Finding independence under the Argentina sun

Lauren Behnk, of Clearwater, always knew she wanted to travel and experience life outside of Nebraska, especially in a Spanish-speaking country.

Several people introduced travel as a way to study on Behnk's radar. Leenda Thiele, Behnk's high school Spanish teacher, shared her journey of coming to the states from Puerta Rico. Thiele encouraged her to experience travel for a better opportunity to learn. Behnk's cousin, Valley, also traveled and spurred her interest in seeing the world. Finally, one of Behnk's college roommates spent a year studying abroad in Bolivia, shared her experiences and answered any questions Behnk had about studying abroad.

"I was fascinated," Behnk said. "I felt like between wanting my Spanish (speaking skills) to improve and my love of travel, I knew it was something I wanted to do, so it has been a dream of mine for like 'five-ish' years."

Behnk graduated from Clearwater Public Schools in 2020 and now seeks a double major in psychology and Spanish at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"I knew I couldn't do it (travel) in high school because it wouldn't work, so I was like 'Hey, college.'"

Behnk started the process for studying abroad by visiting Education Abroad - now known as Global Experiences - on campus. The organization works with students to find available programs. Behnk knew she wanted to go somewhere in Latin or South America and didn't want to travel to Spain. She looked at several programs and was interested in Ecuador but found out it didn't have any programs applicable to her.

"You would be amazed how many programs in Spanish-speaking countries do not offer Spanish courses," she said. "The study comes before the abroad part for a reason."

After continued research, Behnk narrowed her search down to three programs: Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The university in Argentina partnered with UNL and helped solidify her decision.

"I knew that I wanted a really independent experience," she said. "I didn't want to go with a professor and I didn't want someone holding my hand ... I was just like, 'Throw me to the wolves.'"

Behnk set off for Argentina at the end of July 2022. Her trip began with flights from Lincoln to Denver to Houston. Once in Texas, she boarded a "huge plane with 51 rows and 10 seats to an aisle" that would take her to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Total flight time: more than 24 hours.

In the air, she experienced a whirlwind of emotions of being sad and excited for what was to come.

Upon arrival, the university sent a chauffeur to take her to her host mom's apartment.

"I remember I got into the car with the chauffeur and I remember the first song I heard on Argentine soil was 'Love Shack.' I was like 'Okay, this isn't so bad.' Then we were driving down the highway and I saw cows out my window and I'm like 'It's gonna be alright.' It just felt familiar."

Behnk arrived on a Thursday, got settled over the weekend and attended orientation. Classes in Argentina are much different than in the United States. All students attending the private university meet and interview with the department head to tell them why they wanted to be enrolled in the class. In Argentina, the most a class would ever meet was twice a week. Classes are typically two to three hours long.

Behnk said there were days she struggled to sit through the classes, as they were back to back. She said her day typically began with her host mom preparing her and another foreign exchange student breakfast, along with a trip on the subway to campus.

"Their public transportation is amazing and I'm really envious of that," she said.

The university requires students to attend 75% of their classes. Students also rarely had assignments or homework. Classes are based on final exams.

"I don't know if it was harder or easier, but it was just different," she said.

Another main difference for Behnk was the grading system. Students are graded on a scale of one through 10. Four was passing with a one, two or three failing. Most students didn't score above an eight, as seven was equivalent to great or good.

"The letter grade is non-existent; that's not a thing," she said. "The only downside was that it is very subjective."

While in Argentina, Behnk traveled to several other countries as well. She flew to Chile and Paraguay, took a ferry to Uruguay and rode a bus to Brazil. Once Behnk's contract ended with her host mom at the end of the semester, she ended up moving to an Airbnb for three weeks by herself before returning to Nebraska in December.

"I felt really safe, and it was kind of fun to be on my own," she said. "It's one of those things where I think everyone should do it (study abroad) if traveling is your thing, and you want to learn from other people."

When asked what Behnk would like others to know, she responded by saying that there is such a horrible stigma about foreign countries.

"I think a lot of people think it is very scary, and I can really comfortably tell you that I felt safe there the whole time," she said. "I think my Spanish improved way more than if I would have stayed ... I think that was the best thing I could have done for myself."