As of March 13, I have officially lived with a host family in Buenos Aires for three weeks. I live on the 18th floor of an apartment building with my host mom, my host mom’s son, and three additional students in my program. I have been met with nothing but unconditional acceptance, laughter, and love in my host home.  

Natalia folds laundry while Ryder plays the piano. 

Ryder plays the piano near the dining room. 

As an only child, I have never lived in a home with more than two people at a time (my parents, of course), and living with my host family has given me the opportunity to learn the feeling of living in a full house. Though this is something that many people may have a distaste for, I could not be more grateful. Living with people from so many different walks of life has made me a more empathetic person and has taught me more about myself than I ever expected. I chose to live in a homestay to improve my language acquisition and to get more of an authentic Argentine experience. 

Comfort in the new. 

Our balcony. 

I share a room with one of my best friends of many years, with whom I coordinated my study abroad experience. The other two students who live in our home are men from different universities in the States, and they each have their own rooms. Living in a co-ed host home sounded slightly strange to me at first, but the experience was nothing short of lovely.  

Natalia’s chair and knitting supplies. 

Sophia reads in the living room. 

My roommate and I always have someone to walk with us at night if we are worried about being the “lone woman on the street in the dark.” Our host brothers are very kind and accommodating— I haven’t had any complaints and wouldn’t change anything if I had the chance. We have already become incredibly close friends. 

Sophia relaxes by our fan. 

My language acquisition has drastically improved since my arrival, and I give so much credit to my host environment. My host mother is so accepting and helpful during the language learning process (which, in my experience, is the case with most Argentines). She has been so patient and loving every step of the way, which has given me so much confidence in my speech that I didn’t have before arriving in the country. Not to neglect, she is a professional chef… needless to say, we have eaten well. 

Dinner. 

Natalia cooks. 

Celebrating Lautaro’s return with family. 

In terms of logistics, my accommodation has everything that I need. In Buenos Aires, it’s uncommon for homes to have air conditioning due to the comfortable temperature. I arrived during a heat wave, and thankfully, my host home did have AC. It’s more common to keep windows open and to have oscillating fans during warmer periods, but after the first few days, the temperature cooled down, and the fans/AC are no longer necessary.  

My roommates and I take our laundry to a laundromat that is about five blocks from our house, and the entire process is super easy. Everyone here is incredibly helpful, and it has made the adaptation process significantly easier than I had anticipated.