Where? With who? For how long? How? Is your phone hidden?

All of these questions are just the beginning ones that needed answered whenever I wanted to do anything or go anywhere while living in Rosario, Argentina.

My host parents were extremely protective, but to a large extent they had a right to b so. As a foreigner and teenage girl who could hardly speak the language it was scary for them allowing me to roam free in such a large city, especially a city like Rosario. It’s a city of over 2 million people and one of the most dangerous cities in all of South America, although its reputation has been improving over the last few years. It is a large drug capital and is also known for high mugging rates. I was fortunate enough and acted safely enough during my time there that I never faced any serious issues but the fear was real, as was the threat.

Rosario was known to be ruled by a number of competing drug cartels, and to a much smaller extent still is, but over the last few years the government has come down on these groups forcefully and many of the cartel leaders are now behind bars. But with Rosario’s port and sheer size it is no surprise that the drug trade was so large there.

What’s more the police in Argentina are known to be somewhat corrupt and most citizens there fear the police rather than feel protected by them. As a foreigner, I knew that if I were to go to the police I would be protected due to any fear of international incidents, but my friends and family in Argentina weren’t so sure about themselves. Police are most locally accredited for breaking up parties or political protests, two very common events on the day to day basis in Argentina, and therefore their reputation is even worse.

Two memories come to mind of nerve-wracking incidents surrounding safety while abroad. I played soccer with a club team only a block away from my house, but by the time practice ended one night it was dark out so my host dad came to walk me home. He was clearly on edge the whole time and kept telling me to walk faster even though we were only walking for two minutes at most. When we got home he showed me that he had had a metal stick up his sleeve in case someone attacked us and told me I was never to walk alone at night anywhere in Argentina. I was always very punctual getting home from then on.

The other memory is from a block party with my school. It was outside at night with over 100 people, but all of my friends stressed the importance of staying in a group of three or more and that we shouldn’t even get near the end of the block away from the music and lights. They were terrified of getting mugged or kidnapped! These fears were real and they all knew how to remain safe.

When going to another country you need to be more aware of the culture and conditions of the place where you are. I became used to not using my phone unless in a building and getting home before dark and not making eye contact with men while walking about the city by myself. These small actions were hard to get used to but they made it safer for me to live in such a city and avoid dangerous situations. So next time you travel, make sure you consider the safety of where you are going so that you too can have a safe and enjoyable trip!

 

One of the most incredible parts of my time abroad in Argentina were all the wonderful friends I made while abroad, both with Argentinians and other exchanges students from around the world who lived there at the same time as me. Although I discovered that even the friendships were different abroad in many different ways that I hadn’t completely expected, largely due to many other cultural aspects.

It was very challenging to make friends with some of my classmates, especially in the beginning of the year as I was learning to speak the language. As the only exchange student in a very small school, I was always seemingly on show as the foreigner and often the butt of jokes as I couldn’t understand much for a while. This group of girls above were really helpful as I learned the school dynamics and their language, they were patient, kind, and welcoming but becoming a real friend was challenging as they saw me as just a special visitor for 11 months in many ways. I wasn’t always able to invite them over to come hang out due to my small house and the challenging communication barriers, both with them and my host family. And due to the natural dangers of the city, hanging out outside of homes was challenging for five young girls because whatever we did, we’d need to be home before dark and in a safe area, off the streets. I also found it challenging to connect with them because most young people in Rosario, Argentina didn’t make their closest friends from their school. Many would hang with their friends from sports or clubs that they were a part of outside of school or family friends or relatives. School friends were fun, and they liked to party with one another, but as far as close friendships, they weren’t made so readily in the school settings.

I was then so grateful for the other exchange students and found myself becoming fast friends with many of them. The first image above is one of the girls that I connected most with, Charlotte who came from Belgium but was able to speak English as well as Flamenco and she was learning Spanish too! We were able to learn the language together as well as the Rosario bus system and how to get our host parents to allow us to adventure and explore more. Charlotte was only abroad for 3 months but when she left I found myself drawing nearer to other students as well.

Above are a few more of my wonderful friends that I became so close with in Argentina. We were able to become tighter knit as we bonded over mutual experiences and struggles, and somehow we all became friends in Spanish and were able to understand one another better than most locals. My friendships with the other exchange students better reflected those that I’ve had at home. Both those friendships and my Argentinian friendships are very dear to my heart and I am so grateful knowing that anytime I go back to Argentina or many other places around the world, I will have somewhere to crash!