Hello!
My name is Juliana and I am a rising junior at Sid Richardson College studying Cognitive Sciences and Sociology. But to be honest, none of these matter here. Loewenstern is an experience to reinvent yourself and truly to be part of new communities miles and miles away from home. I understand finding belonging in such a different environment can be very hard and lonely – perhaps your community partner won’t walk you by the hand and you will be on your own to build meaningful connections. But don’t worry, there is a beautiful world out there of people who can’t wait to meet you, and I hope to share with you a few tips on how to reach them!
There is so much more you can do than visit tourist places and eat Choripan (or any other local foods that apply to your location). This is a very special experience to be locked in your room, going only from your apartment to work. But also, how do you even begin to make friends in a completely different country?
Disclaimers:
- About the city: Buenos Aires might be an exceptional location. It is a global city with great transportation systems and attractions, which makes it very easy to meet people and attend events. There are many foreigners, and institutions are ready to receive people who do not speak the language (including live translation at some places!). I also feel extremely safe here as a female traveler. These conditions might not apply as easily to other Loewenstern locations, but it’s still worth the read!
- About my situation: I have lots of experience living abroad on my own and I come from a similar cultural background to the country I am in, which has been for sure an advantage. I am an international student from Brazil, a country which shares a similar history and culture with Argentina, which makes it somewhat easier for me to adapt. I can also speak Spanish fine, which has been very helpful. Lastly, I HAD THE MOST AMAZING Loewenstern buddy, Joanna Anil, who was an amazing company and was always up for exploring and hosting with me.
1. Engage with the people in your neighborhood!
Don’t be afraid to use all the vocabulary you know to create connections with local shop owners and the staff in the places you go to often. Ask for their names and learn a thing or two about them. This has really made me feel like I am part of the neighborhood I live in. For example, there is a fruits and vegetables shop that I always cross on my way to work, and I absolutely love how every week the owner would arrange the onions and oranges in a way that would make up a name. I found it so thoughtful and sweet, that one day I stopped by to get some pomegranates and ask him about his design choices. It was such a lovely interaction, that I felt brave enough to ask him: can you write my name someday? Did I utterly need to see my name in that stand? Not really. But it sounded like a fun way to appreciate his work. He wrote it down in his notebook (apparently there is a line of names) and three weeks later, there it was! Thank you Vicha, this really made my summer!
With Vicha in his shop on the day my name debuted on the stand! So happy! (Covered his face for privacy)
2. Look up events online!!!
Look up Event Brite and local social media pages to find experiences that fit your interests: yoga at the park? Soccer matches? A youth conference? Local festive traditions? A party? A language exchange event?
One of the best things I have done here was attending a Mundolingo event. These are weekly gatherings for people to practice different languages: a great chance for you to practice your host country’s language and of course, meet new people. They give you a little flag of your country/the languages you speak, and then it’s all about approaching people and starting a conversation. While you will meet many locals eager to practice English, you will also meet exchange students, expats and tourists.
Joanna and I went together on a Wednesday, and we met such incredible people who were just as excited to show us the city or explore it with us. There we made a good friend, Chris, who had just graduated from UMichigan, was an extremely talented musician and spoke flawless Spanish. Joanna and him even got the chance to make some music together!
Making Argentinian empanadas for Chris’ farewell after knowing him for three weeks. Thank you Mundolingo! (the girl on the left is my friend from home (Brazil), Victoria, who came to visit me here! Love her a lot) Ps: When I was writing this post, I decided to not be a hypocrite and look up events to attend on EventBrite. That same week, Joanna and I signed up for a race in nearby town! More on that later…
3. Connect with Rice international students who are from your host country.
Rice has such an international community, and I can guarantee you we have at least one student from the country you are visiting. So make sure you connect with them, they might even be there for the summer and can connect you with their friends and family, as well as show you around! We are a great resource and it’s literally a matter of emailing the Rice international student office, they can for sure connect you with someone from your host country.
I met Nicole in 2023 in a Big Shabbat event at Rice – and here we are a year later, living in the same block in Buenos Aires!
I was also privileged to have met Nicole during my freshman year, an Argentine who was an exchange student at Rice for a semester. I texted her that I was going to Buenos Aires and she happened to live 1 minute away from my apartment, which was an insane coincidence. She got me hooked in the gym in our block and introduced me to really cool restaurants, besides teaching me a lot about Argentina.
As an international student myself, I am sooo happy to share some tips, teach Portuguese and host my friends who are in Brazil for Loewenstern. Please, don’t be shy to reach out, we are usually so excited to share our country and culture with you! (If you’re going to Brazil, my email is jpm8@rice.edu)
4. Don’t be afraid to approach strangers.
When going out, if you find someone who looks your age and seems friendly, start a conversation and if you feel safe, share about your situation in the country and say that you would like to make friends with. Ask them for tips and invite them to do something on the weekend! Be smart about how much you are sharing and meet in a public location at first – if possible, bring your Loewenstern buddy in first instance.
