Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina! I wrote the majority of this all from my apartment in Palermo Hollywood, a subsection of Palermo and one of the 48 neighborhoods that make up Buenos Aires, the center of the sprawling metropolitan area that over 15 million people call home. 

Outside of my apartment complex in Palermo Hollywood

Why Loewenstern and Argentina? Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas at the crossroads between the United States and Mexico, both the Spanish language and Mexican culture have been major aspects of my life for as long as I can remember. 

My hometown of McAllen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley

With majors in Spanish and Portuguese and Latin American and Latinx Studies at Rice, I eventually came to realize the consistently dominant nature of Mexican culture in my life may be limiting a more holistic understanding of both Latin American culture and the Spanish-language as a whole. Despite my countless trips to Monterrey for Rayados games and hiking or the occasional trip to Mexico City or beyond, I felt that one piece of my puzzle was lacking: South America and Central America. Argentina represented the perfect opportunity to complete this personal puzzle. With 11 weeks under my belt, I can confidently say that this is undoubtedly true.

Pre-Argentina Concerns and Expectations After spending 7 weeks at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain last summer, my sole concern leading up to my 11 weeks in Argentina was the “learning curve” that adjusting to a new dialect requires, both in terms of its new vocabulary and unique accent. In Spain, this required relearning words such as “juice” as “zumo” rather than “jugo,” for example. With the experience provided by a handful of close Argentine friends I grew up with, I knew Buenos Aires’ “Porteño” Spanish would be a different beast, from its use of local slang to its almost unbelievable speed. Despite my realistic expectations, my first week in-person at Enseñá por Argentina (ExA) featured lots of internal confusion and, at times, panic.

The main office area at Enseñá por Argentina in downtown Buenos Aires

Taking on Porteño Spanish This confusion, despite processing the words themselves, stemmed directly from my lack of local vocabulary as a non-native speaker. From this first week forward, I decided to start and maintain a list of words that would ensure I could speak like a “Porteño.” Here are a couple words from my now expanded list:

Yankee = Someone/something from the U.S.

Capo = Legend/pro

Re = Very

Tipo = Guy

Mina = Girl

Boliche = Bar/club

Joda = Party

With this ever-expanding list of local vocabulary combined my unintentional adoption of the “vos” conjugation and the “Porteño” accent, from the “sh” sound produced by “ll” to its distinct melodic “sing-song” rhythm, my last couple of weeks have been filled with plenty of instances of being mistaken as a local. Looking forward toward my return to McAllen and Texas in general, I am truly bracing myself to converse in Spanish once again, a result of the ongoing Mexican-Argentine feud (an intense rivalry I only truly came to recognize over the course of my time in Buenos Aires) that will undoubtedly lead to lots of accent-related grief from my friends.

Day in the Life of a Palermo Hollywood Resident As a resident of Palermo Hollywood in the western portion of Buenos Aires, my commute to the centro occupied a large portion of each work day. Each day started with a 5 minute walk to the Ministro Carranza station, situated along the Línea D of Buenos Aires’ cleverly named Subte (short for “subterránea” in Spanish or “underground” in English). Arévalo, my charming home street, was always bustling in the morning, with plenty of dog walkers and fellow commuters walking alongside me or streaming in or out of the 5 cafes that line the 2.5 block stretch from my apartment to the Subte. 10 stops and 20 minutes then awaited me on my Subte journey that ended at the “9 de Julio” station. After pouring out of the relentlessly packed Subte car, a 3 minute walk at the blistering pace of my fellow commuters brought me past the towering Obelisco and the vigorously waving Argentine flag to the Enseñá por Argentina office. 

