Looking Back at BA

Yesterday marked my last day with IES Abroad Buenos Aires. Looking back at the semester, emotions fill my head and many memories come to mind. During our first ENGAGE session at orientation, I wrote three goals for the semester: improve my Spanish, truly learn the history, and make myself at home. Almost four months later, I can confidently say that I achieved all that I set out to do, and more. 

Although I wrote a separate blog on my Spanish progress, I can not stress enough how much I learned. I can comfortably get around conversations with strangers and elementary readings, despite not having had any Spanish proficiency at the dawn of the semester. It is one of the things I am most proud of and is truly something I surprised myself with. 

Similarly, I am just as proud of how well I know Argentine history. Both through my IES Abroad Buenos Aires classes and my own exploration, I am well versed in the history of Argentine politics, culture, and art. My visits to museums encompassing art, immigration, political figures, and even renowned and re-established former detention centers, have taught me well. My trips to historic neighborhoods like San Telmo, Recoleta, and La Boca have also taught me about the people of Argentina, particularly its immigrants and hard workers. Through these explorations, I have become very proud of knowing Argentina and its people. I’m glad to have had the experiences of learning about Argentina and find much value in it. I’ve learned of resistance, welfare, forgiveness, and resilience- all things I will carry with me back to the states. 

More than anything, however, I am most proud of how much I made myself feel at home. I am truly going to miss my routine of waking up with a sunlit apartment looking over urban Retiro, walking to Plaza General San Martin and stopping at the numerous fruit and flower stands before walking to class. I will miss the architecture of the buildings and the kindness of the people. I’ll miss eating medialunas and Franui and stopping at kioscos for a late-night treat. I am going to miss the flags that wave in the street and the elegant flower-shop whose displays I admire each day. I will miss many things about this city and that’s how I’ve realized how entranced I’ve become by it. Initially, I was nervous of not fitting in and my routine being thrown off, making me unhappy. However, quite the opposite has happened. 

In the end, my semester abroad in Buenos Aires was incredibly transformative, perhaps the most transformative in my life. Arriving with uncertainties and goals that seemed like stretches, I have grown in numerous ways and have achieved more than what I imagined. I learned about more than just academics- I learned about myself and the history of a people who have changed the course of the world. I made myself feel at home in a place that not too long ago was foreign, and I could not recommend it enough. Argentina was an absolute dream, and one that I will remember forever.