Good Night, and Good Luck

I'll miss you choripan (at least for the two months I'm gone, until I come back next semester)I have to just start off by saying that I truly enjoyed this class. Going in, I expected to just fill out a meaningless blog post every few days, giving a couple of updates of the things I’ve been doing during my same here. However, as the semester went on, I realized that both the readings and the questions challenged me to think about travel and the whole study abroad experience in a way that I never would have. Having to read, write and reflect has really helped me understand and verbalize the importance of my experiences here. I don’t think that there’s been one “most rewarding aspect” of my time here. Instead, I feel that the entire experience of beginning to master another language and truly immersing myself in another culture has been incredible. It not only has helped me to appreciate the Argentine culture, but my own as well. As for problems, I really can’t say I faced anything to drastic. Probably the most difficult challenge I faced was deciding where to travel/what things to do. However, I knew that I’d want to have more than just four months here, so I will actually be staying on in Buenos Aires for the next semester to continue studying abroad here. So, I’ll be able to continue traveling and exploring, both the greater Argentina and South America as well as Buenos Aires. Instead of going home during the two-month break, I will be traveling to Brazil for about a month and then Chile for two weeks, before returning back to Buenos Aires. I think that NYU could do a few things to make this study abroad better. For starters, they should let students have the option of renting an apartment, instead of forcing them to either live in a residence or with a host family. It is ridiculous, we’re all adults, and we should be able to choose where we live. Secondly, they should allow students to have the option of taking a class/classes at a local university. Thirdly, they should establish the possibility of getting credit for an internship. I had a really cool internship here that I would be getting credit for in New York, but they don’t have it set up here yet. Other than that, I must say that I’ve been really pleased with my study abroad experience here. Years from now, while I’m sure I won’t remember all the specific names of people I’ve met and places I’ve gone, I will remember the excitement and the incredibly feeling of possibility that each day brought. The feeling of exploring and meeting a new friend or experiencing a new adventure at any moment. That and the awesomeness that is choripan.