Spanish is spoken throughout Latin America, but the Colombian variety is one of a kind, influenced by its unique culture, tropical landscape, and even food. For example, locals say “No des papaya” to warn somebody to use common sense and not make a target of themselves. Chévere and bacano are two ways to say something is cool. Colombia is also home to many indigenous languages, and one of my students speaks Cubeo and Guanano, from the Amazonian region, in addition to Spanish.
The Colombian peso is one of the most colorful types of money I’ve seen. The common bills range from 2,000 to 50,000 pesos and feature important Colombians like Gabriel García Márquez, author of 100 Years of Solitude.
A bottle of water costs 2,000 pesos, or around 65 cents. However, all Peace Corps Volunteers are provided a filter that can be continuously filled with tap water, and this is preferable so that I don’t have to spend my limited allowance on water bottles.
