Wine and steak

Spending a semester in Argentina was the stereotypical life-changing study abroad experience everyone talks about. IES was a great and supportive program, and though they were willing to help you when you needed it they weren't breathing down your neck all the time. Part of that may have been because they program was a bit larger (about 100 students) so you were really free to make your own friends and choose your own experiences. They offered some program trips and excursions but you could still decide most of your own weekend travel. I actually spoke no Spanish before heading to Argentina and ended up in the intermediate program, where I learned so much I would say I am very comfortably holding my own in a conversation now. Part of that was certainly my own choices to make Argentine friends and only speak Spanish with my host mother. That was another hugely helpful part of the program and my homestay was absolutely wonderful. Classes were classes, and there were definitely times when spending time in the classroom felt silly because you were in Buenos Aires, but I had great professors all around. I took an Argentine history course which everyone should take (you are living in this country, so you should understand what has happened in the last 100 years), a literature course on drugs and violence (awesome), and two Spanish courses. Both of my academic courses were in English, and only with other IES students, but I also know students who took IES courses in Spanish and/or directly enrolled. The social scene was unbelievable and nights were generally late, so expect to live on a different sleep cycle. I joined a gym and went to yoga classes and a lot of the people I met through those activities became my good friends. Going to dinner at 11 pm and then heading out for dancing until 3 or 4 am was generally a reasonable weekend night!