Partner Country of the Month: Colombia

You rarely hear about Colombia in Germany - and if you do, it's probably about the guerrilla and drug war that officially ended several years ago. While it's still necessary to keep security matters in mind in Colombia, the many positive sides of this South American country are well worth a closer look. Colombians like celebrating and dancing, and are known for their cheerfulness, openness and warmth. The nature is beautiful, with everything from beaches to rainforest and the Andes. Colombia's cities have colourful street art and historical centres with colonial architecture. Let's explore the land of Shakira, Gabriel García Márquez and El Dorado!

With the "Partner Country of the Month" campaign, we want to shine a spotlight on the countries, regions and partner universities of TU Dresden that aren’t necessarily the first to come to our students' minds when thinking about a semester abroad.

woman wearing a carnival costume in Colombia's colours

General facts and figures about Colombia

Capital: Bogotá
Population: 52.2 million (2023)
Official language: Spanish
National holiday: 20^th July, Day of Independence from Spain
Currency: Colombian peso (COP / $). 1 euro = 4544 pesos and 40 centavos

You can find further facts and figures on Wikipedia, or e.g. on wikivoyage. For your safety, keep travel advice in mind. The broke backpacker has helpful safety tips, too.

Small language excursion:

Like most of South America, Colombians speak Spanish. As it has been one of the most widely spoken languages in the world for centuries now, there are many regional peculiarities in today's Spanish. Colloquial expressions, everyday terms and names for fruit and vegetables often differ from country to country. Fortunately, they are unlikely to cause major communication problems. Let’s learn a few useful colombianismos.

chévere or bacano/a - cool
parcero/a or shortened parce – friend
¿Qué más? – What’s up?
coca – not only coca plant, but also lunchbox
dar papaya – be careless or inattentive
lucas – money
regálame – a polite “give me”, also when paying for it

Our partner universities in Colombia mainly offer courses in Spanish. There are some courses taught in English as a second language of instruction. However, you will most likely need a certificate of proficiency in Spanish. Please check the exact requirements before applying.

Speaking Spanish opens up a whole continent to you. In Dresden, you can study Spanish at TUDIAS or at VHS, starting from German. TUDIAS offers an advanced Spanish profile course specifically to prepare for an exchange. Inlingua also teaches courses in English.

stone foundations in front of rainforest landscape

Did you know that ....?

in Colombia most public holidays are always moved to next Monday? If the actual date falls e.g. on Thursday or Sunday, the next Monday will be free of work instead. This is anchored in law and gives Colombians a lot of long weekends. In addition, the number of public holidays is quite high - seven days more than in Saxony.
in the last years, Colombia's capital city Bogotá built hundreds of kilometres of bike paths? The goal is to make biking a real alternative, with what is by now one of the longest bike path networks in the Americas. The paths run separate to the roads and take the city's topography into account. The main artery, a multi-lane fast path, lies in the flat north-south direction. And the bike-friendly ideas don't end there. Every Sunday, many streets are closed to cars and opened to everyone else, inspiring similar initiatives around the world. The idea for pop-up bike lanes during the pandemic also originated here.
Colombians like to drink hot chocolate with salty cheese? There even is a saying "Chocolate sin queso es como amor sin beso" (chocolate without cheese is like love without a kiss). The cheese goes into the cup before you pour the hot chocolate in, to make it melt more easily. Dipping in a bread roll makes it even better.
Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have almost the same flag? The three neighbouring countries share the colours of Gran Colombia: yellow, blue and red. This state was founded as a union of liberated provinces during the wars for independence from Spain, but soon disintegrated. The colours have remained.
Colombia has a very explosive national sport? Tejo is derived from a pre-Columbian game (before the arrival of the Europeans) in which gold discs were thrown at a distance. Since then, gold was replaced by iron, and black powder got added into the mix. Small envelopes filled with powder are placed around a target surrounded by wet clay. Points are scored when hitting the target, creating an explosion, or preferably both. There is usually a lot of beer involved – the losing team pays.
Colombia is a megadiverse country, one of the 17 countries with the highest biodiversity worldwide? Colombia is first in the world for the diversity of its known endemic species of birds and butterflies.
the largest theatre festival in the world takes place in Colombia? Every two years, the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro in Bogotá makes the city revolve around the performing arts for more than two weeks. In addition to performances in theatre halls, there is also free street theatre, colourful parades with the troupes, circus, ballet, concerts, exhibitions and much more.
legendary El Dorado was thought to be in Colombia? Nowadays, it's real. Jokes aside, many Spanish conquistadors went on expeditions to find the city of gold. However, the name El Dorado probably derives from a ritual of the Muisca people, in which new leaders were covered in gold dust. They then made valuable offerings to the gods by throwing them into Lake Guatavita. When this became known to the gold-hungry Spanish conquerors, there were several attempts to drain the lake - even using buckets.

