I thought that it would be a good idea if I finished the semester by writing about a few things that I would have done differently for my semester in Argentina.Let me start by saying the obvious. I wouldn’t have broken any appendages during my final week in Latin America, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but you haven’t truly lived another culture until you have been to their trauma center at 1 a.m.

That is a true multicultural experience.

Another thing that I would have done differently is I would have bought souvenirs earlier. I am not a very impulsive person, so I put off buying gifts for people back home until the last week that I was abroad.

On one hand it is good to save money in case you need it later on in the trip, but on the other hand something might happen that would inhibit future opportunities to purchase foreign goods.

For instance, and this is purely hypothetical, you could break your ankle during the final weekend of your semester.

The hardest thing for me to get used to was living in someone else’s apartment.

I wouldn’t have gotten a home-stay if I’d known all that it would entail. There are upsides like getting help with immersion and language. They can help you learn culture and sometimes provide meals.

All of that had worn pretty thin by the end of the first few weeks. After that, well just think of how crazy your family is.

Now imagine them arguing in a different language. Now imagine if you were paying to experience that every night.

Had I known what I know now, I would have started with an apartment.

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate everything that I had the chance to experience though. Even though living with another family was awkward for me, I still enjoyed what I could. There are great opportunities around every corner, and I don’t feel that any real harm was done in anything. I don’t even consider that breaking my ankle was a bad experience (thought it has been quite unpleasant) because it allowed me to meet new people and experience things in a way that I couldn’t have done otherwise.

For those of you planning on studying abroad I would like to offer this advice:

Make many plans, but don’t expect anything to be the way that you think it should.

Pay attention when people warn you about culture shock. It does exist.

Enjoy your time abroad. It is a great experience that I would encourage almost anyone to take part in.

Editor’s note: Ryland received a Gilman Scholarship and studied at Universidad Austral and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina this semester.

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