Learn Colombian Slang

You may speak Spanish well enough, but if you decide to move to Colombia, you will notice new words that were not taught in school. This is because these words are slang and regional terms local to Colombia. There is almost no way to learn these terms until you visit Colombia or talk to Colombians.

To help you blend in with the locals, you can use the following slang terms below. Keep in mind that these are specific to Bogota and will change from region to region.

• Rolla/o – A person from Bogota
• Costeño – Someone from the coast of Colombia
• Gamin – A street person or beggar
• Gomela/o – An upper class person, usually negative connotation
• Cascar – To hit someone or scold them harshly
• Guaro – Aguardiente
• Pendejo/a – Silly girl or guy
• Pola – Beer
• Hartar – Drink a lot
• Plon – A joint of marijuana 
• Echar un plon – Spoke a joint
• Porro - Weed
• Noño – Nerd
• Lo vamos a pegar – We are going to get drunk (Literal translation: We are going to hit someone)
• Marica – Gay or term like ¨dude¨ among male friends
• Huevon – Similar to idiot

Advice on Paying Bills

Once you have finished being a tourist and have decided to live and work in Bogota, you will experience a whole new set of challenges when it comes to daily routines. For example, even going to the grocery store can become an adventure.

Paying bills is one of those adventures of living in Bogota because it is so different from the way that bills are paid in the United States. Most of it stems from the fact that Colombian culture does not trust online payments and prefer to pay everything in cash. Therefore, expect to pay all of your bills in cash. This is were the hassle begins. Each bill that you pay will require that you go to a different location in order to pay each bill as cash payments are only accepted at certain banks, grocery stores, and utility offices. For example, you may have to go to Bank A to pay one bill and Bank B to pay another one. Not only is it a matter of making it to several locations to pay separate bills, but also consider the time it takes to wait in line, fill out forms, and travel via public transportation. When you have at least 5 different bills to pay every month, it becomes a lot of work - especially considering that all of this could be avoided by paying bills online.

My advice is to try to pay as many bills as possible at one location or go to a mall where you can find most banks near each other. Most bills can be paid at a CADE or go to a mall like Unicentro or Andino where there are seval banks open after hours. Fortunately, since there is such a high demand for people to pay their bills, banks are usually open late. Unfortunately, the lines are long, forms confusing, and you can never find a pen. In addition, customer service in general is much worse than customer service in the United States, so don´t expect it to be the same.

Best Hidden Restaurants In Bogota

By no means have I been able to try all the restaurants in Bogota, but from the ones I have tried, this is my list of the top 3 restaurants so far. In this list, I am making an effort to go beyond the typical chain restaurants that are popular in Bogota. For example, if you ask a local, they are most likely to recommend Crepes & Waffles, Wok, or Harry Sassons. To me, theses are average, so I am recommending something different that most people aren´t aware of.

Flor de Loto: An Indian restaurant with great food and ambiance. Here you can find most traditional Indian dishes. It is decorated with Indian art and even has a traditional alter. The service is very good and friendly which suites the calm and quiet environment. I believe the chef is American and ingredients are imported. Cash only, but excellent choice for a romantic date.

Agave Azul: The award-winning Mexican restaurant is exclusive because of the dishes and size of the restaurant. It can be considered a boutique restaurant as it is highly stylish and very small, fitting about 5 tables at the most. There is a set menu each night that ncludes tapa style portions, but with at least 5 courses made for sharing. Small servings are fitting for the cocktail options, so it is rather satisfying because of the amazing fresh and unique flavors. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for something different.

La Taperia: A Spanish tapas restaurant with a great variety of dishes. Tapas servings are bigger than average and one of the few places you can find a variety of imported European beers. They have live music like Flamenco and DJs at least one a week. The environment is like a lounge/bar, but with a great art selection and murals.

Things on a Bus in Bogota

In Colombia, the bus is a big part of the culture. Since most people use public transportation, you can understand how it is a major part of almost every Colombian´s daily life. Taxis are too expensive and Transmilenio is not convenient. So, here comes your local bus on its daily route, dependable, cheap, and relatively safe.

 As such, it seems that Colombians are so used to the bus that it is an extension of their home, allowing for an easy-going attitude about anything that happens on the bus. Ironically, even though you are surrounded by strangers, there often is a feeling of community when it comes to interacting with other passengers. Whether it is passing money from the back to the front of the bus or providing directions, you can rely on a friendly ride. Passengers also will hold bags for each other.

Another interesting part about taking a bus is that it is an adventure – you never know what you will see! Below are some of the random things that I have seen on a bus. I encourage you to comment on other things you have seen while riding a bus in Colombia.

Random Things on The Bus:

•  Dogs on the bus.
• Drinking beer on the bus.
•  Live acoustic guitar and singing on the bus.
• Hip-Hop performance on the bus.
• People begging for money on the bus.
• Open mic poetry on the bus.
• People selling pens, candy, peanuts, books, and more on the bus.
• Partying on a bus with drinking and dancing (Chiva Party).

