Great, unexpected experience abroad Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes in Spanish were challenging and improved my language skills incredibly. Some classes were fairly easy while others were difficult, just depended on one's level of the language and the course taken. The Spanish grammar classes were the best instruction I have ever had.

On-site administration of your program

The director, Raul de la Mano, is what made the program. He made me feel at home and he wasn't just a director, but rather someone I could go to with problems. It is a smaller program so there were some delays in getting information and activities aren't always set up, but I absolutely loved the program in Buenos Aires because of Raul.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a homestay with a single woman and a few other American students. Unfortunately, our homestay mother was never there and we never saw her. So it was basically living on our own, which was fine, except I wanted more interaction with locals and more of a family to come home to. If I had known that, I would have rather lived on my own in an apartment because the house was rather uninviting.

Food was OK. Our housemaid made our food everyday and sometimes our host mom was a little stingy on meals. It seemed as if she wanted to make the most money and spend the least amount on us, so we often had skimpy meals. Sometimes there wasn't quite enough for three girls, sometimes there was way too much. We also weren't allowed to use the stove/oven so it was very difficult to even prepare my own meals if I wanted to.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

While our program had awesome activities with the group, I had to do most of the integration with the culture on my own. There wasn't a lot of opportunity to meet Argentines at UB because foreigners are in separate classes, plus the students there weren't too friendly. So it was up to the students to integrate themselves in the culture, and I would have liked a little more of that from the program.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Buenos Aires can be a little sketchy and many students were either pick-pocketed or robbed. However, that is a part of the city that is to be expected, and Sol did prepare us for this. We were given many tips of what to do and to avoid doing, where to go and stuff to keep us out of trouble. My homestay was in a very safe, nice neighborhood in Buenos Aires, so the program is really good about making sure students live in a secure area.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Buenos Aires was more expensive than I had thought, so my money went toward food on the weekends when the program didn't provide it, as well as transportation and travel. There were many more expenses I didn't factor in, such as bus fare, laundry, school supplies, etc. Just like living anywhere, one needs money to cover this, and Buenos Aires is probably much less expensive than other cities.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Our director not only encouraged us, but helped and taught us.

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• Host Family

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• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• It's small and personalized
• The director is awesome

• A little more organization
• More local culture integration

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer