CAPA Buenos Aires is a fantastic program, it's set up extremely well through an established company and gives you a lot of different opportunities. All of your bases are covered before you leave with things like health insurance, living arrangements and other basic information like what to expect when you arrive. The academics are challenging just like they would be in your home institution but again CAPA is there to support you with checkups throughout the semester and an on site director who is available if there is any type of problem. CAPA also provides you with a MyEducation calender which is a list of activities that are taking place during your the months you will be in the city. This is nice because you might not always have time to find or even know where to look for free or cheap cultural event happenings and to have all of this information provided so you can make the most of your time abroad is great. CAPA works really hard in other ways to make your time abroad goes smoothly, for housing they have you fill out a detailed survey in order to place you in a living situation with people you'll be best matched with. While you are abroad you'll be in contact with several people including the director of your CAPA program and your CAPA advisor from back before you left who will all make sure you're doing alright and staying on track, all without being too overbearing! They're like a really solid support system that you can lean on-if you need to. If anything major comes up like you end up in the hospital or a criminal incident of some sort (robbery, etc.) they are right there on top of things with you. As for the other things related to studying abroad like traveling the CAPA Buenos Aires center housed within the host university is located extremely close to downtown and the major transportation systems there so getting around is easy. I was able to leave class and head to various locations throughout the city by taxi, bus or bicycle many times without having an issue. Throughout the Fall semster at least there were several week long breaks and many days when there were no classes on Fridays so exploring the country is definitely possible even while taking several classes. Many of the services on campus are available to international students as well like printing (although you currently have to pay out of pocket for that but it is significantly cheaper than say the U.S.), the cafeteria (the food there is ok, there's a homemade section where eachday hot meals are prepared and there's also a section to buy snacks and subs or empanadas in. Many students do end up eating there or at one of the restaurants close by like Burger King) and library which is small but functional. There are not a lot of activities that allow for the international students taking classes in English to interact with the regular university students though. Most often you won't have opportunities to meet people and will end up sticking with the people in your classes because there aren't many coordinated activities. The CAPA Buenos Aires program as a whole is really fantastic,it allows for a lot of freedom and opportunites but is also structured in a way that you feel prepared and well taken care of. Buenos Aires is an amazing place to visit and the program CAPA has in place to help you explore it is probably one of the best out there!

CEA is a wonderful study abroad program that I would recommend to anyone going to Buenos Aires. I was at the University of Belgrano so we didnt have as much day-to-day contact with the CEA staff, but if we ever needed anything they were always available for help and information. CEA organized fun trips and activities for us, and gave us the opportunities to meet alot of great people. They give the option of living in a residencia/homestay, or to organize your own living, and I chose independent living in an apartment.

I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the Spring of 2011 with CEA. I did the program Latin American & Integrated Studies where I took classes at the Universidad de Belgrano, and I was able to take classes just with other international students or I could take classes with local Argentine students as well. I just took classes with other international students, which were all in Spanish and some of my classes were really good and interesting, and I had some that I felt I barely had to do any work or where I didn't feel like I was really learning anything new. But overall I enjoyed my classes and was able to learn a lot about Latin American and Argentine history and culture, which I really enjoyed. I had some friends in CEA who did programs and took classes at "CEA Global Campus" but they told me they didn't really enjoy the Global Campus and wish they would've taken classes at Belgrano like I had. So, I don't have first hand experience with the Global Campus, but I heard that from a few different people.

I decided to live with a host family, and I couldn't have asked for a better family. There were other students from the U.S. in the house as well, but it was nice to have a mix of cultures and views, which really made dinner conversations more fun! I'm not it the "best" neighborhood; our house doesn't have too much around it (like cafés or stores), but I am a block away from the subway stop, have plenty of bus stops nearby and close enough I can walk to places to go to a restaurant, café or shop. I wouldn't change anything for what I have since the family is so great.

Towards the end of my semester here in Buenos Aires with CEA, I decided to stay another semester (I have just grown to love the city and I want to continue to learn and practice my Spanish), so I am still in Buenos Aires through this Fall 2011. I didn't go through CEA this time, but rather all independently, so I'm paying the school and my host family directly. The only reason I didn't go with CEA again is because I don't need the great excursions they offer since I already did them, so I didn't want to pay for something I didn't need. Even though I'm not with CEA anymore, I have kept in contact the staff here in BsAs, and they have been great to me and have helped me with anything I have needed even though I am not in CEA anymore.

Buenos Aires has something for everyone to do, and if you ever need to get out of the city and get a little bit more nature than just the parks, you can always take a train or bus out of the city. Overall I had a good experience with CEA and I am excited to have my three more months in Buenos Aires to continue to explore and discover new things.