Study Abroad in Buenos Aires frames bilingual experiences

Romance Languages graduate student and WUGA staffer Emma Auer reports from the department's study abroad program in Argentina, designed for career-shaping experiences among the people and culture in one of the most diverse cities in the Americas.

Auer's report on Athens News Matters:

Nearing midnight on a Tuesday, 20 or so University of Georgia fans stumbled towards the stadium doors. They’ve just spent two hours on their feet cheering and watching fútbol– no, not “football” – fútbol. That’s because they are not in Sanford Stadium; they are thousands of miles away in Buenos Aires, Argentina– home of the famous Lionel Messi. And, it seems as though Argentinian fans can stand toe-to-toe with a fanatic Georgia dawg. 

Fans dressed in coats–it's winter in South America–jump up and down, singing and banging on drums.

The students are participating in UGA en Buenos Aires, an academic program that teaches participants about Argentina's multicultural society, along the home of many indigenous peoples. Argentina was colonized by Spain in the 1500s, and over the past several centuries, it has accepted immigrants from all over the world.

Listen to Auer's complete report.

Auer, studying French and Spanish at UGA while working at WUGA, embodies the expansive range of career opportunities from language studies as she pursues - and practices – her passion for journalism.

"For me, speaking another language is about understanding. Understanding better, deeper, and a wider variety of people," Auer said.

"As a reporter, I usually talk to local experts, politicians and activists. UGA students are also a big part of the Athens community (in fact, many of them were born and raised right here!). I noticed many of the students on the trip were motivated to learn Spanish in order to serve and strengthen the Georgia community. And that they were doing this through a mutual exchange of skills and perspectives with Argentinian people – that’s what I tried to highlight in this short report from Buenos Aires, where I was also taking classes as a part of my master’s program in Romance Languages."

Our thanks to Emma Auer for sharing this bit of extra reporting from her work on one of Franklin most dynamic study away experiences.

Photo: Emma Auer