Cooperation with TU Dresden

You can find an overview of all cooperations of TU Dresden that you can use for your exchange in our database. It is also often worth your time to ask professors in your own faculty who might have direct contacts to your partner university of choice.

Our Colombian partner universities via TUDworldwide

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

interdisciplinary cooperation
main campus in Bogotá, branches in several other cities
The National University is the largest and most renowned university of Colombia.
Our previous exchange students liked the small and more personal courses. The quality of teaching is comparable to TU Dresden. In addition to a good working environment, there are also many sports and cultural activities that are free to join - they even have a swimming pool.

Universidad del Rosario

interdisciplinary cooperation
main campus in Bogotá, branches in several other cities
As Colombia's oldest university (founded in 1653), Del Rosario has played an important role in many historical events. The main campus is centered around the cloister, a remnant of the university's Catholic past.
Our previous exchange students emphasise the great facilities and a high degree of integration with the local students. The quality of teaching is comparable to TU Dresden.

Don't miss...

The Tatacoa Desert is strictly speaking a dry tropical forest - with very little vegetation. Besides cacti and bushes, you can discover fascinating landscapes of labyrinthine rock formations in a deep ochre or ashy grey colour. At night, the starry sky over the desert is magnificent. You can learn more about it at the astronomical observatory, which opens its doors to visitors every night. To get to Tatacoa, first take a bus to Neiva. From the bus terminal, find your connection to Villavieja.

The lakeside town of Guatapé is known for its colourfully painted houses. The bottom of most buildings is decorated with friezes. They tell a story, reveal the type of business, or just look pretty. Close by is El Peñol, a huge freestanding rock with stairs wedged into a crevice. From the top, you have a great view of the Peñol-Guatapé reservoir with its winding branches and many islands.

Cartagena is said to be one of Colombia's most beautiful cities and reveals a lot about its history in the details. In old houses, the shape of door knockers shows the profession and social status of the former inhabitants, such as fish for sailors and lizards for the aristocracy. The view from the Monasterio de la Popa and the Afro-Caribbean art in the Convento de San Pedro Claver are especially worth seeing. For relaxing, there are beautiful Caribbean beaches close by. If you visit at the right time, Cartagena also has a great film festival with free admission.

The Museo del Oro Bogotá contains the world's largest collection of pre-Columbian gold relics. For indigenous South Americans, gold was not a rare material, but valued for its lustre, good workability and association with the sun. Countless artefacts were simply melted down by the Spanish conquerors. In the museum, you can still see and learn about thousands of gold objects, including the ceremonial raft connected to the El Dorado legend. There are also objects made of other materials by the different indigenous peoples of Colombia.

Valle de Cocora. The tallest palm trees in the world grow in this part of the Los Nevados National Park, with crowns that float a full 45 metres above the ground. There is a hiking trail running through the green hills. After the palm area, it’s worth following the longer route up into the cloud forest. Valle de Cocora can be reached in half an hour by public jeeps from the small town of Salento, located in the picturesque coffee region.

Let's get cooking...

Colombian cuisine thrives on the variety of fresh ingredients that grow in the country's tropical climate. Rice, various types of potatoes, corn, beans and cassava are important staple foods. Plantains are also a typical ingredient, mostly served as patacones (fried slices). The cornmeal cakes arepas basically fulfill the function of bread. They go well with almost every meal, can be prepared in lots of different ways and are especially delicious with a cheese filling.

