Argentina: A Very Special and Welcoming Country by Elayna Haring, Food Science Major

Argentina has a lot of European traits: the architecture, the culture, the infrastructure, etc. These are tied in with its own unique quirks, like the food, making it a one-of-a-kind place.

As a lot of other college students, I always knew that I had a yearning to study abroad. Europe was my first thought, but ultimately, I wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country. Spain is an option that checks off both boxes, however, I wanted to do something a little more unusual. I ended up choosing a program in Argentina for the Summer of 2024, called "IES Abroad: Buenos Aires- Culture & Language." Even though this does not have a lot to do with my food science major, I chose it to improve my Spanish skills and offer a unique cultural experience that would add character to my future.

This was a tiny program of only six students from across the United States. With intermediate Spanish skills, I traveled to Argentina by myself. Here, I took a Spanish class at the IES building downtown, which I walked to each morning. I also took a Biology & Agro-Biotechnology in Argentine Crop Production course at the University of Buenos Aires School of Agronomy (FAUBA). I think this was the most unique experience I will ever have. This class was created and personalized just for me as an international student. I had three professors - a husband and wife as well as a friend of theirs also in the industry. They each spoke very fluent English and were extremely accommodating to me. I learned so much about science and was able to observe differences in agriculture between Argentina and the United States. The four of us also went on a few field trips: to a water research lab and the marine biology department at La Plata University, to Inquinat, a well-known research and water treatment facility, and to the National Water Institute, where I got to observe the labs and engineering projects they were working on.

One of my favorite parts of this whole experience was living with a Señora. It forced me to quickly become comfortable with interpreting Spanish in a way I never had to before. We got along very well and had dinner together almost every night.

Classes took up a lot of our time, but the other students and I were able to explore the city and travel to different places such as Tigre and Mendoza. I even got to meet up with an Argentine friend that my family had met in Mexico years prior. I also traveled to Uruguay once the official program had ended. 

I had traveled to several other countries before this experience, but none of which I had traveled to alone. This was the biggest adaptation for me. I had to figure out my way around in many different places with little to no guidance, speaking only Spanish. For example, I was provided a taxi to get me to UBA in large amounts of lunchtime traffic. I also took the public bus back home at rush hour. The bus system in this city is truly something I have never seen before. The buses are ubiquitous and extremely reckless. On a tour, I learned that there are 18,000 buses that run through the city, which is second in the world to Beijing.

From a professional standpoint, this study abroad experience provided insight into academia and businesses in the water and food industry. For my class at UBA, I gave a final presentation on the link between food science and sustainability in the United States and Argentina.

Overall, I improved my abilities with overcoming obstacles and succeeding in stressful environments. I feel that I am more well-rounded and better understand challenges faced throughout the world. The people I interacted with in Argentina were very helpful and truly wanted me to succeed. I could not have asked for a better support system.