ACPM: An Intro Into the Bogota Restaurant Scene

When I lived in Atlanta, I didn't realize that I was spoiled with the variety and quality of restaurants. After a couple of excursions into the Bogota restaurant scene, I was sorely disappointed in the food available in the city. Though I have heard good things (mostly from Colombians, instead of foreigners), good restaurants are few and far between. For this reason, I am writing about my hits and misses in the Bogota food scene.

Some background info on me is that I enjoy spicy food with a wide variety of tastes. For example, Mexican and Indian food are my favorite and probably the hardest to find in Bogota. I haven't been able to find a decent taco or Mexican restaurant so far. I have tried La Taqueria, Casa Mexicana, El Carnal (probably the worst), and El Museo De Tequila. They all suck, half of them don't even have hardshell tacos, and the cheese dip is like Cheeze-Wiz. I mean, how hard is it to mess up a taco? Apparently, I have seen the worsts forms of the concept “taco”.

The problem is that Colombians have very little knowledge of food outside of Colombia. For them, variety means chicken or beef. This is were the concept of ACPM comes in: Arroz, Carne, Papa, and Maiz. The staples of Colombian cuisine. ACPM means that about 90% of Colombian meals are made up of the same four ingredients. I didn't begin to realize the full impact of ACPM until I stated going out for lunch with my coworkers. All of a sudden I was eating one form of ACMP or another every day for lunch and I was like “hold up”. I can't eat the same thing every day!

The reason why is because even though we would go to different restaurant, we would always order the daily lunch special (Almuero Corriente or Almuero Executivo) because it was the cheapest. It cost about $3 U.S., but it is anything but special because you basically have only two options: chicken or beef. Though it includes a drink (lemonaide or juice), dessert, and soup; it still consists of the basic four ingredients of ACPM. Anyways, at one point I pointed out that there was no variety in our lunch selections and my coworkers responded, “What do you mean, you can choose chicken or beef?!?!”.

Mochila: A Tradition of Colombian Manpurses

Why don't men in America use purses? They are practical and men carry just as much as women. It must have something to do with looking unmanly, but in Colombia, men have purses and they still look tough. I will try to explain why.

The Colombian manpurse probably doesn't seem strange here because the country has a long tradition of manpurses (mochilas). Not only that, but also a lot of men use them so it's not like one guy is the odd man out. They also can be stylish as there are many varieties of colors, patterns, and materials; but mainly the traditional version is made out of wool by the ancient Ayuko tribe. These pictures show the trend then and today.

“Made by the Arhuaco tribe of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, high in the mountains of northern Colombia, these hand-woven bags (mochilas) are a spiritual-artisan tradition that goes back well over a thousand years. In order to escape persecution and preserve their traditional way of life, the Arhuaco, Kogi, and other native peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta took refuge in the remote areas of this mountain region.” (http://www.horizonherbs.com/mochilas.html)

The tradition still lives today due to the fact that these native tribes still live in Colombia today as they did since 1,000 A.D. After, the past five centuries, they still trade their artesanias (folk art) and have contact with modern Colombia. You can even take hiking tours through the Sierra Nevada to visit their villages and ancient ruins. In other words, the Colombian manpurse represents a modern fashion trend and a tradition of respect for native people of Colombia. I definitely recommend getting one on your next trip to Colombia. To learn more about the history of the mochila or buy one, visit http://www.horizonherbs.com/mochilas.html.

El Rebusque: A Colombian Business Model

Colombians have a lot of reputations, but this one is specific to how they run business and make money. In Bogota, one of the first things you will notice is the massive amount of people selling random things on the street. Towels, glasses, belts, food, cell phone minutes, and phone chargers can easily be found on most street corners. They definitely don't have government regulation involved or the need for a permit to sell things on the street like in Atlanta.

The next thing you will notice is that most of the street vendors are not necessarily poor. In Atlanta, selling things on the street is looked down upon as it usually means you are homeless or poor. However in Colombia, middle-class people and college students will often take second jobs selling random stuff to make extra money. This is called El Rebusque, meaning “another way to find money”. It basically encompasses the reputation that Colombians are good business people and like making money. For the most part, I would say it is true as everyone seems to have a personal business on the side.

El Rebusque is taken a step further when it comes to running an actual business. In Colombia, businesses make the most out of make extra money by being more than one business. In other words, they will combine a variety of services, depending on the time of day. You'll see what I mean the next time you go to a “Cafe/Bar/Restaurant/Hair Salon” -- during the day it is a salon and cafe, but at night its a bar and restaurant so that they can keep bringing in business all day. There actually is a “Cafe/Bar/Art Gallery/Hair Salon” named La Peluqueria so you can check out for yourself and see how this business model works. It seems to be very effective and profitable.

Another example of El Rebuseque is people selling stuff at work to coworkers. I worked in corporate America for several years before coming to work in Bogota and I have never seen people being allowed to sell stuff at work. While working at the UPS corporate headquarters in Atlanta (hell on earth), they had a strict policy against it. Here, there is no policy and it just seems to be another form of making money on the side. At my office, there is a guy that sells homemade sushi and desserts. Not only does he sell these desserts, he makes special announcements on discount pricing, has his business incorporates, and spends at least 25% of his day promoting his products at work. After lunch, it usually takes 20 minutes for people in the office to decide which dessert they are going to buy today. This happens every day and it's like working on a street corner.