by Stine Albrechtsen Purple trees, exotic smells, tango shows, big steaks and magnificent wine.
I heard nothing but good things about this city before I arrived, so, as one might guess, my expectations were set high. I left cold and grey Denmark in the middle of November, the first month of the hard and dark winters we have in Northern Europe. I always wanted to experience Buenos Aires, and if you ask why, I have no answer. It came to me a couple years ago, maybe I heard some Argentinian music, heard a travel story or saw something on the news. Anyways now I am here, not regretting my decision. Buenos Aires is a strange city. It is slow and fast going at the same time. It is ugly with an unquestionable beauty. It is extremely friendly and your worst enemy. It is everything, taking care of the good and the bad. Restaurants and cafes on every corner, tons of cultural wonders and events, pollution, trash, gigantic boulevards with non-stopping honking, majestic mansions three minutes from the shanty towns, pocket thief’s, street theatre and always this breathtaking history. Like all big cities or capitals. Could I just as well be in Rio, Barcelona or even Hong Kong? No. Who am I kidding; this city is one of a kind. I was given an assignment to write about Buenos Aires from a “25-something-girl-from-a-small-town-in-Denmark-Scandinavia” point of view. I guess it is no fun to write about the things that have made me cry, so my approach will be to write about the things that made me fall in love. And that will work, because I am completely and without any doubt head over heels with the big and beautiful BA. I do not know the best way to explore the city. My way to do it is a combination of personal wishes, recommendations from guidebooks, travel blogs or the local porteños, spontaneous ideas and then, most important, or I just go with the flow. I am no expert; I only have been here for something that feels like 20 minutes or forever. Actual time: 3 weeks. Let us begin. …How to meet new people 
Well that is actually very easy: go to a cemetery. Odd? At my second day in the city I went to Cementorio de la Recoleta, you know, the place where Eva Perón lies buried. Did you know her body was stolen by the way? It was - for nearly 20 years. Only three years after the whole country buried their true queen, angry anti- Perón forces stole Eva’s remains in the wake of a coup that deposed her husband, President Juan Perón. The body of the beloved Evita became a global odyssey, traveled across the world in the wrongs hands, including a new burial in Milan. Almost 20 years went by before Eva, the saint of Argentina, was back in the arms of a country, who had been craving her present and strength for the past 20 years of violence and chaos. This woman had reached a saint status, despite her early death in 1952, at the age of 33 she lost the battle to cancer. Her husband remarried again in 1961 to Isabel Martinez – an exotic dancer who he met during his exile in Panama. To add a little extra twist to the story of the Perón family, Isabel actually became the president of Argentina after the loss of her husband in 1974. From exotic dancer to being president of eighth largest country in the world - that is some career advancement! Well, back to my original purpose: the cemetery of Recoleta is an extremely beautiful place to visit. Both inside among the great tombs and outside under the shades of the purple trees. The sight inside has a formally mood, while the outside area is brimming with life: the locals are gossiping the latest news of the neighborhood while drinking mate and smoking cigarettes. Tourists are writing postcards and eating colorful ice-creams from one the three famous helado shops surrounding the park (try one!). There are young backpackers on the grass drinking wine and playing guitar. And that beautiful young Argentinian girl longing for a lullaby. Go here. You will definitely meet someone: a new friend, a travel buddy, a pickpocket or maybe even your soul mate. I met an American couple in their late sixties on their last week of a three month trip across South America. I shared beers with them the following day. …How to learn the language If you think you are rock star with Spanish, change your beliefs. The Argentinians are like their capital when it comes to the Spanish language: unique, too fast and nothing like you have ever experienced before. So here is an extra challenge on top of the 240 others you will be faced during you stay here. But I want to learn. Every time I get the opportunity to speak to a local, I try. If I am lucky, they understand fragments. Maybe they understand just as much as Isabel understood her country and its people. Fragments. As one might know, the weather in Buenos Aires can be extremely sweat provoked during December and January. I have found a little oasis where I can actually manage to stay alive during the hot hours of the day: Plaza General San Martin. I like to go there with my (at the moment) favorite book, ‘And the Mountains Echoed’, a cold soda and a fruit box from the local kiosko. One day when I was in the middle of the fourth chapter, an older woman with her 7 month old grandson joined me on the bench. We introduced each other, her name was Laura. I asked for recommendations for good restaurants, but instead of a proper answer I got a story: the story of San Martin, the war hero whose name laid the foundation to this nice park. The good Jose Francisco de San Martin is, according to Laura’s utterances, the true liberator of South America. The general was the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. Well, thank you Jose! He was born in Corrientes, but moved to Malaga at the age of seven to study. In the year of 1812 (or something like that, Laura was not fully sure) he set sail for Buenos Aires and became buddies with the supporters for independence from Spain. It seems they got along very well, because they even managed to establish their own army; The Army of the Andes. After crossing the Andes on a mule (and noton a great white horse as the majestic statue in the middle of the parks tells) he and his friends freed Chile and Peru. Laura was just about to tell me the rest of the story when her grandson started crying. She had to leave, and kiss-kiss-chao she was gone. But I sure learned a lot of the Argentinian “language” that wonderful hour in the park of General San Martin. By the way: The Order of the Liberator General San Martin is the highest decoration one can receive by the Argentine government. I read that when I got home that day, curious by Laura’s story. When I have more time I need to find out what happened to this handsome war hero.
