At home in the U.S., my life is very busy! I have many friends and I always have a lot to do! Since moving to Barranquilla, I have much less to do and much more free time. I recently decided that I need to fill up that time and make more of an effort to integrate myself into the culture here. I am a very friendly person, but it can be a big challenge to put myself out there since I´m living life in a culture that´s not my own while speaking a language that I´m still learning. Even though it´s been difficult, I´ve found that it´s always worth the effort when I encourage myself to go and meet new people and do new things. I know that my year here in Colombia will go fast, and I want to meet as many people and learn as much about the culture as I can before I have to leave!
Here are two new ways I´ve made an effort to engage with the culture here in Barranquilla:
1) I started going to a language exchange event. This event happens once a week and is called ´´Talk to me Wednesdays.´´ It is organized by people who want to practice different languages that they´re learning. When you get to the event, you tell them which language you already speak and which you´re trying to learn. Then you get a partner who already speaks the language. Your partner wants to learn the language you already speak. I have had some very nice partners who love speaking English.