Me enjoying the view from my apartment’s balcony

View of the Buenos Aires Subte “Linea D”

At the ExA office, my day started with finding a spot at Enseñá’s massive “round table”, their coworking space that was capable of fitting nearly the entire 20+ employee team. My next step was always to search for a helpful caffeinated boost, whether that was Enseñá’s ground espresso machine or an infamous Argentine mate. Mate, a ground raw herb enjoyed communally in a specialized wooden/gourd cup (a mate) with an intricate silver/stainless steel straw (a bombilla), was often a highlight of my day at Enseñá, serving not only as a source of energy but also a fantastic community-building tool. At least 2 mates were making their way around the Enseñá office at all times. As I became accustomed to its distinctive bitter taste, I even bought my own mate to enjoy at home. Fueled and ready to go, my Enseñá work day typically consisted of short meetings in the mornings and early afternoons to review completed projects or receive new ones. Without fail, the arrival of 1:00 PM meant a group trip to Confitería Caris, our local favorite spot for to-go lunches, from milanesa to quiches of every kind, which the entire team enjoyed back at the office. With plenty of energy for the rest of the afternoon, we continued working until 6:00 PM, which marked the end of our 9-hour work day and the start of my 10-stop journey along Linea D back home to eat and decompress with anticipation for the start of a new day. 

Group photo the Enseñá por Argentina team and Programa de Liderazgo Colectivo (PLC) fellows

My first self-prepared mate

Running: The Best Way to Explore Buenos Aires Such in-person work days, largely Tuesdays and Thursdays, were often far different than Enseñá’s virtual reality of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Each virtual day provided welcome diversity in my working life: mornings spent completing and revising previously assigned projects and more-than-often free afternoons I took advantage of to explore the city. Over time, with my realization of the visual experience lost underground on the Subte and the less efficient, slower nature of walking, I came to adopt running as my favorite way of exploring a city as massive as Buenos Aires during these afternoons.

View of my favorite street in Buenos Aires: Avenida del Libertador

View of the Floralis Generica in the Parque Naciones Unidas in Buenos Aires’ Recoleta neighborhood

View in Palermo’s Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays

“Pilgrimage” to La Bombonera Perhaps the single most memorable experience was my attendance of a Boca Juniors (Argentina’s most well-known and accomplished professional soccer team, in my opinion) match at La Bombonera, their iconic stadium in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca. Despite my sworn allegiance to the Rayados de Monterrey (Club de Fútbol Monterrey) of Mexico, the opportunity to attend a match at La Bombonera was an opportunity no real football fan could ever pass up. From countless Copa Libertadores matches to Maradona’s goals, La Bombonera is arguably “football heaven.” Despite Boca’s 1-1 tie with Union Santa Fe, La Bombonera, from the fans’ relentless chants to constant jumping, did not disappoint for an instant. 

Kick-off at La Bombonera

Boca Juniors’ dedicated “hinchada”

Pre-match ceremony at La Bombonera

Classroom Observations: The Best of ExA As I consider my work life with ExA, nothing was as rewarding and exciting of each of the observations I had the privilege of participating in. ExA’s main program, the Programa de Liderazgo Collectivo (Collective Leadership Program) consists of over 70 fellows, or teachers-in-training, who complete a 2-year fellowship with 20 weekly hours of in-person instruction within Buenos Aires’ jornada extendida program (extended school day program consisting of the reinforcement of classroom instruction outside of the classroom in community centers and beyond). With ExA, my favorite role was undoubtedly supporting different tutoras (tutors) in their observation and evaluation of different fellows using my own educational experience as a Program Assistant for the Project for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR) within Houston ISD (HISD), an opportunity I had on three separate occasions in the neighborhoods of Villa Urquiza and Boedo within the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA).

Talking with students during a site visit to RiverDAR (Club Atlético River Plate’s school for academy players)

My Experience as an Honorary Tucumano Above all, nothing had a greater impact on my entire experience than the local friendships I formed over my nearly three months in Buenos Aires. As my mom told me in the weeks leading up to my departure to Buenos Aires, “there is nothing better than having contacts in a new city.” This couldn’t have been any truer. One of my childhood and current best friends, Nate, whose parents are from San Miguel de Tucumán in northwest Argentina, put me in contact with his cousins and friends from Tucumán upon my arrival. From my second week in Buenos Aires onwards, Mariano, Gonzalo, and Matias, my newest friends, invited me to absolutely everything and anything they did together, from errands to dinners and parties. I made it my mission to never turn them down. As I reflect on my time in Buenos Aires, this was the best decision I could have made: it allowed me to locally immerse myself to an extent I never foresaw. From local parrillas to neighborhoods and parks I would have never found on my own, I was able to witness the local side of Buenos Aires that I would have otherwise never known to exist. Moreover, I made lasting friends with whom I am still in contact with and plan to visit in the years to come. To Nate, Mariano, Gonzalo, Matias, and their friends, I am forever thankful. 

