Profile: Nick Savage

Nick Savage on the balcony of his host mother’s apartment in the neighborhood of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina. March 15, 2020.

Nick Savage Age: 20 Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Home University: University of Wisconsin: Madison Field of Study: International Economics

Nick Savage had only been living in Buenos Aires for 17 days when he made the gut wrenching decision to return to the United States due to concerns over the Coronavirus. He was on a study abroad program that was supposed to last four months. Below are excerpts from an interview I took with him shortly before he departed for the United States in response to the spread of COVID-19, on March 15, 2020:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Savage arrived in Buenos Aires on February 28th, 2020 amidst growing concerns of a lethal virus spreading out of a wildlife market in Wuhan, China. He knew that the news was not going to stop his choice to study abroad. He recalled that his mother had concerns, but he initially dismissed them.

“I arrived here thinking that this is the furthest place in the world away from Wuhan, China….but obviously that was not the case” Nick Savage was excited to start his semester on a CEA study abroad program in Buenos Aires that had him taking classes at the University of Belgrano and living with a host family in an apartment close to the university. Nick described his living situation as “incredible” as he was able to live with his host mother Natalia, her son Lauti, their dog Flor, and their turtle, Navidad. Additionally, two students from the program Grace and Karlee also lived in the apartment as well. Nick described Natalia as an incredible cook and that she really made the experience feel like he was a member of her family. At the University of Belgrano, he was taking economic and cultural studies classes. However, when asked about the most impactful part of his 17 days in Buenos Aires, he recalled that some of the most memorable experiences occurred when he was forced to navigate the city by himself. Nick recalled that when he wanted to go to grocery stores to buy food that he would struggle to communicate what he wanted. However, he said, “It’s a good struggle. It is a fun time trying to navigate a world that you are not familiar with." In terms of the Spanish language, Nick commented,

“I had an alright grasp of Spanish. I was definitely not fluent. I understood much more than I was able to communicate. In the two weeks that I was able to spend here, I had just started to get into the rhythm of things which meant that I was not stopping in the middle of a sentence, pausing, and trying to think about what I was trying to say. I finally began to begin to understand Spanish.” Nick described his experience in Buenos Aires as instrumental for opening up his mind to new ideas and for helping him better understand how people handle the same situations differently depending on the influences of one’s culture. Nick said that despite his time being short here, he believes he has developed life long relationships that he is going to try and maintain despite the circumstances. A few days before his departure, he found out that his program at the University of Belgrano had been moved online, but he kept optimistic. “I thought, I’ll just stay here and figure it out.” Nick explained that unlike other students who were pressured to return back to the United States by their home universities, he had taken a semester off from his home university and was planning on transferring the credits when he returned in the Fall. Nick admitted that he had been trying to keep his parents “in the dark” from knowing about the full extent of the situation to avoid worrying them, but after an alert from the U.S. embassy was released explaining that it was possible that Argentina was going to close their borders, he shared the information with his family and made preparations to return home.

Nick expressed that it is going to be tough heading back home so soon. When he returns to Milwaukee, he plans on asking for his job back and taking classes at the local community college to stay on track with his degree. He plainly said, “I’m just going to have to work through it because everything is in disarray now.”

Nick Savage hugging his host mother, Natalia, and saying goodbye before he departs on an evening flight back to the United States. March 15, 2020.

“I understand that I am probably going to be alright. People close to me are probably going to be alright too, but I just really hope that this doesn’t get worse for everybody else, especially for people who don’t have the resources to take care of themselves.”