Argentina-Buenos Aires: was the second best desicions I have ever made in my life. Past Review
By Emily G (Anthropology & Latin American Studies, Tulane University) for
IFSA: Buenos Aires - Argentine Universities Program
Everything Ive pretty mush already said. It also made me appreciate the US more, but made me realize that I need that adventure of the unknown in my life.
Personal Information
| 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 classes that I took through IFSA were interesting and helpful. The classes that I took through USAL were a joke. I also was surprised by some knowledge which seniors seemed to lack. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of the people who worked with us were more than helpful and understanding. They really tried to make our transition and lives better. I also really liked that they all knew our names- this provided a sense of security in such a new situation. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved where I lived, I was pretty centrally located as well as in a safe neighborhood on a main road. It made my life a lot easier. My host mother, while kind of over bearing at times, was really understanding of how Americans are. She let me do whatever I wanted as long as I let her know when I was going to be home. |
| * Food: |
I really liked the restaurant scene in Argentina. I liked the way they worked. The food I also really liked, though I realized that it was all pretty much the same everywhere just different quality. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
TRAVEL. All of my favorite memories were travel related. Go everywhere. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Health care was good, I didnt have any problems but a friend of mine got his nose broken and the program along with the hospital were very helpful. I felt pretty safe, a lot of my friends were mugged and such but I never had that happen to me, but it made me very cautious, which still caries over now that Im back in the US |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I have no idea. I didnt buy that many random things. I spent between 3,500 and 5,000. I spent pretty much all of it on food and traveling. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Nothing. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | A high 300 level |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced Spanish the most when I was traveling, at home and working at my internship. Id suggest doing all of these. |
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? | Be ready to be challenged in ways you never expected, like finding toilet paper (bring it with you always), or not being able to find your class materials until halfway through the semester. Seriously, travel every weekend, go to every cultural event you can, take a ton of pictures, dont worry about things that you might normally worry about, dont let yourself get too bogged down about things that dont really matter, also dont give up just because you think it might not work out, you decided to go abroad for a reason, live it up. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Derechos Humanos: Politicos- El holocausto hasta el caso de Argentina |
| Course Department: | I dont know- through IFSA |
| Instructor: | Daniel Feierstein |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I really like this course. We learned about different aspects of genocide such as; different types, what constitutes genocide, the stages that lead up to genocide, etc. With all of these we looked at them in the context of the Holocaust and Argentina. I thought that I learned a lot which really be applicable in my future. I thought that he was one of the most cohesive and organized professors I had. He had specific lesson plans an organized method for presenting his notes. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Nope. I didnt have any problems but some of my friends did. I would suggest that they should keep in contact with their home universities and to make sure that they are going to take classes which will count for something. |
