Best decision I've ever made! June 10, 2026
By Fiona J (History, Bowdoin College) - abroad from 02/21/2026 to 07/24/2026 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Buenos Aires
Living in another country for 5 months will almost inevitably change your worldview. To me, the culture in Argentina feels much more balanced and centered around what is important. People really prioritize relationships and spending time with friends and family. Also, the baseline level of kindness, warmth, and welcoming here is equivalent to someone especially extroverted and caring in the US. Healthcare and education are free, which I already knew, but really changes the day to day interactions of being in the University (the attitude around studying, the diversity of students who have access to the classes, etc). I am excited to try to take back and maintain a little bit of this priority shift that I feel I have gained for the better while being here and how I interact with the people in my life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Super demanding!! The classes in UBA-FILO are harder than the classes at Bowdoin, not to mention that you are taking everything in a foreign language! I learned a TON and I had more options of what I could study than I have ever had at a small liberal arts college in the US. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of the staff in Middlebury in Buenos Aires are the most loving and warm people. They are a great team to receive students, help them feel comfortable in a new city, and be open to any and all questions with support. That said, they advertise the program as encouraging independence and then demand student participation in obligatory events that get in the way of creating your life and community here. For example, I was invited to a festival in Cordoba at the start of the semester with new, local friends and had to say no because we had a mandatory activity mid-day on the Saturday of a long weekend that was for 2 hours and could have been any other day. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had my own room with a full sized bed and my own bathroom. My host family's house had a garden and really nice outside space and I could use the kitchen whenever I wanted as long as I cleaned up after myself! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Argentinians are the warmest and most welcoming people I have ever met. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I would go running at night by myself a lot in the city (as a 21 year old woman) and always felt super safe. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | When it would end!! This was incredibly confusing and caused me to not plan much for the summer when that was not necessary in my case. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia de America III |
| Course Department: | Historia |
| Instructor: | Julian Kan |
| Instruction Language: | Castellano |
| Comments: | SO GOOD! Very extensive and a mountain of reading, but we learned about the independence movements of all of Latin America up to the 1980s ish. Known as one of the heavier courses in the carrera, but I actually found it easier than some of my more dense theoretical classes, because it was history as a story that I could follow. |
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