With many of my closest friends from Argentina (And my older brother on the far left)

Hi! My name is Abhi, and I’m a rising senior at McMurtry College! This summer, I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to work with Enseñá Por Argentina (ExA)!

Traveling to Argentina has been among my most rewarding life experiences! While in Argentina, my learning extended beyond the practical use of my Spanish language skills. I found myself engaging with the culture, bonding with my team and others over our differences along the way. In doing so, I’ve made life-long friends and connections!

FOOD:

Before traveling to Argentina, I had a fear: I heard before that Argentina is often considered the meat capital of the world, and some even call it “La Tierra de Carne” (the land of meat). Indeed, this seemed to be true the first day I got here. I quickly learned just how integral milanesas were to the Argentine diet! There is no good comparison to Milanesas in America; in other words, there really is no singular food that, by itself, is eaten with such frequency here in the U.S.; while burgers, for example, are popular, it would be far-fetched to say that most Americans eat burgers several times a week. Milanesas, however, are eaten several days a week in many Argentine households and work environments. Beef, more generally, is a staple in Argentina, so much so that it was not uncommon to see restaurants simply named Res, meaning beef, or some variation of that. 

Being a vegetarian initially seemed to be a daunting challenge in Argentina. Countless questions asking for vegetarian options, however, quickly turned into me discovering a truth about Argentina: there’s always a way. Shortly, I discovered that Argentina was also home to tons of vegan and vegetarian options, and that people were always willing to accommodate you, just as long as you made an effort to connect with them. I also realized that several members of my team at ExA were also vegetarian/vegan, and that Buenos Aires is home to one of the largest growing vegetarian communities in the world. 

With time, I was trying vegetarian milanesas and guiso (a traditional meat stew, which I substituted with beans). I also tried locro, a traditional potato stew from the North of Argentina eaten on May 25th. In Argentina, the 25th of May has historic significance. This day marks the start of the May Revolution of 1810, in which Argentina’s first national government–the Primera Junta–was formed. 6 years later and in July, a formal declaration of independence from Spain would take place. It is tradition in Argentina to eat locro on May 25th, as during the revolution times, this was all that people could afford. Keeping with traditions, I also ate locro on May 25th!

My favorite moments food-wise, however, were in the office as we worked. Each morning, several members of the team would bring snacks into the office – anything from Argentine croissants to cookies to cheerios. The very first day, in fact, they brought in churros! Another time, one of my ExA teammates brought in these special alfajores (cookies with dulce de leche filling) from a company called Capitán Del Espacio. Needless to say, they were very good!

There are tons of elaborate murals across the city

Posters and murals of Messi are everywhere!

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES:

My dietary restrictions actually led to another discovery of mine: while religion and politics are often shied away from on first-encounters in America, they are often discussed in Argentina. It was always interesting hearing the political views of those around the office. It also always amazed me to see how open the team was to learning about my culture.

Another cultural difference was how common yerba mate is. Yerba mate, more commonly known as just mate, is a tea drunk in Argentina. Small cups called “mates” are filled with yerba (herb) and hot water, and to drink it, a metal straw is used (called a bombilla). The tea is shared amongst team mates and passed from one to another. Mate is an integral part of Argentine culture and the Argentine experience. When walking around town, it is common to see people carrying their mate as well as a jug of hot water with them, regardless of the day. At the airport, for example, I saw people drinking mate just before going through security! Even when walking through markets or on the streets, people would carry their mate in one hand and a jug of extra water attached to a strap and wrapped across their body. 

Dinner with one of our coordinators!

Getting dinner with one of the coordinators who helped organize the fellowship with ExA was also a fun time to get to hear more about Argentina’s history, our cultural differences, and have some fun discussions about fútbol, all over some great food!

TOURING THE CITY:

At ExA, they always made an effort to include us in on activities to learn more about Argentina and explore its rich history. One of those activities was the opportunity to tour the city of Buenos Aires on one of our free weekends. During the visit, we learned more about how literature and the city’s architecture intersect. 

A famous poem inscribed into a building in Buenos Aires!

