CAPA WORLD

CAPA Alumni Claire Shrader shares 3 areas in which she's noticed a lasting benefit from studying abroad in Buenos Aires. 

Everyone has a different purpose in spending a semester abroad. For me, there were many, but one of the biggest reasons was to greatly improve my Spanish ability in a way I knew I could only do by being immersed in it 24/7. Man, did Buenos Aires totally surpass all of my hopes in that regard. It was amazing to me to watch my language ability develop from the first day, where I shyly rode the whole way back from the airport without saying a word, to two days later, where I was laughing and chatting with my host family, to two weeks after that, where I was so comfortable speaking, and could understand them most of the time, too, to two months later, when I understood almost 100% of what was said to me, and was able to articulate my thoughts and ideas in a way that made sense, and was actually, dare I say it, almost eloquent.

CAPA Alumni Claire Shrader reflects on some of the most important things she learned about herself while studying abroad in Buenos Aires, and the different outlook on life she gained from her time abroad.

I think those of our friends who have not studied abroad could definitely tell those of us who have that the line, “I miss _________ about studying abroad!” has become a staple in our conversations. Living in another country for 3-4 months is no small endeavor, and processing it once you’re home often hits at strange moments. For me, the smell of exhaust as I wait at the stop light to get to my dorm can take me right back to my 12-minute walk to the subway station in Buenos Aires, where I took subway D to my internship in Belgrano. It’s a small thing—just a stop light and a smell—but that experience is so fresh to me, that’s all it takes to instantly transport me back to that moment. There are a million things I miss about being in Argentina, and most of them revolve around food, ha.

But along with all of the things I miss, every time the word “Buenos Aires” comes to mind, I can’t help but think of the things I learned while there, too.

Calling all institutions!

This April, join us in Buenos Aires at our Global Education Workshop to get a first-hand look at our programs in this incredible city.

Global Education Workshop in Buenos Aires: April 6-11, 2019

CAPA Alumni Claire Shrader reflects on why she chose to study abroad in Buenos Aires and discusses what made her fall in love with the city, musing on why the unique characteristics of the city and it's people might just have you falling in love with it too! 

“Why Buenos Aires?” was often a question I was asked in the months and weeks leading up to my time abroad. I thought I knew how to answer it before I went, and I did, kind of.

I told people that I had been twice in high school, totally fell in love with the language, culture, and people, and had been dreaming of going back and delving deeper into the relationships I began six years ago.

That answer only just barely touched the surface of why Buenos Aires was the perfect place for me, and there’s so many more reasons why I think it could be the perfect place for you.

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.