From zero Spanish to reading Marquez: My journey as a pioneering exchange student in Colombia’s vibrant capital
New York, N.Y. – In 1979, I found myself standing in Bogotá‘s El Dorado International Airport, clutching my suitcase and a Spanish-English dictionary that would become my lifeline.
As an Asian Studies major from the College of Wooster, I had been selected by the Great Lakes College Association for an experimental exchange: could a student with absolutely no Spanish language background survive and thrive in Colombia? Until then, the program had required two years of Spanish study as a prerequisite. I was the guinea pig who would test whether those language barriers were truly necessary.
The Family Who Shaped My Colombian Experience
My new home was a modest but welcoming apartment at Carrera 9 #123-59, near the then-new shopping center Uni Centro, where I was embraced by a Colombian family and their maid who spoke not a word of English.
Those first days were a blur of wild gesticulations, confused facial expressions, and thumbing desperately through my dictionary.
My host mother, a patient woman with kind eyes, would hold up household items, pronounce their Spanish names clearly, and wait expectantly for me to repeat them.
Dinner conversations were exercises in creative communication—pointing, drawing, and occasionally acting out concepts when words failed.
Centro de Estudios: The Academic Challenge
My studies at Centro de estudios universitarios colombo-americano, affiliated with Universidad de Los Andes, presented a different kind of immersion challenge. On my first day, I sat through lectures understanding perhaps five percent of what was being said. I furiously wrote down unfamiliar words to look up later and relied heavily on context clues and the occasional bilingual classmate for clarification. Professors, aware of my unique situation, often provided additional materials or explanations after class.
The language barrier turned every interaction into a puzzle to solve. Ordering food, taking buses, asking directions—each daily task became both a challenge and a triumph. I carried a small notebook everywhere, jotting down new words and phrases I encountered. At night, I would review these entries by lamplight, determined to build my vocabulary word by word.
Cultural Immersion Beyond The Classroom
Weekends offered respite from academic pressures but deepened my cultural immersion.
I explored Bogotá’s historic La Candelaria district, where colonial architecture and vibrant street art told stories of Colombia’s complex history.
At local markets, I practiced my growing Spanish vocabulary while haggling for emerald trinkets and hand-woven mochila bags.
Sunday afternoons often found me in Simón Bolívar Park, watching families gather for picnics and music.
The rich cultural tapestry of Colombia extended beyond Bogotá. During holiday breaks, fellow students invited me to their family homes in Medellin, Cartagena, and the coffee-growing regions.
These excursions revealed a country of stunning diversity—from Caribbean coastal traditions to Andean mountain cultures.
Each region presented new dialects and expressions, further challenging and expanding my language abilities.
The Marquez Milestone
Three months into my stay, a pivotal moment occurred in my literature class.
The professor assigned Gabriel García Márquez‘s Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude).
While other exchange students groaned at the assignment’s difficulty, I approached it with determination.
Night after night, I sat at my small desk, dictionary at hand, unraveling Marquez’s magical realism sentence by sentence.
The first chapters took hours to decipher, but gradually, something remarkable happened.
The need to translate diminished as I began thinking in Spanish, dreaming in Spanish,
living in Spanish. By the semester’s end, I could discuss the novel’s themes and nuances
alongside my Colombian classmates—a feat that seemed impossible just months earlier.
The Legacy of Linguistic Immersion
When I returned to the U.S., the Great Lakes College Association evaluated my experience as a successful experiment.
The language prerequisite policy was subsequently modified, opening doors for more students to experience Colombian culture regardless of their prior Spanish study.
My journey had proven that with determination and immersion, language barriers could indeed be overcome.
Today, decades later, I remain somewhat fluent in Spanish, and the connections I made in Colombia have enriched my life immeasurably.
I may even go back this year to visit an indigenous community from the Amazon.
That semester as a linguistic guinea pig transformed not just my academic path but my understanding of human communication itself.
Language, I discovered, extends beyond vocabulary and grammar—it’s about connection, perseverance, and the willingness to make countless mistakes in pursuit of understanding.
My experience in Bogotá taught me that we are capable of far more than we imagine when pushed beyond our comfort zones. Sometimes, the most profound learning happens precisely when we feel most lost.
Breaking Language Barriers in Bogotá Before the Extreme Violence (May 18, 2025)
Post Script
Sadly, the program was closed shortly after my stay in Bogotá due to “extreme violence.” What did that mean? So many things. Drug trafficking: This was the early era of powerful drug cartels in Colombia. Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel was growing in influence, though it hadn’t yet reached the height of its power and violence that would come in the mid-1980s. Political violence: Colombia had a long history of political tension between Liberals and Conservatives. While “La Violencia” (the intense civil conflict between these groups) had officially ended in the 1950s, political tensions remained. Guerrilla movements: Groups like FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (National Liberation Army) were active during this period. These left-wing guerrilla groups had been founded in the 1960s and remained active in both rural areas and occasionally in urban settings. M-19: The April 19 Movement (M-19) was particularly active in Bogota during this time. In 1980, M-19 guerrillas famously seized the Dominican Republic’s embassy in Bogota during a diplomatic reception, taking multiple ambassadors hostage for 61 days. State response: The Colombian government’s sometimes heavy-handed response to these threats also contributed to the climate of violence.
#ColombiaExchange #LanguageLearning #StudyAbroad #CulturalImmersion #Bogota #SpanishLearning
TAGS: Colombia, study abroad, language immersion, Bogota, exchange student, Spanish learning,
1979, Great Lakes College Association, College of Wooster, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
75-Word Summary for Audio File
In 1979, as an Asian Studies major with zero Spanish knowledge, I became the experimental exchange student for the Great Lakes College Association’s program in Bogota, Colombia. Living with a non-English speaking family and studying at Centro de estudios universitarios colombo-americano, I navigated daily challenges through determination and immersion. Against all expectations, by semester’s end, I was reading Gabriel García Márquez alongside native speakers, proving language prerequisites weren’t necessary for meaningful cultural exchange.
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