So to sum up: if you want to learn the language, take a couple of hours out of your day and find a bench in a nice park. If a porteño (well, that is the name of the people of Buenos Aires) does not join you in 10 minutes or so, find one and ask for restaurant recommendation. …How to treat your taste buds Note: if you are a vegetarian just jump to the next chapter, I am sorry but you will not find anything useful here. Or maybe you will, I guess it depends - if you like street art and artsy areas you can keep on going. The area is called Heaven on Earth by the author of my travel book. He lingers on with flattering words like trendsetting, a perfect get-away and magnificent. Palermo is the barrio of great restaurants, hip nightlife, local cafes and famous street art located north-west of the city centre. Of course I had to go there day one. And yes: I entered heaven on earth. It was the first real summer evening, so the girls of Buenos Aires wore their new summer dresses for the first time. So did I. As I wrote in the beginning of this article it is all about falling in love with the beautiful BA. As for me, I met my loved one in a Palermo restaurant close to midnight. BOOM! As a warm breeze hit my face I saw him for the first time. He was the most perfect thing, I have ever seen. Tender, delicious and finger licking hot. He was something; he was a Bife de Chorizo. I know it sounds crazy but when you literally want to make love to a piece of steak, you know you have entered heaven on earth. Such a shame I was in a public restaurant. Go to Palermo and fall in love. Maybe not with an actually human being (maybe?), but definitely with the Argentinian food culture. That is certainly a way to kick your taste buds to the moon and back. 
With the touch of my new love fresh in my memory I walked around Palermo. This barrio is divided into a couple of sub-areas: Palermo Chico, Palermo Viejo, Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood. One more trendy and more fantastic than the other. Just walking around cozy cafés, beautiful parks, fancy shops, local galleries - all covered with amazing, colorful and provocative street art. You constantly want to sit down in a café, on the pavement, whatever, just to take in the atmosphere of this area. Luckily there are many places to do so. And if you feel that you haven’t treated your taste buds enough: Go to Soria Bar in Palermo Hollywood and taste their mojitos!
I could keep and keep on writing about this concrete wonder. I always love to write about feelings, so I think I will end this article doing so. Expect to be touched by different, and sometimes completely conflicting, feelings during your time here. It is a love and hate relationship, an emotional roller-coaster. One moment you feel on top of the world, the next moment ready to leave this confusing car crash jungle overcrowded with freaks. Happiness and sadness are two feelings living as close neighbors in your heart, and an experience, a memory, is a car crash of different feelings. If you want to experience, expect to feel. In this city you feel a thousand different things during one day. And feel lucky for that. Because that brings you three times as many memories.
...By the way, I no longer doubt why they call this city Buenos Aires – the winds are actually what gets you through the day.
Article by Charlotte Amey Here in Argentina, legislative elections are to take place on Sunday to choose the new parliament under the incumbent President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (known simply as Cristina to give her a more approachable, amiable image). Bizarrely, a law dictates that shops aren’t allowed to sell alcohol up to 24 hours before elections, ostensibly to stop people turning up drunk to vote, but presumably also to lower the chances of violence after the results come out. Politics is a subject that most Argentines are passionate about, having not so long ago lived under a military dictatorship with a highly oppressive regime. A constant reminder of this period are the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, who unite every Thursday to protest for their lost children, who disappeared during the ‘Dirty War’ of the dictatorship in the late 70s/early 80s. Unsurprisingly then, the locals are protective of their democracy and political parties are numerous and mostly fairly left-wing. Voting is also obligatory, under penalty of a fine if you fail to do so. 
