NOTE: There may be affiliate links in this post*

In January 2017, before I started travel nursing, I was in between jobs and decided to go on a solo trip to Argentina. I used a company called Child Family Health International, and did a 6 week program abroad where I was able to take Spanish classes and shadow in two different pediatric hospitals in la ciudad de Córdoba. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for opportunities like this. They have tons of different places you can go and different specialties to study.

While I was in Argentina, the company set me up with a host family and everything else I needed. I was able to meet other Americans through the program, but no one stayed as long as I did (you are able to choose how many weeks you want to be there). Because of this, I got to meet new people almost every week and travel around the country with many of them.

Life in Córdoba

My first weekend in Argentina, I arrived and spent time getting to know my host mom and her familia. Celia is a 72-year old woman with 3 kids that all live in the area. She lives on her own and is the sweetest lady, but she speaks really fast. It was a few days before I adjusted to that. It was a bit of a culture shock to be fully immersed in the language! We ended up creating quite the routine together though, especially in the evenings. Dinner in Argentina is usually around 10 or 11 pm- lucky for me though, my host mom was in bed by then most nights, so we ate closer to 8 or 8:30 pm.

Week day routine

During the week, I would wake up and have my breakfast, which my host mom always supplied. The top left picture below is one of the pastries I often had for breakfast. Usually with jam or dulce de leche- breakfast of champions! I typically drank plain black tea in the morning, but the traditional tea-like drink in Argentina is called Mate (mah-tay). Usually the girls at the hospital had mate that we would pass around and share every day. I’d catch the bus to the hospital, spend the morning hours there, and then bus or walk back to my neighborhood.

I usually ate a light lunch at home. I would go to the farmers market with Celia and get fresh lettuce and veggies to make salads. In the afternoons I had Spanish class for the first 4 weeks. This was one-on-one with a tutor which I really liked. I could have any kind of conversation with her besides just learning the curriculum. We even met up for a drink and merienda one day after I finished with class. Merienda is like the 3rd meal of the day. Like I said before, Argentinians typically eat late dinner, so they have a snack-like meal in between lunch and dinner. This often times (for me at least) consisted of empanadas or some kind of pastry. I often had merienda with friends from the program, so that gave me the opportunity to get to know the people I would end up traveling around with.

After Spanish classes and merienda, I got to have some free time usually. I often explored the area, shopped, went to the laundry, or walked to the park nearby with Celia. I had to take my laundry to a lavandería to have it washed since the apartment doesn’t have one. But they fold it for you and everything and it was very inexpensive! At the park, she walked laps around the fountain and I ran a few miles. There were a lot of stray dogs in Argentina, and the park always had a few of them. When we got back to the apartment, I would take a shower and she would make dinner. We’d eat and both go to sleep and then I’d do it all again the next day! The weekends were when I did most of my exploring and adventuring throughout the country!

Mendoza

During weekend number two in Argentina, I went to Mendoza with one of the other girls in the program, Annika. We decided to save some money and took an overnight bus to and from. I specifically remember it raining on our drive home and the roof leaking, so it was an experience for sure! Mendoza is known for the Andes, the wine, and the olives. It is right on the coast of Chile and is so picturesque! The photos don’t even do it justice (especially the ones I took 5 years ago). We stayed in a hostel there where we met a few locals and were able to cook some meals.

On our second day, we took a bus up into the mountains and did a white water rafting tour. It was so awesome! I’d only done one before and I didn’t remember it being anything like this. Our guide was really fun (American ironically) and knowledgable- I always felt safe. It was a short weekend, so after the rafting tour, we spent a little more time exploring Mendoza and getting dinner. Then we bussed back to Córdoba and I went back to work and school.

La Cumbrecita

For weekend number three, two other girls from the program, Laura and Zoe, went with me to a town nearby named “La Cumbrecita”. We took a bus out to the town about 2 hours away. We spent much of the weekend hiking and experiencing the pedestrian town. It was such a cute little place and really felt like you were in a different country. Maybe because it had a German influence, or maybe because we didn’t see any cars.