We started from la Plaza de Mayo before using the subway system to get around the city and see some historic sites. However, more interesting than the historic sites were the everyday buildings that were seamlessly tied to the country’s history. Argentina itself has a large influence from countries like Italy, and in Recoleta, there is a larger influence from France, at least in terms of the architecture. For example, many of the buildings had mansard roofs. 

French-influenced architecture on the streets of Buenos Aires

More French-influenced architecture

We finished off the cultural tour with a group picture, after which we explored the local market and had a picnic!

A picture of our team hearing from our “tour guides” (other members of the ExA team) during our cultural tour of the city!

A TRIP TO RIVERDAR:

Beyond our cultural differences, my biggest surprise was the River DAR schooling system.

Can you imagine a middle and high school in America that’s main purpose is to turn out super stars in football? Or maybe a school focused entirely on tennis or baseball or basketball? That’s exactly what River DAR is. River DAR is a specialized school in Argentina that operates with the main goal of turning out some of the best fútbol stars, all while providing them a well-rounded education in math, the sciences, literature, language, and more. 

One of my favorite moments from the RiverDAR visit was getting to speak with the students. As a group, we went into several classrooms to watch the professors teach, with many of them formerly part of the ExA team, to see how we could integrate what we learned from the visits into our office work. 

When we entered, within minutes, I was seated at the students’ tables. “¿Cuánto cuestan los botines en Estados Unidos?” How much do soccer cleats cost in the U.S.? “Y la comida y ropa?” And what about food and clothing? They were a little surprised to learn that food at restaurants sometimes costs quite a bit more here in Argentina than in the average American city.

It wasn’t long before they asked me, “River o Boca,” referring to the historic rivalry between the two best soccer teams in the country (and among the best in the world). I must have answered correctly with River (given that we were at River Dar, the school affiliated with the River Plate soccer team), as they went cheering upon hearing that!

Our team picture at River DAR

My favorite question, however, was from Leo: “Sabes la respuesta correcta?” Do you know the right answer? They were doing a unit in their science class about how common recycling was in the United States. With a little help, he got a 10 out of 10 on that assignment!

It was incredible hearing more from the students about their interest in soccer and their goals. I learned that River DAR was also a boarding school. When I asked the students where they lived, they said in the stadium. In the stadium? Yes, quite literally in the stadium. I questioned further, and they showed me photos of their dorms around the interior of the stadium, with their windows facing the field. 

When I asked the students where they were from, I realized that a good portion were from nowhere close to Buenos Aires, with some from rural cities near Patagonia (the very South of Argentina) and others from Salta (the very North of Argentina). Most of the students’ stories were incredibly different, but the one unifying factor was that their soccer talent was recognized by River DAR, and they were given scholarships to attend the school, all with the hope to one day don the Red, Black, and White of River Plate’s official team.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

In short, I am so grateful to my incredible team for having given me this unforgettable experience in Argentina. I have never felt so immediately included into a new working environment as I did in Argentina. I am appreciative for all the small little conversations, charlas, here and there, that taught me so much about Argentina and its rich history. What I’ve learned here in Argentina will undoubtedly continue to inform my life in the future.

Argentina, I’ll be back shortly!

I found myself tearing up in the backseat of the Uber. My roommate, Juliana, and I were on our way back from my friend/coworker’s birthday at her house in Quilmes, a province outside of the capital’s center almost an hour away. As we entered the capital that night, the driver stopped one of the street vendors to purchase 2 alfajores. We continued to drive, but at the next light, he turned around with a great smile and said “Welcome to Argentina” and handed us the alfajores. We had been yapping in English for the long ride home, and he made it a point to try to welcome us with whatever little English he knew. 

This made me stop and think. How blessed am I to be in a country where people embrace foreigners and show enthusiasm for people visiting their country. And not only that, but many people will try to speak in English to me. I used to get disheartened whenever I would order in Spanish at a restaurant only for the waiter to respond in English jaja. However, now I just realize how so many people just want you to feel welcomed by speaking to you in your native language. This made me sad because when I think of my home in Texas, I can only remember countless times where I’ve heard people get frustrated with foreigners or immigrants for mispronouncing an English word. I’ve experienced this myself several times growing up and so it has been quite refreshing to experience a culture that embraces different cultures. Yet, here, even though my Spanish is not nearly as advanced as many people’s Spanish, people are continually supportive of my efforts. I hope to be like Cristian, my uber driver, and take the time out of my day to welcome people. 

