Teaming with expats, Buenos Aires is home to tens of thousands of people who have relocated from their home countries to learn Spanish, in the lovely Argentine paradise. With such large expatriot communities, foreigners tend to form tight knit groups amongst each other. Similarly, Argentine culture focus around families and childhood friends which also tend to manifest into close knit relationships. Expats living here not only strive to meet locals, but also are keen to practice their Spanish in their new Latin American abode however at times find it difficult to integrate into the close relationships harbored by Argentine society.
An English expat who noticed this integration struggle himself, proactively attempted to bridge the gap and thus started the now extremely successful language exchange, Mundo Lingo. Mundo Lingo allows both expats, who want to meet locals and locals interested in becoming more involved in the expat community, to meet each other and socialize. It creates an environment in which travelers, expats and argentines alike are able to gather, in an informal setting, in order to learn more about other cultures as well as practice an array of languages.
Unlike many language exchanges, Mundo Lingo is unique in its casual nature and structure. It easily breaks the ice by visually stating where each person is from and which languages they speak. Subtly, it also allows for instant connections as each person wears the flags of countries of languages that they speak. For example a Canadian who speaks Spanish that they learned in Colombia, and also a little French that they learned in school would have a Canadian flag on top, followed by a Colombian flag, and lastly a French flag. This allows for instant connections from other expats that might have been in Colombia, or for Colombians who are living in Buenos Aires to discuss their home countries.
Participants are free to wonder around speaking to whoever they like usually forming groups of 2 or 3 which as the night progresses tend to turn into 5 or 6. The only advice given is to stay on your feet so you can approach and easily be approached by other people. Mente Argentina joins this gathering officially once a month, making it easy for students from Mente to meet other Mente students as well as the foreign community of BsAs.
This large Buenos Aires language exchange has been a meeting place for 100’s of expats, locals and foreigners for well over a year and with no sign of waning it looks set to continue successfully bridging the gap between those groups for time to come. It is in the Temple Bar every Tuesday in the Micro Centro and in Soria Bar every Wednesday in Palermo. Both events start at 9pm with drinks promotions to encourage early attendance. For further information check out the facebook page www.facebook.com/MundoLingo .