Cristina with las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo 
Cristina with her late ex-President husband and Juan and Evita Peron Cristina’s party, ‘Front for Victory’ (Frente para la Victoria), is one of the biggest political parties. It follows the Kirchnerist movement, which was created during Cristina’s late husband’s presidency. This movement bases itself on left-wing neo-Peronist ideology, a notoriously difficult concept to describe initiated by former president Juan Peron in 1945, which in simplistic terms can be described as a capitalist system with social benefits. There is a lot of pro-Cristina graffiti on the streets and in bars. The lower classes and those living outside the capital generally seem to be content with her in power because of the social benefits that do exist, and for her support of cultural phenomena, such as popular music like tango and cumbia, or the local slang ‘lunfardo’, which have been prohibited under previous dictatorships. 
Pro-Cristina graffiti 
That said, there are many people, mainly among the middle classes, businessmen and entrepreneurs, who are strongly against her leadership and blame her for the economic situation in the country, whose high inflation rate makes saving in pesos or expanding a business practically impossible. What is worse is that the government misrepresents inflation and exchange rates in order to keep up morale - so much so that The Economist has taken the government-allied statistical body, INDEC, off the records[1] - fuelling a black market that will give you twice as many pesos for your dollar than the official rate[2]. Protests are organised almost every week demanding better job security and for abortion to be legalised. There are some who see her as hypocritical for claiming to be the representative of the poor whilst indulging in substantial wealth herself, using private jets, undergoing plastic surgery, and, over the last 10 years, going from having 7 to 89 million pesos (1 to 15 million USD) in property[3], whilst INDEC claims that individuals should be able to live on 6 pesos per day (roughly 1 USD)[4]. Cristina has also faced accusations of corruption and money laundering, and thousands took to the streets last April in protest of a move to put the judiciary under governmental control[5]. There is even speculation as to whether her re-election in 2011 was rigged. Her attempt this year to win back the Falkland Islands, known here as ‘Malvinas’, is considered by some to have been a tactic to distract the nation from the country’s problems, an argument also raised concerning the 1982 military dictatorship’s invasion. However, it is nevertheless a subject close to the heart of many Argentines, who are taught at school that the islands are part of Argentina, and thus most consider that she was acting out of public interest. 
Falkland Islands graffiti 
Workers’ protest The next presidential elections will be held in 2015, but the ones on Sunday will be a good indicator of the current general opinion on all the political parties. In the meantime, we await the fate of the governing party’s parliamentary percentage with bated, alcohol-free breath.
Article by Charlotte Amey
Everyone has big hopes for a trip volunteering abroad, and sometimes it doesn’t work out quite the way you imagined. Here are some potential disappointments you may encounter and my advice, as a current volunteer, for dealing with them.
- Buenos Aires
Expectation Anyone who is keen to travel in South America has a sense of adventure and a desire to push their limits. For those who haven’t ever travelled abroad for an extended period, South America may seem a daunting place to start. However, for those heading to Buenos Aires, some may be relieved to hear of the city’s reputation as the most ‘European’ city in South America, revered for its beauty and exciting nightlife.
Reality For some people, Buenos Aires may not present enough of a challenge and you may find yourself getting bored of a city that is too similar to home. All the Spanish you were expecting to speak goes out the window as the easiest people to get to know are your international room-mates, who all speak perfect English, drink in Irish pubs and go out to clubs like you would anywhere else in the world. For others, there will be enough differences to make you start appreciating life at home more, such as being able to flush your paper down the toilet rather than put it in a bin, or well organised bus timetables. Seeing poverty and shanty towns from your trip from the airport may be a shock and both tourists and locals will tell you horror stories of violent street crime and the machismo of the Latino men, and tell you never to go out in certain areas, let alone at night.
My advice Buenos Aires is a city that grew on me more slowly than I expected. The sights to visit are more limited than large European capitals and there is no beach to enjoy like in other Latin American capitals. The best way to get to know this city is through the locals, or people who have lived there long enough to know its more hidden spots and events. Language exchange nights and couchsurfing.com are great ways to meet people interested in showing you around, and are also a way to speak more Spanish and to feel more integrated into the local community. Crime and machismoare an unfortunate reality. You will talk to people who have been mugged to varying degrees of violence. Women will be stared at and commented on whatever you’re wearing. But you will also talk to many people who have never had any problems with crime at all, and you might notice that the comments men make are mostly harmless and complimentary, unlike in some European countries, where I for one have been aggressively insulted for wearing a skirt above the knee. Use common sense at all times but don’t let being scared ruin your time here. Everyone has a different comfort zone, but don’t forget to walk and take the bus rather than take a taxi everywhere and miss out on the adventure of finding your way around.
