Panrimo Alumni Network

From the beginning, I was very impressed with Panrimo's attentive staff, as well as with its professional website and catalogue. I really felt like they wanted me to have the best experience possible, and that they make a significant effort to personalize my program according to what I was looking for.

The orientation materials provided by Panrimo were a very helpful introduction to the city, and the support they gave me after I got there was much appreciated as well (I received a one-on-one city tour a few days after I arrived).

I stayed in an apartment in the downtown area with a host family, and that was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. The family was incredibly nice and did everything they could to make me comfortable. The food I got at my homestay (I signed up to receive breakfast and dinner Monday through Friday) was very, very good, and was a lot healthier than the average Argentine diet. When I was on my own for meals I never had a problem finding delicious food, and there were plenty of nearby grocery stores, cafes, and restaurants.

The four week intensive Spanish class that I took had about ten students, and as such I was unable to practice speaking as much as I had hoped (we focused mainly on grammar). That being said, I think the average class size is much smaller. At least the school was very close to my homestay!

Not being fluent in Spanish was the main barrier for me in terms of cultural integration, although my language skills did improve significantly while I was there. Other than that, by the time I left I definitely felt comfortable in the city, knew my way around, was familiar with the local customs, etc.

The Buenos Aires coordinator was very nice and helpful but sometimes it seemed like he had other stuff going on. This was never really an issue, and I certainly never felt ignored. Panrimo has optional trips to other parts of the country, but doesn't organize any meet-ups for the students in each city. As long as you're willing to make friends on your own and be independent, you'll be fine -- that's the kind of experience I was looking for, and it turned out great.

Panrimo found me an excellent internship with a local NGO that was a perfect match for my academic interests. Furthermore, my home-stay family was incredibly nice and accommodating and did everything possible to ensure I was comfortable and had a wonderful summer.

Like any big city, you do have to be careful in Buenos Aires. Theft is the biggest problem here, but as long as you're smart and sensible you should be fine. My laptop did get stolen (through no fault of Panirmo, of course), but it was really more of a financial inconvenience than a practical one. My host family graciously gave me an old desktop computer to use in my room, my internship provided me with a laptop to use while I was at work, and Panrimo's staff did everything they could to help out with the situation.

Now that I'm back in the US, I really miss the home-made dinners and chatting with my host parents every night.