As a Spanish Major, I find that the majority of my classmates choose to study abroad in Spain. Spain has a lot to offer in regard to history, culture, food, night life, etc. but I always wonder why more students don’t choose to study abroad in Latin America. There are so many historically and culturally rich cities and countries here in this hemisphere. Also, if you are studying Spanish for your career so that you can communicate with Spanish-speaking people in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them are going to be from countries in Latin America. It will be helpful to know more about the countries and cultures that they come from, and to know how to speak the kind of Spanish they speak.

I know we are told as a society that many parts of Latin America are dangerous. While that is true, so are cities in the United States and in Europe. Also, its important to understand the role the United States and imperialism have played in making these Latin American countries unstable. It’s probably best that you don’t study abroad in a war zone, and some places in Latin America are more dangerous than others. I think when it comes down to it, it’s about being smart and careful, no matter where you are.

I spent a month abroad in Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua used to be the capital of Guatemala in the 1500’s until an earthquake destroyed the city. What remains of the ancient city are ruins, cobblestone streets, and a lot of the old European architecture. Antigua is beautiful, full of history, and pretty touristy so it’s overall a pretty safe area. It is also very international because travelers come from all over the world. Another big appeal about going to Guatemala is that it is very affordable.  There are beautiful places to travel to throughout the country including Lake Atitlán -which is surrounded by many really cool towns, each with something different to offer- and beautiful (inactive) volcanoes you can climb if you’re into hiking. There are active volcanoes as well, one of which has erupted recently and killed and displaced many people living close to it. Antigua is not close enough to the volcano to have to worry about that, though.

Latin America has so many different things to offer. Whether you go to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, just to name a few, you’re going to experience awesome things just like you would in Spain, and your experience will likely be relevant to the Spanish-speakers you meet here in the U.S.