Ricardo Peres-da-Silva
Ross School of Business
“I studied abroad because I wanted to get to live in another country in a region of the world I have never visited, and also get a genuine opportunity to learn another language. Part of why I was inspired to do this was the cultural immersion I got through my program, but also from the incredibly interesting classes at Universidad Torcuato di Tella, which changed how I viewed history and the world (especially taking history and literature classes intentionally from the perspective of the third world). I now know there is so much more to the world than just the US perspective (and hegemony), and I want to explore this further and use this to motivate future academic and creative pursuits! I found it initially hard to understand Argentinian Spanish and to make friends, but this just took time until I did understand it. By being myself and understanding that adjustment is not an instantaneous process, I was able to really adjust and learn to love living in Buenos Aires.
A core memory was going to Rio for spring break with two of my best friends from the program. Some Argentinians say that the only reason they still live in Argentina is to vacation in Brazil – and now I understand this! We had such a great time dancing, eating new foods, and laying on the beach. Studying abroad completely altered the trajectory of my future. Before, I would have most likely stayed in the USA after graduating and worked a corporate job, but now I am pursuing a role outside of the USA through the US government.
I was surprised by how large Buenos Aires is. I always hear about megacities in Asia and Africa, but it was truly remarkable to live in a megacity (13 M people!) and see the vast array of culture, language, and artistic diversity throughout the city. My biggest takeaway was that I want to spend more time outside the country! I realized that I much prefer spending considerable time in a new place (as opposed to a short 1-2 week trip). If I could do it again, I would have taken more time initially to befriend other Argentinians – while my host family was an incredible foundation, most of my friends ended up being other international students from France, Finland, and Colombia, to name a few countries. However, if I had joined rugby club, or gone more frequently to boxing, I feel as though I could have made more genuine connections with Argentinians.
I would TOTALLY recommend studying abroad, and not just for the fun but also the immense learning and growing. That being said, I would encourage other students to go to places where they don’t know anyone else, and pursue programs that have classes that they are genuinely interested in.”
