My journey with UA Abroad to the beautiful country of Colombia was nothing short of amazing. The coastal city of Barranquilla was rich with culture and many interesting places to explore. Our ventures to the cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta were short lived, but the cities were absolutely stunning. I definitely plan on returning to Colombia one day in the future in order to explore every last inch. While we did receive lots of quizzical looks as foreigners, the people were generally super nice and respectful once they realized our purpose and intent. Every time we explained that we were in Colombia studying and practicing our Spanish, the people always felt so pleased that we were immersing ourselves into their culture and language. My time at Universidad del Norte was exceptional and I made a lot of Colombian friends. One of my best friends, believe it or not, was our bus driver. His name is Edmundo, and he is such a kind-hearted and comical person. He taught me lots of slang and was just always an energetic person who added life to our day. The three professors I had while on the trip were amazing as well. The classes weren’t extremely difficult and were fairly simple as long as you stayed on top of your work. One of the professors was named Wajibe and she served as a second leader for the trip. She helped organize a lot of events and joined us on a lot of our excursions. She was very sympathetic and one of the best professors I have ever had. She was one of those professors that was really easy to get along with and truly cared about her students. My host family was amazing the host mom, Norys, cooked some of the most delicious dishes in the whole world. This trip was outstanding, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in improving their Spanish and exploring the beauty of Colombia and its culture.
