Argentina

Snow in July (!!), Dia del Amigo, Bouncy Castles and a little bit of DIY!

Submitted by aislinn on 26 July 2010 - 3:48am

¡Hola from Chilecito, Argentina! I've delayed posting this for a few days, because I stupidly stood on my camera lead, and now I can't upload my photos! I'm annoyed because I took lots of great photos to accompany the blog but unfortunately I just can't find a way to get them on the computer! Anyways the show must go on...

Bienvenido a Chilecito

Submitted by aislinn on 3 July 2010 - 11:50pm

Greetings from Argentina, where World Cup disappointment has slightly dampened the mood here in Chilecito!! Argentina´s 4-nil defeat by Germany has not upset me too much after an incredible first week and a bit here!!

FELIZ DIA DEL NIÑO !!!

Submitted by Alan Ralph on 17 August 2009 - 6:19pm

Happy Children’s Day! And what a great day it was. Children’s day in Argentina is on the 11th of August but we celebrated it in the comedor on the 16th of August which was yesterday. It was a special day. Families from the neighborhood came to the comedor to eat nice food, play party games and get a present before they went home.

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Submitted by Alan Ralph on 14 August 2009 - 1:45am

Interesting times in San Luis at the moment. There is a nice build up for the 16th of August that being the “kids day” when Argentinians have big parties for children and give them presents. The official day was actually last Sunday  but we are having the party in the comedor this Sunday. The other workers tell me that there are usually a few hundred children who come for the party !! It is going to be crazy but I am looking forward to it and I think it will be good fun overall.

August in San Luis

Submitted by Alan Ralph on 4 August 2009 - 10:19pm

I have settled into my work in San Luis at this stage. The comedor ( soup kitchen) is located in a poor area of San Luis and that is where I go each day to work. The food is prepared for the families of that neighbourhood by about twelve workers. Due to the restrictions of the swine flu people can’t stay in the comedor to eat food, instead they come with plastic containers to bring the food home.

Alan's Blog: Life in San Luis

Submitted by Alan Ralph on 8 July 2009 - 4:00pm

I have been in the town of San Luis in Argentina for about a week now and I am starting to settle in to life here. In the morning time I have spanish classes for an hour an a half and I then go to the “Comedor”. The Comedor is a type of soup kitchen in a poor neighbourhood in San Luis. The building is attached to a church and it consists of a kitchen and a large dinning room area where people come to eat food during the day.

Click to watch EIL Argentina visit to Isonza School: One of our pet projects is to help these wonderful children who live in a school in the middle of the mountains in Isonza, Salta, Argentina. A group of US students spent some days there with them and this is what came out of it...enjoy!!!....and if you want to help to keep them smiling.....contact me....Love from beautiful BA - Val from EIL Argentina

A letter from Sorcha Grehan a volunteer at the San Francisco school in Santa Fe

Sorcha Grehan and students: Sorcha Grehan is a teacher from Dublin who volunteered at the San Francisco school in Santa Fe, she's photographed here with two of the children she taught. The children are all so loving and affectionate. Many of them have behaviour issues but none of it is their fault. I try to find out as much as I can about their backgrounds so that I can try to understand them better and what life is like for them. In this way I can get closer to them. With many of the most rebellious ones if you spend a bit of extra time with them and give them extra attention they respond a thousand fold!

Rosetta Reilly, a primary teacher from Co Meath, shares her thoughts on volunteering in Argentina

The English classes here seem to be all very text based and therefore not very interesting or stimulating for the children. What I am trying to do is to show the teachers ways to make the language come to life in the class and to have the children speaking the language because they are enjoying the activities and not just filling pages in a workbook. So far it has all been very well received and the children in the classes have proven my point with their response to the activities I do with them.

Martina Clarke, a Quality Assurance Specialist from Co. Wicklow, volunteered for 3 months in a welfare project in Argentina

The kids in the Comedor were great, all they wanted was for me to speak English or to play with them. They were generally very happy and content but cheeky too. I enjoyed trying to speak Spanish and having very little Spanish at the beginning was not an obstacle.