- Volunteering
Expectation Most volunteers want to help and get to know the local community from the inside, as well as to have enough spare time for sightseeing, whilst not getting bored with staying in one place for however many months. You expect to arrive at your project and immediately be given training on exactly what to do, given tasks that are emotionally or creatively rewarding, and be constantly aware of how useful you are and how much you are making a difference to these people’s lives.
Reality Instead, on arrival at your community project, you might be greeted with what seems like indifference from the locals and given petty tasks that anyone could do, and you start to question why exactly you are there.
My adviceIt´s easy to be naïve about how involved you can be as a volunteer, especially if you are only there for a short amount of time. Don´t expect to be given huge amounts of responsibility straight away. Your bosses will have seen hundreds of volunteers pass through their organisation – some lazy, some irresponsible, some totally uninterested. It is up to you to prove that you can be helpful and don’t need to be babysat, so be proactive, remember the information you have been told and be friendly and talkative to everyone you meet. Eventually, you will gain people’s respect, and once that is won, you will find your experience a whole lot more gratifying. Of course, the longer you stay and the more effort you make with the language, the more likely you are to really ‘make a difference’. When I visited the soup kitchen, all the locals I met there talked about one of the volunteer girls that had left a month ago, laughing together about their memories of teaching her Spanish, proving that if you take a real interest, locals here will respond and you will leave a lasting memory.
- The Future
Expectation You expect to become a ‘better person’ for having volunteered, more knowledgeable about the country and its customs, having learnt another language and made new friends for life. You´ll have something to add to your CV and experienced things that you can use when you´re asked to ‘talk about a time you overcame a difficult situation’ in a job interview, giving you more chance of having a successful career.
Reality All this can be true. Volunteering will have changed you for the better, even if you feel unsatisfied with how involved you were in your project. Just by getting to know a different culture and adapting to another country, your perspective on the world will have widened. If you have learnt another language and made lifelong friends, all the better. It can indeed be very helpful when it comes to (re-)entering the job market, improving your sense of initiative, your communication skills and your confidence.
My advice Volunteering is what you make it. Making a difference isn’t achieved just by paying the donation to be a volunteer and turning up on the day. It is an active process that, if done right, will give you memories for life, a new set of skills and a real sense of achievement. Just don’t expect it all to fall into your lap. Follow me on twitter: @Charlotte_Amey
Article by Florian Wieser
On the 12th of October, Argentina celebrates the day of cultural diversity in America. The Argentine government introduced the day in 2007 with the aim to raise awareness of the situation of the original inhabitants of Argentina, who still suffer from disadvantages and discrimination. At the same time it is an appeal for a more just and fair society. Although Argentina is largely influenced by immigration, being the country that has welcomed the second largest number of immigrants in total worldwide, indigenous people still account for a vital part of Argentine society. According to studies of the University of Buenos Aires, 56% of the Argentinians have at least one indigenous forefather. A census undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) in 2010 shows that about 900.000 (2.4% of the whole population) actually claim to be indigenous, which means that they live according to their traditions and cultural habits of their people. Most of these indigenous peoples can be found in the North-West (e.g. Quechua, Diaguita), North-East (e.g. Guarani, Mocovi) and the South (e.g. Mapuche, Tehuelche) of the country, although a lot of Indians have already moved to the bigger cities due to better working opportunities.
Not very long ago, introducing a day to raise awareness of the indigenous peoples, their needs and their interests, would have been impossible. Since the foundation of Argentina, Indians were treated as intruders rather than as Argentine citizens – most of their land was given to the state or the military, many of them were killed. Until the end of the military dictatorship in 1983, the indigenous population was suppressed and ignored. It wasn’t until 1994 that equal rights for indigenous people compared to Argentine citizens was officially recognized by the country’s constitution! However, by that time, the century-long suppression had already caused serious damage. Due to the exclusion of large parts of the education system, many of the native languages have been lost. Today only 10% of the people who count themselves to the indigenous population are able to speak a native language. Although education possibilities have been greatly increased in recent years, the illiteracy rate among Indians is still incredibly high. There are peoples in which almost one third of the members are unable either to read or write, a value that lies far above the Argentine average (INDEC, 2004). This accounts as well for the rate of poverty. On average, 14% of the Argentine population can’t afford what they require to meet their basic needs whereas the rate among the native Indians lies at about 25% (Eglau, 2010). As the Catholic University of Buenos Aires states, more than 80% of the Indian population living in rural areas of the country is suffering from malnourishment.
However, what actually bothers them most is the fact that the land that was once taken from them has still not been returned. The land plays an integral part in Indian tradition. It’s where they live, where they seed potatoes, where they work together, where they worship “pachamama“, mother earth. However there is some hope that the Indians can reclaim their former territories again soon. About 4 million hectares of land have already been returned to indigenous societies, 15 million are still being checked by Argentine authorities (Deutsche Welle, 2010). It would be a first step to further secure the continuity of indigenous life in Argentina. However, to secure a society in which native inhabitants have the same opportunities as Argentines of European origin, it seems that there is still a long way to go.
