Formative, eye-opening, igniting Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

All of my courses utilized lecture-style instruction with minimal technology to supplement, so staying focused and engaged was at times a challenge for me. All of my professors clearly had a great grasp on the content and were able to talk about their respective topics in a way that was interesting. The evaluation of each course was based on either one or two assignments: an essay and an exam.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I highly recommend living with a host family! My host mom was very welcoming and helpful. She loves Argentina so much and shared so many stories about its history and politics with us. She was also very patient with my roommate and I with our respective levels of Spanish fluency.

I am not sure if this is relating to the food in my host's house or the food that I came into contact with in the country. My host mom was a fabulous cook, so I would rate her food five stars. The food that I purchased on my own in Buenos Aires tended to be pretty expensive. The food, however, was delicious. I enjoyed the plentiful empanada shops and endless heladerias and cafeterias where I bought so many medialunas. I am not accustomed to eating so much meat, so that part of the diet was a bit of a shock to my system.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I wish that I had integrated myself more with my Argentine classmates but I often resorted to speaking in English with my fellow United Statesians. I found a nice group of Argentines whom I hung out with a few times. As far as immersing myself in the culture and history of the country, I would say that Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to do that. I feel like I learned so much about this country's identity and origins.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I suggest you never keep things in unzipped pockets or in exterior pockets of your backpack/purses. I heard of a few instances of people getting mugged or pick-pocketed but I was fortunate to not have had any negative experiences with safety. Another element of safety that is worth consideration is planning how to get home after a night out with friends. When it comes to safety, it is always worth the money to pay for a taxi that takes you right to your door if you have to walk a lot by yourself at night. My friends and I were good about walking each other home and making sure no one was walking alone when it got to be pretty late. This was not a huge issue for me because I lived on a major street with many bus stops within two blocks of my house, but this was something that some of my other female friends had to think about when planning their return transportation. A positive aspect of Buenos Aires nightlife is that you can pretty much count on there being people on the street at all hours of the night.

Argentina is beautiful and a wonderful place to immerse yourself. Buenos Aires opens itself up to visitors. Transportation is easy, people are nice, and there is literally always something to do. My teachers and host family were amazing.

(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

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• Host Family

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• Americans
• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The people that I met, my independence, and my host mom.

• I wanted to meet more Argentines, but I understand that I definitely could have done that myself but chickened out/got lazy.

The Academic or Linguist