Written by Gabriel Cohen, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
I didn’t know what to expect when I landed in Buenos Aires on January 26th – it was not only my first time in the city, but also my first time in South America. It was a great first impression; I was greeted with stunning weather, green trees and parks, many football shirts and delicious food. The first few days here I walked around the city going to local marketplaces, restaurants and parks. Still riding high off of their World Cup win in December, I took note of the amount of Argentinian national team shirts I saw in a day (24!).
A few days into my stay, I started taking classes at Expanish, a local Spanish language learning and Argentinian immersion program in the neighborhood Belgrano. The school’s warm atmosphere allowed for both challenging yet enjoyable classes and I immediately met friends who I began to hang out with to explore local neighborhoods. We visited a local market, the Mercado de las Pulgas, an antique market featuring all types of furniture and art, and went to a Boca Juniors football game. As my stay continued, I continued to focus on improving my Spanish and exploring. One really fun experience was taking a day trip to Colonia de Sacramento, in Uruguay! Colonia was truly stunning and the day was one to remember for a long time.
Buenos Aires is beautiful and full of art. This includes both street art, which is found across the city – often featuring Argentinian football players – and art museums which have a wide variety of styles and collections across many periods. Similarly, the city has many amazing restaurants. So far, I’ve gone to many local Argentinian restaurants, with the best steak I’ve had my entire life, as well as restaurants featuring food from all over the world, like Venezuela, Vietnam, and the Middle East.
In my free time, I have gone to a number of music events and concerts such as a free music event for “amor al baile” (love of dance) and a percussion-based musical performance. In addition, every week I go to Mundo Lingo, which is a meet up where people all over the world come to practice their language skills. It’s a great way to meet new people; everyone puts on the flag of whatever country they are from as well as the flags of the languages they want to speak. While there I’ve met people from Germany, Russia, South Korea, Syria and lots of Brazilians, all of various ages and life experiences! I’ve been able to make plans with some of these people and be able to further learn about many different cultures.
Finally, I also began an internship with an organization called LIFE. I work twice a week on the outskirts of Buenos Aires with underprivileged children. There, I set up games, activities and get to know many different kids. It’s a lot of fun and is a good way to give back to communities here.
Overall my experience in Buenos Aires has been great so far and I’m excited to continue spending more time here and meeting new people. This month I have tickets to go to Lollapalooza Argentina, where I’ll be able to see Drake and Rosalía and will take a trip south to the region of Patagonia. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to spend my second semester with Carpe Diem here!
