Program Reviews

We learned Spanish in a Spanish speaking environment which is the best way to learn a language. We felt safe knowing that we always had who to turn to if we had a problem in a foreign environment. You really think about everything: pick up from airport, first meeting with your representative with all the important details ,transport ticket, information about your specific transportation, transfer to airport, social activitids...

I personally had a really positive experience with Mente during my five months in Argentina. I originally arrived in Buenos Aires with the intention of doing an internship in an international holiday rental company. I did this for a month before deciding that it wasn't quite right; I had come to Argentina with the primary purpose of learning Spanish and the company mainly functioned in English. When I told this to Mente, the staff were exceedingly helpful in ensuring that I eventually found the perfect internship for me. Even though my home university in England was extremely strict in terms of what I could and could not do in Argentina, the staff at Mente were not fazed at all and continued to help me until all university documents had been signed and approved. I was very appreciative of all the support I received at this stressful time.
I ended up working in a public hospital and had an incredible time. Spanish was the only language spoken there and therefore I not only improved my language skills but also gained some very valuable work experience as well. Since learning Spanish was my main reason for coming to Argentina in the first place, I was really happy with Mente for helping me to achieve exactly what I had wanted to do.

Regarding the social side, I was also very satisfied by what Mente offered. I decided to travel to Argentina with a program because I didn't know anyone out there and wanted a little security too. Mente was perfect for this because I immediately felt safe in Buenos Aires; it was really nice having a local explain to you exactly how the city works, how to use the transport system and which areas to avoid. The social activities were well planned and always interesting. By the end of five months I had pretty much done every museum in the city, gone to loads of bars and events like Tango shows. Similarly, because of the way the social side of Mente is set up, I immediately made good friends and felt very much part of their social circle. Looking back now, I've made some very close friends through Mente who I'll continue talking to for many years to come.

I planned to be in Argentina for 3 months to study a short course in wine. Coming all the way from Australia I was unsure where to start. With the help of Mente Argentina, I enrolled into one of the best wine schools (EAV) and they organized temporary accommodation in a studio apartment right in the heart of Palermo (walking distance to my school!).

My Mente co-ordinator was great. She took time to explain everything within my initiation pack upon arrival so that I could get around the city easily. I was also provided with a phone so my co-ordinator was available to me if I needed help at any time. Mente Argentina also organized an in-house doctor to my place when I was too sick to get out of bed. I really appreciate their assistance during those difficult times, especially when you're in a foreign country! Mente staff also arranged nights out to meet other students and if it wasn't for this I wouldn't have experienced the great night life and met the friends that I still keep in contact today.
If you get the chance to travel to other parts of Argentina with Mente I strongly recommend it. The north and the south of Argentina are extremely different and beautiful. These are opportunities you can't pass up on!

So... after one and half years later I was still living in Buenos Aires! I became an avid student at EAV wine school (so much for the 3 month short course!). The education I received during this program was amazing and Mente was kind enough to continue my program with the school even after all this time.

Like any solo experience, there were a lot of good times and some difficult times. Through this I learnt a lot about myself, and looking back at my journey I have gained life experience and memories that I will never forget.
If you want to venture out on your own and explore Argentina, I think Mente Argentina is a great program to help you get started and assist you through your journeys whilst making it all feel safe.

Thank you to all the staff at Mente Argentina for making my solo experience abroad a truly memorable one!

Study abroad in Buenos Aires!

The whole experience started six months ago. On March 1st , I arrived in the morning at the EZE airport with swollen feet after a 16 hours flight. I flew with a unpleasant feeling to Argentina, after my sister and other friends of mine who had been to South America before told me that nobody will will pick me up at the airport, even if my agency promised me. Everything what they told me was „This is South America and not Europe”. They kept telling me „nothing is safe, don't even think about renting a car and driving around, don't pay with your credit card, don't walk around alone & pay attention.

After all those 'kind words' of them I can tell this is crap! The driver from Mente did pick me up, it is not that unsafe and nothing happened to my credit card or me when I walked around alone in the city.

When I arrived at my host families place, Catherine was already waiting in front of their apartment for me. She introduced me to the family members and helped me out as my personal interpreter. The next day, when school started, Catherine was waiting in front of the university for all of the international students and brought us to the lecture hall. Did I mention she is our age like all of the other Mente girl workers?

To be honest, the first few days were exhausting: I was trying to adjust to a new language and a huge crowded city with 13 million inhabitants. I didn’t get a chance to relax for the first month. I got invited to almost every event, numerous orientations and tours (including a bus tour) that helped us become more familiar with our new surroundings as well as getting to know each other better.

When school started, I kept meeting many interesting people at school and outside school, especially all the current Mente members during the events they hosted (for example grabbing a night cap beer, sightseeing, picnic in the park, visit to museums etc.). Meeting new people was one of my main goals and I can say it is very easy to make friends in Argentina. Argentinians are in general very open minded, friendly and helpful people – and they know how to party. :) The nightlife in Buenos Aires provides a lot opportunities.

...but there is still something I wasn't happy about that drove me nuts. The servers in Buenos Aires are terrible. It takes forever ordering a food or drink, the bureaucracy takes also a while (everybody gives you different information), the driving is insane over there... but maybe this is only 'loco' from my point of view as I am from Germany, a country where everything is VERY organized and where you have to observe the rules.

