Travels
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Sydney walks
One of the most beautiful cities in the world, thanks to it’s vast and splendid harbour, Sydney has so many gorgeous walks for visitors to enjoy. While living in Sydney, I never owned a car so unfortunately didn’t explore some of the more harder to get to walks; I did manage to get to most of the ones relatively close to the CBD. Sharing my favourites with you now. *** The showstopper – the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. No visit to Sydney is complete without doing this walk. I try to do this every time I visit and it never gets old. On a good day, you might even…
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What to do in Sydney
I had the good fortune to live in Sydney from 2010 – 2014 and made sure I made the most of my time there. If there was a night noodle market, an outdoor movie, or a new restaurant, you betcha I tried it out. In the last few years, I’ve had to travel to Sydney every couple months or so for work, so I was still able to visit my favourite haunts frequently. This is a list that covers some of the popular tourist spots and the neighbourhoods in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. I had to save the F&B recommendations for another post as this was already becoming…
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Colombia Immersion Language School
According to my Spanish profesora, 5 years ago, there were no Spanish language schools in Medellin. Perhaps 5 years is a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is that in very recent times, there’s been an explosion of casual Spanish schools being offered in Medellin, which speaks to the growth of tourism in the city/country, and the popularity of learning Spanish. I chose Colombia Immersion for my language classes in Medellin after a recommendation from a fellow traveller I met in Jaco. With two locations (the original in Envigado and the newer one in Laureles), small classes, and the option to choose between full immersion or several different…
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Las Paisas | The Paisas
The people of the province of Antioquia (where Medellin is) are known as Paisas. Two weeks into my stay here and I have come to experience first hand their warmth and friendliness, time and time again. It started from the day I arrived, super early in the morning. Ill prepared and thinking my two weeks of Spanish courses in Costa Rica would get me through, I landed at the airport and left the building without bothering to look for a SIM provider. I had the address to my Airbnb and figured the cab driver would be able to find it. Not the case. Instead, I got dropped close to…
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Un dia en Guatape | One day in Guatape
Guatape, an adorable pueblo 2 hours east of Medellin, is the perfect day trip from the city of eternal spring. I managed to recruit some fellow students at the Spanish school to go with me. We arranged to meet at La Floresta metro station at 8am on Saturday. Here’s a quick guide if you want to go without a tour: Take the metro to Caribe station. There is a massive bus station right next to Caribe metro station. You can get bus tickets to many different places from there. Ticket counter 9 and 14 sell the bus tickets for Guatape. ***Tip: if you are in a group, you can…
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Aprendiendo Español | Learning Spanish
“Why do you want to learn Spanish?”, I’ve been asked. Me gusta, is the short answer. I like it. And because Spanish is a widely spoken language, it’ll make my travels through any Spanish speaking country much easier. It’s supposedly an “easy” language to learn, and I want the challenge of actively learning a new language. Though I speak fluent English and conversational Chinese, I acquired both these through osmosis, rather than through an form of active studying. French, Italian, Japanese have all been attempted in the past, but nothing stuck. My goal is to be able to have basic conversations with others. During the process of learning Spanish, I’ve…
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Observaciones de Medellin
In Medellin for a week now and loving the vibe of this energetic city. My observations so far are that it’s young, fun, and changing really quickly. I first heard about Medellin maybe 6-7 years ago when some friends of friends had come back from extended stays there. “Colombia? Is it safe?”, I had asked. Fast forward to 2018 and Colombia is a poster child for transformation. The drugs and violence of the past have diminished drastically and the locals are positive and proud of where they are today. Getting Around The Metro system of Medellin is the hallmark of this attitude. Constructed ~30 years ago, this is the only…
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Let me guess, you’re a digital nomad?
No? Then you must be an English teacher. So it seems these are the careers du jour of the extranejeros (foreigners) I’ve met so far in Medellin. In my clase de Espanol, amongst our small group of 5, there are three English teachers. B & J are an English couple, teaching English to Chinese kids, via the web. They have classes usually from 5am – 8am, to coincide with timezones in China. Then, there is B, an older senora from North Carolina, who’s also teaching English online, but to adults all over the world. English teaching via the web is a phenomenon that’s exploded. I first heard about it in…
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Exploring the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
Finally getting my butt out of Jaco, I spent my last weekend in Costa Rica exploring Marque Manuel Antonio and doing a hike to a waterfall not too far from Jaco. Together with two other students, we had originally planned to take the bus from Jaco centre to Quepos, then take another bus or a cab to Manuel Antonio. At the very last minute, Colin, a Texan with a big personality, decided to rent a car since he had to drive to the airport early the next morning anyway. Perfecto, this gives us much more flexibility. The drive was 1.5 hours to Manuel Antonio from Jaco and a few tips…
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Spanish, Surf, and un poquito Sun!
Wrapped up my two weeks of learning at the Escuela del Mundo today. It’s been fantastic, and I’m a little bit sad to leave this little oasis in Jaco. This past week, I switched my photography class to surfing. The school’s main focus is really on surfing. The teachers are chill but professional and they really make sure to teach you at your level. On Monday, my first surf class here, I was with C & K, a German couple, and J, another German. The four of us were with Estanban, one of the instuctors. It was a rough day at sea, with light rain coming down and fast choppy…
