Expanish - Volunteer in Buenos Aires on your Summer Abroad

  Argentina

• Buenos Aires: 
Buenos Aires

Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Summer Term

Description: Expanish offers university students an unconventional approach to studying abroad in South America! We expand the student experience beyond just the classroom by providing local cultural integration through volunteering, internships, fun workshops, weekend excursions, homestays, and daily activities with native South Americans outside of the traditional collegiate setting. Expanish offers a variety of programs for university students wishing to study for a few weeks up through a full year abroad.

Summer Programs: Expanish provides one of the only Summer Study Abroad programs in Buenos Aires that offers classes in a variety of thematic subjects as well as intensive Spanish language courses. In addition to courses, students attend weekly cultural activities, workshops with locals, four weekend excursions to Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, an Estancia (Ranch), and Colonia, Uruguay, and the option of living with a local family or local students. Students can focus solely on intensive Spanish language acquisition, or split their time between a Spanish language course and other courses related to their specific areas of interest. Students can also have an "intercambio" to act as their language exchange partner. Participants also have the option of a volunteer placement with one of our partner non-profit organizations.

Highlights: Expanish expands the student experience by providing the opportunity for cultural integration through skill workshops, weekend excursions, homestays, and daily activities with native Latin Americans outside of the traditional collegiate setting.

Expanish offers university group excursions from Buenos Aires specifically for students on our programs, and an Expanish trip coordinator goes on each of these trips to offer an insider's perspective and a knowledgeable answer to any question students have along the way.

Activities
Our students can participate in various cultural activities in Buenos Aires, offered everyday of the week, for free or at a low cost (entrance fee, etc).
- Local Futbol games
- Art and Museum exhibits
- Weekly staff and student dinners
- Tango shows
- Asados (Argentine barbecue)
- Local concerts
- Cooking classes
- City cultural tours
- Artisan Fairs
- Nights out
- Theatre and movie outings

Workshops
Spanish students may sign up for our exciting skill workshops to supplement their travel abroad experience:

- Tango
Learn the sophisticated steps and sultry moves of tango, Argentinas poetry in motion, with a dance professional.
- Fileteado Painting
Characterized by bright colors and an artful blend of curving stripes and whorls, learn how to paint Fileteado style.
- Polo
Learn Argentina's most glamorous sport with professional polo players at a nearby ranch.

Excursions
Students may embark on various excursions throughout Argentina and Uruguay, including:
- Day trip to an Estancia (ranch) (day, day & night)
Spanish students will spend the day at a local ranch, horseback riding in the morning and afternoon, enjoying an asado (barbeque) for lunch, and a folkloric show in the late afternoon.
- Iguazu Falls
A trip to one of the most fascinating natural wonders in the world, the Iguazu Falls provides Spanish students with a once in a lifetime experience these larger than life waterfalls, go on a boat ride beneath the falls, take a jungle trek, and much more.
- Mendoza
Argentinas wine region, Mendoza provides the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend away learning about and tasting wine, as well as discovering the picturesque city itself.
- Colonia, Uruguay
The quaint town of Colonia is only a one hour ferry boat ride away from Buenos Aires and is the perfect day trip. Spanish students will enjoy the riverside view, sandy beaches, cobblestone roads, artisan shops, local cuisine, and much more.

Qualifications: Students who wish to participate in the Expanish Volunteer Program as a part of their Summer Abroad must be at least eighteen years old and have completed three semester of Spanish with at least a B. They must also include a one page essay in Spanish expressing why they want to volunteer in Buenos Aires. The duration of the volunteer placement is for a minimum of six weeks.

Cost in US$: Please visit our website for more details.

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18-80

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Argentina Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

Expanish's Mission Statement: Expanish is one of the most innovative Spanish immersion programs in Latin America: students do not just take classes, they actually live and breathe the South American culture. Our base in metropolitan Buenos Aires and our strong contacts all over South America provide a unique experience for visiting students and our unconventional approach to studying abroad combines Spanish language and university-accredited courses with exceptional cultural experiences and local accommodation resulting in a well-rounded educational program tailored to each student's strengths. Expanish offers an extracurricular component to every course of study consisting of skill workshops from photography to rock-climbing, local homestays and shared student apartments, weekend excursions, and daily activities with local inhabitants that take the experience of learning Spanish and studying abroad into a new dimension.

Year Founded: 2006