Mente Argentina: Ultra Intensive Spanish Program

I approached Mente to do a language course during my time in Argentina and it proved to be a very rewarding decision. Joining Mente gave me a community in BA as well as being the gateway to meeting some of the people I would make my most lasting memories of Argentina with and would push me to continue to improve my spanish. I was hesitant to pay the extra for Mente rather than doing language classes independently but I am very grateful I made the decision to be a part of the community and enrich my whole trip with the activities and people from Mente.

I traveled to Argentina through Mente’s study abroad program and had the best time ever! During my 3 months staying in Buenos Aires, I met a ton of new friends, gained valuable cultural experiences, and had the opportunity to immerse myself in a different part of the world. My program package consisted of housing, group activities, and a Spanish language learning school. While I did arrive in Argentina after taking Spanish classes all throughout school, my Spanish speaking skills improved exponentially after taking classes. I can confidently say that it was my favorite part of the Mente program! I would spend each weekday learning and growing with some of my closest friends, as well as spending evenings and weekends getting together for an asado or ice cream. I do recommend having at least some Spanish speaking capabilities before arriving, and I believe that I was able to do much more during my time there because of that. With regards to my housing, I was initially living with an Argentinian host mom in a homestay, yet I ended up moving to a shared apartment after the first month or so. There were multiple reasons why I decided to move, and while the Mente coordinators were totally supportive of my decision, some communication issues did eventually contribute to the difficult situation. However, after moving into the shared apartment with other Mente students, I immediately felt that I had more freedom and control over how I spent my time. That isn’t to say that all Mente homestay’s are unsuitable for everyone, but just in my case there were some complications. After I moved in to the apartment, me and my roommates outfitted it with various items such as cooking equipment, toiletries, and some furniture. In addition to that, Mente had the apartment cleaned weekly and were also very gracious whenever we needed any help with anything. The group activities were definitely the main thing that Mente provided. We would eat lunch at historic restaurants, go on museum tours, and walk around in beautiful open air markets. There was also so much more that just those examples, and I’d say that there was normally at least 1 or 2 activities each week. Something that was a little difficult was that the activities were usually announced the day before they were scheduled, so it was sometimes hard to plan things ahead of time. I would also say that the majority of the things that I filled my time with were things not associated with Mente, such as traveling to Córdoba and Montevideo, playing on a club ultimate frisbee team, or going to a River Plate game, all of which were a ton of fun as well. If you have any questions about what to do, what to see, or where to go, I’m more than happy to give some suggestions! I think my main takeaway for anyone reading this review is that if you’re on the fence about whether or not to take this trip, do it! While traveling abroad isn’t always the easiest thing to do, that’s what makes the experience so special and unique. While I do think that Mente has some areas that could use improvement, such as setting you up with a stable phone plan or being more proactive about planning, I can’t picture myself not taking this trip. While challenging situations did show up, the Mente coordinators were always there to help and support me. The city may seem daunting when you first show up, but after some time you’ll become accustomed and ready to take advantage of the amazing opportunity. I definitely would not be the person I am right now without my time in Buenos Aires!

I spent 3 months in Buenos Aires with Mente Argentina and had a wonderful time! It was my first time travelling alone and they really helped by giving me a structure and support whenever I needed it. I signed up for their Spanish and volunteering programs, both of which were excellent. Mente is good at helping you settle in and feel at home. Their weekly socials are also a great way to meet new people. Would definitely recommend!

Mente was absolutely incredible as a host during my stay in Buenos Aires. They were incredibly warm, friendly, and kind, always going out of their way to ensure I had the best experience possible. I never felt lost or out of touch with what was happening in the city, thanks to their continuous updates and recommendations. They also organized some truly exciting tours and activities for me, adding an extra layer of enjoyment to my time in Buenos Aires. Moreover, the Spanish classes they arranged for me were incredibly engaging and effective, leading to significant improvement in my language skills. Thank you Mente, I had the best time with you.

This year I had the pleasure of experiencing Argentinian culture for six weeks. Thanks to the amazing Mente Argentina staff and other fellow participants, this has been an absolutely unforgettable adventure which I will cherish forever. Through Mente, I took the intensive language course which was fun, interactive and perfectly challenging for my beginner proficiency level. In addition, they provided me with a wonderful accomodation in Palermo, the most exciting part of Buenos Aires! The comfortable and fully furnished apartment was also close to all things I needed, such as the convinience stores right next door and the lavadero and metro station down the street. Sharing the apartment with four other Mente participants allowed me to build the best friendships and feel right at home there! The combination of the hospitality and professional assistance was remarkable. For example, the initial services included in the personal welcoming booklet, like a SIM card and public transport card, proved extremely useful and stress-relieving. Similarly, any questions and requests were always promptly answered by the extraordinary staff. Moreover, I always made sure to attend the weekly activites that Mente organized. They were the perfect way exploring the city’s culture and food like a local in a very fun and social way with my fellow Mente participants, accompanied by the best Mente coordinator! This way, I met the other diverse and international students and was able to build lasting friendships. All in all, I had the most amazing stay in Buenos Aires thanks to the exceptional staff from Mente Argentina (and the language school) and I highly recommend their services to everyone who considers visiting Argentina as well!

