I'd like to make a quick emendation to my last post: there is actually 320,000 students that attend the University of Buenos Aires, and it is still considered one (if not the) most prestigious university in the country or at least that's what I'm told. And in the United States we think a university with 50,000 students is big?

Things I have learned so far...

Perhaps the most important thing which I have learned so far from experience: is that in Argentina especially in Buenos Aires, pedestrians do not have the right of way. It will be a miracle if I do not get run over by the end of this trip. One definitely must obey the old saying, look both ways before crossing the street.

Today was the first day of academic orientation. I definitely received an overload of information. Listening to someone speak in Spanish for three and half hours about important information which you are supposed to understand all of it is quit strenuous. I had to pay very close attention. When I would catch my mind wondering, I found that it had usually been wondering in Spanish which I believe is a very good sign that my language skills are progressing.

The university system is very different here. UBA (University of Buenos Aires) is the main public institution. It has over 100,000 students and anyone can attend it for free (at least that is my understanding). It has facilities all over Buenos Aires for different areas of study. UCA (The Catholic University) is obviously a private institution with fewer classes and a lot nicer facilities. Probably the main difference between these schools and universities in the United States is that there is no concept of campus. The school is housed in buildings on the street, and in the buildings there are classrooms - no gym, student union, dorms, or quads anywhere in sight. Postive differences that I can see so far: the class offerings here especially at UBA are great. There is actually a class on the University System and its flaws. No worries there are also plenty of classes that I can take to fulfill my major requirements. The level of Spanish I test into determines how many classes I can take at each institution. In case I forgot to mention, I also take classes at FLACSO (the Faculty of Latin American Studies), the host institution of the program. These classes will be with all the other foreign exchange students though.

Another positive difference about my study abroad program or the university system here ( I am not sure which allows for this to occur), there is a shopping period. In the shopping period, you take as many classes as you want at whatever institution. The purpoese of the period is to insure that you take classes which you are interested in. When the shopping period is over, you only take the classes which you want for the entire semester. I think all universities should have this policy especially for first year students.

Not that I plan to take full advantage of this, but I can take as many classes as want for the set fee of the program. No need to make my precious time to stressful!

Mis Primeras Dias en Argentina

Hola todos!

Bienviendo (Welcome) to my account of my experiences in Argentina. I will be spending this school year stuyding in Buenos Aires, the capital of Aregentina, through a program run by the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE). This blog will allow you know how everything is going, where I am going, and hopefully see of the beautiful pictures I take. So far everything has gone very smooth and been extremely fun (even an 11 hour plane ride can be fun when you are excited about where you are going and your amazing mother somehow secures the exit row seat for you). I have only been in Buenos Aires so far and few parts of it. The beautiful pictures will come I promise, but I have not been prepared to take them so far. Today, CIEE sponsored a walking tour for us. Of course I brought my camera, but when I took it out to take a picture I discovered the batteries were exhausted. How frustrating!

Well I have safely made it to Argentina and around Buenos Aires for about three days. I meant to post sooner (like before I left) but time just got away from me. When I arrived in Buenos Aires, I spent the first two nights and days at Hotel Lyon which had very spotty internet access thus little access to communication. Since all the other participants were staying at the hotel, the time necessary for socializing kept me very busy. I have met some very cool people from many different universities in the States including Georgetown, Claremount McKinna, Smith College, and Brown to name a few.

On Saturday evening, I met the lady, Virginia, I will be living for the first time. She picked me up from the Hotel Lyon and took me to her apartment (all the participants moved into their homestays at the same time, quit choatic) I like Virginia a lot and she seems like a great host. It is obvious she cares a lot about my comfort (in a good motherly way). I have my own room and a small bathroom. The room is not huge but it is plenty big enough for me. I would compare it a Rhodes single dorm room for those of you who are visual people. With all of my things unpacked and photos up it feels very homey. After I unpacked we had dinner and talked some. I was surprised at how easy I found it to talk to Virginia in Spanish. We could really talk about anything. I did not know some words, but I could usually make her understand what I was saying. She kept saying how good of Spanish I spoke! I was very nervous about speaking with her, but so far so good. Hopefully my Spanish skills will continue to improve and I will begin to understand more and more.


I have so much more to write, but it is getting late and I am very tired.

Chao! Hasta luego!

Maddie