Most of the hikes we did had water around them, so we got to spend a lot of time near waterfalls and water holes. This was such a nice break from the heat of Córdoba. Since it is South America, our winter time in the US is their summer time. Trust me, I will always be the one to chase the heat! But there were some brutally hot nights in Córdoba because my host mom didn’t have A/C!

A night out in Córdoba, Icho Cruz, and Carlos Paz

I went out with Laura, Zoe and the coordinator of the program, Carlos, and his friend Eugene on the Friday of my fourth weekend. Since we went with locals we got to experience a real night out in Argentina. We started at a kind of hipster-y bar near my house and had some yummy food and drinks. Then went to a gay club which was so much fun!!! We were out past 4am, so the next day I basically did nothing.

That Sunday, Laura and I went to a nearby town named Icho Cruz. Basically it’s a river where we just spent a few hours sunbathing, reading, and swimming. It was perfect after the Saturday hangover and I am a big reader!! There is another town close by, called Carlos Paz, known for a massive coo-coo clock. We made a stop to wander around the town, but the clock wasn’t as impressive as we were expecting. Nonetheless, we saw it! And I found some cool post cards there to send to my family.

Iguazú

Day 1

My last weekend was the most anticipated weekend because we actually flew up there. Alyse, Jessica, and I left Córdoba on Thursday morning. We flew right into the rainforest on the boarder of Argentina and Brazil. Here, we decided to stay in a hostel. Again, always the best way to save some money and meet some locals!

We spent Friday in Iguazú National Park getting rained on and seeing all of the waterfalls! We decided to take a boat tour into one of the falls, which I 100% recommend to anyone who visits! It was one of the most incredible days of my life! That night we found a yummy homemade pasta place and carbo-loaded after all the walking. We walked around the little town a bit as well and went into some of the shops. Then headed back to the hostel to get to know some of the others in the hostel.

Day 2

Saturday we spent another day in the park. Seriously, I think you could spend a whole week in here and never see it all. Not so much rain on the second day, so that was nice! Of course, the greens of the forest wouldn’t be so vibrant and amazing if it weren’t for all the rain. We spent a little less time at the park today, woke up later and left a little earlier so we could have some more fun experiences in the evening!

We all got a little bit of a stomach bug. Unfortunately, it hit Jess the most and she ended up staying in after the park, but Alyse and I went to the ice bar next door to our hostel. This place was like an igloo in the middle of the rainforest! They gave us winter parkas with big goofy hoods and huge mittens and then we got sent into an ice room that was about 14 degrees F (-10 degrees C). It was like being back in the Iowa winter for an hour! We got a little cup made solely out of ice and had as many drinks as we wanted in the hour we spent inside. Since we weren’t feeling the greatest, we each only had 2 drinks (they were small, but strong), but it was such a fun time and a really unique experience! Everything inside was made of ice, there were even some cool ice sculptures! Afterwards, we treated ourselves to some ice cream and French fries to help sober us up haha!

Day 3

That Sunday, we slept in and tried to go to local animal rescue ranch to do a tour, but we didn’t have enough time for the whole thing. We ended up laying out by the pool for an hour and then caught a bus to the airport. The weekends in Argentina always flew by. When we got back to Córdoba, I went home to drop my things off then went back out with Alyse and Jess to a nearby market called “La Feria”-its like a flea market where you can buy little gifts and wines/beers. I got some items to take back to my family and friends.

Final week and heading back to the US

The rest of the week was quite uneventful and rainy while I was in Córdoba finishing up at the hospital and spending quite a bit of time with Célia. On my journey back to the US, my bags got stuck in Chile, which turned out to be kind of nice while going through customs. I was supposed to collect my bags, go through customs, and then re-enter security to board my domestic flight. Since my bags weren’t there, I didn’t have to deal with all that extra stuff except going back through security and the basic customs stuff. Unfortunately, when my bags did arrive a day or two later, some of the alcohol I bought was broken open and the bag of mate had been ripped open and was everywhere. What’s traveling without a little bit of mishap, right?

If you’d like to see more photos from this trip, check out the gallery! And if you need travel insurance, be sure to check out SafetyWing!