Music x Uno Picante

Bringing a midi keyboard to Argentina was the best thing I packed. I had actually never used it before but decided I could not go 2 months without playing an instrument. With that in mind, I added it to the pile of things staring me down from my bedroom corner hoping I would make the 50lb. limit.

However, now, I can say I have no regrets. Our Airbnb host spotted my keyboard and asked me about it, only for him to tell me that he actually produces his own music. We were able to exchange our music which was so special. Check him out here @Zoca!

I have had so many songwriting inspirations while being here, and I am excited to finish creating these songs upon my return. I just love how music creates so many avenues for you to connect with people and express yourself.  

We have made friends in the wildest of places. I’ve met people from all around the world (France, Italy, England, Venezuela, and of course Argentina jaja). One night we had a group of friends over, and we whipped out the midi keyboard. Our intended “game night” turned into a magical musical night uniting the most diverse room of people from all around the world. It was such a spontaneous night of music and honestly one of the most special nights of my life that just makes life feel worth living. Check out a clip here! 

First time singing “candle” live w the sweetest friends <3

Now let me tell you about my favorite game – Uno Picante. 

I’ve placed spicy uno before, but this beats any game I’ve ever played. With each color, you have to speak a different language (Spanish, English, Portuguese, or Italian). Granted, many of us did not know Portuguese or Italian, so at that point it was just an aggressive game of charades spitting out a few passionate words here and there from our limited vocabulary. And with each wild card played, the room turned into a group of monkeys communicating with each other. A game I will truly never forget. 

Cooking Went Wrong

After our first week of solely eating out, we decided it was time to cook some food for ourselves. I am an avocado egg toast fanatic, so we decided to make some. Little did I know one of my biggest fears for my time here would come to life. I’m still not sure exactly what caused it, if it was the butter or possibly some nuts in the whole grain bread, but I experienced my worst allergic reaction to date. It was crazy because I had been incredibly careful about eating anything with nuts during my time here as I was trying to avoid the many painful nights I had at Rice in the past year. I could not keep anything down for the entire day and threw up over 15 times. I can assure you I was feeling homesick in that moment, but once I was on the other side after a few days of recovery, I felt unstoppable jaja. That definitely made for quite the memorable first week in Argentina however. 

Shrek 2 at Church??

This was the first time I had encountered feelings of homesickness in my life. Granted, at Rice, I only live 4.5 hours away from my home, so this was a new feeling for me. I think I experienced a lot of homesickness because I was missing a lot of pivotal events back home. However, a place where I found a lot of familiarity in Buenos Aires was at a local church. It was so comforting to hear the same songs that I had heard all my life at church being sung in Spanish. It was beautiful, and it was a great way for me to learn new vocabulary because I knew the English lyrics.

I found an incredible community at this church. They actually did a lock in night for youngadults one night, and we ended up watching Shrek 2, which is an iconic movie in Spanish. There are so many cultural references within the Spanish version, and it was fun to be able to watch what was a childhood staple for many. This community has blessed me in so many incredible ways and I am so grateful.

Community Partner

A week before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I found out my supervisor actually resigned and the major fundraising event that I was coming so early to Buenos Aires for had actually been canceled. This left me curious as to what my experience would be like with my community partner. However, I have created an incredible bond with my coworker as we both navigate the unusualness of the changes at work. I found myself taking on independent projects within the organization and dedicating hours to making it perfect. I found myself speaking to multiple directors to get feedback on my work. Though navigating who to ask for feedback has been difficult, I have really enjoyed working with my community partner because entrepreneurship means so much to me. My community partner continually inspires me with their incredible initiatives. I was thinking back to how one of my college supplementals was about expanding entrepreneurship opportunities internationally and it has been a full circle moment to be a part of an organization who does this.  I am very grateful to be a part of such an incredible mission. 

