Latin American Studies Study Abroad Programs in Buenos Aires, Argentina

It was an amazing experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life and career. All of the excursions we went on were a breath of fresh air, they were perfectly timed with our school schedule. Personally, for me, I loved spending more time after our excursions to do my own exploring on my personal time. I got involved in a lot of clubs and activities and made some life long connections with locals. I joined my university's football team, and it was an honor to be part of such a loved sport in Argentina. I got to meet people from all over the world in my classes, and the conversation club I worked for the majority of my stay there. The classes I took were absolutely amazing! I decided to take a tango class last minute through the university, and it is a completely different world. I got to learn the inner working mechanisms of what it really takes to be a tanguero. I learned more history about Argentina in my literature class more than my own country's history. The stories of this beautiful country came alive, and I saw aspects of this history all over, and in the streets of Buenos Aires. In my sociolinguistics class I learned the origins of lunfardo and how differently people speak and that this phenomenon exists globally. In my Spanish class I was really able to apply myself to learning the language more than I ever knew possible. All of the professors were amazing, as well as my director Raúl. I learned so many things from all of them from silly conversations to life lessons. My host mom was fantastic and she had so many words of wisdom, and always comforted me when I was feeling down (and made amazing food!). I will never forget this amazing experience, and Buenos Aires will always have a part of my heart as I felt so alive and enthralled each day I was there. Studying here for 4 months was worth the whole process, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I will always remember and return, my beloved Buenos Aires.

The program is well-designed for those who want to have an in-depth exploration of public health. In addition to providing good academic structure and thoughtful site visits, my favorite aspect of the program was the independent research project. I had support from staff to research my interest in infectious diseases that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. For my project, I was encouraged to interview professionals and collaborate with those directly working in infectious disease prevention which was a dream come true! All in all, the staff are very supportive and the connections/partnerships they have with those in public health make this program unique and well worth it!