The Benefits of not Speaking the Local Language when Volunteering Abroad
Written by Jesica FrancoWith over five hundred million speakers worldwide, Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world, behind Mandarin and English. As the world becomes an increasingly interconnected place, knowledge of a second language is quite commonplace. Many students around the world are interested in improving their language skills through immersion. Because of this desire to achieve fluency, volunteering abroad has been an attractive proposition for adventurous young people around the world. Working everyday in a foreign language helps you pick up colloquial phrases while drastically improving your listening and conversational skills.
According to a recent survey by Voluntario Global, over 90 % of volunteers claim that their primary reason for choosing Argentina as the location for volunteering is to learn Spanish. But choosing Spanish-speaking destinations doesn’t imply that all the volunteers are fluent in the local language. In fact, many of the prospective newcomers and current volunteers have little foreign training. But regardless of your level of proficiency, it is only natural to be nervous about the language barrier.
Therefore, the logical question to ask is, is there a language barrier and how will it affect your experience? Of all the applicants that applied to work with Voluntario Global, 12% reported to have zero previous experience with Spanish, while 29 % reported that they spoke a basic level of Spanish. Obviously, a limited capacity to communicate yields some frustration, but that frustration can serve as a learning experience and an interesting opportunity for you to push yourself outside your comfort zone. The best time to immerse yourself in a language and culture is not when you are already fluent in the language. By choosing a country whose language you do not know well, you will be exposed to listening to it all the time: on the train, in the streets, in restaurants, in volunteer projects, etc. This constant exposure serves as thousands of hours of training because you get used to the sounds and cadence of the language.
Even by using your limited vocabulary with locals, every person you meet can become a conversation partner and an opportunity to practice. As a foreigner, showing that you have learned a few words of the language demonstrates to locals that you respect them enough to put in the effort to connect with them. Because of the respect you showed them, they feel compelled to help you learn their language. You can lean on the natives’ complete knowledge of the language when explaining concepts to absorb new phrases, slang, and cultural idiosyncrasies. That subtle student-teacher relationship that forms between you and your local conversation partners is a meaningful and rewarding human connection. Because even small successes, like someone understanding a simple request, can feel like colossal victories when done in a foreign language.
In addition to improving your abilities of verbal expression, you may also discover other effective and more universal methods of communication, such as body language, which can help enrich your experience. When you realize that even people in a different country understand that rubbing your stomach is a sign for being hungry, that universal sign language becomes another tool to lean on when you forget a word or phrase. And after recognizing what you are trying to communicate, your language partner will teach you the word or phrase for your future reference. Soon you will have acquired quite an extensive vocabulary without even realizing how many words you pick up.
To demonstrate some of these points, we interviewed some of our volunteers who claimed to have a very basic or nonexistent level of Spanish prior to arriving in Argentina. Allison Tran Phan from Australia said, “Although at first, It was hard to communicate with the teachers, I had no trouble communicating with the kids because I use a lot of body language and hand gestures.” While Tooka Zokaie of the United States said, “Just from shadowing my doctor, I've picked a lot of medical language, such as the names of diseases and medicine. The vocabulary that I've learned at the clinic has also come up in other places. It's been a great and fun learning experience overall."
As said before this teacher-student relationship causes strong bonds to form among the two people involved. One of the most rewarding experiences some volunteers have had is because of the fact that they do not speak the local language. Because it is difficult to explain the concepts behind cultural idiosyncrasies in simple terms, people try to teach the volunteers by using physical examples rather than explaining it in words. For instance, instead of verbally detailing the history and cultural importance of mate (typical Argentinian beverage), they may invite you to share a mate with them and their friends to demonstrate how it’s a physical manifestation of the trust that bonds people together.
The feelings of acceptance and connection to the local people and culture by speaking their language are both unique and gratifying. Although many people are friendly to tourists that travel to learn more about their culture, locals treat you differently if you have made a concerted effort to be an active member of their way of life. That acceptance and respect is greatly satisfying and may encourage you to be more adventurous in the future. Who knows? You may discover that you have a passion for languages or that you make lifelong friends of the people you meet. It takes a creative and brave person to take the risk of immersing yourself in an unfamiliar culture, but the benefits of doing so are both unexpected and valuable.
