Plaza de la Constitución in Montevideo, Uruguay

Author: Katie Jansson | Majors: Horticulture, Environmental Science | Semester: January Intersession 2024

Spending the January 2024 intersession in Uruguay and Argentina studying Spanish was truly one the best decisions that I have made! I chose USAC Uruguay because I wanted a January intersession program where I could develop my Spanish skills and discover new places. I had never been to South America before, so Uruguay and Argentina seemed like a great choice for me. Plus, the summertime weather in South America was enticing in the middle of a cold Arkansas winter!

Although this program was not directly related to my Agriculture majors, Spanish is a valuable skill to have across many different career fields. I am confident that a knowledge of Spanish will prove useful many years into the future both academically and professionally. Our Spanish class was very small- only two students plus our professor, Trilce. This class size made it feel like I had almost a private tutor! Our professor had taught Spanish before at the United States and British embassies in Uruguay, and had great methods for practicing and integrating Spanish into our study abroad experience. We practiced ordering food at restaurants, haggling at markets (or ferias, as they are called in Uruguay), and riding the subway in Buenos Aires. We learned how to successfully apply the conjugations, phrases, and grammar that we had learned in the classroom into real life conversations. While taking Spanish classes at the University of Arkansas is undoubtedly valuable, learning Spanish in a Spanish speaking country heightens the experience and allows for so much more practice and practical application. Instead of hearing Spanish for 50 minutes a day three times a week, I was completely immersed in Spanish and forced to develop my comprehension and speaking skills, which improved my Spanish greatly. I became much more proficient speaking in the simple and preterite past tense and command form, things that I had learned before but had never really been able to apply in conversation.

In addition, I was able to learn about the culture and history of Uruguay and Argentina through both my professor and the other students with me, who were taking a history class while there. Perhaps the most interesting language nuance I learned during my study abroad was the “vos” form. Typically in Spanish, when referring to another person as “you,” it is acceptable to use the “tu” form or the more formal “usted” form. But, after the dictatorship fell in Uruguay in the 1980s, people no longer wanted to say that someone was more or less respected than someone else. To accomplish this, they developed the “vos” form and referred to everyone in this way, thereby indicating that every person is equally important and respected.

The food in Uruguay and Argentina was unique but also strongly Italian influenced. Foods such as the chivito (sandwich with ham, beef, a fried egg, mozzarella, and other toppings) and milanesa (essentially chicken fried steak) were popular, as well as typical Italian foods such as pizza and pasta. A lot of the pasta was fresh and homemade, and I ate the best gnocchi I had ever had in Punta Del Este, the premier beach town in Uruguay. We toured many historic areas of Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina and saw unique plazas, statues, Spanish architecture, government buildings, cathedrals, and so much more. One thing that really stood out to me as a horticulture major and a nature lover is how green the city of Montevideo was. Every street was lined with big sycamore trees, every balcony full of plants and greenery, and every park looked like a botanical garden. This is something that I wish the United States could improve on! All of the greenery made the city much more inviting and livable. Another notable experience was riding a subway for the first time in Buenos Aires! I am not very experienced with public transportation, so taking the subway and buses everywhere was certainly a learning curve. Perhaps my favorite part of my study abroad was the beaches in Montevideo. Pocitos Beach was about a 10 minute walk from both our school and our homestay, and all of us students loved to go there and relax after a long day of classes.

I would definitely recommend this study abroad program with USAC in Uruguay and Argentina to any student looking to improve their Spanish skills in a South American setting, or who is interested in the history, culture, and architecture of this region. This area is one of the safest in South America, and is unique from other parts of Latin America both politically and culturally. Before I left for this study abroad, I wish I’d known how much countries can vary from each other while still speaking the same language. However, it was so much fun to discover the little nuances of Uruguay and Argentina and truly experience life in these cities. Although the meals were great on this study abroad, none of their food is spicy in any capacity, so I am looking forward to a little bit of heat in my next meal in the States. Studying abroad in Uruguay and Argentina truly broadened my perspective of South America, and I will always be grateful for the language skills, friends, and memories that I made in these amazing countries.