I did this when Joanna and I were in the little truck in Iguazu falls, and there was this girl sitting across from us with her parents. I had a feeling we could be good friends and started a conversation. It turned out that she was from France and has been an exchange student in Buenos Aires for the past 4 months. From then on we started meeting each other back in the city and she introduced us to incredible people from all over the world who came here to learn Spanish and study in local universities.
This is us cooking french crépes with a real French person who I literally found in the streets. We love Louise!
We love Argentinians!! Nadia, the lady on the right, we had just met on the elevator a few minutes before this picture was taken! She invited all of us for her birthday on the next day. The other one is Franco, my amazing co-worker.
5. Turn your co-workers into friends, invite them out (or in)!
I was so lucky to have incredible workmates who were in a similar age range and were so open to sharing Argentina with Joanna and I! Franco, Flor and Pedro educated me so much about the country’s politics and social issues, at the same time, they provided me with great laughs and camaraderie. We would often invite each other to explore the city through a critical and political look. We visited together the museum of remembrance of the military dictatorship, which used to be a torture chamber, and the museum of the Malvinas war. We visited Riverplate’s stadium (which Franco’s cheers for) and the entire central area of Buenos Aires. They were all history buffs (students of political science and education) and I truly loved learning from them, as well as comparing the issues in Argentina to Brazil and the whole Latin America. We could go from having the most intellectual conversations to learning swear words in ‘Argentinian’ and dancing to funk. Our friendship grew out of the office, and they often slept over on my couch when they needed to spend the night in the city and go to college or the office early on the next day. They would also always be the life of the party when Joanna and I would host a gathering in our home (Franco and Pedro are amazing dancers and the funniest people in town). Getting to know them truly enriched my understanding of Argentina, and made me reflect on my privileges being an international student on a scholarship in the United States.
With my co-workers Pedro and Franco at the Casa Rosada, the main government building in Buenos Aires. They were showing us all of the bullet holes from the deadly protests in 1955, as well as the signs of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, who fought against the dictatorship for their disappeared sons.
With Joanna visiting Flor’s hometown Lomas de Zamorra, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. We had a delicious lunch! Thank you, Flor!
6. If you can host, host!
Inviting people over for jam sessions, game nights, cooking and dancing has been such a lovely experience. We are privileged to have quite a living room and a balcony, and we love inviting people over. We have found it to be a great way to get closer to locals and to other exchange students, as well as fostering cultural exchanges. We ask people to bring foods and drinks from their country, and in this way we learn a lot (and save money). Joanna and I love to create themes and decorate the place accordingly (for example, we hosted a Texas game night and a Brazil party). If you have space in your accommodation and your housing situation allows you to bring people over, go for it!
Joanna’s excellent decoration (the post-its say ‘Bienvenidos Y’all), Texas Game Night. We played international UNO (green you speak Italian, yellow you speak Portuguese, red you speak Spanish and blue you speak English. No one spoke all of these languages.)
Brazil gathering! I cooked brigadeiro and we ordered salgadinhos! Also we have four nationalities in this picture, crazy no?
7. Find a religious community.
Look up your congregation or religious group on Google maps: if you live in a global place such as Buenos Aires, I am sure you are going to find a great community with many events and opportunities to meet locals. Even if you are not much of a church-goer, this might be a great chance to learn more about spirituality and local religions, even if it is not the one you were raised with.
I myself am not someone who frequently attends church, but my housemate Joanna invited me to attend Saddleback on Sundays with her and we found there so many incredible people. The moment we stepped in people came in to greet us and invite us to future events. It was a really welcoming environment, and a great way to make friends.
8. Practice a sport, sign up at a gym or sports center!
I TRULY recommend using your time to focus on yourself and explore different routines. Here I was super inspired by the first time I went to the park near my house and found hundreds of runners. I have been very sedentary for the past 8 years, but I decided to try this out, downloaded a 5k runner and became a STRAVA girl during my time here! I also got a gym membership at a place very close to my home. I feel like if there is a sport you are already into, it’s completely worth it looking for a community or a local center where you can practice and meet people. If you play soccer, volleyball, if you dance… Look up on google a place you can join! I have met a few people at the gym and might soon join a running group (I am still very bad though)!
Picture from when Joanna and I traveled an hour and a half at 7 am to go to a nearby town for a 3k that we found on Eventbrite 4 days before! It was super fun and we got to meet some cool people during the race!
In conclusion, I truly hope you can experience your host country at most, and make an effort to meet local people as well as other foreigners looking to explore the country. Being away from home can be very lonely, but there are amazing people out there dying to meet you and share their culture with you!
Lots of love,
Juliana
(If you would like to reach out, send me a message on instagram @ju.buticaba)