Writing a Colombian Carta de Invitación: Spanish Letter-Writing Power for Visiting Friends
Back in 2016 I was sweating in the immigration line at El Dorado airport, clutching my best friend Mateo’s handwritten carta de invitación. The agent raised an eyebrow the moment he spotted my gringo last name. One smooth sentence later—“Él va a hospedarse en mi apartamento en Chapinero y yo cubro todos sus gastos”—and the […]
Dominican Car Wash Small Talk: “Lavado Completo”, “Brillado”, and Tips
Suds and Stories at the Dominican Car Wash I still remember the first Saturday I rolled my dusty Toyota Yaris into Auto Lavado Don Pepe in Santiago de los Caballeros. Ten years in the Dominican Republic have taught me that a car wash is never just a car wash—it is an impromptu barbershop, a gossip […]
From Craigslist Rookie to Barrio Pro: Posting Classified Ads in Medellín Without Sounding Like a Gringo
La primera vez que vendí mi air-fryer en Medellín I still remember the hum of Avenida 33 as I walked to a tiny copy shop to print the photo of my once-beloved air-fryer. Ten years in the Dominican Republic had stuffed my brain with merengue lyrics and playful doble sentido, yet that morning in Medellín […]
Dominican Earthquake Drill Spanish: Coordinating with Condo Staff Dominican Earthquake Drill Spanish: Coordinating with Condo Staff Error generating content: Failed to execute ‘json’ on ‘Response’: Unexpected end of JSON input
Ordering Allergy-Friendly Delights in Colombia: A Street-Level Guide to Vegan & Gluten-Free Spanish
From Peanut Panic to Pastel de Quinoa: My First Allergen Adventure I still remember the day my Dominican landlord, Doña Lidia, handed me an invitation to her niece’s birthday. “James, tráete un bizcocho vegano, pero sin gluten,” she said, waving her hands as if the words themselves might give her hives. Ten years in Santo […]
From Beamer to “Video Beam”: Mastering Tech Crew Spanish for Colombian Conference Centers
A Projector Misfire in Medellín: My Wake-Up Call The first time I had to run a PowerPoint in Medellín, I swaggered in with ten years of Dominican Spanish under my belt and the overconfidence of a man who thinks a VGA cable is a universal peace treaty. I asked the techie for “el proyector” because […]
Colombian Candle-Making Workshops: Wax, Wick, and Fragrance Vocab for the Roaming Expat
I still remember the first time I burned my thumb on a pot of bubbling cera de soya in Medellín. It was the kind of rookie mistake any distracted gringo could make, yet the sting ended up lighting a more useful fire: my thirst for nuanced Spanish Vocabulary. That afternoon, while the workshop instructor waved […]
Negotiating a Bicycle-Taxi in Santo Domingo: Street-Level Spanish for Short Rides and Sharp Ears
El Callejón de los Sueños Cortos: Why a 2-Minute Ride Became My 10-Year Classroom I still remember the first time I hopped onto a bicycle-taxi—locally crowned a bici—outside the Colón Park in the Colonial Zone. It was 7 p.m.; bachata spilled from a colmado speaker, and my date waited only four blocks away. Four Dominican […]
Threads of Earth and Story: Navigating a Dominican Artisan Market with Confident Spanish
When a Hand-woven Hat Schooled Me in Humility I still remember the morning I tried to bargain for a sombrero de cana in Santo Domingo’s Mercado Modelo. After ten years in the Dominican Republic and countless jaunts to Medellín, I fancied my Spanish airtight. I grinned and tossed out a rehearsed line—only to watch the […]
Dominican River-Rafting Briefings: Safety Commands and Paddle Calls
From White-Water Panic to Conversational Flow It was my third month in Jarabacoa, the so-called Dominican Alps, when my gringo swagger met the Yaque del Norte River. I’d survived the usual expat rites—the first mamajuana hangover, the first power outage shower—but this was different. Our rafting guide, Tito, rattled off rapid-fire instructions, and my “basic […]