Computer Programming Study Abroad Programs in South America

Nous avons vécu une excellente expérience de stage grâce à l’association Mente Argentina. Ils nous ont accompagnés à chaque étape de notre projet : organisation du voyage, aide pour trouver un hôpital afin d’effectuer notre stage infirmier, et soutien tout au long de notre séjour. En plus de l’aspect professionnel, l’association a également organisé plusieurs repas dans différents restaurants de Buenos Aires, ce qui nous a permis de découvrir la culture locale et de rencontrer des habitants. Grâce à leur professionnalisme, leur disponibilité et leur bienveillance, notre expérience a été à la fois enrichissante sur le plan professionnel et humain. Nous recommandons vivement Mente Argentina à toute personne souhaitant réaliser un stage à l’étranger en toute sérénité.

I was going on a semester abroad through out the organisation Mente Argentina in Buenos Aires. Since the beginning I had really good and fluent contact with Mente. They helped me a lot with figuring out my specific situation which I really value and appreciate. The reponses always came quite quick and have been detailed. I arrived with a good feeling in Buenos Aires. Few minutes after my arrival, a worker from Mente showed up and gave me a starter kit, with a Sim Card, a guide and a cash exchange which made my start really easy. For any matters or upcoming problems Mente has been available and fixed them quite quickly. Through the good network of Mente, I quickly made friends and had the opportunity to be part of a language school and my university programm. Mente organised multiple events every week. The events have been quite interesting and were definetly a lot of fun! Since today I am grateful that I met so many people and good friends through Mente. With their helpful and open attitude the people in the Mente Team became good friends as well. I will definetly recommend anybody to benefit from the organisation Mente Argentina, especially if a semester abroad in the city of Buenos Aires sounds interesting :)

It would not be inaccurate to say that my six months in Buenos Aires were some of the best of my life. A condensed background--I am an Civil Engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines. I work during the semester, run student organizations, and bust my ass with my heavy courses. However, I have always had a heavy interest in economics, history, and literature. Furthermore, I have always wanted to learn Spanish because I thought it would be a helpful tool in the future. I decided to take advantage of my situation by taking a "break" and studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. Two issues, however, arose: 1. I had no idea where to go. And 2. I did not speak a word of Spanish. Luckily, I found Mente Argentina. Mente offered me a program where I did not need to speak a word of Spanish beforehand to study in university. The program offered 2 months of Spanish lessons at a small independent school followed by 4 months of the actual semester. Mente can connect you to a broad selection of universities in Buenos Aires. I chose the University of Belgrano, a good-sized private university centered in the beautiful neighborhood of Belgrano. There, I could chose classes from the PEAL/PALAS program. One of which had courses taught in Spanish and the other in English. I took five classes: 2 in Spanish and 3 in English. Despite not knowing a word of Spanish before arriving, I was successfully able to understand (most of) and succeed in the Spanish-taught courses due to the 2 months of Spanish lessons beforehand. However, here arises my only complaint: the courses shown by Mente were *not* the same courses offered by the university. As a result, I had to get a new set of courses approved by my host university. I was unable to get all the credit I wanted too because they didn't offer the high-level course that Mente had advertised. The professors were very friendly and knowledgeable. I personally recommend the "Argentine Economy" course taught by Professor Arguero and the "Political and Social Change" course taught by Professor Gonzalez. Both of these are taught in English. The Spanish school (VOS), was incredible in their job. I met lifelong friends there and made my mark on their wall (if you go there, my handprint is by the staircase and labelled Lucas with a heart in the middle). As I mentioned before, I was able to get to competent level of Spanish to take basic university courses within two months of their 5-day/week Spanish program. The building is beautiful and centered in the stunning neighborhood of Palermo. If you do go to this school, I recommend hitting NOLA: a Cajun fried chicken restaurant that is located a two minute walk away. As for housing, Mente supplied me with an apartment in Palermo. The location was amazing! Five minute walk away from Santa Fe St. 20 minutes away from Plaza Serano. Bus station is outside. Less than 10 minute walk to the subway. It was fairly easy to get a taxi there. There are multiple kisocos and a small supermarket (Dia) directly outside it. There is also plenty of great places to eat around there. The apartment itself was clean with very few issues. I loved hanging out on the long balcony. Mente will circle roommates in and out depending on their program. The roommates I have had became very close friends with me (with the exception of a strange hiccup at the beginning). Mente will host weekly events and invite everyone who is involved in a Mente program. This is where I met my closest friends in Buenos Aires, not at the university. Events include: happy hours (and miniature theatre), restaurants, museums, shows, and more. Samantha and Bea, who work at Mente, are both very friendly and fun to be around. If I ever had any questions or concerns, Mente was fast to address them and make sure I was comfortable there. As for Buenos Aires, it is a magical city. As you live here, you will learn about the history, culture, and areas of the city. I spent most of my time in three neighborhoods: Belgrano, Palermo, and Recoleta. Belgrano is a nice neighborhood home to my university and many grand houses, including embassies of all countries. Palermo is where I lived and is the premiere place to shop and dine (in my opinion). Recoleta is more upscale and touristy, home to many attractions. As for places to see, I recommend: Puerto Madero, the Recoleta Cemetary, El Ateneo "The Grand Splendid", the Colon Theatre, the Obelisk, the Casa Rosada, all the gardens, Tigre, and many others. Take your time to explore Argentina outside of Buenos Aires. I have been to: Mar del Plata, Bariloche, Iguazu Falls, and Salta. I won't go into detail about all of these locations, but know that Argentina is an incredibly diverse (and big) country. Make sure to explore everything that you can! And make sure to explore the rich history, too. Before going to Buenos Aires, I had never lived in a big city or spoke Spanish. Within no time, I had become a proud porteño! Take part in the culture...eat milanesas, asado, dulce de leche, and empanadas. Drink mate and partake in merienda. Learn the phrases (dale, boludo!). Take it easy and take your time. Cheer for River Plate and play some soccer! Altogether, I am very satisfied with my experience. Looking back, it feels too good to have been real. Surely, I will be returning to Buenos Aires, my second home!

