I am almost finished completing a semester Exchange in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I chose this city for a number of reasons. I had been here three years ago during my gap year and completely fell in love with the city, so I chose to go back. But when I came here the first time, I had a number of reasons to go. I wanted to learn Spanish because the language, people and culture attracted me from a young age. But I didn't want to go to Spain because I am adventurous and I just wanted to see more of the world. Also, I had long had the dream of going to South America. Buenos Aires is the best stepping stone for that since it is the safest city in South America. It is also called the Paris of South America (the city also owes this name to its beautiful streets and large squares). But it is still South America, which means (like many other places) that you have to be alert to your safety and things are not as well regulated as in the Netherlands. Therefore, this city requires a bit of patience and a low level of irritation. Furthermore, the city is very busy so should you like a big city more than a village, this is an incredibly fat experience. There is always something to do and you are never bored. 

​There are countless parks, concerts, bars, clubs, shopping streets and restaurants (cheap eating out with steak and red wine is top notch here). The people are tremendously friendly, always helping you and incredibly appreciate you speaking their language, something that helps you learn it better.

You might know Lieve from...​
Committee member EJC 14/15  
Vice-chair Introdocution Camp 14/15
Vice-Chair Sarphati VII 15/16
Chair Introkamp 15/16

​Since they don't teach our Social Geography and Planning studies here at the university, I chose to do International Relations. A direction that pleased me beyond expectations since it has many similarities with our studies. I enjoyed taking courses here tremendously since Argentine professors are super enthusiastic and therefore can tell stories well. In addition, they link their courses a lot to current events, for example, I had a course with all the major current conflicts and from the near past (from North Korea vs. America to Brexit to Israel-Palestine to the Genocide in Rwanda). This has significantly increased my general knowledge in addition to my academic knowledge. In addition, it is very nice to look at these conflicts/international relations from a Latin American point of view, since I always thought the UvA was very Eurocentric. At first I was very afraid to take classes in Spanish, but no worries it is easily combined with a crazy night-life style. Last but not least, this destination is a good one if you want to combine your Exchange with a lot of traveling. It is a big country but because of that it has everything: desert with red mountains (Great Canyon alike), the beautiful waterfalls of Iguazu, beaches, vineyards, glaciers with the most beautiful mountains, ski resorts etc. And proximity to Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. As a result, exchange students plan all kinds of fat trips throughout the semester. 
​In short, if you love crowds, Spanish culture, sociability and are adventurous then Buenos Aires as an Exchange destination will be the best choice you ever made!