Argentina: extraordinary people, delicious food and affordable! Past Review
By Melissa J (International business, Northwood University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Buenos Aires, Argentina
It changed my life! After going to Buenos Aires, my first international experiance, I have been to; most of Western Europe, Kenya, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Kosovo and Serbia.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad de Belgrano |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The spanish classes were harder than I thought they would be, but the school was flexible to move you up or down to different levels to find a class that you would be successful in. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Perfect! The administrators of this program are amazing. Applying and registering was very easy. Once I arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires, a day late because I was delayed from weather, one of the coordinators personally picked me up and took me to my host home. Everyday our two main advisors came to the university to have lunch with the group. I was having problems with my host family because I wanted them to speak more Spanish and less English. As soon as I brought it up to the Program Director she contacted my host family and we started speaking more Spanish. I actually cried the day I left becuase I was sad to be leaving such a wonderful group of people, true friends. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
I don't think you can find bad tasting food in Argentina! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
CEA provided numerous included activities from weekend trips, day trips and casual tours of the city. In addition I independently went out of Buenos Aires on small weekend trips. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
During the day I was completely comfortable traveling alone in the city. At night I did feel more comfortable having one other person with me. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
During the day I attended classes to improve my Spanish. All of the course were 100% in Spanish and instruction was never given in English. In addition, I lived with a local host family and we spoke about 50% English and 50% Spanish. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you have never traveled abroad and are on a tight budget Buenos Aires is a great place to start. The city is easy to get around with modern public transportation like subways, buses and taxis. The country is easy to explore with affordable flights and dependible long distance charter buses to take you from Buenos Aires to other cities. Lunch on average (in 2007) cost about $5 USD. The CEA staff are extremely helpful and resourceful. The program includes many tours, trips, shows and meals... including a tango show! |
