Beef, bread, and wine are just a little taste of what sophomore government and politics major Allison Wynant ate while she studied abroad in Argentina over winter break.
For most college students, the opportunity to travel all over the world is an experience worth taking especially if you can get college credit. Schools across the country, including University of Maryland, offer a variety of options that students can look into in order to experience the culture, food, and life in another country.
“This was the first time that I had been abroad that it wasn’t hyper scheduled and packed,” Wynatt said, “ It was nice that if I had a day that I was really tired I didn’t feel pressured to be outside.”
Wynatt traveled to Argentina where she stayed two weeks in Buenos Aires and one week in San Martin de los Andes. During the day she took a sociology course about globalization and the rest of the time she enjoyed her break from school and the culture of the country.
“I thought it was a good balance it kind of put seeing the country into a bigger context. I got to explore and learn about the country,” Wynant said.
While in Argentina Wynant lived a completely different life as she spent her day surrounded by affectionate, easy going Argentines, living in hostels, and eating real late.
“It is a different state of mind. Dinner at midnight drink with friends until 4:30 a.m. then 6 a.m. go to sleep. It’s a whole different timetable. Small dinner and small breakfast, big lunch and eating dinner late,” Wynant said.
All schoolwork and no fun would not make for a very good trip so Wynant said she made sure to have some fun and even check out some of the locals.
“The Argentines were not very attractive maybe because of their diet,” she said. “There were Brazilian guys though and one even looked like Ricky Martin.”
The food, culture, the time that they eat, and the endless supply of empanadas was not the only thing different about Argentina. Wynant explained that the clothes were not quite like American clothing.
“We are more inclined to wear darker colors here where over there everything was brighter,” Wyant said. “Here people try to dress for their figures. Women there don’t care, they wear heels and skin tight clothes or dress a lot more casual.”
Wynant hasn’t forgotten the friends she met over break. Many of them including some Brazilian guys, a few Argentine girls and of course her study abroad group.
“We all became very close just cause most of us did not know Spanish and that shared experience of not knowing the language,” Wynant said, referring to her study abroad group.
“I would go back, but I would like to see Brazil too,” Wynant said. “I think Argentina is in a big rebuild. They are just starting to get back on their feet. It made me realize how little of the world I have seen.”