Narcissistic Spanish

Every time I hear someone talk in the first person, I think I’m being summoned. It’s because “yo” in Argentina is pronounced as “Jo.” This has led me to have some unintentional moments of narcissism jaja. The dialect here is a very unique form of Spanish, but I find it beautiful. If you’re not listening too closely, it can almost sounds a bit Italian. My Spanish skills have definitely been put to the test here, but I have seen how many listening skills have improved over the course of the last two months.

Namaste 

One particular interaction that made me laugh was when I was visiting La Boca and as I would walk through, different vendors would say “Namaste” to me as they tried to sell me an item. I never found this offensive but rather just very comical. It has been interesting being the only Indian person around and thinking that I may be the first Indian person many people have encountered. However, it’s also been interesting because I often feel like less of an outsider here in comparison to many American environments where I was a minority. 

Aprender a Correr x Public Transportation 

I couldn’t ask to live in a more ideal location. We live right next to a local park and we have a gym on the same block! Juliana and I have recently entered our running era during our time here. On a random whim, Juju found a Rotary club that was having a 3km race, so naturally we had to sign up. It was quite the adventure getting to this province, Banfield, which was over an hour away from us. We woke up at 5:30am so we could take the bus there. Even though it was a holiday for El Dia de la Bandera (Flag day), the bus was jam packed at 7am and we shoved ourselves into the corner next to the fire extinguisher and held on tight for an hour jajaja.  However, it was such a beautiful drive as the sun rose and we entered into Banfield.

I have definitely never been much of a runner and although 3 kilometers is not very long, I was really proud to have been able to run the entire thing and see how I’ve progressed over our time here. It was an incredible experience with seeing everyone gather and dance together as the warmup. It was a very uniting experience and one of my favorite things we’ve done here. One of Juju’s coworkers lives in Banfield, so it was really fun exploring the city with her afterwards.

We took the train on the way back, and I have just absolutely fallen in love with the Buenos Aires public transportation. I remember I was initially really nervous to travel to work by myself. However, even though I got on the wrong bus on my first day jaja, the driver was very kind in redirecting me. I have fallen in love with riding the bus and have found so much freedom that comes in living in a walkable city with accessible transportation. I wish I could take this incredible transportation back home.

I cannot believe that our time is so limited here and I will forever cherish all of these memories. As someone who was very worried about traveling to a new country myself and now being at the last week of my journey, I can safely say I have fallen in love with Buenos Aires.

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:

1. 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!
2. 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)

The hardest thing for me about living in Buenos Aires has been the fact that since I am in the southern hemisphere, that means it is winter. Even though I am not a fan of the cold, the cold has been the least of my concerns- it doesn’t get very cold in Buenos Aires. The biggest challenge of winter is that the sun sets at 5:50pm.

I thrive in the sun. I am the kind of person that stops in my tracks while walking to bask in the warmth of the sun for a few extra seconds before continuing wherever I need to go. Also, my Airbnb apartment is in a huge apartment complex surrounded by other huge apartment complexes and I am on the second floor. This means that there are precisely (I’ve timed it) 10 minutes in the day in which my apartment gets direct sunlight. There is a tiny space between the two tall buildings in front of my apartment in which the sun peeks through for those glorious 10 minutes.

Now, I thought, maybe if I fixed my sleep schedule to wake up with the sunrise, I’d be able to stretch out the amount of sunlight I have in my day. Unfortunately, this ended up with me waking up far earlier than the sunrise. The sunrise isn’t until 8am, and being up before the sun just felt wrong. No matter what, there would only be a little under 10 hours of sunlight in a day. Between lunch and about an hour commute to most tourist sites, I often arrive wherever I’m exploring around 2pm, giving me only 3 hours to sightsee before heading back home. And the thing is, just because I wake up early, doesn’t mean the city does. Buenos Aires and Porteños thrive in the night time, but now, as a solo female traveler abroad, I don’t feel very comfortable venturing beyond my immediate and familiar neighborhood after sunset. This limits the kinds of activities I can do because so many classes and social events are in the evenings, but without having at least that one other familiar person to accompany me, venturing to an unfamiliar environment alone at night in such a big city like Buenos Aires often feels like too much.

Now that I’ve complained for probably far too long about the lack of sun and light, let me share with you the list of Argentinian things that make me happy (this has been a growing list on my notes app).

