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!