Columnist Melanie Umbaugh writes about conversation clubs and speaking with locals while studying in Argentina.
My university here in Argentina, Universidad de Belgrano, has a ton of international students, so my classes are all geared toward students learning Spanish. That means that while they’re mostly all taught in Spanish, they’re designed for non-native speakers. It’s been a good level of exploring the language and culture here for me, but my one concern with it is that I'm not meeting very many locals. One of the best ways to get to know a place is through its people, and while living with a host family has certainly helped me do that a lot, I would love to meet more people my age from Buenos Aires.
My classes are all with other foreign exchange students, and though not all of them are American, most of them are. We pretty much all speak English, so when I’m hanging out with friends, I’m not speaking that much Spanish. Argentine people have been friendly and eager to chat with me, but the bulk of my casual conversations are in English. It’s nice to spend time with other Americans who can relate to the whole study abroad experience, but I want to branch out, too.
I’m still trying to improve my conversational Spanish, so I want to meet more porteños (people from Buenos Aires) to show me around the city and teach me some slang. My grasp of more complex verb tenses is much better after two months of language classes, but I want to be able to loosen up some in the language, too, and that ease of casual conversation is something you get through talking to people, not time in a classroom.
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I’m looking for different ways to speak Spanish and get to know more local people. There are a ton of events in the city geared toward language practice, so I’m trying to start going to those regularly. I went to a meeting recently where small groups of people alternated talking in Spanish and in English, so everybody got to work on their language skills, but in a low-pressure environment. There are a lot of organizations that set up that kind of event. Some of them are designed so people can practice pretty much any language they want, so there are diverse crowds of people to talk to.
I really enjoyed speaking some more Spanish in a casual setting, and I also liked that I could help a few people with their English as well. With the whole event set up for the purpose of conversation, it’s easy to sit down and get to know somebody without worrying too much about grammar or syntax. There are also plenty of get-togethers like that in the U.S., and even if it seems awkward (which it totally can be at first), it’s great language practice with other people who are looking for the same thing.
Melanie Umbaugh is a sophomore studying theater who is studying in Buenos Aires this semester. Have you attended a conversation club? Email her at mu495313@ohio.edu.
