IES Abroad Buenos Aires – Society & Culture

Every single day in Buenos Aires was exciting. The city is so lively, both at night and during the day. I had so much fun exploring the parks, museums, and nightlife of Buenos Aires. Argentina as a country also has a lot of beautiful sites to offer. My most memorable trip was to Iguazu Falls. I travelled there one of the first weekends with a small group and had the best time. It is absolutely breathtaking and makes you feel so small. I chose IES because a friend had studied with the same program the year before. She raved about the staff, and she was right! I stayed in an apartment with one woman, my host mom, and another american girl with IES. I had my own room. I shared a bathroom with the other american.

It's really hard to pick just one because the whole semester was so much fun. I think the most memorable part would be hiking in Patagonia with a few close friends from my program. It was incredible to be almost alone and surrounded by such natural beauty. I chose IES Buenos Aires because I knew that I wanted to go somewhere where I could improve my Spanish, but that could accommodate my low initial language level. IES was flexible and had so many options for types of classes, language levels, home stay vs. dorm, and more. I lived in an apartment in the heart of the city with a local family, who I grew to know and love. My host mom was a grandmother, whose daughter and son-in-law, and three young grandchildren all lived with her. Playing with the children and growing close to the family was one of the highlights of my experience in Buenos Aires- I still talk to them and miss them a lot!

Studying abroad in Buenos Aires was a great experience. The IES staff really wants you to succeed in your classes and learn so much from experiencing the culture. Some of the classes go on field trips that really help demonstrate what the class is about. Field trips include going to estancias, rugby game, cooking class, museums, and much more. I stayed in a home stay, and it was so enjoyable. I felt like I was really included in the family. Every night we would sit down at dinner together and talk about politics, great places to visit, and about our days. This was all in Spanish. Speaking in Spanish at school all day and then continuing when I left class made me improve my Spanish tremendously! The families tend to be really great cooks too! There is also a choice to participate in the Spanish language partners program. You are matched with an Argentine student. You meet with them about once a week and talk in Spanish for a half hour and then English for a half hours. It is a great opportunity to meet some Argentinians and go to local places that some tourists might not know about. There are so many great places to travel in Argentina! Every place is completely different, so you can have so many different types of experiences in you travels. I highly recommend visiting Iguazu Falls and El Calafate and El Chalten in Patagonia. Uruguay is only a couple hour ferry ride away from Buenos Aires. I suggest making Uruguay a weekend trip. It’s great to visit, but more than a weekend is not necessary. My program was in Spring 2013, and I still get really excited whenever I get to tell someone about my experience! I look forward to the day I get to go back and visit Argentina. I highly recommend studying abroad with IES Abroad Buenos Aires.