on the street and in the bars and discotecas as soon as possible.
Trust me on this, no taxi driver is going to stop and correct you on your mistaken tenses. They only care that they can understand you.
Perfection is the antagonist of language learning. You’re better off becoming comfortable with “good enough.”
What’s Included
I wanted to get to know Vince a little better, to make sure him and his course are legit. We spoke via Skype, and as a result I’m completely comfortable recommending I Speak Paisa to Medellin Living’s readers.
The regular price for the course is $299, which is a great deal when you consider the same amount only buys you a three-week course at EAFIT University.
But to make joining his course a real no-brainer, he’s set it up so subscribers to his blog, Pura Medellin, get a huge 67 percent discount off the regular price.
The subscriber price is only $99.
That’s a crazy good deal for a 12-week Spanish course. And as far as I know, his is the only course specifically designed around learning paisa Spanish.
Editor’s Note: As of 2015, this program is no longer available.
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Thanks for sharing. I have enrolled and really looking forward to it.
Cool. If I didn't already have plans to travel December to February, I'd have joined too.
Dumb question but is this online or just in Medellin?
Hi Jason, not a dumb question. It's online.
Online, which is something I should've stressed more. For those planning to move or retire to Medellin in the near future, this course can give them a head start on learning how the locals speak.
is this a beginner course? I already know quite a bit of Spanish but would like to learn paisa Spanish, but not if it's beginner like como estas. thanks.
Hi Linda, I suspect it's a beginner Spanish with the paisa twist.
Hi Linda,
I'm Vince, the creator of the course. It is designed for beginner to intermediate students, but even if you have a good grip on general Spanish there is a lot to get out of this course, since it focuses on the regional dialect spoken here in the Paisa region, specifically in practical, conversational and social contexts.
Additionally, we cover a good but of Paisa culture, values and psychology, to help students understand the Paisa perspective and thus communicate more effectively.
Thanks for the question, and if you'd like to know more Dave has kindly shared the link to our website.
Super good idea. I have two books on Paísa (Parlache) Spanish and Paísa that have greatly helped me with my Spanish but having a course like this would have probably sped up the process before I even arrived in Medallo.