As I write this, it is the middle of August and my semester in Buenos Aires is beginning.I am taking classes at the University of Austral and the University of Buenos Aires. Some classes began two weeks ago, some this week, and others won’t begin until September. Getting started was frustrating, because things are very different even between the universities that I am attending in Argentina.

The University of Austral is a relatively small private school with three main locations. About 4,000 students attend, and half of those are in graduate programs.

I thought that the school was very disorganized at first, but then realized that they just have a different way of going about the education process. A student will pick their major and pretty much everything after that is chosen for them. Students might get to pick class times, but every student in any program will take every class with the same people for four years. Classrooms are even marked “Communication: 1st-year, 2nd semester.”

The other school is the exact opposite. If you are a citizen, public schools in Argentina are fully funded by the government so they have high attendance rates. I have heard estimates that upwards of 300,000 students are currently attending UBA and there are no advisors, so it is every man for himself. It can be difficult to register for classes at ETSU, so I don’t even want to think about fighting that many people for a decent class schedule.

My Spanish for Foreigners class is at UBA. I registered by taking a fluency test, and getting assigned a time slot such as in this quick dramatization:

“Is Monday to Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 a good time for you?”

“-No, I have other classes scheduled at those times.”

“Well, pay for class, and go stand in line with the other 300,000 pissed-off students and file a complaint, or something … be sure to pay for the class first.”

It isn’t that bad, though. I am willing to put up with almost anything if I can go home with any level of fluency in Spanish, but right now even that isn’t looking so good. My first day in class began with my teacher being surprised at how good my Spanish was. The second day ended with my teacher asking how I could have possibly tested into this level of Spanish.

I imagine that this is all part of developing new language skills and learning a new culture.

Things are just going to be different.

Sometimes it will be something to work through, and at other times it will come naturally.

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