Week One

So much has happened since last week that I hardly know where to begin. Adjusting to the Argentine way of life has been exciting and challenging. Daily schedules differ drastically from those in the U.S. People wake up very early and work or go to school until 2 PM. Then they have lunch and take an afternoon break until 5 PM. EVERYTHING closes during that time. Then they go back to work or school, and dinner happens around 9 or 10 pm.

I can´t drink the water here, so I have to use bottled or boiled water, even when I brush my teeth. It sounds like a pain, but I´ve gotten used to it. The food is quite different but I´ve tried everything my host mother has cooked and I´ve like everything so far. Last night we had a meat pie with ground beef, potatoes, cheese and raisins. It didn´t look particularly appetizing but it tasted fine. My favorite dish so far is a traditional dessert made with sweet potatoes called ¨dulce de batatas.¨

On Sunday, I got to explore my hometown of Villa Allende. It´s small but beautiful and I can see the mountains in the distance. The only bad part is that there are stray dogs everywhere, and they kind of terrify me. They bark and chase me whenever I walk by. On Sunday I also started taking Spanish lessons from my host mother, Cecilia. There are a lot of differences between the language here and in other countries. For instance, the letters ¨y¨and ¨ll¨ are pronounced like a combination of a ¨z¨¨ and ¨sh.¨ It´s so hard to remember!

Monday was a national holiday, La Revolucion de Mayo, so I went to Unquillo with my host sister Constanza to see a parade. Unfortunately, Constanza (age 10) didn´t know the bus system as well as her mother thought and we got lost on our way there. But never fear, we made it in the end. I heard traditional music (guitars, flute, drums) and heard speeches from the local schoolchildren.

On Tuesday, the weather changed dramatically, just as I feared. It has been cold and rainy ever since. I´m currenly wearing long underwear and my fingers are freezing because I can´t wear mittens while I type. Anyway, Tuesday was supposed to be my first day of work, but my supervisor accidently sent me to the wrong place. I found myself in an orphanage of children between the ages of 1 and 4 who had been taken away from abusive parents. I was completely unprepared to face this situation, and the two other volunteers were not very helpful.

Tuesday afternoon was probably one of the hardest afternoons of my life. The conditions in the orphanage were extremely depressing and even though I did everything I could to comfort the children, it never seemed like enough. Most of the kids wanted to be hugged the whole time but a few were afraid to be touched by anyone. One boy fell off a table and started bleeding all over the floor and another girl nearly swallowed a nail. Even though the experience was disheartening and exhausting, it was hard to leave. After just one day, I felt attached to the children.

The next day, my supervisor apologized for sending me to the wrong place but told me that La Casa del Nino (my original placement) wouldn´t work well for me because it was too far away. He suggested that I work at the St. Mark´s English Language Institute in Cordoba, so I decided to give it a try. When I arrived there on Wednesday, I immediately fell in love with my new job. I teach English classes to 7 and 8 year-olds on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 14 and 15 year-olds on Mondays and Wednesdays, and adults on Fridays.

The other teachers are young and enthusiastic and the children are adorable. They hardly know any English, so ironically, I get to practice a lot of Spanish while I´m trying to teach English. The only tricky thing is that the Institute teaches British English, so I don´t recognize all of their terms. To get there, I have a 15 minute walk to the bus stop, a 15 minute bus ride, and a 30 minute walk to the school. Even though I spend 2 hours commuting everyday, I don´t mind because I love my work. Since I´m considering a career in education, it´s perfect for me.

Well, I´d better bring this to a close because I have to head to Cordoba to teach my first adult class this afternoon. I´ll let you know how it goes.

Buenas tardes!

Estoy Aqui!

After three flights, I am finally here in Cordoba, Argentina. I flew from Chicago to Miami, then to Santiago, Chile and then to Cordoba, Argentina. The most amazing thing about my last flight was that I sat next to a man named Jose who is affiliated with the orphanage where I´ll be working. He was extremely kind and helped me navigate the lines for passport control, customs, and swine flu inspection. People are quite concerned about swine flu here and everyone at the airport wore a face mask.

When I exited the airport in Cordoba, I couldn´t believe how hot it was. It felt (and looked) like California in the summertime. It´s winter here, but we´re having a warm spell. Unfortunately, the temperature is supposed to drop dramatically tomorrow.

I met my host family on Thursday. My host sisters, Lucretia and Costanza (ages 12 and 10), are adorable. My host brother, Jose Igacio (age 18), is nice but he´s hardly ever around. I like my host mother, Cecelia, but she works twelve to fifteen hours per day and seems stressed all the time. Her husband lives in the States so she runs the house herself. I try to help her out whenever I can. We live in a small house in the town of Villa Allende, which is 45 minutes from Cordoba. We also have a pet rabbit who lives outside my bedroom door!

On Friday, a girl named Ines showed me how to use the local bus system and gave me a quick tour of Cordoba. It´s the second largest city in Argentina, so there is a lot to explore. I didn´t get to spend much time there on Friday, but fortunately, I was able to return today. Cecelia takes an Italian class in Cordoba on Saturday mornings, so she dropped me off at 9 am and I´ve spent the morning exploring on my own. The cathedrals and plazas are beautiful, and the markets are fun to walk through.

I haven´t seen any other redheads here, so I definitely stick out as a foreigner. Whenever someone asks where I´m from, they seem very impressed that I traveled all the way from Chicago. I haven´t taken Spanish classes for the past two years, but I´m surprised how quickly the language is coming back to me. I´m starting to think in Spanish and last night I started writing in my journal in Spanish without even realizing it!

I´ve enjoyed my first few days here, but I am looking forward to my first day of work at the orphanage. Monday is a national holiday, so I won´t start until Tuesday. Ines warned me that most volunteers get lice from the children, so I´m planning to track down some special shampoo this afternoon. Cecelia says it´s no big deal, though. Her daughters get lice every few weeks.

I hope life in the States is going smoothly for everyone. I miss you all and I hope to have more stories from Argentina for you soon.

Hasta luego!

Just 2 More Days!

I can't believe this week has finally arrived. Just one month ago, I was finishing my final exams and my trip to Argentina seemed far off in the future. Now my room is flooded with clothes, bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and photos of family and friends. I'm going to try cramming everything into my suitcase tonight. Wish me luck!

I've traveled abroad before, but I expect that this experience will differ drastically from the others. In middle school I went to Europe with an International Ballet Ensemble, in high school I went to Costa Rica with an environmental science class, and in college I went to Italy with 10 U-M students for a cultural preservation internship. This summer, I'll be traveling alone. And I'll be traveling to South America, a region I've never explored.

I'm really looking forward to improving my Spanish and volunteering in la Casa del Nino (an orphanage that houses over 100 children ages 2-15). I've worked with children in the past, but working with orphans who speak a different language will be an exciting challenge.

I've tried to envision what my life will be like in Argentina, but it's nearly impossible. Instead, I've decided to just hop on the plane, ready to embrace whatever comes my way. I just hope my trip doesn't involve those dreaded, classic travel moments like missing flights or losing luggage.

I'm not sure how often I'll have Internet access once I arrive in Argentina, but I'll try to post as often as possible. I look forward to reading your IISP blogs from around the world, and I wish you all the best of luck.

Buena suerte en sus viajes!