Buenos Aires Study Abroad Past Review
By Danielle M (RTF, The University of Texas at Austin) for
CIEE: Buenos Aires - Liberal Arts
Beyond my disappointment with the program and the homestay situation, the experience itself was invaluable. If my opportunity to live in a foreign country had to be via this program, so be it. Going abroad and adapting to a different lifestyle is life changing and would choose to do it all over again the same way if I had no other choice.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | IUNA |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff is encouraging, however I found the whole program to be overall codling. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I did not like the homestay experience. I think it would have been easier to adjust and easier to make friends with Argentines had I had my own living situation. |
| * Food: |
The food is good but gets to be repetitive after a while. "Healthy food" is not much of a trend there. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I made some good friends through the program but going to school with a bunch of Americans and seeing them on a daily basis makes it much harder to branch out and meet Argentine people. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? |
I would use Spanish in everyday interactions |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would say use a different program unless you want to be surrounded by a bunch of fratty American kids who went to a foreign country to go clubbing on a daily basis. I just chose it because it was affiliated with my school and I was too lazy to find another alternative to push through the UT bureaucracy. |