I stayed with mente for 5 weeks and loved it. They do a great job helping you get incorporated into the city and are super responsive to whatever issues you may have. I definitely recommend it as a way to feel more confident traveling to new place

Mente Argentina was an awesome program for my 20 week journey in Buenos Aires. I was living independently with other roommates, but always felt secure and comfortable with the help from Mente and the planned activities we did. From La Bomba to the Palacio Barolo to the Microteatro, we were immersed in Argentine culture while bonding with others from the program. We created a great community and an unforgettable experience in BA, thanks to Mente.

Mente sets you up with anything you want internship, classes, Spanish program you name it, plus food, housing, transportation to and from the airport, free weekly activities, and connections to so many friends and events. I had a blast and improved my Spanish tremendously because of the hard working staff. I am already planning when I can go back to Buenos Aires. Thank you for the experience of a lifetime Mente crew

I have nothing but positive acclamation for my experience with Mente. During my time with Mente, I did the intensive Spanish program for 3 months and I loved it. VOS (the Spanish school) help my Spanish immensely. With small classes I never had more than 5 in my class. This gave me the opportunity to speak more during class. Which really helped my Spanish improve. The school also had fun activities during and after class that allowed us to explore the city and practice our Spanish in a real life setting. I loved all of my teacher because they were all very personable and willing to put in the extra work when you we struggling. After the first week, it felt like a family. Life with Mente really allowed me to explore new foods, new parts of the city, and meet fellow people from Mente. Each week there is at least one or two dinners and/or activities that Mente puts on and pays for. I always took advantage of the free food and activities. The program coordinators were the best. They are all young and have been in the city for quite some time so they give you a little bit of a locals perspective. I made a lot of great memories and friends with these meetings. The housing is simple. They give you all of the essentials which was perfect for me. If I ever had an issue, the program had it fix with in a day or two as well so that was very comforting. The program also gives a lot assistance in pretty much all aspects including providing a public transportation pass which gets you pretty much every where you want to go. They also have detailed maps to/from school, hospitals, Mente headquarters, and your housing. All of the housings are in safe areas. Going to a big city in South America, I was a bit concerned about safety, but I always felt safe in my apartment and out on the streets around my apartment. I think that this program really gave you, your money’s worth. You Could totally find your own housing and a school/language program on your own but I feel like sense the security of this program and how stress free I felt from the moment they picked me up from the airport made it 100% worth it. You can really take the security of your own city and culture for granted, so having a program to ease the transition made all of the difference in the world. Highly recommended!

Hi, I’m Amara. I’m from Jamaica and I came here to Buenos Aires in order to learn Spanish and at the beginning I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I was going to get into a university or any type of language school to learn Spanish. So one day I went on the internet and I was just looking and found Mente. So I looked through a couple of reviews and just signed up! ...it definitely wasn’t a mistake. The experiences that I’ve had here with Mente and through Mente have been extraordinary. The language school was magnificent – I did an 8-week intensive program and right now I can tell you that my Spanish is a lot better than it was before I got here. I did a lot of activities with Mente because in addition to the educational aspect they also ensure that you have a lot of fun while you’re here. So I would recommend that if you really want to learn Spanish in a fun and interesting way just join Mente!

Hi my name is Sukhjeevan and I did the volunteer and Spanish program with Mente in Buenos Aires. I stayed in Palermo which is a really good place. The benefits of me staying there was it was right close to the prime place in Palermo called Plaza Serrano which has lots of bars, pubs, restaurants, loads of choice, and you’re not far from anything. I would say location wise, it was perfect. We were really close to the center, the obelisk, all of the main tourists sites but also close to bars and pubs. The residence itself was very family oriented, very safe, the people there are lovely, really welcoming, they really look after you and make sure that you’re fed, safe and happy. I met a lot of people in the residence from South America, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia literally everywhere. I paid for six weeks of Spanish and ended up doing individual lessons, which really helped a lot. I came here with almost no Spanish and am leaving with definitely better Spanish. The Spanish school is absolutely excellent. They really invested a lot of time in the students. The teachers are really friendly. I like the fact that the lessons weren’t done in English. Everything is done in Spanish. You learn a lot of phrases, and words, and the style of speaking. I would definitely recommend it. Definitely recommend the program, it’s worth doing.

