Unique Culture, Lots of Options Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I felt that I had access to an invaluable experience for both cultural and language learning. Living with an Argentine host mother and taking half my classes at a local public university alongside Argentine students made my experience authentic and challenging. A lot of options were available to students in the program, from universities at which to take courses, to extracurricular activities and events, to tutors. The amount of support/independence from the program varied with each student depending on what they wanted.

On-site administration of your program

Just about all the staff members were warm and friendly, and genuinely cared about us. The program could be a bit disorganized and disconnected communication-wise from the local universities.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I felt that my host family preferences could have been met a bit better. However, I had a generally positive experience with the family I was matched with. I appreciated the location of where I was living in the city, though there were a few people in our program who were far away from everything and found it frustrating.

If you love beef, empanadas, super cheesy pizza, ham and mayo in everything, and sandwiches on white bread, you’re in luck! Since Buenos Aires is a big city, there is a variety of food available to accommodate different diets and a lot of it is cheap. I liked the homemade vegan wraps and lentil burgers that were sold outside one of the UBA campuses for $2-3 USD.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I wish I had lived with a host family that had more than one person and maybe who spent time with me outside the apartment. It took time making friends, but I think attending class with locals helped a lot, as did making an effort to speak Spanish as much as possible.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Aside from the program's policies that were in place, I was pretty much on my own in terms of getting medical treatment and reimbursement. I had to wait a long time in the hospital, and lines in pharmacies are often long and confusing.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Everyone in the program had to sign an agreement to speak only Spanish, but since it was a large program (40+ students) the program staff was not able to enforce it when we were together. I wished the other program participants could have tried harder to avoid speaking in English, but not everyone cared or found it necessary for their own learning.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• Variety of universities to enroll in (public, private, and art schools)
• Opportunities and resources available to us through the program

• Spanish language immersion
• Homestay placements