Don't go here for an academic experience, but Argentina is amazing. Past Review
By zoe m (Urban Studies/Affairs., Barnard College) for
IES Abroad: Buenos Aires - Society & Culture
It was worthwhile because I learned Spanish. For that I am extremely satisfied.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The expectations at this center were shockingly low. The professors let the students dictate the attitude and level of seriousness in the classrooms. This is not a serious academic setting. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everything was great EXCEPT the academics. It is well organized, has many resources, is helpful, a good size, nice facilities, runs smoothly. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family location was fantastic. Close to everything I needed, school, and nightlife. I loved my host family. I was treated mostly as a girl living in the house and renting a room that they happened to like a lot. I mean, it didn't seem like they would have treated me so warmly had we not happened to get along so well. |
| * Food: |
It is hard to eat healthy in Argentina. This was endlessly frustrating. Most meals there consist of meat and potatoes. Vegetables are not a big deal there and it is hard to find good fresh produce. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The public health care system was cheap and impressive, clean, efficient. I was amazed truly. As far as safety, many of my friends did get robbed although it was never a violent act. Mostly it's pick pocketing. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The cellphones are a HUGE expense down there. The companies really rip you off. Buying cards that only function for SMS is a lot cheaper. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate II |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I needed to speak spanish while I was there any time I was not with other Americans almost. That was great. I spoke only spanish there with my host family, friends, doorman, etc. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | LEARN THE LANGUAGE, TAKE ADVANTAGE |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Latin American Politics |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Gaston Wright |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was sufficiently challenging and gave me a lot more perspective with which to view Argentina which made my experience there much richer. It was heavily economics based as a politics class but I thought that gave it a more whole picture especially because it is important to study economics in Argentina since they effect the country to much. I participated a lot in this class, more than normal. I really enjoyed it. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Yes, I could not transfer any of the six credits for my spanish class but didn't have enough spanish to be able to transfer up a level. It was extremely frustrating. My advice is to take a language course the semester before you go so that what you learn in the last course is still fresh and you don't have to take the same class again for no credit because you forgot everything. |
