CAPA WORLD

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In her last post, Nora reflects on her time abroad, why she was enthusiastic to document her experience, and how she got to know Buenos Aires better by being in the present—thanks to a broken phone.

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The first concrete challenge I encountered happened right as our first week in Buenos Aires was wrapping up. It’s embarrassing to admit, even though I wasn’t alone in this, but my phone broke. It was dropped in the rain and when my host family heard that...they said to put it in rice for a week in case it was the water. I was skeptical and thought that a week was a little excessive, but I really wasn’t in any position to turn down potentially phone-saving advice. So, I spent my second week in this foreign city without my regular trusty iPhone. What’s an American millennial abroad to do?

The streets of Buenos Aires on film.

I actually really enjoyed the experience. I planned ahead with friends and ran into different people for some unplanned meetups on a few occasions. I used a, now very-well-loved, paper map of the city to get around and checked the time on whatever clock was in sight, thinking, “If I’ve left and am on my way, I will get there when I get there.” A cell phone will not change that.

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Nora writes about learning how to tango at a My Global City event held at a local dance studio in Buenos Aires.

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What’s was great about this study abroad experience is that we got a lot of free unstructured time to just explore the city and travel and do our own thing, but there were a few preplanned activities called “My Global City events.” The event that I think everyone was looking forward to the most, myself included, was the estancia trip. This was a trip an hour outside of the city to a ranch where we would ride horses, hear from real life gauchos, and watch live performances over a free lunch. Sounds amazing right? Unfortunately, I can’t tell you about that one. I was seriously sick all weekend. It was a huge bummer!

Learning how to tango in Buenos Aires.

But almost as cool, I was able to go to the tango lesson the first weekend of June. At this activity we learned tango from instructors in a cavernous, slightly chilly, sort of rustic, artsy dance studio called La Catedral.

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Nora navigates a 16-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to Northern Patagonia, a boat ride to Uruguay, and a trip to Iguazu Falls.

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Buenos Aires is South America’s second largest metropolitan area on the coast of one of the 20th century’s most prosperous countries, but all the other attractions, and, really, all the other places, are really far away. There’s a lot of other areas in the country to visit if you’re staying in Buenos Aires for a while. I was able to make it to three in my short six weeks and I’ll let you know where, how I got from point (B)A to point B (that’s a little city name initials joke by the girl from DC), and how it is navigating domestic travel in Argentina.

At the transit museum in Uruguay with Megan!

Our first Friday happened to be May 25th, a national holiday in Argentina celebrating the May Revolution, so, seizing the day off from classes, I decided to pack my bags that Thursday morning and head straight from class to a get on a 16-hour bus ride out of the city with a friend I’d just met four days prior at orientation. Where were we headed? Bariloche, a nice little mountainous town in Northern Patagonia. But, back up—how did we get there?

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Nora talks about her enthusiasm for public transit and her overall commuting experience in Buenos Aires.

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I have done the daily commute in 4 different cities now and while it wasn’t always perfect, my favorite was probably Buenos Aires. Here’s the Subte Map:

I lived a few blocks beyond Juramento on the D line and Austral’s stop was Tribunales. This means I rode almost the entirety of the D line at least twice a day during the week. The commute took almost an hour. I didn’t mind though. A train ride gives you time to read or listen to podcasts and plan or reflect on your week and sometimes spontaneous things happen like a harpist might board your car. I enjoyed the music of your typical guitar-slung subway busker more times than I can count but the harpist was memorable.

Claire Shrader is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Pre-Occupational Therapy major at Mississippi College, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In her last post, Claire reflects on her study abroad, international internship, and living experiences in Buenos Aires, and how the past few months will color a lot of her life and friendships.

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It’s so easy for people to ask, “Oh my gosh how was your semester abroad?!” but the answer is so complex.

Enjoying some Coca-Cola with my friends before we say goodbye to Argentina!

It was amazing, in so many ways: amazing to get to use my Spanish in new settings, amazing to have an international internship and to learn how to work in the Argentine work environment, amazing to build community and to get to know people I met on my high school trips in a deeper way.

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Nora gives us a look at what it is like to live in a homestay and shares with us about her housemates in Buenos Aires.

