March Update: Work Hard, Play Hard in Medellin

March Recap:

• The big news for the month of March was that I moved into a new apartment in Envigado with a Colombian Family. It’s just a few blocks away from my last place but it’s a world of difference. I speak Spanish everyday and my bed can fit 5 comfortably (my last bed barely fit 3).
• I didn’t travel outside of Medellin in March to concentrate on launching the new, WordPress-driven Tourist2Townie.com. It’s nowhere near done but I’m very excited about the progress thus far. The transition process turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected.
• March found me in front of the computer a lot more than I’d usually like, but I’ve been really diving deep into the blog/travel site realm to absorb as much information as possible from SEO to niche site development. I think I’ll do a post about the resources I’ve used in case anybody out there is looking to create something similar.
• When the weekend roles around I’ve been going pretty hard. The Medellin nightlife and I are really getting along well.
• I’ve been going out with a few different Colombian friends, my roommates older cousins and a great group of fellow travel bloggers who’ve setup shop here. The squad includes Dave from Go Backpacking and Medellin Living, James from Maverick Traveler, Marcello from Wandering Trader, and Ryan from Ryan Goes Abroad. They’ve all taught me a ton about work and travel abroad.
• I also went to my first Pro Basketball Game here in Colombia at the “Estadio” in Medellin. It was an exhibition game featuring last year’s champs from Antioquia (Greater Medellin Region) vs a washed-up group of Americas who were labeled as “ex-NBA” players. It was a sloppy game.
• Otherwise I’ve been just cruising around the city experiencing new places and trying to get as much footage I can for my first time-lapse video attempt.

Current Mission Update: Salsa & Spanish

• The ankle is doing much better so I’ve been tearing up the dance floor, just trying to get my salsa legs back. I’m finally starting to get the rhythm of the music down, so hopefully when I go to Cali in May for intensive Salsa lessons, I’ll be able to make some serious progress.
• Spanish as always is a push and pull. I’ve been working hard on the site so I’ve put classes on pause for the past 2 weeks, but in the house and at the bars it’s Spanish or bust. I really need to study spanish more with reading and writing but I just haven’t put the time aside to do it.

T2T Around the Web:

• I gave my two cents on Apartment hunting here in Medellin to The South America Tourist who put together “6 Ways to Find Apartments in Colombia: Advice from Travel Bloggers“
• I helped Nomadic Matt update his Argentina, Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Colombia Travel Guides.
• I’m just finishing up a “3 Days of Passion in Buenos Aires” Travel Guide for the guys over at Unanchor.com.

Site of the Month:
Mine. Take some time to checkout the new additions. Have a look see at my updated list, read the FAQs or check out the T2T Features around the web. The one thing that really SUCKS about making the transition was that I lost all my comments from the old squarespace.com site so please get involved. Click around and checkout some older articles. I’m going to work on getting these comments back somehow because they are easily my favorite aspect of the site.

What’s to come in April:
April 11th I head back to the States for 3 weeks for one of my best friend’s wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina and then I’ll spend Easter with the fam in Rochester before I head to Cali, Colombia in May. Lots and lots of updates still to come for the site.

Upcoming Posts:

• Futbol in Colombia: My First Soccer Match (Nacional vs. Cali)
• My Gringo Experience in Medellin
• A Colombian Family Vacation
• Let’s Talk Money, Part III
• Beating the Solo Blues
• Part 2 of the Top 10 Sexiest Women Series (Colombia)

See Past T2T Status Updates

Gareth

My name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for the past 9+ years and document it all on Instagram and YouTube. Come join me!