When I arrived in Barranquilla with what a fairly decent grasp on the Spanish language - a degree in Modern Languages does normally help a bit - I was expecting to be generally OK. I might have to learn a bit of the local lingo, perhaps. and get used to the accent, but these things are easily overcome. Also, in Colombia they speak the clearest Spanish in the world, right? Not quite. This may be apparently true of Bogota, but on the coast - as I was soon to discover - there is a strong local dialect, a very heavy accent and a heck of a lot of words that they don't even use in other parts of the country, let alone on the other side of the world! Since the moment I realised this, I have been compiling a list of my favourite terms: some because they are in common use, some are helpful to know, and some because they are just quite funny. I don't claim to have a list of every word, or the proper definition, I've just done the best I can with the 10 months experience I had and asking a few friends. Please add any suggestions for extra words/changes in the comments below :)
