Far exceeded my expectations

At the risk of sounding cliche, Argentina completely stole my heart. The city itself is one of the most beautiful and unique cities I have ever been to. What makes Buenos Aires, and Argentina as a whole, unique is that it maintains its European influences, while also having many traits specific to South America, especially when you leave the city and enter the countryside. The city is beautiful and teeming with liveliness, but I also enjoyed being in the countryside. I got to go paragliding and horseback riding through the Andes Mountains in Mendoza; I saw countless Orcas in the waters of Peninsula Valdes; I got to play with the penguins in Punta Tombo, home to one of the largest penguin rookeries in the world; I rode the white waters in Bariloche, Patagonia; I hiked for days in the beautiful and quaint El Chalten, Patagonia; and I climbed to the top of one of the largest glaciers in the world in El Calafate, Patagonia.

IES does a good job of striking the balance between making sure we engage in academics, while also giving us the tools and opportunities to travel and explore.