Argentinian Adventure

By the time you read this, I’ll already be in Argentina.
But as I write this, just two days before my Feb. 23 departure date, I can’t imagine what it will be like. One thing’s for sure, though: it will be an adventure.
I’m participating in a five-month exchange program through the American Field Service in the beautiful town of Salta, Argentina.
Salta, located in the northwest part of the country, is warm year around with temperatures usually in the 70s. The city is surrounded by breathtaking hills on one side and scorching desert on the other.
About the size of Seattle, Salta looks like an old Spanish town and was part of the Incan Empire long ago. I hear the people there make a habit of staying up all night and eating high-quality beef at every opportunity.
I will be staying with an Argentinean family while I’m there as well as attending high school in Spanish. My host family has a daughter my age and two boys that are 13 and 11.
Last spring, at the end of my freshman year at Yakima’s Davis High School, I decided I wanted to go on an exchange program sometime during my high school career. My mom went to Brazil when she was 16, and I figured if she could do it, then so could I.
Although many students go abroad during a gap year between high school and college, I decided I didn’t want to miss a year in between.
Right now I’m 16 and still a sophomore. Since I am planning on doing the intensive, full International Baccalaureate program at Davis next year, I figured missing junior or senior year wouldn’t be an option.
And since I want to learn Spanish, I decided Latin America was for me. Argentina looks beautiful, and people who have been there tell me it’s amazing.
I’m looking forward to living in a different country, learning a different language and experiencing a different culture.
And although I’m sure it will be an amazing experience, I know I’m going to miss everyone in Yakima muchisimo.
That’s Spanish for “A LOT.”

— When she’s not studying abroad in Argentina, Hannah Besso is a sophomore at Davis High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.