IFSA Argentine Universities Program

My time abroad with IFSA was challenging, but profoundly rewarding, both academically and personally. My IFSA classes in the specialized academic program I chose were tailored beautifully to the program’s theme of human rights, taught wonderfully by local professionals/scholars, and they encouraged very high-level critical thinking. My classes abroad were some of the best I’ve taken in all four years of college. My abroad experience was just as challenging and rewarding personally as it was academically; I learned how to be alone, how to adapt to others’ customs and communication styles, and how to balance being independent with finding community while abroad for a relatively short amount of time. One of the most profound lessons my experience abroad taught me is that saying goodbye to a place can be just as painful as saying goodbye to a person—IFSA helped me develop a personal connection with the city I lived in, which made my time there so incredible, even though it also made leaving extremely difficult.

I studied in Argentina through IFSA between the end of July and the beginning of December in 2019. The program was well-managed, with a strong array of orientation activities to get us acquainted with Buenos Aires and our peers in the program. The ability to take classes through a variety of institutions was a great opportunity, although it was a bit daunting trying to figure out which classes were offered where amidst rather disorganized directories that the universities offered. My host mom was nothing short of perfect, and she helped make my experience abroad exceptional. IFSA organized interesting academic courses of their own, and the excursions they organized were also fun. All of those running the program were very easily approachable for any assistance we needed, and my advisor helped me a lot in getting academically situated.

I absolutely loved my semester abroad in Buenos Aires- I can't imagine a better place to study abroad. The city is incredibly affordable and has something for everyone- beautiful parks, gorgeous architecture, shopping, trendy restaurants, nature and SO MUCH culture. One of my favorite things to do was visit cultural centers throughout the city to listen to live music or comedy and meet locals. Getting around the city was super easy too, with several subway lines and over 100 buses. IFSA's program was incredible. My favorite part was how many academic options there were and how helpful the staff was. I did the Spanish Translation and Linguistics Learning Community since Linguistics is my major, so four of my courses were taught in the IFSA office by professors from the University of Buenos Aires (the best university in Latin America). I loved the small class environment and learned so much about linguistics that has really helped me in my classes back at school. My learning community also involved an internship/field work experience where I worked with local freelance translators. This was immensely helpful in my classes and for learning Spanish in general. IFSA provided us with amazing academic advising and academic tutoring if we needed it. The staff was also very attentive in seeing how we were getting along with our host families and were in touch with our home universities often. In addition to taking classes with IFSA, we were required to take at least one class at a local university which was a great way to become more immersed in Argentine culture. I also chose to do some volunteering while abroad, as IFSA was connected to a few organizations and helped us get involved. I volunteered at a local elementary school teaching English, which helped me see if I liked working with kids and helped me feel like I was actually contributing positively to my host country. All in all, I had a fantastic time abroad. From nightly dinners with my host family to exploring the city and being challenged in my classes, internship and volunteering, every day in Argentina was a blast and I truly grew both professionally and personally.