In summation, your experience is shaped as much by your attitude and open-mindedness as it is by your prior knowledge of the language and culture. As Jimena Rodriguez, Volunteers Coordinator at Voluntario Global, said, “It's more about the personality or attitude of the volunteers because there are many different ways to connect and communicate.” Sharing a cultural connection is not only about language because there are universal aspects of being human that help us all connect. No matter how fluent you are, you will encounter difficulty in some capacity. But your resilience and willingness to humbly allow others to teach you will enrich your experience in more ways that one.
We have put together a list of grants and fundraising opportunities available to future volunteers interested in coming to Argentina. Some of the scholarships are reserved for only students, but some are welcome to all who have the qualifications to apply. Grants like these and others are a great way to make your volunteering experience a lot easier economically!
1. Name: Omprakash Foundation Grants
Link: http://www.omprakash.org/volunteer-abroad-grants
Description: They offer Volunteer Grants to defray travel and living expenses for individuals who are interested in serving an Omprakash Partner (Voluntario Global is a partner) and making a long-term contribution to our global educational community. Their Volunteer Grant program is open to all, regardless of age or nationality. They review four cycles of grant applications each year.
2. Name: Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant
Link: http://www.phikappaphi.org/web/awards/study_abroad.html
Description: Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grants are designed to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. Fifty $1,000 grants are awarded each year.
3. Name: Samuel Huntington Public Service Award
Link: http://www.nationalgridus.com/huntington.asp
Description: Gives a graduating college senior a budget for one year of public service anywhere in the world.
4. Name: Go Overseas International Volunteer Award
Link: http://www.gooverseas.com/volunteer-abroad
Description: Gives one award of $1,000 each academic year to anyone successfully accepted into an international volunteer program.
5. Name: LIVFund Scholarship
Link: http://www.livfund.org/scholarship/what-is-the-livfund-scholarship/
Description: Provides two $500 scholarships per month to gap year students or others interested in learning, interning, and volunteering in Latin America.
6. Name: Travel for Good Voluntourism Grant
Link: http://www.volunteerjournals.com/volunteer-travel-grants/
Description: Provides $5,000 for inspiring, Travelocity signature trips.
7. Name: “Go Fund Me” and “Fund My Travel”
Link: gofundme.com / fundmytravel.com
Description: Has helped thousands of people raise millions of dollars online, for amazing personal causes such as school tuition, sports teams, medical bills, volunteering abroad, business trips, and travel expenses. Its as simple as creating your own profile on our page for free, choosing a color, selecting a photo, and typing a message about what you want to do! Then it is ready to share to the world, personal contacts, and facebook friends. Donations are secure and online, and will be deposited directly into the bank account of the person whose cause you are supporting!
8. Name: Start –up Scholar Fundraising
Link: http://startupscholar.org/
Description: Students in need of project funding for a transformative educational experience present their ideas and projects to the Start Up Scholar platform, which helps bring together a community of people to support the development and education of students by pooling funding for their project. Donors contribute funding to support students and the projects they believe in. Depending on the fundraising model of the project, donations are either sent immediately to the project or pledged and sent only if the funding goal is reached. Some projects have perks or rewards for donating at certain levels. Students and donors interact directly and donors receive updates as the student undertakes the project.
9. Name: Gilman Scholarship
Link: http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program/Apply
Description: The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. This scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.
Living a Transitive Lifestyle
(If you haven't read Part One, it’s right here)
The First Month
I have come to settle in quite well in Buenos Aires. At first, I was completely enjoying my vacation, and still catching up from finals week from my previous semester. By this I mean, I would sleep until 2:30 pm every day, eat at the chinese buffet next to the VG House, then make my way to the office by 3:30. After work I would come home, wait for everyone else to get back from their projects, then find somewhere to eat for dinner and stay up until late. This was for the first few weeks, which allowed me to enjoy my freedom of not having school to go to everyday, but instead being in a new city, in another country, far far away from the rigors of college.
In the beginning I was a little intimidated by the city, and a lot of the people who were in the house when I got there had already kind of done everything, so it was up to me to figure it out by myself how to get around the city and get to where I wanted. Even though I am able to communicate with the people around me, read in Spanish and follow directions, a metropolis like Buenos Aires could turn into a scary place to get lost in very quickly, as some of the past volunteers have made very clear.
