Ben Castro

Overall Experience
5/5

Major
Six Year Med BLA

Hobbies
Water polo, hiking, scuba diving

Hometown
Chesterfield

Where did you study?
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Name of program
Spanish Study Abroad.

Why did you choose to study there?
I had never been to Argentina and I wanted to study in a Spanish speaking country.

What courses did you choose to enroll in?
I took the equivalent of Spanish 3 and a History of Buenos Aires class.

How did you pay for your study abroad experience?
Through UMKC tuition.

Did you use some sort of financial aid, scholarship or fellowship?
No.

What was your living situation?
I stayed at a host family's apartment in Belgrano, Buenos Aires.  I lived with my host mom and sometimes her son. 

What did you do for fun?
We would go out to this little neighborhood nearby the university called Las Canitas. There were a lot of good bars and restaurants there to hang out at. We also spent a lot of time in the bars near Plaza Serano in Palermo Viejo. I also traveled as much as I could on the weekends.

Favorite aspect of your trip?
Doing new things and seeing new places.

Challenges you faced?
Not having my own car.

Advice or helpful tips for future students?
I would suggest to go out as often as possible. Travel on the weekends. Walk around and visit little shops that catch your interest. Talk to the locals. It's nice having the free reign to do whatever we wanted and not having to worry about an overly difficult. Get lost at least once.

What is one thing (if anything) that you would change about your experience if you could do it over?
I did not travel to some place new one weekend and I wish I would have.

Something interesting you learned about the town you lived in?
Buenos Aires never sleeps!

Would you be willing to allow students to contact you via email with any questions regarding your study abroad experiences? 
Yes. Email at bccastro2010@gmail.com