I chose Buenos Aires, Argentina, for my beyond-the-classroom experience, and it has been a magnificent time so far. I have only been here for a few weeks, but I already feel myself adapting to the live-fast-and-slow kind of mentality Porteños (members of Buenos Aires) carry.
I have not been able to do too many things regarding my global challenge and theme yet, besides giving a few English lessons to a couple Buenos Aires natives. I have found that here, not many people speak fluent English, it’s more certain phrases (“that’s cool bro”) or the lyrics to popular songs (Hotline Bling). I love this, as it is different from Spain, where mostly everyone speaks English and will automatically switch to English if they hear your American accent. It has been easy to find people that want to learn English from a native English speaker here, which I will be able to use to further develop my global challenge, discovering how best to carry out and teach English abroad.
It has been extremely helpful to live among a Spanish-speaking community, as it is helping me to improve my Spanish, and I am forced to speak it since most folks cannot communicate with me otherwise. I am going to continue giving English lessons when I can and asking the locals where and how they have learned English in the past (so far, many people have said they’ve learned from the T.V show Friends), and what the best way they think is to learn.
I am excited for my next few months in B.A and expect to leave with a significantly broadened perspective!
Beyond the Classroom 