¡Hola a todos! My name is Dominic Haight, I’m currently a first year student here at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing majors in Finance and Accounting with minors in Economics and Spanish. After graduation, I plan on going into either public accounting or corporate finance and accounting. I love looking at the differences between representation versus reality, and my certifications in economics and accounting will help me do so. I can’t wait to be able to practice my Spanish in real time in a Spanish speaking country, I plan on taking the full immersion technique and diving off the deep end into the language. This past semester I also took the class “International Economics” with Carey Treado. She frequently referenced Argentina when we were talking about covered and uncovered interest rate parity and I am interested to see how interest and exchange rates affect the country in real time.

I grew up in metro Detroit in a city called Troy; Troy is an international hub for different automotive engineering firms and other multinational companies. As a result, in my school district there were over 70 different languages spoken at home. Growing up in Troy gave me an appreciation for diversity and a respect for culture that I find crucial to my identity. I am very proud to be from Detroit, its a city that sometimes gets a bad name when in reality it’s a city full of pride and determination that just refuses to stay down. My roommates sometimes actually make fun of me for how much I love my city. Popular jokes often include some combination of motor oil, the Ford factory, and how Detroit style pizza is just plagiarized Chicago style pizza (it’s way better they just haven’t tried it yet). This city pride is one of the reasons why I am so excited to travel to Argentina. When I talk to my family or friends and get asked, “is it even safe to travel there?” I can’t help but notice the parallels. A mindset shaped by the conception that all of South America is somehow overrun by dope slinging cartels and unstable governments, eerily familiar to the common perception of Detroit as gang infested with a city council that is so irresponsible they can’t survive without the help of Washington. I am traveling to disprove both of these notions. Argentina is a country full of tradition and culture, and I could not be more excited nor feel more safe to be able to travel there.

Overall, I am extremely thankful and can’t wait to study abroad in Buenos Aires. I am excited to be able to grow and develop my international awareness. Most of all, I can’t wait to try some asado, I am a big barbecue guy and, I can’t lie, my mouth has been salivating for over a month now. This is going to be an invaluable experience and I look forward to documenting every detail for you guys over the next few weeks. ¡Hasta Luego, que mi viaje pase bien!