Last week in Buenos Aires

We had our last written exam on Friday, May 23rd. It was a four-hour exam from 10 to 14. All levels of Spanish have this exam, although the content obviously varies between the different levels.

The exam consists of a reading part, after which you will answer questions to demonstrate your understanding of the material you've read. Furthermore, there is a grammar section, a bit more on language comprehension, and then you conclude by writing a short freeform text.

Among other exams we had, there was an oral exam, which for us was the next to last week of school. At my level of Spanish, Spanish 1, we then had a presentation where we were to give instructions or a recipe.

My presentation was about how to carry out a cabin-to-cabin hike, while others had topics such as how to celebrate May 17th or how to bake a chocolate cake. We also had two submissions, which were the weekend after the big written exam.

A written submission in the Spanish subject, and a project submission in the project subject. Finally, we also had a submission in the elective course, which for me has been history and culture. Note that there is a slight difference between the levels and elective courses in the exam.

Overall, there have been a number of evaluations that took some time over the last week. In addition, we were at school as usual, so a lot of time went into doing schoolwork. Fortunately, we also had time to enjoy ourselves and say goodbye to Buenos Aires.

It included cultural experiences, lots of ice cream, empanadas and steak, and of course a great closing party!

On Monday, I was at a Boca game at La Bombonera for the first time. It was an insanely cool experience! Beforehand, I had heard a lot about it being dangerous, but it's not as bad as the rumors make it out to be.

There are only home fans at the stadium, so there are no unpleasant situations between the fans of the two teams. We bought tickets through an Argentine who deals in tickets, which might not be entirely legal.

The tickets are also quite expensive. However, we were in a group together with other tourists who had also purchased tickets through him.

We met at a designated meeting place, and he guided us around the area near the stadium and into the game. Our seats were with what we believe to be the most passionate fans, and there was singing and chanting from start to finish. Incredibly fun!

If you can't get a ticket to the game, it's also a lot of fun to hang out in the area around the stadium and possibly watch the game at a bar! There's a lot of life in the streets, stalls selling jerseys and other merch, choripan and other food, and of course fernet.

On Wednesday, there was a group that went dancing for the last time at La Paz Arriba. This is a bar that offers dance lessons, and on Wednesdays, they have bachata and salsa. The entrance fee is 5000-7000 pesos, whether you dance or not.

It's entirely possible to just go there to have a glass of wine and socialize! The dance classes are divided so that beginners are on one side of the room, and advanced on the other side.

After the lessons are finished, which last about 1 hour, there is live music and free dancing. I would really recommend trying out dancing if you're going to Buenos Aires!

Another dance club one could possibly travel to is La Salsera. Here, it's not so much about the bar scene, but great dance classes!

On Thursday, I had a final steak dinner with my housemates at La Cabrera. It comes highly recommended. I'm generally not a big fan of steak, but this one even won me over. The prices are very reasonable for a good restaurant, and you get many complimentary small sides with the meat.

Friday was set for the end-of-semester party, which is organized by the capable coordinators, Lucia, Julia, and Morena. It is for both students and teachers, and took place at a bar in San Telmo.

There was an open bar, food, awards, and karaoke. The awards were organized by the students. This year, the arrangement was such that one could come up with category suggestions, and then a questionnaire was created where one could vote afterwards.

The categories included the year's biggest flirt, the year's joy spreader, the year's chef, and the year's dancing king. Yours truly won the year's chef and was super pleased with it! We sang, danced, and talked until around midnight, and then the journey continued to the city or to an after-party for some, while others went home. I was in the latter group, since I had an early flight to Ecuador.

And with that, the year with Cultural Studies was over and the spring semester was in the bag! Some students traveled further in South America afterwards, while others went back home to Norway.

Everyone has had a fantastic stay filled with an extreme number of new impressions, experiences, knowledge, and friends. In Buenos Aires, there have been students straight out of high school, students with a bachelor's degree, students in the midst of their bachelor's or master's, and students with a completed master's degree.

There is room for everyone regardless of age or education level, so if you're considering traveling – do it! Or travel to South America and Argentina as a backpacker, you won't regret it.

Thank you for reading and thank you for this year!