Buenos Aires Centre:

We have received these testimonials about the Spanish Language learning experience in our school.

Testimonial of Vaqar Ahsan, a young student Universities of Durham (England) and Sorbonne (France) of 22 years old

As Buenos Aires is one of the world's greatest metropolitan cities it seems futile to list the reasons to come here but one thing is for certain during my time here it certainly has lived up to and surpassed its reputation in all respects except one. One of my preconceptions about this lively city was that it was going to be dangerous as a result of the devaluation of the peso in 2002 and that there would a lot of poverty manifesting itself in violent crime and street begging.

However has not been at all the case, Argentineans themselves are notoriously insecure about their fellow citizens but all the stories of violent crime however seem to be no different than other cities with a population of ten million.

I guess the two most important things that you will be considering if you are reading this are the quality of accommodation and the level of teaching. First of all, my accommodation is outstanding Monica my hostess is thoroughly agreeable and her family is famous for being one of Argentina's leading intellectual families. Her father being the architect of the Obelisk and her husband was Luis Benedit the acclaimed painter. I'm really enjoying living in Argentina's equivalent to Picasso and I'm not the only one living in such a privileged environment. Years of contact building mean that the Buenos Aires Centre is really well placed to facility every aspect of your stay. The food is excellent and living where I am in Avenida de Santa Fe, a stone's throw away from the Obelisk means going to the theatres, cinemas or museums is a breeze. The Colon (where Monica's father was also director for a period) is just around the corner. There certainly is no better place to be.

Buenos Aires Centre was one of the first places in Argentina to start giving Spanish lessons as a foreign language and Nélida the general co-coordinator and other teachers have a lot of experience, reflected by the quality of the teaching which is of an extremely high standard. The overwhelming benefit of being a smaller school is the atmosphere. In my time here so far I have gotten to know two of the teachers (Nélida and Mercedes) well, but even before then they have always been willing to stick their necks out for me. They have an interest not only in the development of my Spanish but also socially too. Not only giving me extra lessons to help me get up to a decent standard and passing on their thirty-year of the city enabling me to operate more like a fellow porteño than a tourist but also showing me the best places to learn tango, play sports and giving me invaluable advice about travelling around Argentina.

They are more interested in their students' progress unlike other schools which are interested in the money their students give them.

I am working voluntarily in one of the poorest areas of Buenos Aires where over 60 percent the inhabitants are below the line of poverty with a government organisation that gives legal advice to those who cannot afford a lawyer. The work is fascinating, Nelly and Mercedes tried really hard to find me something suitable and I am grateful to them for helping me find suitable placement.

I also love playing field hockey and to my despair I couldn't find anywhere to play before I came out. Six months without playing seemed like a forlorn affair. The Buenos Aires Centre also got in touch with the Argentinean Field Hockey Association and directed me to GEBA one of Buenos Aires oldest sports clubs. The standard is high - three current member of the Argentinean National squad play in the men's team, but sport is always a great way to meet people in an informal and relaxed environment. I'm really enjoying it. We're going to play a tournament in Santa Fe in three weeks time, I can't wait!

Spending time in Buenos Aires if only for a few weeks is a must along with Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona, New York and other great cities. However if you are a foreigner as in any country the rules are different. Trying to find accommodation yourself really isn't worth the hassle. Nelly can sort you out with a place to live better than you will find yourself and of course Spanish lessons are fundamental too and there really is no where better than Buenos Aires Centre.

Vaqar Ahsan, student Universities of Durham, England and Sorbonne
vaqar.ahsan@durham.ac.uk

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