Best experience of my life so far <3 July 23, 2024
By Natalia A (Human Biology, Scripps College) - abroad from 02/21/2024 to 06/03/2024 with
SIT Study Abroad: Argentina - Public Health in Urban Environments
I learned so much about public health both the institutional level but also the personal stories of people. It was beautiful to travel to different provinces, be welcomed into places and hear everyone we met.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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. |
The experiential learning experience was magnificent. I think that at times, I forget the impact my academic formation will have in the future but the learning that this program provided reassured me that my career will be significant in creating a positive change in people's lives. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration of my program were one of my favorite parts of the program. They were the most supportive, kind, and dedicated people and I am so grateful to have made a deep connection with them and definitely one that I will try to keep! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I absolutely loved my host family! They made my days so much better and helped me overcome rough situations. They cooked me delicious Argentinian dinner and we talked for hours about everything. I absolutely love them and I definitely will keep a close relationship with them. |
| * Food: |
Coming from a culture that has delicious food, it was difficult not to compare. However, the Argentinian gastronomy was good! I think my favorite food was a lentil stew (or guiso de lentajas as we would call it) and it was absolutely delicious. My host family realized that I loved it and they made it so often! I also loved their empanadas and pizza! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I just loved getting to know their culture, meeting people, and listening to their stories. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Although I did not have a health issue, I did witness classmates who had health issues and were always addressed promptly by the administration. They were always prioritizing their student's health and literally would stop anything they were doing to help them. |
| * Safety: |
I honestly always felt really safe during my whole experience. This is not to say that you shouldn't take precautions to ensure your safety. For example, you should always be aware of our personal belongings, like backpacks when walking in the city and when in coffee shops. I would like to say that I had some classmates lose their iPhones in taxis/ubers, and the conductors returned them back to them! Nevertheless, I also know of a friend who got pickpocketed and got their phone and wallet stolen. So, although there may be nice people who will return items to you, do not rely on this. Take care of your belongings and yourself! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
This studying abroad experience was absolutely gorgeous. It was hard, for sure, because you are literally living in a unknown place. However, once you get used to the idea that you are here to learn, every thing just becomes enjoyable. I loved my classes and they taught me so much. The people I met were one of the kindest and generous people I have met and I look forward to maintaining a connection with them. |
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) |
I think that budgeting for a semester abroad was one of my biggest concerns. I had heard that it depended on each person and their spendings habits which made absolute sense. So, I created a budgeting excel sheet before studying abroad (because I know myself and I can be quite a spender) and it worked great! Overall, I don't feel like I overspent and I was able to do so many activities and visit so many places. I also had not considered that we would be getting our meals paid for by SIT which was amazing because that was one less large expense. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Yes! As a mentioned before, make a small budget excel that keeps you on track. I will not lie, sometimes I forgot to follow it through, but just knowing that you have a list of all of your expected expenses still keeps you in check. Also, I suggest getting familiar with the currency and the exchange before the semester begins. |
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 |
The classes were all in Spanish and our communication with admin was in Spanish. However, they also understood that we all spoke English and for some, that was the language they preferred to speak in. So, outside of class, everyone would speak in English. Moreover, in our group therapy sessions, our therapists would encourage us to speak in the language we felt the most comfortable. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish was my first language and hence I am a native speaker. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Something very important is to hang around classmates and friends who speak the language. Yes, you will learn a lot from classes but there is something definitely enriching about sharing colloquial conversations with people. I definitely noticed that the classmates I would hang out with would improve their Spanish so much more than those who did not. I think that it is more fun to talk about anything with your friends in another language because you experience the everyday conversations that native speakers have. |
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? | I wish I was more familiar about the city in general. By the end of the program, I felt so comfortable in the city and I wish I had known before arrriving. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
