Immersive Spanish - Immersive Spanish - Colombia Adventure - Episode 3 - Walking in Medellín - Spanish Survival Toolkit

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

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Season 7, Episode 3. Hello, viajeros. Much thanks for accompaniment one in my podcast, where we're together.

Those areuppers were absolutely delicious. But is that three arrepas? Why I paid three arrepas? One

only was sufficient. I definitely ate too much. So, we're going to do a Paceo, which if you didn't know, means we're going to go for a walk. We're going to do a walk.

So, I have to say, it feels so good to be back in La Cudad de la Terna Primavera, the city of Eternal Spring. All these enormous trees and rich shrubbery that line the streets. I'll tell you, Medellín sometimes feels less like a city with trees and more like a jungle of buildings inside it. One hongla urbana. Even with all the traffic, everything feels alive and green.

Anyhow, we need to have a quick talk. No te preoccupies, no pasa nada. Don't worry, you're not in trouble. But imagine this. You've studied Spanish for months. You know plenty of vocabulary and you understand the grammar. Then someone starts talking to you

And suddenly, your mind goes completely blank. This was my reality when I first walked these streets years ago. What do you say while you're trying to understand? How do you show that you're listening? And how do you stop the conversation from collapsing into an awkward silence? That's what we're going to work on today. By the end of our walk, you'll have a practical Spanish survival toolkit. expressions you can use in taxis, cafes, shops, or anywhere else someone starts speaking to you.

They won't magically make you fluent, but they will help you stay in the conversation. And every conversation you stay in is another opportunity to improve. Let's begin with greetings. Colombians are wonderfully colourful with their greetings. You might hear several questions in a row before the conversation. conversation has even begun. The first is, Como teva. Comeo teva. Now your turn.

Como teva means how's it going? The te form is informal, so use it with a friend or someone you already know. With a stranger, you can make it formal. Listen to this. How's it going? Como le va? Then we have a very Colombian greeting. Bien or no? Bien or no.

Literally it translates as Good or not. Bien or no. But naturally, it means something like, you good? Everything all right? It's informal and it's playful. A simple answer would be,

Yes, all bien. Yes, todo, bien. Yes, everything's good. Then there's the expression that completely confused me when I first arrived. Que more? What? Word for word, it means what else? What more?

So imagine the first time a taxi driver greeted me with Ke mas, I thought, what do you mean? What else? I haven't said anything yet. But in Colombia, what more is simply, what's up? How's it going? What else? What's going on? So you can answer by saying something like,

Allo bien. And you're instead? All. All. Bien. And you're Everything's good. And you?

All right. You're still I really like is Como Estaamos How? Literally.

How are we? Como Estamos? This feels It feels warm and inclusive. It's... It's slightly more playful than a standard, Como estza.

Let's say it together, come on. Como estamos. And finally, you can ask someone, todo bien, everything, well, meaning, all good, everything okay,

all bien? The useful thing is that you don't need a different answer for every greeting. What more? Howe lae va? Bien or no? You can usually smile and say, Allo bien,

and you're still. Everything's good, thank you. And you? Right, so I've decided to walk towards Parque el Poblado, but I'm not completely sure which road to take. There's someone outside this cafe. Let's ask.

Buenas. How's it? Very well. What more? All good. Yes. All right. Thank you.

Um, one question. Me could help? Sure, that's it. Me Can you say

how I get to the park of the Poblado? Yes, clear. I go to the right

by this callie, back two quadras, and when I came to Samafuro, I'm

to the right there will see the park Ah, yeah. So, I guess.

So I go Derecha, Bajo two quarters, and I go to the Derecha.

That's that the church Perfect. Very Amable. For much good

So, you're D'Ondi is? I'm from I'm from D'Ondres, but

I'm from RASO a person, I'm really? And, really? Well, thanks. Well,

that's flute the Paceo. Much gracias. Very amable. That's a good day. I'm going to be. And that is exactly what I love about Colombia. I only wanted directions,

but somehow we ended up talking about where I'm from and, well, how I learned Spanish. That's why this toolkit matters. A greeting opens the door. A polite question gets you what you need. And a few small reactions keep the door open long enough for a real conversation to happen. Let's break down the most useful part of that exchange. Me puade aid.