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I am living out in a neighborhood called Belgrano almost at the end of the D line. There are a lot of good food and coffee options including cheap eats which are essential when adjusting to late dinners and the stress of exams and assignments start to kick in. I like to stop by a place right past the McDonald's on my walk home from the train for big 20-peso (about 80 cents) empanadas if I’m hungry after class and know that it’s still a few hours until dinner. Belgrano also has parks and museums. It was home to some famous historical porteños (translation: someone who is from or lives in a port city) and it is named after Manuel Belgrano, designer of the flag.

Megan, Valentina, me, and Sam in front of the big Colonia sign.
Watch out for our first album release! ;)

If, like me, you are a runner, it’s sort of a blessing to be this far from downtown because there are parks close by to run! We are also very close to Barrio Chino and something about walking through there, if I am a little stressed or homesick, maybe it’s similar to “the Irish pub effect” as my traveling cousin has called it, but it reminds me of D.C. or Boston or other cities I’m tied to back home and it can be calming that way.

Claire Shrader is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Pre-Occupational Therapy major at Mississippi College, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Claire compiles a top 10 list that'll make anyone with a sweet tooth delighted in Buenos Aires.

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If you have a sweet tooth, Buenos Aires is the perfect place for you. There’s a never ending supply of sweets here, it’s been a city full of temptations for me. Though I haven’t quite accomplished my goal of trying all the alfajor (sweet cookies with a dulce de leche filling, sometimes covered in chocolate) options there are, I think it’s safe to say I’m practically an expert.

Decadent Argentinian dulces!

Though Argentina’s best alfajor is debated as hotly as the controversial president, anything with chocolate and ooey gooey dulce de leche is bound to be incredible. So, here’s my list of the top ten sweets in Buenos Aires.

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Nora shares several ways she has learned about the history and culture of Buenos Aires through classes, tours, and museums.

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Classes are such a cool part of studying abroad. We take classes with local professors at Universidad Austral's Buenos Aires campus located right on one of the widest streets in the world—Nueve de Julio. I'm taking Spanish and Global Cities which have 3 and 4 students total respectively so we get a lot of attention to ask questions about the city's history or practice our language skills. We are able to focus the class discussion on things we are especially interested in and continue our discussions with peers outside of class since there are so few of us.

On a tour of Recoleta Cemetery with my classmates.

In a recent class period while learning about the coups in Argentina and the political turmoil they triggered, we got to talking about the differences in the ways we experience the political moment back in the U.S. and the differences in the culture around protest in each country from our own perspectives. [Note: Protest and political speech is a huge part of the culture here and interesting to observe or even participate in, but safety is also super important especially with respect to our heightened visibility here as foreigners.] This discussion was incredibly interesting and one that may not have developed in a larger, more structured class.

Claire Shrader is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Pre-Occupational Therapy major at Mississippi College, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Claire gets interviewed by an Argentine local and shares 5 reasons why you need to visit this country.

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I sat down with Reynaldo, my Argentine dad (I stayed with him and his family in high school and spent a lot of time with them this semester, too) and he asked me a few questions about Argentina. Enjoy!

I love Argentina!

REYNALDO: Hi, Claire. How long were you in Argentina?
CLAIRE SHRADER: I was here for four months.

Nora Callahan is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Affairs and Math major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In her first post, Nora puts together a top 10 list of study abroad prep tips to help you get ready before you head to your global city.

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From one study abroad student to another, there are some things you need to know before you head to your global city. While learning from experience is a great thing, it also helps to make sure you're prepared beforehand. Check out these 10 things to do before you study abroad!

A view of Northern Patagonia in Argentina!

1. Start Your Scholarship Search Early

Start searching for scholarships months in advance. Usually there are some scholarships available from your home university and then some from your study abroad program. Ask questions if you think you may qualify for some of these if it isn’t clear from the description. You never know and you don’t want to leave any funds on the table! After exhausting these avenues, search for funds from outside sources. You can usually find multiple linked in the aforementioned places of your home university and your study abroad program (the CAPA website has a robust Financing and Scholarships page on their website!). Then conduct your own search using scholarship search engines and good old Google.