New Friends
I ended up meeting a group of students that all take part of a University exchange program here in the city, who were mainly from Quebec, England, and a few from the US. I enjoyed spending time with them because they were in Buenos Aires actually living sustained lives similar to that of what I live during the year in the US, going to school during the day, and working simple jobs like waiting at night. I actually went with a group of them to Iguazu Falls in the north of Argentina for a weekend, which was probably the coolest thing I have done since I have been here. They also introduced me to an all-you-can-eat sushi place close to where they used to live, which costs what would be about 20 USD, and is now my favorite place to eat. Clearly I have a thing for asian food
Oh Yeah, I Work Too
My work with Voluntario Global is what I do with the majority of my day. It started out with just me in the office,with another volunteer working from home, and has slowly grown to there now being 7 of us working throughout the work on different projects in the area of marketing and communications. Our main goal is really just to get the word out about Voluntario Global, what types of projects they offer and how people all over the world can get involved. For that reason, it is important that we have a diverse team working in the office, who are able to use their knowledge of different cultures to get the message across to others who may be interested in the work the organization does. My job specifically is everything that includes constructing a broad picture of what it is like to be a volunteer here, and the different aspects of Argentina that a person experiences in their day to day life here. This includes making videos of volunteer testimonials, doing interviews with people in order to share their jobs and experiences at the different projects, and then later sharing them throughout the different media outlets, including the organizations blog, website, as well as spreading information virally through social media like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. The work involves a lot of planning and teamwork, which is the experience that I was looking for when taking this internship, as well as interacting equally in both Spanish and English.
Hangin’ with the Locals
I always feel like when I leave the states that it is important for me to be around local people as much as possible, in order to really completely envelop myself in the experience of the places that I go. I really enjoy being around Argentinians because of their friendliness, as well as their ability to have a good time. I went to a friends 30th birthday party, which included a barbeque with the best beef and chicken I have ever tasted, and got to interact a lot with his closest friends who were all there to celebrate his life. I've noticed that they have a very distinct culture, with the way they speak Spanish, their hand gestures and mannerisms all very defined.
A Constant Goodbye
One of the strangest things that I have come to experience here is the concept of people coming and going, with almost a constant hello, goodbye, attitude, not only in the volunteer house, but with my exchange friends as well. I have been subconsciously experiencing this type of relationship with people since I graduated high school, where I meet someone, we hang out for a while, then I never see them again except for through the lights of my computer and their Facebook page. This time it’s different though, just because since all of the people I meet are from literally every corner of the world, it is predetermined the second that I shake their hand that after just a little while, they will be gone and that is that. Its not that I have separation anxiety from people I don't really know, it’s just tiring, as well as demotivating. When I make friends with someone, unless they really rub me the wrong way, I have always lived with the intention of being their friend forever.
With this system of coming and going, and my impending return back to my own country, lately it's becoming harder for me to get to know a lot of people on a personal level, especially those who know they're staying for a long time. Its a shame, because the new group of volunteers seem really awesome, but for me it’s kind of like what's the point? I’ll be gone before most of them even remember my name. It’s kind of sad, because it seems like everyone who comes here needs to either get busy staying, or get busy leaving. Its a type of mentality I should probably get used to after all, especially if i am going to continue living the transitory lifestyle that I have had since I moved away from home in the first place. Even still, there is something ironically sobering about sharing a beer with a friend, knowing that it will be the last one.
Coordinators
Its not all sad goodbyes though. What I have managed to do, along with a few of the other volunteers who have been here for a while, is become pretty good friends with the coordinators of VG outside of all of our individual projects. This allows it to be a lot more relaxed and efficient when it comes down to doing inter-organizational projects with one anothers different areas of work. What is great about Voluntario Global is that the coordinators are a closely knit group of people who all share the same values and goals, and use their combined efforts to bring volunteers to Buenos Aires, and collectively do great things for people in Argentina who need it. I enjoy being around people with such motivation and goals, it reflects well on me and the other volunteers to continue working hard on our own projects.
This for me, along with the experience of working in these diverse environments makes this internship completely worthwhile!
Lujan Zoo, located an hour and a half outside Buenos Aires, is not like most zoos. The zoo’s remarkability does not come from the animals inside its property, however. The zoo’s exhibits do not fare from the standard selection (lions, tigers, bears, etc.), and the property itself is run-down compared to many zoos in the United States (dirty footpaths; ducks, geese, and even llamas wandering around the property). What does separate Lujan Zoo from other zoos, however, is the fact that the zoo allows visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with the animals.
Obviously, danger is one of the first concerns on peoples’ minds when they become aware of this unique policy. How is it possible that patrons can pet lions, bottle-feed tigers, and even allow bears to eat food directly from their mouths without getting mauled? Apparently, it is due to the zoo’s method of raising the animals, which revolves around constant interaction with people. The big felines receive the most attention; as soon as new cubs are born, trainers employ a variety of methods in order to reduce the animals’ violent instincts, including using vocal commands to teach the animals to recognize the difference between food and human body parts, as well as raising them in the presence of dogs in the hopes that they model the dogs’ peaceful and obedient behavior. In addition, trainers are always present when guests are interacting with the animals, and the animals are kept fed so that they remain satiated. The training seems to be working: since the zoo opened in 1994, there have been no attacks or other violent incidents involving the animals.