This means, can you help me? The structure is, me. Puehue, can you for me? Me Puede, can you for me? After Puede, add the infinitive, that is the unchanged form of the verb. So in this case, A Yudar means to help. Me Puede Audar, can you help me? D-A-R, means to give.

So here's an example. Me Puede dar a bottle of water. Can you give me a bottle of water? Me Puede dar a bottle of water. Vendar means to sell. Me Pue de vendor

SIM. Can you sell me a SIM card? Me Puede and DECEDE DECIS means to tell. So with that being established,

me Puede Desire, how Juego Al Parque? Can you tell me how to get to the park? Me Puede

Dessier how Jogo Al Parque. So, what we have here is one.

structure, but dozens of situations. Me Puehéééééééééde daire. Me Puede Vendé, Me Puede Deciar. Commit Me Puede to memory, and you'll be able to build polite questions whenever you need something. Now, when the local helped me,

I said, Very Amable. Very Amable. Amable. Literally, this means very kind. Or more naturally, that's very kind of you. It doesn't replace grazias in every situation, but it's a wonderful alternative when someone has helped you.

You can also combine them. Muches grazias, my amably. Thank you very much. That's very kind of you. muchas grasias my amably finally we need the phrases that help you stay in a conversation these genuinely saved me when I was learning

especially in taxis a drive would launch into a story at full speed I might understand the general idea but have absolutely no idea how to construct a clever answer that's when I used clear, clear

meaning sure, of course. It sounds like the English word clear, doesn't it? Clared, clear. Think about how when something is clear, it's easy to see or easy to understand. Claro. It's a great word to let the listener know that you're following them, that you're keeping up.

And you can actually build upon the word clara for a bit more emphasis. Listen to this. Claro que si. Claro. Que si. It means absolutely, of course. Then we have

Por suppesto. Por suppesto. This also means of course. And when something finally clicks, you can say, Ah, ja. This means, ah, right, I see. I understand now.

So, these phrases are like, how would I put it? Conversation glue. They show that you're listening and by your brain a second or two to catch up. But don't use them to pretend you've understood something important. If you're completely lost in a conversation, it's better to say Pardon, me lo

can you repeat that? Pardon? Me Lo Pue de repeatir. That keeps the conversation alive without bluffing your way

into agreeing to something ridiculous. Right then, let's make sure everything we've covered actually sticks. We'll do a preba. We're going to do a test. I'll give you the situation. Say the Spanish phrase in the gap.

Number one, imagine. You're greeting a friend. How would you say, how's it going? Como te va? Come. Te. Vá. Number two, a Colombian greets you with.

What does it mean here? What's up? How's it going? Number 3. You need help from a stranger. How would you ask? Can you help me? Me Puede

Aulah Udhueh Number 4. Ask someone Can you give me a bottle of water? Me can you give me a bottle of water? Me Puede

Dar. One. Botea. D. Agua. Number five. Someone has kindly given you directions. Instead of only saying,

Grazias, say, that's very kind of you. Very amable. Very amable. Number six. Give me two ways to say, of course.

Claro that si. Claro. That. What? See. Or? For

supposed. For supposed. And finally. Numerous 7. Someone explains something,

and now you understand. Say, Ah, right. I see. Aja. Aja. There we go, that's it. So, how did you do?

If you remembered even four or five, you now have something incredibly useful, a way into a conversation, a way to ask for what you need and a way to keep talking when your Spanish is being pushed to its limit. And somehow, we've reached Parque el Pobolado. Those directions worked perfectly.

I'm still too full for more food. But I think I've earned a coffee. If you'd like the full transcript for this episode, along with photos from my journey around Colombia, head over to Patreon. And if you want to practice speaking rather than only listening, try Fluency Builder, the immersive Spanish app.

Well, muchissima thanks for accompany. Now see. We're going to get that coffee. After the next, amigos. Ciao.