Andrews thoughts of Argentina

I can not believe how efficient I was this trip. When I arrived and was still learning how to use the colectivos or buses in Buenos Aires I was almost positive that my entire study abroad would be composed of waking up, running to get class, spending my time inside the classroom, and returning back home to eat dinner and sleep. While I did end up spending a significant portion of my time doing those things, I also made sure to travel on the weekends and to visit as many museums and try as many new things in Buenos Aires as possible. By the fourth week I had traversed the country. I had spent a weekend in Northern Argentina near the border with Brazil and Paraguay where I went to see Iguazu falls. I had also traveled to the southern tip of the country in Patagonia where I went with Anna and Saskia to see the glaciers in Calafate. In Buenos Aires, I had visited the Museum of Latin American Art, the Xul Solar Museum, The Barolo Palace, the Plaza de Mayo, Congress, and the Eva Duarte Museum. Through the culture and identity class taught by Dr. Demello, I had the opportunity to study Argentine society. I attended lectures from human rights professors and anthropologists and researched and afterwards wrote four essays on topics such as the Dirty War, the art of Xul Solar, and the differences between the urban immigrant population and the rural indigenous and criollo populations in the country. I hope that other students take this trip in the future. I was a little hesitant at the beginning because while other students were participating in internships or taking classes, I was hard pressed to show how the trip related to my future career interests or educational goals. But looking back, I realized how immature my thinking was. This trip was one of personal growth and discovery. It still amazes me how much I learned about Buenos Aires and Argentine society when I was down there. And although the program lasted only one month, I feel that there were so many resources and opportunities available to students that wanted to experience as much as possible while they were in Argentina.