Hi, I’m Paul, I went to Buenos Aires to a Spanish program and then a semester at the University of Belgrano. All I can say is that Mente is a great place because they really help you out with the whole experience. They have a lot of great events, lots of good foods, especially with Sofia. So come to Argentina, you will have fun.

Hi, my name is Nam, I am from Vietnam but I am currently studying in the US at Bennington college. I did a semester abroad in Argentina, here in Buenos Aires. I found Mente Argentina from the internet and it has been four months of studying, living a whole new different experience. After four months I think that I’ve learned a lot not only about Argentina, but also about Latin America in general. The most important thing is that I have been able to think about who I am, about my country, and about what I want to do in the future, so that’s something that I value a lot. Buenos Aires is a very diverse city, and it’s really fun. The media and political scene is quite polemic so if you want to read the news you read from Página 12 but also Clarín to have a more balanced perspective. I feel like after four months my Spanish really improved, I made a lot of friends from all over the world. After four months what I really want to do now, moving forward, is to finish my last year in college in the US and then start my Masters degree after, but I definitely want to return to Latin America to see how my perspective will change.

Hi, I’m Nadja from Germany and I came to Buenos Aires for four months to do a semester abroad at the University of Belgrano. It was an amazing experience because you are able to meet so many new people. Especially when you are going with Mente, you will meet new people so easily because you are doing a lot of activities together and it’s really a nice experience and I’m sad that I have to leave now. It’s the best way to learn Spanish and get to meet new people.

Hi Name is Vera, I am from Germany and I was doing a semester abroad here for five months in Buenos Aires. I was living here in Recoleta, which is a good place to live in Buenos Aires. I got to know a lot of places here, and some other places in Argentina as well . I really recommend doing a semester abroad with Mente in Buenos Aires.

Hello, I’m Nico, I’m from Switzerland and I’m 26 years old. I was studying here for one semester at UCA, the Unversidad Catolica de Argentina, and I have to say I had such a good time here in this half a year. I got to know so many new people, from Argentina as well as international students and it’s so sad to leave this place now because I really have to say that I got used to many things here that and I really love to live here in this beautiful city and it was so good also to come here with Mente because you know that when you come here you have an apartment, you know that everything works out at the university and the Spanish school, so when I look back I really would do it exactly the same and I really just recommend this city and this organization and it was awesome, so come here and enjoy it!

