Argentina

Depart for Argentina and begin the transition into a new cultural and linguistic context.

Begin with a guided cultural walk through La Boca, a neighborhood shaped by waves of European immigration, dockworker labor, and grassroots artistic expression. Through colorful buildings, street art, and public spaces, students explore how migration, class, and cultural pride have shaped neighborhood identity.

In the evening, gather for a traditional Argentine asado. More than a meal, asado is a social ritual centered on shared time, conversation, and hospitality. Students examine how food traditions reinforce community values and social connection, offering an entry point into Argentine cultural life.

Visit a former clandestine detention center that has been transformed into a public memory site. Through a guided experience, students learn about Argentina’s military dictatorship and how societies reckon with violence, repression, and state accountability.

Later, engage in a learning session with a human rights organization dedicated to restoring identity and justice for families affected by forced disappearances. Students explore how civil society—often led by women—plays a critical role in preserving memory, advocating for truth, and strengthening democratic institutions.

Explore Buenos Aires’ vibrant political mural scene with a local guide, examining how public art communicates social critique, protest, and collective memory. Students then participate in a hands-on street art workshop, creating visual responses to themes of justice, identity, and voice.

In the evening, take part in a tango workshop followed by a live performance. Students learn how tango emerged from working-class neighborhoods shaped by migration and inequality, using movement and music to tell stories of longing, resilience, and cultural fusion.

Spend the day with organizations dedicated to preserving testimonies, documents, and historical records related to human rights violations. Students explore how archives function as tools for education, accountability, and prevention, examining ethical questions around storytelling, consent, and responsibility.

Through dialogue and guided activities, learners reflect on who controls historical narratives and why documentation is essential to justice and collective memory.

Visit a neighborhood sports club to learn how community-based institutions support youth, cultural life, and social cohesion. Students explore how sport functions as a civic space that builds identity, belonging, and opportunity beyond formal education systems.

Later, tour a major football stadium and attend a professional match. This experience is framed as cultural analysis, examining chants, symbols, and fan rituals as expressions of class, history, and collective identity in Argentine society.

Travel outside the city for a rural community exchange. Students learn about gaucho traditions, land-based livelihoods, and the relationship between landscape, labor, and identity. Structured conversations connect rural life to national narratives, highlighting contrasts and continuities between urban and rural Argentina.

Begin the day with a workshop centered on mate, Argentina’s most common social ritual. Students learn etiquette, symbolism, and the role of sharing in building trust and connection.

Continue with a hands-on art workshop focused on Buenos Aires’ traditional decorative lettering style, exploring how craftsmanship, visual identity, and pride in place shape urban culture.
End the day at a local artisan market, where students engage with makers to examine labor, value, and the relationship between cultural heritage and economic sustainability.

Students depart Argentina with strengthened language skills, deeper cultural understanding, and a nuanced perspective on how societies remember the past, challenge injustice, and build community through culture, activism, and shared responsibility.