Member-only story
Is Colombia Dangerous?
It depends on who you ask.
Yesterday I arrived at my friend’s house in Medellin. I took the bus, got in a taxi, and the driver began talking to me. It started the usual: where are you from, how long have you been here, are you single?
My favorite place to practice my Spanish is in a cab, uber, or bus. Plus, Colombians are so kind; if they speak English, you will never know because, unlike some countries where you are not fluent, they switch to English.
They will not; they will let you figure it out and even help you. If you begin speaking in Spanish, they will keep talking to you that way, even if their English is perfect. I love it, and it helps my Spanish improve.
So, as I was speaking to my cab driver, we began talking about how expensive it has gotten here, and even in the pueblos, you can see how inflation has affected even the most remote places.
Yet that was not what the cab driver was most concerned about. When I began coming to Colombia in 2018, I was told to be safe and careful everywhere.
I do not get told this; does it mean it is safer?
Well, it has become more dangerous for a particular group. Except there is one difference now, and my cab driver confirmed it. I am a woman.