Overall, all I can recommend to you about Mente and the city life in Buenos Aires is: “ always talk about your problems and let Mente know.” They will help you! After three days living in my host family's apartment I realized I didn’t like it at all. I let Mente know that I wanted to move out as soon as possible and they did make it happen. Having roommates is much more fun than living in a host family. The city life is active, so try to keep calm and don’t take the disorder to seriously, with other words “ look on the bright side”! ;)

Bahareh Shabani

I spent a total of 5 months in Buenos Aires in which I undertook two 10-week internships as part of my programme, and the whole experience really was truly fantastic. The apartment provided to me as part of the programme was great - in the perfect location, the perfect size and with everything I could need, shared with 2 others also on the programme with whom I soon became very close friends. MA definitely had a very large variety of potential internships available to you, and they really were so helpful in helping me find the ones which were right for me. There was also usually a weekly social with the other students on the programme, which is great for helping you meet people and settle in- although if you want to meet Argentines, you will have to go that extra mile! However its definitely possible. The programme also regularly keeps you updated with other things to get involved with in the city at the time, which I really appreciated, as well as the included gym membership which was awesome. I found the MA team friendly, attentive and approachable and I really would recommend this company and the city of Buenos Aires in general to anyone!

I believe this program helped me to get the most out of my study abroad experience by being fully immersed in the culture. The staff put me in touch with an internship program that allowed me to get on-the-job training and really helped me to improve my Spanish. The Mente coordinators have been here a while and are super-friendly as well as being knowledgeable enough to help with any kind of problem. With the group excursions, I was able to experience a lot of things that I might not have found on my own, but the program is also set up so that students can do things on their own if they want to. I was living in an apartment with one other girl who was also part of Mente Argentina, and we were able to live independently while still having people there to help us.

Mente did a great job of setting up and bringing us to all sorts of interesting cultural and fun events that we would otherwise have struggled to find. They helped me out a lot when I had legal trouble and without them I would have had quite a problem. The program was also a good way to meet other students with similar backgrounds to mine. Through Mente I felt like I had a genuine experience in Buenos Aires that would've been much more difficult otherwise.

I came here without knowing one word of spanish but after 8 weeks of intensive spanish course I'm very proud to say that I manage to have a conservation with native spanish speakers. For me this was an amazing experience, as I naturaly don't learn new laguages easyli. But not only I learned a language, also I learned a lot about history and culture of Argentina which is a once in a lifetime chance!

I participated in Mente Argenina's intensive Spanish and internship program over the Latin summer of 2014. I was pleasantly surprised at the services Mente provided me with, the attentiveness of my program coordinators and the activities offered throughout my time in Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, I was picked up from the airport and taken directly to my apartment in one of the best neighborhoods in the city.

Throughout my stay, Mente offered several activities from city tours, trips to the camp and river data, theater tickets, monthly happy hours and other group outings that helped me to meet people. On top of the activities included in the program's cost, the staff at Mente was there to assist with any and all additional needs during my stay.

As an avid world traveler and someone who has lived abroad before my time in Buenos Aires, I can assure you that it can be difficult to navigate the complexities of living, working and or studying abroad. It was worth the money to have Mente handle all the details for me and help direct my time here in a more efficient way. I was immediately comfortable in my apartment, had assistance with any problems that arose and was supplied with an array of activities and opportunities to meet people in the city. That said, I would highly recommend Mente Argentina to future participants!

I would like to start this review by saying that prior to my experience with Mente Argentina I studied and interned abroad in Ecuador. I knew that this experience would be different so I tried not to compare them, but I was left EXTREMELY disappointed and feeling ripped off. If you are reading this and think you will be the exception, think again. The VAST majority of participants that I spoke to in the internship program were disappointed. Years later I still speak about how my experiences in my program in Ecuador helped me grow and change as a person and the work I did at my two internships helped me further my career. All I have left from Mente is a terrible taste in my mouth. The 'supervisor' is a joke. I feel bad for the coordinators that have to work for him because they seem nice for the most part. He ended up COMPLETELY ripping me off and them offering me a discount on further programs as a consolation. After not being satisfied with my initial internship, I asked to be changed. Over a week later (during which I was still paying to be interning, of course) I was set up with a different internship that had nothing to do with what I wanted to accomplish there but I went along with it. I ended up bored out of my mind and switched to taking Spanish classes. At the end of my time there, I was left with no programming even though I paid for the entire 14 weeks because Mente "neglected" to inform me the there is a minimum of 6 weeks before switching. Very, very shady business practice. I met another girl in the internship program who wasn't even contacted about starting her internship until A MONTH after she got there! She was too shy to say anything before then. Another example of Mente taking advantage of their participants. Another med student I met came to do an internship at a hospital. She was placed in the child care center, no where near the medical action she was promised. After many conversations with Mente, they agreed to refund her program cost, BUT she never actually got the money! I could go on and on with examples like this. It was a joke and bonding experience to share these stories amongst fellow Mente participants/sufferers.

The living situations with Mente are REALLY hit and miss. There were apts and homestays that were nice and others that weren't. For example, the first apt I stayed in had a room that flooded every time it rained, yet they knowingly continued to place participants there. I think that shows how much they care. Mente seems to function on how much they can get away with, and in my 14 weeks with them I saw them get away with way too much crap. I felt uncomfortable from the moment I was told that I had to transfer money to a man's personal account in California to confirm my enrollment, but I was so excited to go and wanted to believe the good reviews. They also do not offer a contract for services, another red flag. This is not a program that is on the up and up in their business practices.

Let me repeat, this program is shady and NOT TO BE TRUSTED!! DO NOT think you will be an exception. Your money is far better spent elsewhere.