Well-known tropical fruits such as mango or banana come in many different varieties in Colombia. What’s more, you can discover many tasty kinds of fruit that are unknown in Europe, such as cherimoya, guama or curuba. Fruit is often made into delicious juices.

Speaking of drinks. In Colombia, third-largest coffee producer in the world, people naturally drink a lot of coffee. Even children drink it often. They have coffee with milk, as opposed to the tinto (black coffee) that adults drink. Aquapanela (sugar cane syrup) is a popular addition to coffee, but you can also drink it straight or with some lemon juice. A particular speciality is the maize drink chicha, which was already consumed in pre-Columbian times.

Recipe: Ajiaco bogotano

Ajiaco is a Colombian national dish and typical for all sorts of festive occasions, from Christmas and New Year to Sunday dinners with the family. Corn, avocado and capers give the special something to this creamy potato and chicken soup. In Colombia, three types of potatoes are used - one floury, one waxy and one that falls apart in the soup.

Part of the seasoning is the gallant soldier herb. While not available in shops in Germany, it grows as an invasive species along roadsides, on fallow land and as a garden weed. Want to go looking for wild herbs? Otherwise, try it at quaint La Puerta Falsa in Bogotá for the original taste!

Ingredients:

300 g chicken breast fillet (or a meat alternative)
400 g floury potatoes
500 g waxy potatoes
1 ripe avocado
2 pre-cooked corn cobs
3 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 l chicken or vegetable stock
½ jar of capers
50 g cream
50 g crème fraîche
1 handful of gallant soldiers (guasca)
½ teaspoon pepper
salt to taste (about 1-2 tablespoons)
optional: 2 tablespoons cilantro
optional: rice as a side

Preparation:

1. Peel all the potatoes. Cut the larger waxy potatoes into thick slices. Do not cut the small ones. Dice the floury potatoes. Cut the corn cobs into thick slices.

2. Put the stock, salt and half of the gallant soldiers in a pot and bring to the boil. When it's boiling, add the waxy potatoes and chicken (or the meat alternative). If you are particularly hungry, cook some rice in a separate pot.

3. Dice the spring onions and garlic. After 15 minutes of cooking time, add the spring onions, garlic, floury potatoes, the corn and the rest of the gallant soldiers to the soup.

4. Cook until the floury potatoes fall apart. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the cream and optionally 1 tablespoon of cilantro to the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pieces of meat, pull them apart and add them back to the soup.

5. Peel the avocado and cut it into wedges. Put the avocado, crème fraîche and capers in small bowls and serve them separately to the soup. The optional rice also goes on a separate plate. Bien provecho!

(Many thanks to kochenausliebe.com!)

Contact and further contact persons

Have you had great experiences in Colombia? Do you have tips for places and things that should not be missed? We would be happy to share your experiences either here, on Facebook or, if you want, in an online information event for other TUD students. Get in touch with us:

Advice on studying abroad

Ms Federica Serra

Infocenter/ Study abroad; TUDworldwide: America

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Contact Information

International Office

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Visiting address:

Fritz Foerster Bau, Office 161 Mommsenstraße 6

01069 Dresden

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Postal address:

TUD Dresden University of Technology International Office

01062 Dresden

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Office hours:

Tuesday:: 10:00 - 12:00; 13:00 - 15:00

Please register at the SCS (FOE, floor 0).

Office hours by phone:

Thursday:: 10:00 - 12:00

Keine Sprechzeit zwischen 08.-19.07.2024. Zudem ist das International Office zwischen 22.07.-02.08.2024 geschlossen.

Do you want to get first-hand information?

Would you like to know more about Colombia? Ask our regional ambassadors - TUD alumni who are active in many countries around the world and can give you information and advice for your stay.

Getting in touch is very easy: On this interactive world map, markers indicate the cities where our regional ambassadors live. There is a short profile with contact information for each one.