Hi my name is Allison and I am from Korea but I study in the US. I did a Semester Abroad here at the University of Belgrano and I had a great time. My semester was great, I met a lof of friends through my program. My classes were actually related to my major which is anthropology and music. Mente did helped me a lot because before coming here I was really scared that everything would go wrong and that my Spanish was not good enough. But Mente provided a good transition for me and all my worries went away very smoothly. It was really really great to have a go to person in a foreign country where you don’t know anyone. I met some really great roomates along my stay and through them I met other friends that really made us so much more exciting to be in Buenos Aires. Another highlight with Mente were all these tours that we get offered during the weekends. I really enjoyed them as I got to learn much from them, not only did I get to see the touristy stuff but the guide was excellent at hitting spot! Now I bump into him in the street and it’s like we are friends. Buenos Aires is great, Argentina is great so you should definitely come visit.

Hi I’m Jamie from and I came through Mente to study abroad in the University of Belgrano. I took six classes and that was really awesome as I didn’t have to pay a ton, as at home classes are super expensive. I loved my apartment and all the Mente apartments I’ve seen are really nice. Buenos Aires is a really fun city to be, there is always something to do and to explore. They helped me with the visa process which is a long set of steps being back and forth but I finally got my visa and they were always there to help me with that and that was great. Buenos Aires is a great city.

Hi, I am Karina from California, I came here to study abroad a semester at the Universidad de Belgrano with Mente Argentina. It’s been such an amazing experience. I loved it so much that I am choosing to stay here for a whole year. My favorite thing about Mente was all the activities they organized like Tango Shows, La Bomba del Tiempo, they were always great opportunities to meet people from all over the world, and I really loved Buenos Aires. It was super helpful because they organized everything, the apartment, the school, my visa, the paperwork... I'm really glad I chose to come here.

Hi I am Kathryn, I participated in the Intensive Summer Program and the Semester Program with Mente Argentina. My favorite thing about my trip abroad I think, no matter where you go, is always the people that you meet. Mente really helped me to get connected with lots interesting people through outside activities and the other people in the program as well. The city is so open and vibrant to foreigners, there is always something that you can do to explore the culture here. One of my favorite activities here was Mundo Lingo, and that’s where people met two or three times a week where people really just wanted to speak different languages, have fun, and learn different cultures and I had made so many long lasting friendships. I am so sad that I had to leave this beautiful place that changed my life. I cannot wait to be back, whenever that’s going to be.

My name is Matthew, and I am from the UK. I did a semester at the Universidad de Belgrano followed by 6 weeks of an internship. I had a really good time in Argentina. I’ve done a lot of things, I love Buenos Aires, and I got to travel to Patagonia, Mendoza, Iguazú, I even traveled in Brazil. This is a really good place to be situated in South America, and you still get to enjoy a city lifestyle. I will miss it a lot.

Hi, I am Paige from California, and I did a Semester Abroad with Mente Argentina, and it was a great experience. For the last five months I was here studying at Belgrano University taking Spanish and other courses. I was taking a program with foreigners at Belgrano so it was easy to make friends and some of my classes were in English others in Spanish so it was changeling enough but still it gave me a lot of time to explore the city and I really enjoyed my classes. My Spanish improved tremendously through this program. One thing I liked about Mente was how affordable it was, and being a small program they really catered to my needs, and were very helpful as they gave me everything I needed from my home university, they were able to get everything signed, it was really helpful to get all these things down in that stressful time of wanting to go abroad. Mente does these little activities like happy hours, different tours with us, and they were helpful when I first got here and I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know the city. I stayed in a shared apartment, and it was great, I loved it. But, when I wanted to move to a home stay because I wanted to speak more Spanish, Mente was really helpful and Mente got me into a home stay within a week and I thought that was great that they just really accommodated me into a home stay in a week, that really stood up about Mente. Other than that, I really love Buenos Aires, I made a lot of friends here, I did language exchanges with people from here and I met a lot of people doing that. I took a watercolor class on my own and I took some trips and that was really easy to do. I had a great time I really recommend Mente.

