# A Breath of Fresh Air: My First Experience in Buenos Aires September 20, 2017 **By Isabel Bernhard, *SIP 2017* (Harvard College ‘20)** This past summer of 2017, I participated in the David Rockefeller Center’s Student Internship Program (“SIP”) in Argentina. I am a rising sophomore intending to study Social Studies and hoped to link my high school focus in Spanish with my current interest in Political Science. I was excited about SIP because among its opportunities, it offered the chance to intern in the municipal government of Buenos Aires for eight weeks. This seemed like the perfect hybrid between my two interests and a chance to deeply understand the city. By observing and participating in its governance, I hoped to leave with a more complete picture of Buenos Aires that went beyond linguistic and cultural appreciation. I also hoped to glean practical knowledge of how a government works that I could use to balance the theories in Political Science. *The author with a dulce de leche pancake in Tigre (Photo credit: Lauren Spohn)* During my eight weeks, I interned in the auditing branch of the city’s Environmental Ministry. The branch was responsible for monitoring the budgets and public work projects’ completion rate in other sectors of the Ministry. After one week of reading background materials and listening to colleagues describe their responsibilities, I began to fully participate in office life. Every week, I wrote short reports on ideas or challenges that I had observed in Ministry meetings, and proposed ways to tackle or advance them. Over the course of the internship, I also wrote a longer project proposal that identified high priority zones for infrastructure investment and repair. As the culmination of this project, my colleagues and I embarked on a daylong walking tour through these zones to take notes and photos on the specific repairs to be made. *The author with the Environmental Ministry’s auditing team* Before and during the internship, our SIP group met regularly to check in with each other and to explore Buenos Aires. During our first week in the city, it was incredibly helpful to have a 5-day orientation together in which our coordinators guided us through Argentine life. We took walking tours, visited museums, met with journalists and historians and gained a richer understanding of our surroundings. We were exposed to highlights and challenges of modern city life as well as Buenos Aires’ complex historical legacy—two spots on our itinerary included a visit to a housing project (*Barrio 31*) and a military training school that doubled as a detention center for political dissidents during the last dictatorship (*La ESMA*). *A fruit vendor’s stall in Barrio 31* Once we began interning during the workweek, every Friday we continued to take cultural excursions. The most poignant Friday trip for me was an exchange trip to an afterschool enrichment center in the suburbs of Villa de Mayo. The center served children who often had interruptions in the school year due to lack of teachers, resources, and funding. There, former retirees taught them Spanish, English, math, art and basic computer skills. Many students also experienced domestic instability and difficult home circumstances. The center sought to counterbalance that with academic and emotional support, and it was eye opening and humbling for us to form part of that environment for a day. *Our group with Villa de Mayo students* Beyond SIP-organized activities, I also had the chance to explore Greater Buenos Aires on my own. Commuter rail transportation between the city and its outskirts is very accessible, and halfway through my stay I took a day trip to the town of Tigre. There, the rhythm of life was very different from the frenetic pace of Buenos Aires. It was fascinating to take a boat tour of the delta, to see the stretches of fruit and trinket stalls lining the remnants of the old port, and to amble along tranquil residential streets en route to the world’s only (unfortunately closed) Mate Museum. Within Buenos Aires, there was never a lack of places to go or sights to see. The government’s tourism website keeps a lengthy list of renowned activities, and I heard about other hidden gems through my colleagues and host family. *River boats in Tigre* In summary, I left Buenos Aires knowledgeable about public service, capable of navigating a professional environment in a foreign language, appreciative of culture and customs I had never encountered before, and beyond blessed with a supportive and loving host family, internship office, and SIP group. I would unequivocally recommend a SIP summer to anyone! *SIP Argentina 2017 students in front of La Casa Rosada* See also:- [ Andes & Southern Cone ](/programs-initiatives/andes-southern-cone) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)