My commute to my host organization takes me a little under two hours by bus so the important thing is to hopefully be able to quickly snag a seat on the bus and get comfortable. The nice thing about this particular bus route is that most of the passengers tend to be older women or women with children so I typically end up seated next to an older woman and they have always been the sweetest towards me. It makes me happy when they call me “mi amor.”

This might not be unique to Argentina, but when on a tour of the country in San Antonio de Areco, I saw beautiful butterflies while horseback riding. Whenever I see a butterfly, it always reminds me to be grateful for everything. Butterflies and horseback rides make me happy.

Beginning the second day after my arrival, I’ve been consistently working out at a gym 3 blocks away from my apartment. And something that makes me happy is familiarizing myself with my gym crowd. I may not know their names, but their familiar faces bring me joy, specifically a girl who looks about my age who dances a bit between sets. I often find myself holding back from doing the same thing and seeing someone else really dancing makes me happy.

When I first arrived in Buenos Aires, Jorge quickly introduced me to two of his favorite and regular restaurants: Tilo and Dos Escudos. Specifically, Dos Escudos was the place we’d go to for breakfast as it was a cafe and bakery type of restaurant. There we each ordered a breakfast combo that included the breakfast food item, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a coffee, except I don’t drink coffee and when I heard Jorge replace his with “un submarino,” I quickly followed suit AND THIS WAS THE BEST DECISION EVER. I am not a big fan of many drinks in general and even less so of warm drinks that I never have the patience to let cool enough for me not to burn my tongue, but these submarinos have been the best drink I’ve ever tried in a long time. Maybe I’m overhyping them as submarinos are essentially chocolate milk, except that they bring you the hot milk with two large chocolate bars that you place in the milk yourself. The chocolate just tastes so rich and delicious and the warm milk they bring you is just hot enough to warm your cold toes, but not hot enough to burn your tongue. Submarinos make me happy.

Finally, I know I said I’d be done writing about the sun, but seeing the limited amount of sun I have has made me truly treasure those moments when a ray of sunshine lands perfectly on my face and I get a little extra warmth. It has also made me appreciate and make some use out of my balcony. I often go sit out there and read (I’m working on my Spanish reading skills and I’ve read two books in Spanish so far!) The sun and my balcony make me happy.

A day after finishing my last final for the semester and packing all my stuff frantically to move back on-campus, I was on an airplane to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Somehow, it has now been 7 weeks since I have arrived in Buenos Aires, and I have learned a lot about the work I want to do in the future and myself. Furthermore, I am extremely grateful for the people I have met during my time here and still cannot believe that by the end of next week I will be saying farewell. Although I cannot write about everything that has happened so far, since it would take forever, I am happy to share the following highlights.

Cruz Roja Argentina – Filial Vicente Lopez and Filial Villa Crespo

From the moment I looked at the list of community partners for the 2023 Loewenstern Fellowship, I had my eyes on the Argentinian Red Cross. Having learned about its origins and the impact the organization had in regards to international human rights, I was excited to be an intern in the organization. I could have never imagined, however, the reach and types of activities, programs, and workshops organized by the Red Cross. I have worked in up to three Red Cross filiales (subsidiaries) in different locations across Buenos Aires, but have mainly stayed in Filial Villa Crespo and Filial Vicente Lopez.

Scouting Event – Patrolling the area to check if there was anybody injured and needed to be taken to the Red Cross’s tent

In filial Villa Crespo, I mainly completed the Red Cross’s first aid course, which is a requirement to participate in more complex projects. Thanks to my background in EMS through Rice EMS, a good portion of the course content was review. However, I did learn some important skills, including techniques not taught in the Rice EMS course and how to best be of assistance to people who suffer an accident without having immediate access to medical equipment or medications. Furthermore, it was through this course that I was able to make the most amount of friends and meaningful connections here in Buenos Aires.

