Visiting in January

confedunce wrote:

I'll be alone and only have a rudimentary conversational Spanish ability. If I use my translator, will I be exposing myself to thieves/robbers?

Dear Confedunce,

Welcome to the Colombia/Medellin forums.

Presuming that your “translator” is a small aparato, YMMV.

Whip it out on a Gringo-free hillside barrio and you’re asking for trouble.

Use it discreetly in Medellín’s Poblado neighborhoods -- where the police and security-guard presence is high especially Milla de Oro -- and the translator should survive the trip.

By discreetly, I mean: 

It’s preferable to use smart-phones, translators and other small devices in areas that have some traffic -- not deserted streets.  Safer to use them in a mall or security-guarded building as opposed to places where liquor by the drink is being widely distributed.  Safer in daylight than at night.  Safer to keep the device inconspicuously on your body .. taking it out only as needed, and when you feel safe, in the least showy way possible.

Gringo tip:  use the translator before the trip to look up -- and help you memorize -- words you might use frequently in Medellín.  That way you theoretically reduce your reliance on the device in Colombia .. and start learning more español.

cccmedia

Confedunce wrote:

Buenas! I'll be visiting in January for a couple weeks. Don't know anything other than what I've read on this site (stay in Poblada; visit Guatape; mountain bike tour). I'll be alone and only have a rudimentary conversational Spanish ability. If I use my translator, will I be exposing myself to thieves/robbers?

Congrats on your trip. You'll have a blast.

As far as Spanish, the google translator aps are helpful, but they tend to be confusing a lot. Google often doesn't understand Colombian Spanish.

You really just need a few phrases to get around:
-Cuanto cuesta una cerveza?
-Donde esta la estacion del bus?
-Puedo casarme con su hermana?