SIT Study Abroad

I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the SIT Social Movements and Human Rights program in Buenos Aires, Argentina! This program facilitated invaluable educational experiences, helping each student immerse themselves in the culture and the material in countless ways. The program coordinators were some of the most wonderful people I've ever met. They were welcoming, compassionate, knowledgeable, and always went above and beyond to support me and my classmates throughout the semester. The same can be said for the host families we all lived with. I know my parents were relieved when they learned I was in such good hands! Also, the program coordinators believed deeply in the material, and genuinely cared about helping us develop a similar passion for social movements and human rights. Perhaps my favorite part of the program was the Independent Study Project that each student got to complete at the end. We were each encouraged to take our project in a direction that was unique to our particular interests, and we received as much support as we needed while the projects developed. During my project, I had the chance to live with an indigenous community, where I met and interviewed community members, shared meals and laughs, sat in on some classes at the elementary school, and learned about their spiritual identity. This semester was one of the most formative times in my life. I returned home more curious, compassionate, connected to the world around me, motivated, and inspired to use my life to help others. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

I absolutely loved my experience, from the programs staff, to my host family to our planned; trips, classes and activities, all were fantastic! I entered the program with; a fair amount of exposure to spanish emersion environments, questionable but consistent background in spanish from high school, 2 semesters of college spanish and a year break between when I took spanish and when I went abroad. I also am dyslexic, so learning language in a classroom is more difficult for me. I was unique in my SIT student cohort, because almost everyone had more spanish credits then I did. At first the full emersion aspect of the program was overwhelming because it used so much energy to translate everything, while adjusting to learning my new day to day schedule. But it was definitely worth it to stick it out and probably my favorite aspect of the program. By the end of the semester I left feeling confident navigating and communicating in full emersion environment, a skill I’d abandoned mastering in a classroom due to my dyslexia. I would recommend this program to any and all!

Dear reader, do yourself a favor and apply! This study abroad opportunity was so phenomenal. I had previously studied abroad and this experience was by far the better experience due to the incredibly wonderful professors and staff in Buenos Aires, my wonderful host mom (and the wonderful host parents of my friends too), the fabulous city and wonderful friends I met. I had the opportunity to do the ISP option which was so rewarding -- I am so proud of what I came up with and grateful for all the support I received along the way. You will learn so much and have so much fun. DO IT.