Work:

In filial Vicente Lopez, I have had the opportunity to be involved in everything ranging from administrative work to blood drives to community health initiatives. The first activity I was involved in was working with other volunteers to provide first aid assistance at a scouting event which had about 100 kids and teens. Not only did the event take place in a beautiful green area near the coast, but the volunteering team was wonderful overall. I was able to assist with taking down information of people who got injured and walking around the area searching for people who needed our assistance but could not physically move to our tent. Since that activity, however, I have done several more. The one that surprised me the most actually happened just last week, where I helped in delivering a road safety workshop to high school students and basic wound care to toddlers. We were able to use very interesting equipment that simulated one’s eyesight under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, and when one is extremely exhausted to show high school students the dangers of driving under the influence. Furthermore, we also taught toddlers how to best help out their friends if they see a small bleed or scrape. The activity with the toddlers was particularly interesting since I would have never imagined the children would retain anything of what we were telling them. To my surprise, after our talk, most were able to show us how to apply direct pressure to a wound to stop the bleeding and how to dress the wound with gauze. On the administrative side, I have helped with document classification, destroying old documents that are no longer needed, and logistical tasks like helping in receiving CPR training equipment. This wide range of tasks has allowed me to see all the different ways in which a non-governmental organization operates, ranging from the hands-on community work all the way to more monotonous but necessary desk work.

CPR Equipment – Red Cross acquired over 50 new CPR training mannequins for first-aid training

Road Safety Workshop – We gave a wound-care workshop to toddlers in celebration of road safety day

Tourism:

Buenos Aires has a lot of tourist attractions that are popular to foreigners and locals. Although I have resigned myself to not being able to visit all of them (without mentioning the ridiculous amount of things one can do in other parts of Argentina), I have quite enjoyed visiting several of these attractions. My favorite so far has been going to the Rose Garden and the Parque 3 de Febrero, both areas filled with greenery, pleasant smells, and tons of ducks (see attached picture of Don Pato). I got lucky enough to go during a day where the sky was clear and during sunset, so I was able to enjoy my own company next to the small lakes and ducks while eating chocolate. What was the most mesmerizing thing, though, was that the park and rose garden were located right next to the hectic highway and city, providing refuge from the urban chaos. On the topic of nature, I was delighted to have gone to a town away from Buenos Aires called Santiago de Areco where my travel partner Valeria. We got to horseback ride, explore nature, and try some delicious steak.

Parque 3 de Febrero at Sunset

Japanese Garden

Socializing

Socializing was definitely an uphill battle for me. Although this is not the first time I am far away from home, it is the first time I am leaving home to work rather than to study. As a student, whether at a summer program or college, socializing would be easier because there would be common spaces (classes, office hours, clubs, etc.) where I could meet people. This time, however, the situation was completely different. Because a lot of the work the Red Cross does is thanks to volunteers, the staff and people involved in every activity changes all the time. In other words, other than the supervisor, I was meeting new people constantly. While this initially seemed like an opportunity to create more long-lasting friendships, I realized that meeting a person once for 4 hours at most does not really allow me to make a lot of connections. Nonetheless, thanks to the first aid course I took and going out of my way to be more extroverted, I have been able to form some friendships and connect with people. Furthemore, I have become more capable of enjoying my own company and finding peace in being with myself.

Santiago de Areco – Post Horseback Riding

Horseback Riding in Santiago de Areco

Challenges:

Like every experience, there were some challenges I could not have prepared myself for during my trip to Buenos Aires. For one, my identity as Bolivian was challenged through microaggressions with more frequency that I would have liked. Because I grew up speaking English at school and speaking Spanish everywhere else in my life, my accent is not easily identified as Bolivian. I have been asked if I was from Ecuador, the U.S, some place in Europe, and Costa Rica. While these comments are not ill-intentioned themselves and not problematic themselves, the tone with which people reply when I say I am Bolivian often strikes me as weird to say the least, since some locals will respond “but you don’t sound Bolivian” in a tone that hints at it being something positive. This has led me to have somewhat of an identity crisis. My English is not “perfect” enough to blend in when I am in the U.S and now my Spanish does not sound Bolivian enough. Nonetheless, as I continue to do some introspection, I realize that I do not have to fit any mold to be Bolivian. I feel comfortable in my identity and I do not owe explanations to anybody.

El Ateneo – Very similar to Barnes and Nobles but way more artistic

Don Pato 😀

Final Thoughts

My experience with the Red Cross has been overall wonderful. This experience has reinforced my goal of helping underserved communities through population-level initiatives that promote prevention and effective bystander intervention.