Experience in Santiago de Chile, Colombia de Santiago.

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How did you find living in Santiago de Cali? Would you recommend it? What is it like?

It is a city full of folklore and parties. Its climate is hot and humid as it is located within the wall and the valley. The people are friendly and they love making friends with foreigners. My opinion is bias on the topics of insecurity and some lack of identity, however, lots of people that travel there fall in love. My Grandpa (Italian) got to know various Colombian cities and he said that he would live and die in Cali. I think that it is not a city for everyone. For those who are searching for parties I recommend going in December when it is the Cali fair. It is classed as a city where the dancing is very good (including those of us who dance normally if we were to compare it with other regions or countries it would seem like we have entered a dance academy haha) and all of the tours that surround the "rumba" (party).

What is the student lifestyle like in Santiago de Cali?

The atmosphere is quite party-based, everyone knows everyone. You make lots of friends at the parties.

How much does it cost to live in Santiago de Cali?

The currency is the Colombian Peso (in this moment on 14 July 2015). The proprotion is that 1 euro is around 3000 pesos and 1 USD is approximately 2700 COP. I should tell you that a student lunch would cost two euros. Housing for a student can be found from around 150 euros. A good restaurant could cost around 20 euros/person and going out around 40 euros.

Was it difficult to find accommodation in Santiago de Cali? Can you offer any advice?

I am from Cali so I have had an apartment there my whole life. However, it is quite simple to find apartments.

What about the food in Colombia? What are your favourite dishes?

The Colombian gastronomy is quite heavy, abundant and greasy. It is tasty, yes, but it is not something that you can eat every day. I have developed gastritis lots of times due to lots of fried foods. There are soups that I eat like "sancocho" (I like that one the most), which contains potato, plantain, yucca and chicken. It is quite typical and I recommend that you try it. However, it is clearly not gourmet food.

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Which places do you recommend visiting in Santiago de Cali?

Now that I am in Europe, I think that I missed having enjoyed more than one or two places of the city, like the hermitage Church and the route of the river Cali I went to walk along the second before I came to Europe). However, from then on I think that in order to enjoy a good a visit to Colombia to a good level, you have to go to a finca (estate) or country areas. I think that it is one of the things that I was passionate about. Trails, environment, fauna and flora (not like the Amazonian documentaries) but alwys being about to see the strange birds, snakes, opossum (chuchas in Colombia) and some types of armadillo. This last one is in the area of my estate. It is easy to find a group to ride a horse or go trekking.

What about eating in Santiago de Cali? Can you list your favourite places?

Pathetically, my Italian origins would make me go to Salerno (an Italian restaurant that I loved to go to) or to Cheer's, a fairly good pizza place. Maybe something that you should go to try is the hamburgers on Calle Novena (9na) or on 44 Norte. The idea is that you don't eat McDonald's or any other franchises like that, if not to try how they put lots of cheese and thousands of sauces. It is not very gourmet but it is an experience that I recommend. From there, in front you will easily find lots of neighbourhoods like Granada or the Peñon in which there are good restaurants like Comida Fusión. Of course, this depends on your tastes.

What places do you recommend for going out in Santiago de Cali?

The truth is that although I like to party, it was not something I did every weekend, so I would not be the best to recommend where to go. Maybe I don't know as many as some people that spend their life partying. I honestly went anywhere. The important thing for me was to be with my friends. If I have to list places then it would not be my favourite but more the amount of times that I have been there, it's called "Escondite". I am sure that you will find people that live off the Rumba and they can give you better recommendations than I can.

Is there any advice you would like to offer to future students in Santiago de Cali?

If you are going to study in Cali I suppose that you are passionate about dancing and partying. Enjoy it, however, I think that it is not everything: try to find a group that are not looking to get drunk from Thursday to Sunday, and instead find yourself walking on natural trails. That being said, do your research before you do this to see if it is a safe zone (even now there are various problems with the Guerillas and crime), whether there are a lot of people doing the journey etc. Don't risk it. I have never been robbed in Colombia, but people have tried to do it and there are many known cases of things that would scare you. My recommendation is not to be too confident, to ask lots of people questions often, don't show valuable items (this includes your phone). I hope that this will help you even with my bias opinions.