Consider South America

Thu 30 Mar 2006

Jessica Stryker, Our Lady of Mercy College (Victoria), recently returned from her exchange in Argentina. Here she talks about her experience:

'I picked Argentina as a place to spend my exchange experience and after spending 11 months there I would never have had it any other way. So far it is not the most popular exchange destination and really I have no idea why! The country is beautiful and the people are simply awesome.

The lifestyle is a perfect mix between European and South American; the people really enjoy life and make the most of every situation. They are very welcoming, open people who are not afraid to show their emotions and they quickly fall in love with anyone who is willing to give their country a chance, speak their language and have a lot of fun.

I was placed in a town of about 7000 people, about 2 hours out of the capital of Buenos Aires and though the language difficulties and the culture shock were a little difficult at first, I very quickly overcame that and completely submerged myself in the community.

I lived with 2 families over the year and got along so well with them both. Family is a very big part of life in Argentina and Sunday afternoon lunch is very common. I had the opportunity to get to know my extended family very well. Cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunties all became a huge part of my life.

I went to school every afternoon which kicked started my social life and my language abilities; I was able to show off Australia to a group of people that really wanted to know everything!

The food is fantastic if you're not a vegetarian and the natural beauties that Argentina is willing to show off are some of the most amazing sights I've ever seen in my life. For any student that's thinking about spending time in Argentina, of course there are differences. Economically Argentina is in a very different situation to Australia though this does not prove to cause problems in any way.

The exchange organization that supports you over in Argentina are fantastic, they ensure that you are happy with your family, school and town and if any problems do arise then they are very quick to offer support or a change of venue if that is what's required.

The host families are fantastic; they love the opportunity to get to know another country and culture so be prepared for many many questions! It's a great country and I would encourage anyone that's thinking about exchange to consider Argentina and South America in general as an option, it's a place you'll never forget.'

If you are interested to discuss going on exchange to South America ring 1300 135 331 (cost of a local call) and speak with Natalie (who also went on exchange to South America!)