Hi, my name is Julien. I’m from Canada and I was in Buenos Aires for 7 weeks for the intensive Spanish classes. I lived here in an apartment, which I would recommend to everyone because you get to live with other foreigners, you get to party with them, go out, and it’s easier to know the city because they’ve been here for a while. Also, I think living in an apartment is a great way to live like an Argentinean; you get to take the bus or the subway like they do, so I’d definitely recommend an apartment. Lastly, Buenos Aires in general is great, it’s a safe city, there’s good food, food is cheap, it’s a good place to go out, and people in general are really nice. So I would definitely recommend the city. Thank you!

Hi, I’m from the United States and I did an 8-week program here with Mente Argentina doing Spanish and a little volunteering. I lived in a private apartment for the first four weeks and then moved into a homestay for the last four weeks, which I thought was a good mix of some independence and then also practicing my Spanish more. I did the Intensive Spanish Program, which was great, but I preferred when I switched into the private lessons, so that’s definitely something I would recommend. The volunteering was great also – it was a great way to practice my Spanish and to get to know a different part of the city and more people. Overall, it was a great experience and I really liked it. Definitely put me outside of my comfort zone and I learned a lot and Mente was a great help – I would definitely recommend them!

Hi, I’m Kirani, and I am Australian. I came to Buenos Aires two months ago to study Spanish and to check out the city to see if I wanted to stay here to live. My teachers were amazing, so interesting, such cool people and it was great that I made friends at school. I love Buenos Aires, there is always something to do, if you want to go out at 2 am on a Sunday, you can do that! At the same time there is a laid back vibe so you can always feel at ease here. Mente has been great in the whole thing because they always had people around that if you screwed up something or if you get lost, you can always talk to someone about it. It was really great to have them there as a backup. It was truly great, I recommend it for anyone that wants to get out of their country for a while.

Hi, my name is Steven and I come from the United States of America. I came here to enroll in the Intensive Spanish Program through Mente Argentina and it went really well. The school is very nice, the professors were super friendly, humble and attentive to us. I lived in a shared apartment with three other people, and all my roommates were super nice. Also all the things we did through the Mente activities were super fun and I got to meet people like me that were in town. The city itself was incredibly friendly, from taxi drivers to people at restaurants, going to bars and clubs, it was very easy to get along with other people. I just want to say thank you for all the things this program offered me and all the people I met and created memories with. It was incredibly nice and I couldn’t have asked for anything more, good luck to you!

Hello, I am Felizia from Switzerland, I was here for 8 weeks for language school learning Spanish. I had so much fun during my 2 months here, I did so many things that were new for me and were amazing. I came here with no Spanish at all and even though it was on a very short notice that I wanted to do this program, everything worked out fine and I am very thankful to Mente Argentina for organizing everything. My room, my classes, and everything else went very smooth. What also was very awesome was being able to meet all these people from all over the world because of Mente Argentina as they did all these gatherings that brought us together. Argentina is so fun, you eat so well here and I hope you enjoy your stay if you are coming here too

Hi I am Katie from Washington D.C. and I am here in Buenos Aires doing the Mente Argentina’s Intensive Spanish Program. I am Avital from New York and doing the same program as her. It’s been a lot of fun, I was level 1 and I learned a lot of Spanish in two weeks. I was in level 3 and I had a really nice time, meeting really nice people in the program and walking around Buenos Aires, discovering all the sites. Two weeks and it’s been very wonderful, we think we have seen everything as we planned all our counted days, so overall it was a great 2 weeks, we loved the experience.

Hi, I am Barbara, 24 years old and I come from Lisbon Portugal. I was here in Buenos Aires doing the Spanish Intensive Program for a month. It was very useful to come here with Mente Argentina because I was coming all by myself, and I really wanted to have an experience in South America so I started searching for program and this was the only one I felt comfortable going with. From the first day I got here, I arrived at the student residence and I was living with 15 people, so I had friend from the first hour. It was a very comfortable stay. Also, in the organization everything was already organized before I got here, so I had all the details really well set up. And when I got here, I started taking classes and they were great, and overall Buenos Aires’s dynamics is awesome. So in a month of being here I still have a lot of things to see, but I tried to do the best out of my time here and also the Mente Events were great and helpful to get to know the city. I would definitely recommend for someone who wants a valuable experience in a foreign country in a very organized way.