Both the Spanish Foreign Study Program and the Spanish Language Study Abroad Program will be changing location next year, said Lia Schwartz, acting chair of the Spanish department.
Instead of being in Puebla, Mexico next winter, the Spanish FSP will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the spring of 1997.
Starting next Winter term, the Spanish LSA will be in Puebla instead of Queretaro, Mexico.
The LSA will continue to be offered in alternate springs, as well as each winter, said Peter Armstrong, exchange coordinator for Off-Campus Programs.
"Nothing will change radically" about either program, Schwartz said.
Schwartz said Buenos Aires is a culturally dense city with more than eight million people and has more to offer for an FSP than Puebla.
She added the only difference for students is that the readings may change for the course taken prior to departure on the FSP. The same classes will be offered during the program.
Armstrong said, "Students seem excited about the prospect of being in Argentina rather than Mexico. There is a great deal more going on there culturally."
He said students who applied for the Mexico FSP for next winter have been informed that the program will now be in Buenos Aires in the spring, and very few have expressed dismay.
But some students who have been on the Mexico FSP say they are upset over the change.
Llezlie Green '97, who participated in the Spanish FSP in Puebla, said she thinks it is interesting that Argentina is the new site for the FSP because it is "very European" and has many cultural ties to Spain.
"If they are going to have an FSP in a Latin American country, they should choose one with native culture," Green said.
Elizabeth Kalyvas '96, who also went on the FSP said, "If anything, the LSA should be in Buenos Aires" because the language can be learned anywhere it is spoken, but appreciating the culture of Mexico can better be done on an FSP when students already know the language.
Betsy Miller '97, who went on the FSP last year, said she enjoyed her experience and "definitely supports an FSP [remaining] in Mexico."
She said Argentina sounds very interesting and she would have liked the opportunity to study there, but learning about the economy, social and class tensions of Mexico and the country's relations with the United States are relevant and important.
Miller also said she thinks the curriculum in the Spanish department may have to change because there is no focus on Argentina presently.
Miller said she wonders if the host families will stay the same in Puebla because it would be a change for them to have students on an LSA still learning the language when they have been hosting FSP students with more extensive Spanish backgrounds for several years.
Some students who have spent time in Queretaro question the change in program site.
Kendra Cheves '96 participated in the LSA in Queretaro and said it was a "wonderful city -- safe and obviously a good choice because there are not a lot of English-speaking people there."
Green said she visited Queretaro, where the LSA used to be held, and "liked it better as a city" than Puebla.
Green said while Puebla offers access to more cultural sites than Queretaro and she liked many things about it, Puebla is a colder city. She compared Puebla and Queretaro to New York and Atlanta, respectively.
"Queretaro is less city-ish," she said.
Kalyvas said she can understand how the LSA has been moved from Queretaro to Puebla because Puebla is "more the reality of Mexico" and it has more variety for students to experience Mexican culture.
The change received mixed reviews from prospective applicants to the new programs.
Candice Buckley '99, who said she is interested in participating in a Spanish FSP, said she thinks an FSP in Argentina sounds "much better" than Mexico. She said she has heard a lot of good things about Buenos Aires.
But Greg Miller '99 said he was excited about the prospect of spending a term in Puebla for an FSP because he likes the Mexican atmosphere.
Now that the FSP has moved to Argentina, he said he will still look into the FSP, but he "won't be as psyched" as if it were in Mexico.
He said he thinks an FSP in Mexico is more useful to students because of its proximity to the United States and the importance of relations between the two countries.
The other Spanish FSP and LSA currently offered in Spain will continue being offered there.
