IES Abroad Buenos Aires – Advanced Spanish Immersion

Studying abroad in Buenos Aires is one of the best things I have done for myself thus far. I am a Global Studies and Spanish Studies major, so I took classes such as Argentine Poetry & Literature, Environment & Society in Argentina, and Argentine History. The instructors at the IES institute were patient and supportive in the classroom, and the other IES staff was helpful with keeping our grades, safety, and home stays in-check. They offered activities from tango shows and soccer games to trips to the North of Argentina and volunteering in the community.

In my program, we all stayed with host families. I stayed with an older woman who lived alone, who I was fortunate enough to get to know very well and spent a lot of time with. It was nice to not only have her as a companion, but to also practice my Spanish. Although she hated cooking, she whipped up some pretty awesome things each week for the two of us!

Although Buenos Aires has some crime, like many other big cities, I did not experience any problems. IES prepped us with a week's worth of presentations about how to stay safe and what to do in an emergency. I followed all the steps on how to stay safe and didn't have any issues. However, those who didn't pay attention to rules had issues with pick-pocketing and such. Pay attention to the safety guidelines!

Also, I was fortunate enough to make a group of friends through IES who I would study with, hang out day to day with, and with whom I would travel around the country with! We made it to Mendoza, Iguazú, El Calafate (part of Patagonia), and Colonia, Uruguay together. All of which were great experiences!

I had such an amazing time in Buenos Aires, Argentina studying Spanish through IES Abroad. At first it was kind of tough to be so immersed in the Spanish language and culture so much, but IES helped make the transition easy, my host family welcomed me with open arms, and encouraged me throughout the semester. I learned so much about South America and I really improved my Spanish along the way. I also had amazing opportunities to travel all around the country and to see everything that Argentina has to offer!

IES has a great set up in Buenos Aires and a very well located center and convenient homestays. the staff are very supportive and helpful and one of the best parts of the program. The course listing on the IES Abroad website did not match the actual course offerings, and there weren't many available courses, but generally not very many students do this program so it doesn't make sense to have a ton of courses. I heard the mismatch of offerings is the fault of chicago not buenos aires.

Nothing can replace the experience you have and the life you live while studying abroad. IES does a fabulous job of: connecting argentine culture to every single one of your classes, offering trips to see Argentina from a variety of lenses, sending you events going on every week and weekend in the city, making sure you're safe and comfortable, and for me, providing the most wonderful host family.
I lived with one woman, and her lovely, old perro. She was such a sweet and caring, yet chill and funny woman, and something I can't thank her enough for is opening her arms to make me a part of her family. I would go over her kids' houses for dinner and lunch and her grandkids quickly became my hermanitos. The way I was able to dive in and be so up close and personal to the Argentine life, and find my own personal way to connect to their values, was irreplaceable. My second family, as well as my friends I became close with (other U.S. students through IES and students from Spain, Italy, Germany, and France through an international students trip) we're the hardest part about leaving this beautiful country. I also made friends in Argentina just from going out into the amazing night life, as well as from joining a fútbol league with the coolest girls. Every Saturday they would drive me an hour away with them to go play, and after to enjoy the sun, grab a mouthwatering sandwich from la parilla, and jam to the live DJ.
My exposure to the language made my confidence in speaking Spanish skyrocket and made everywhere I went a mind-boggling adventure. It was my first time away from home for that long of a time-period, and of course I missed my crazy family and hilarious friends, but the explosion of your mind opening and expanding more than you could ever imagine, makes it all worth it. P.S. the vino tinto, choripan, and dulce de leche make it all worth it too ;)

I went to Argentina with the goal of improving my language skills and earning credit towards my Spanish major, as well as having the experience of living, not just vacationing, in a foreign country. After doing this program, I can honestly say that I improved my Spanish skills a considerable amount, and feel comfortable speaking with whomever, native speaker or not. I earned credits toward majors at home, became fully proficient (CELU exam certified), made tons of friends, and had a great cultural experience. I feel like I integrated pretty well — IES staff helped expose us to as much as possible, and I learned a lot from Argentine friends I met in class and while going out. Everyone was very welcoming. Make sure to surround yourself with native friends and don't use English! I learned about the history of the country, how to use porteño accent & slang, how to prepare the traditional drink "mate", spoke about the current political situation, and read Argentine literature. I feel like Buenos Aires is another home for me, and the locals and IES helped make that possible.

Before studying abroad, you have no idea what you're about to have. I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 5 months, and it was nothing as I had anticipated. My goal was to improve my Spanish communication skills. I succeeded in that goal, but I also accomplished goals I didnt even know I had as a result of the culture contrast between there and the U.S. Overall, I was not academically challenged. I was thankful for the required grammar class because we reviewed and learned grammatical structures, conjugations, etc., through lecture/test taking and oral presentations. I took one other class I found worthwhile and it was a writing class. I had a phenomenal professor who was funny, engaging, respectful, informative, efficient, etc., all the good things about a professor. He would make time to correct our writing assignments outside of class that weren't for his class, for example. One of the professors, for whom I was not a student, took it upon herself to show me a conservatory in La Plata (upon learning I was a music student back home). This program offers the opportunity to meet compelling and compassionate people, and for that I recommend it. I was slightly disappointed with the lack of academic rigor, although peer students disagreed with me on the difficulty. I made peace with this when I had time to explore more of the city and spend more time outside of the classroom, which is what I really needed to gain confidence as a Spanish speaker. Learning outside of the classroom is the essence of studying abroad, and I was thankful for the flexibility of my schedule to be able to do that.

Studying abroad in Buenos Aires through IES Abroad was an amazing experience. I learned so much about the culture and history of Argentina and about myself. I have a better understanding of what my interests are and what I value. I feel more confident and adventurous after spending time traveling and living in Argentina. IES Abroad’s staff was very helpful and supportive. The courses I took through IES were interesting and appropriately rigorous, though they were easier than most of my classes at Rice. My abilities reading and writing in Spanish improved greatly because of my classes, and my speaking abilities improved from speaking with locals everyday. I feel like I quickly integrated into Argentine culture, but I thought it was somewhat challenging to develop friendships with locals. Buenos Aires is an amazing city, and it’s full of fun things to do and experience. I am very happy I chose to study abroad there. Studying abroad can be challenging at times, but it was a really positive experience overall.

The semester that I spent in Buenos Aires, Argentina was by far the most memorable and valuable experience I have ever had.

I lived in Argentina from July to December of 2013 with an Argentine host family who were spectacular. Along with my host family I was assisted by IES with getting accustomed to the city and learning how to be successful through my language immersion. I was most impressed with the IES orientation that occurred the first two weeks of classes; it allowed for me to thrive in the city of which I was totally unfamiliar with because I am from a very small town.

In addition to my courses I was able to travel through Argentina throughout the semester. My most memorable trip was a 3 week backpacking trip in December throughout Chilean and Argentine Patagonia.

Words cannot describe my experience in Argentina nor could an essay. It was the best time of my life and I owe a lot of that to the organizers of my program.