Hi, we are Nina and Selina and we came together with another friend, and we are all from Bennington College in the USA, and we came to do a Semester Program with Mente. We have been here for five months and we all came to study different things. I studied visual arts at UNA,and Nina studied Social Science in UB. The three of us lived together in an apartment that Mente got for us which was really nice, and it was fun living together the three of us, learning how to survive with other people in a huge city with a different language. In the Mente Activities we went to Tigre, happy hours, Tango classes, etc, and everything was very fun, we will definitely want to come back in the future.

Hi, my name is Alina and I spent one semester in Buenos Aires studying at UCA, I liked it very much and I am even thinking on spending one semester more. The city is everything you would ever want, you can explore the city every day and you will always find a new place. The people are very nice, and helpful and open and you will always get to meet many people here. Mente Argentina helped me a lot, they picked me up from the airport, orientated me about Buenos Aires and my academic program and told me everything I needed to know. I always felt very comfortable with them.

Hi, my name is Campbell and I from Minnesota but I attend University of Kansas. I chose Mente Argentina and I kinda stumbled by it on accident, and I am glad that I chose it because by far it is the best program I could have done. It is more for people who are looking for more independence, I didn’t wanted to be in a program that was big hears of students being shuttled around, I didn’t wanted to be treated like a kid, I wanted more independence. I love Mente because most of the people who work there really treat you like adults, so you are given all the activities to do if you want to go, and that helps with giving you more independence. We had happy hours, and they always were really involved, is not like they set you off for an activity, they are with you. As for Argentina, I chose it because I wanted something inside America but with an European influence. The only negative thing that I was worried about was that you can’t travel as much as one would do in Europe because there are so many different cultures and they are so close to each other but I was so wrong. I was there for a full year with Mente and I have done so much traveling. Not only does Mente give you opportunities of travel because they are the hookups for all these deals that otherwise would be hard to find and they are super helpful, but you can also do a lot of traveling on your own. I went to Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil and I traveled within Argentina and I absolutely loved it. I have been up in the mountains, glacier cities, and everywhere you can imagine! Everything was amazing and Mente has helped me with all these stuff. I recommend Argentina because in Buenos Aires you get a lot, and I was debating about which city, but I know I chose the right one... Buenos Aires has it all; it has been a really really great experience.

Hello my name is April and I am from St. Petersburg, Florida and I arrive in Buenos Aires in late February. I came to study a semester abroad from about February to July in Universidad Austral. It is a really cool school, the advisors are a lot of help as it is a small school. If you are coming and you don’t know what to choose, if you want something smaller, this is really the place to go. The classes are smaller so I got to know my professors on a personal level, I go to University of Florida which is huge, so it was nice to have teachers that learned my name. Travel wise, I have been to Mar del Plata, Mendoza, Bariloche, Santiago and Valparaíso in Chile. I really love downtown especially when it lights up at night around the Obelisk, and there it kinda reminds me of Times Square in New York, and I love how bright it is, all people walking around. I actually love Buenos Aires public transportation, I have a car back home and I enjoy driving, but is nice to have an easy system that keeps you moving, and it is cheap. Finding your way in Buenos Aires can be tricky at first, but you will blend right in after a couple of weeks, I love BA.

Hi, I am Mike and I go to Iowa State University to study Chemical Engineering. Here in Buenos Aires with Mente Argentina I did one month of Spanish lessons and a semester of classes at the University of Belgrano. Mente is a great organization; you know that all of them are ready to take care of you. Mente is great if you need something to ask, I had a good time here and I met a lot of awesome people, so DO IT!

Hello everyone, my name is Olivia, I am a Junior at Bennington College in Vermont and I am from San Francisco California, USA. I have been here for 4 months doing my Semester Abroad Program in UNA, Universidad de las Artes, doing dance and contemporary ballet classes. I am also doing oil paintings and drawing classes. I took extension courses, with mostly Argentineans, so it was great to practice my Spanish 24/7. The Mente Events that happens every week, the coordinator was so much fun, we had a blast. That has been so enjoyable, seeing stuff with a group of people. I really enjoyed my experience. I have lived in cities and rural areas, but Buenos Aires is so huge, such a shock. There’s always something to do, the city has always something happening, people here go dance, to the theater, museums, and coffee breaks. That’s has been so enjoyable, having a group of people to have fun with, everybody came here with the same purpose, to study while falling in love with this beautiful city.