Time has flown by as we have adjusted to the buzz of the city. While we have gotten used to our schedule with classes and studying, most of us have acquired new hobbies or joined activities in our free time. In addition to feeling like a part of the community, this also gives us an opportunity to meet people outside of school. There are a variety of activities to choose from depending on your interests and creativity. As an example, you can play sports with locals in the parks, visit many of the incredible museums, see excotic animals or practice your Spanish at a language bar. This post will give you an insight into what activities and hobbies we have been practicing since we came.

 

Sportplay with the locals:

Personally, I have joined a crossfit gym with two other friends. The gym is a five minutes walk from our hostel, which makes it very accessible for a quick morning session. So far, it has been mostly us and other locals at the training sessions – offering us an opportunity to practice our spanish as well as getting to know the local community. Some of the people who work at Kulturstudier, have also organized football every wednesday afternoon. The price to join playing has been between 20-30 kr which goes to renting the football field. This has been a great way to socialize, building unity and spending time playing ball outside in the sun. It has been a lot of fun playing together outside, and not taking it too seriously, which also makes it easier for all to join in, no matter if you are good or not.

 

 

Whatsmore, last Monday afternoon, a group of us went to a park a few kilometers away from the hostel. We saw online that it had a basketball field open for all so we thought we would check it out. When we came it was busy with a group of guys playing basketball. After playing a bit by ourselves we got talking to them. They offered to divide us into teams and play a small tournament. We had a blast playing against them, even though they were obviously much more experienced with basketball than us. It should be noted that they were including and obviously playing for fun and not to crush our spirits. In the end we had a good time and we are definitely going back for a rematch!

 

Bookstore and museums

Buenos Aires has a huge variety of museums and attractions to visit – you can find something for any type of interest. One of my favorite visits so far has been to the bookshop «El Ateneo Grand Splendid». In 2019, National Geographic referred to it as «the world’s most beautiful bookstore». Something that is easy to believe since it was originally opened as a theater in 1919, until it was transformed and converted into a bookstore during the early 2000s. As you walk through the venue, you will enter an open theater hall with a full view through all the four floors. It is the perfect place to go if you are looking for a book to read in Spanish – you can almost look at it as a souvenir 🙂 Whatsmore, if you walk through the bookstore you will find a cafe located on what used to be the scene. There, you can buy yourself a sweet treat, coffee or a beer while you enjoy the beautiful art which is the building itself.

 

 

 

Language Bar

There is an organization called “Mundo Lingo “ which many of us have been visiting. They organize a meetup for people who want to exchange languages, meaning that you get a flag for each language that you speak and then you are free to go around to mingle and practice the language you wish with whomever that speaks the same. They switch the location of the bar every day of the week. For some reason (unknown to me), it is extremely popular on thursdays. This is another thing which I love about the city; you can do something everyday. For me, I feel like the Argentinians are professionals at enjoying the week just as much as the weekends.

 

 

Eco-Park

In the district Palermo, you can visit an incredible eco-park called “Ecoparque de Buenos Aires”. It first opened as a zoo in 1888, but converted into an eco-park in 1918. The reason for this was to improve the standard of living for the animals. Whatsmore,is that many of the animals living there today are rescued from the black market. The entrance is free for all, as the purpose of the park is to improve animals’ standard of living and offer an educational and fulfilling experience. I visited the park with a group of my classmates after school at the university UNSAM. It was my first time seeing a giraffe, elephant, eagle and hippo. Crazy to think about how we can just go there to relax and hang out with the animals. We finished the visit with an ice cream at a heladeria close by the park. Seeing these majestic and excotic animals in the middle of Buenos Aires truly felt surreal – and it is an experience I will treasure in the future.

 

A lot of students have also tried other sports such as bouldering, tennis and paddle. More or less all activities are extremely affordable and just a short walk away. The only limit to what you can explore and experience is your imagination.

 

– Emma