Colombia

In Chinchiná, be prepared for a lush experience. This UNESCO Heritage city is nestled in the beautiful and bio-diverse coffee growing highlands and is surrounded by coffee plantations ("fincas").

And, depending on your interests and goals, spend several days in either Medellín, the "City of Eternal Spring," in the Andes, or Cartagena the sunny, historic, colonial city on the edge of the turquoise Caribbean or both. Colombia is a country of diverse history, cultures peoples and environments. Explore them all with IPSL.

Learn

In addition to one-on-one Spanish language learning, IPSL offers rich, excursion-based courses where you will learn from scholars and scholar-practitioners about the history, people, and culture of the region:

• Afro-Colombia History and Culture
• From Escobar to Santos: Socio-Historical Perspectives on Colombia
• Peace, Conflict, and Reconciliation
• COSA: Community Organizing and Social Activism in Colombia

Serve

Continue to improve your Spanish language skills by serving in hospitals, group homes for girls and young women, centers for houseless seniors, regenerative agriculture and land rights, and more. Some of the ways IPSL participants have contributed to empowering communities through volunteering are:

• Teaching/Assisting in the new bilingual school
• Volunteering w/ First Responders
• Health education programs in clinics and hospitals
• Day-care facility supporting sex workers' children
• Residential facility for young women/girls
• Shelter/Free Clinic for homeless elderly
• Dog and Cat Refuge and Vet Services
• Migratory Bird/Lake Habitat
• Club and Sports School
• Construction/Beautification at a Coffee Workers' Neighborhood

Live

Students live in Chinchiná at IPSL's partner NGO communal home with other students either in a private or shared room with shared baths and kitchens. Breakfast and dinner are provided and prepared for you.​

With advance notice, IPSL may be able to arrange homestays if available or for a private apartment in the center of Chinchiná.

Meet Glen, the IPSL Program Director in Chinchiná

Glen brings over 20 years of experience in the field of global education, with a career that spans the United States, China, Mexico, and Colombia. Throughout his journey, he served in a wide range of roles—including teacher, advisor, coordinator, developer, and recruiter—for schools, universities, and service-learning initiatives.

His professional background also includes leadership as an academic coordinator, entrepreneur, and corporate manager, as well as prior service as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Colombia is now his home, where he continues to lead and contribute to impactful educational programs and cross-cultural exchange efforts.