My Experience as a Fulbright Student in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlights of my time abroad, what I’ve learned so far, and where I want to go from here.

As my last days in Argentina approach, I’m taking time to reflect on my experiences, what I learned over the past months, and where I want to go from here.

In this story, I will share lows and highs, detail things I learned, and reflect on how my experience abroad changed me.

Did my Fulbright experience meet my expectations?

By the time I arrived in Argentina, ten months had passed since I applied for the scholarship. With each passing month, my goals also changed. Likewise, a month before my grant started, my academic program announced they would hold it through remote instruction.

While abroad, I adjusted my plans to align them with newfound interests, recent academic program changes, and my wish to meet and connect with locals. This led me to seek activities outside my original plans, expanding my horizons to enriching opportunities I hadn’t envisioned.

As a result, I ended up studying direction and performance (and more!) in Buenos Aires. Doing so connected me with inspiring and like-minded artists, acquainted me with the local arts scene, and enriched my academic studies.

Whether these changes to my plans were a turn for the best or not, they certainly allowed me to make the best of my time abroad. Choosing to do in-person courses besides my remote studies meant I didn’t travel as much as others, yet investing in my growth and self was worth every second.

Greatest Challenge

It was challenging to make friends in a foreign country while sticking to a remote instruction schedule, COVID precautions, and a strict budget. I made connections by attending cultural events, undertaking in-person courses, going to the theater, and traveling with others.

Something I Am Proud Of

I have written more these past nine months than last year. I’ve kept my mind and pen active by diversifying the writing I do (e.g. journaling, blogging, creative writing, professional writing), taking myself less seriously, and upholding a work-and-life balance.

Some Things I Learned

• Learn what feels good by trying something new. It is crucial I try things out so I can discern passions from whims, and dislikes from fears. I recognize I cannot know whether something will work out until I try it, and that — when things don’t go as planned — I can redirect onto the right path.
• Become what we seek. To build something, one must first embody it and believe it. This makes us capable of building value and community everywhere we go.
• Be invested, not attached. This allows me to be present in the now, while being open to turning the unexpected into an opportunity.

Advice I’d Give to my Pre-Scholarship Self

Get out of your comfort zone to become who you are, rather than someone else.

• Do what you came — and wish — to do, and you’ll naturally find your people.
• Do not pretend to be someone else, give in to peer pressure, ignore red flags, and stay in one-sided relationships for friendship’s sake.
• Become comfortable with loneliness and learn how to cope with it.

The Highs and Lows

Best Day(s) in Argentina

Touring Buenos Aires with my family for a week was one of the greatest experiences I had. Not only did I get to discover the city as a tourist, but also introduced my loved ones to my new home.

Since my family had never visited Argentina, I sought to make them fall in love with the city with our scheduled activities. Despite facing cultural shock, my family enjoyed the tango, theater, food, and places they experienced while in Argentina.

Worst Day in Argentina

My mother called me to tell me they put one of my two dogs down because it was in too much pain. While I knew my dog was sick, I was hoping to say goodbye. With the news in my mind, I was not present in my day-to-day activities for a few days.

Best Travel Experience

Reconnecting with the waves, snorkeling with sea lions, watching whales while kayaking, and visiting penguins in Puerto Madryn is a travel experience I will never forget. I took the trip with little to no planning — and it was one of the best decisions I made during my time abroad.

Worst Travel Experience

I booked a group trip by bus to Bariloche to do some low-budget travel and make some friends. I did not enjoy the experience as it did not match my travel style, did not love the company I was with since we had contrasting values, and felt pressured to follow the crowd.

A High Moment

I met Nayla Beltrán and other contemporary women who write and improvise décima espinela at the Feria del Libro in Buenos Aires.

Connecting with fellow Hispanic Latinx women who nurture the décima tradition — and who are also reinventing it — gave me the inspiration and self-validation I had lost. In Argentina, my craft isn’t isolated. Instead, it was part of something greater: a common tradition connecting Puerto Rico with the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America.

I cried all the way home as I questioned whether I truly wished to leave Argentina and return to the states.

A Low Moment

Catching COVID-19 during my trip to Bariloche and having to deal with the symptoms all alone made me feel intensely lonely, besides physically ill. Not having anyone to rely on or receiving offers of support from those around me, I forgot what it felt like to be cared for and felt sad.

Best First Date

After dinner, my date invited me to join his friends for a night out dancing. While I was only prepared for our first date, I agreed and joined the group. After a few beers, we went out to dance in a club, where they only played cuarteto (a popular music genre with Argentinian origins). After a night of dancing our hearts out till 6:00 am, I returned home and slept like a baby.

Worst First Date

Throughout our evening together, my date said inappropriate, condescending, and ignorant comments. They also touched my curly hair after I explicitly told them they did not have my consent to do so. I pulled their hair in response and never spoke to them again.

Unexpected Bucket List Experiences

• Travel to and experience Mendoza with my dad to celebrate our birthdays.
• Connected with Valeria Ambrosio, director of Teatro Buenos Aires’ production of El beso de la mujer araña by Manuel Puig, after watching her show and loving it.
• Joined a WhatsApp group chat led by trovadour Wilson Saliwonczyk where people write and share poetry (e.g. décima espinela).
• Took professional headshots with photographer Fer Devincenzi and make-up artist Leticia Ch.
• Attended a soccer game from a local team amongst fans with friends.
• Met inspiring women artists (e.g. Nayla Beltran, Agustina Escobar, Valeria Ambrosio, Thelma Biral, Mariana Maciel, among others)
• Watched “Argentina: 1985” in a cinema alongside Argentinians.
• Witnessed the Argentine selection play a World Cup game while in Buenos Aires.

Best Spectacles

• La traducción, written and directed by Matías Feldman at Teatro San Martín.
• El beso de la mujer araña, written by Manuel Puig and directed by Valeria Ambrosio at Teatro Buenos Aires.
• Los Angelitos Tango Show, directed and choreographed by Sandra Bootz and Gabriel Ortega at Café los Angelitos.

Best Meals

• Had pizza for lunch from El Cuartito with three other scholars.
• Homemade ñoquis for supper alongside fellow artists and performers.
• Japanese food and desserts night degustation at the Jardín Japonés.

Small Bits of Joy

• Nights by myself eating hot chocolate with medialunas.
• Cut and dyed my hair at a salon specializing in curly hair.
• Felt true to me as I tried new things.

Where I Want to Go from Here

After my nine rejuvenating and eye-opening months in Argentina, I have the desire to travel and explore more parts of Latin America. Likewise, I’d like to continue with many of the practices I took on while abroad, including calisthenics, theater performance, and billiards.

I’d also love to stay in touch with all the people I met while here, declutter my belongings so I can travel easy-breezy more often, and seek new experiences and small joys in daily life.

Comment with any questions and thoughts you’d like to share!

I am always happy to read, hear, and learn from others.

Disclaimer: This story is not from an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.

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