Sol Abroad High School Program in Argentina

I absolutely loved this program and I came out so much more comfortable with my spanish, myself, and my ability to form relationships. I adored the people I met there and loved the classes and excursions. You should expect a lot of time spent out with your new friends exploring the city. I feel much better at spanish after this program, and I’m not afraid to speak more in situations. I love the director Kevin and everyone I met at academia. Overall it was an absolutely amazing experience and I’m so happy I chose to make the trip.

It was wonderful to interact with Argentine culture, and an exceptional way to learn Spanish. I received amazing support from everyone involved with my program. Just an amazing experience! The program was carefully planned. There were enriching cultural activities, and plenty of time to explore Buenos Aires. My director, Kevin was incredibly caring and generous. He was always available to help and spent time making a true connection with the group.

I came on this trip with a group of upperclassmen from my school and I barely knew any of them as I was the only freshman. I had one clear goal for my stay in Argentina, and that was to improve my Spanish proficiency. Despite this narrow-sighted objective, these three weeks proved to be much more - academically, linguistically, emotionally, and personally. When we landed in Buenos Aires, a wave of panic hit me as I started to doubt my confidence. The two weakest components of my Spanish skills were speaking and listening, and as our group switched from speaking English to Spanish, insecurity crept up my spine. The first few days were definitely the toughest for me, but my confidence slowly rose as my Spanish was improving. Listening to my friends' talk on day one and on the last day was such a cool experience because their improvement was evident as well. I can safely say that by the end of the trip, the quality of each parts of my Spanish skills had improved tremendously. I was not afraid of conversing with locals anymore; in fact, talking with my apartment's doorman and with my host mother nightly were some of my favorite interactions during the trip.

On a separate note from the linguistic development that had come from my classes and the immersion component, the most valuable experience that I gained from this trip was the relationships I made with my fellow classmates. Spending the afternoons going on cultural excursions and the nights going to the mall or just talking at a local cafe were invaluable. I would have never expected to become close friends with some of the kids. Instead, our group became a small family, as weird as that might sound. Saying farewell to our host-mother was an experience that I will never forget. I could not believe that the three weeks had already come to an end; although we were all tired and ready to go home, it felt like I had only been in Buenos Aires for a couple of days.

I loved this program! I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina and stayed with my host mom in an apartment building across the hall from another host mom, and both were very friendly, happy, and easy to talk to (the food was also great).

Tips!
The Academia was really useful as a way to practice Spanish, but I recommend choosing a class that's somewhat challenging for you, or finding a class in which you get to talk a lot so that you get more out of the experience, either learning-wise or language-wise. My teacher was very engaging and the class was full of people who were having a lot of fun in the city and were very enthusiastic about learning and practicing Spanish, so I could overlook the fact that I was only doing review and not learning new topics, because I was gaining so much experience speaking.
Pack light, so that you can have some room for souvenirs like mate, which are surprisingly bulky!
Talk in Spanish to everyone you can, every chance you get. The students may not be immersive in the language and it is a great idea to practice the language as much as possible. I also watched movies and shows and read books in Spanish so that I could practice reading and listening.
Read ahead about fun things to do in Buenos Aires and where you want to go, because the longer you stay, the more free time you have to do things. Buenos Aires is a city full of museums and art, and it's an absolute joy to explore. Figure out what you want to do beforehand so that you can do it quickly and easily when you're there.
A lot of stores seem to be closed on Sundays and many museums are closed on Mondays, sometimes Tuesdays.

I think that the program really helped me to gain confidence in my Spanish-speaking skills and it helped me to get better at speaking and listening. I loved the museums and general culture of Buenos Aires. I definitely recommend this program to anyone looking to gain a once-in-a-lifetime experience and increase their comfort with and knowledge of Spanish. I loved the activities with the program and the flexibility and genuine friendliness of the directors and host parents. I also really enjoyed how we were given time to explore the city on our own, to eat out in restaurants, and to chat with our host parents. ¡Muchas gracias SolAbroad!

The Sol Abroad Summer program in Argentina is definitely a worthwhile experience. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and there is always something to do. Even after two weeks of being there, I found that there were places I didn't have time to go to. The program is well run and takes good care of the students. The host mom that I had was wonderful and helped me with whatever I needed. The food is also a plus. The Spanish classes are immersive and based around conversation, so they actually help you improve your fluidity in speaking. The activities are for the most part very entertaining and help you discover more of Buenos Aires. The best weekend trip is by far Colonia, and while the other ones aren't bad by any means, they aren't on the same level as Colonia. In order to truly experience the city, walking is necessary, and so participants had better be prepared to walk at least a few miles every day. Much of the time is also spent without guidance, and so you have to discover things to do for yourself. This isn't a problem though, for the city is full of museums, cafes, parks, and other interesting places.

My studies in Buenos Aires were beyond amazing. My confidence speaking in Spanish improved significantly and I grew so much in my understanding of other cultures and different types of people. While in a safe environement, I was able to expand my comfort zone and have so many new experiences that I will remember forever. My favorite Experience was Mate Club de Conversación. In the Mate Club, we met other students studying Spanish and natives of Buenos Aires studying English and helped each other practice and develop fluency in each language. Our director, Kevin, was amazing and helped us with anything we needed and made sure we had the best experience possible.

My name is Rachel Zoneraich, and when I went abroad I was 15 years old and going into my junior year of high school. I had an intermediate level of Spanish going in, and after 7 weeks in Argentina I came back proficient in Spanish. I went with the program SOL abroad, which was an excellent program. The school they use, Academia Buenos Aires, is fantastic. I had 1 on 1 classes for 6 weeks without an added cost because there happened to be no one at my level, and there is a limit of 5 kids to a class. The school has there own curriculum, and gave out homework. My home stay, Amalia, was amazing. She showed me around the city, took me to the movies, and had dinner with me every night. She knew English, but only spoke in Spanish so that I could practice my conversation.

I got an internship with Taringa! (a social media site), but my internship was not through SOL Study Abroad. This internship was the highlight of my summer, so I highly recommend it! The afternoon programs through SOL were great. There was tango classes, cooking classes, mate (speaking Spanish/English with natives over their local tea called mate), and tours of the best city attractions. We also went to Uruguay with the program, which was a cool experience.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Argentina and would highly recommend it to any other high school student!

The Sol program not only improved my Spanish immensely but also got me out of my comfort zone and brought out a more independent side of myself. I became much more comfortable speaking in Spanish to locals and learned to improvise with the language in all sorts of circumstances. The Academia for Spanish was an overall incredible experience with small class sizes, amazing teachers, and the opportunity to meet and get to know people from other backgrounds and parts of the world. I also got to make incredible friends and memories through the numerous activities and excursions our director Kevin had planned for us throughout my stay there, ranging from cooking classes to river boat rides to the Recoleta Cemetery. There is also a lot of freedom so that you can see the city and its many barrios for yourself and with other students from Sol or the Academia. Every day was a different adventure and I was never bored. Being on your own you learn a lot about yourself and how to handle different situations. Overall I couldn't have asked for a better five weeks in Buenos Aires in terms of experience and academic/personal growth and I hope to be given the opportunity to return to the city sometime in the future!