However, not everyone believes allowing humans to interact with the animals is in the best interest of either groups. The Born Free Foundation, an international animal rights group, has started an online petition asking authorities to launch an investigation into the zoo’s practices. The petition states, “No one wants to see animals forced to behave in ways which are abnormal and degrading to them, and no one wants to see Luján Zoo (or any zoo) putting its visitors at risk.” In addition, the Association for the Defence of the Rights of Animals (ADDA) and Association SOS Vida (both animal rights groups) have criticized the zoo for allowing close contact between humans and animals, saying its puts people at risk. Finally, the animals’ unintuitive behavior toward visitors has prompted many to accuse the zoo of sedating the animals.
These are all legitimate concerns, and I’ll admit that I harbored some of them myself when I visited the zoo with a group of friends. I couldn’t believe that it was possible such dangerous animals could act so calm around humans. However, after looking more into the Lujan Zoo’s practices, I believe it is at least plausible the animals’ behavior is due to training and not sedation (although I am of course not an expert). Admittedly, it would be ideal for the animals to be living in the wild. However, according to representatives of Lujan Zoo, many of the animals there are sick, undernourished former house pets people brought into the country illegally and discarded once they became bored with them. Although it would be ideal for the animals to be living in their natural habitat, they can no longer survive in the wild due to being born into captivity. The zoo is their last form of protection.
When I first heard about Lujan Zoo and its unique hands-on policy, any concerns I might have had about its ethical practices were momentarily cast aside in favor of a chance to interact with lions, tigers, and elephants. However, walking around the zoo, my concerns about whether or not the animals were being treated well kept popping back into my thoughts. Although I was satisfied by the zoo’s explanation, others might not be. It is up to you whether or not Lujan Zoo is a must-see attraction, or a cause for concern. http://voluntarioglobal.org
The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) founded the International Cooperative Day in 1923 which aimed to increase “awareness of co-operatives and promote the movement's successes and ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace”. Since the UN General Assembly, under resolution 47/90, proclaimed “the first Saturday of July 1995 to be International Day of Cooperatives” bringing light to the aims of co-operatives to a larger international stage. Many cooperatives have united in celebration and used this day to exhibit and promote their work structure and noble aims which has become a prominent topic in the contemporary debate on economic work structures.
In Argentina the co-operative movement has boomed. Though the majority of the new co-ops are focused in the capital Buenos Aires, it has also expanded in the regions of Córdoba, Santa Fe and Mendoza. Following the 2001 economic crisis, where unemployment reached 25 per cent, a massive number of 6,938 new co-operatives were created as it was regarded a more resilient enterprise model. The backlash to the crisis, caused by excessive and frenzied neoliberalism which was imported into Argentina, changed the mentality and legal framework towards co-operativism which had previously been considered simply the salvation of bankrupt companies and grew to be a form of enterprise. Cooperatives have not only been proven as a successful enterprise model but more importantly, it seems too much of a coincidence that these organization seem to focus in areas which benefit local communities and society as a whole.
The cooperative sector has been largely involved in areas of education, housing, responsible tourism, agriculture and even electricity with significantly divergent aims from what we could call free market profit driven private firms as the “profit” gained of cooperative is fairly distributed (which does not necessarily mean equally) and offers benefits to society which are clearly stated in the cooperatives mission set. To me there seems no doubt that cooperatives seems to be heading, or at least thinking, in the right direction. According to the ICA (International Co-operative Alliance) 6,024 new co-operatives were created throughout 2012 representing an increase of 239 per cent on 2011. Going forward, the obstacles are to expand the model and the values that it brings with it while consistently reflecting critically on how it can improve and whether other forms of social enterprise have anything to offer to the cooperative model.
I have had the privilege of working in conjunction with the co-operatives of Los Pibes and Su Lavandería during my volunteer program with Voluntario Global in Buenos Aires and have seen the intricacies of the work structure in practice. Su Lavanderia is a laundry cooperative whose clients are hostels in the city center. It provides the young staff an opportunity to work under the condition they remain in school until the completion of their education. With this in mind, the work schedule is flexible in order to accommodate their school timetables and offers a source of income to young motivated Argentines who would otherwise have a hard time finding a part time job. Their democratic decision making process in a participatory assembly held monthly and their distributive form of paying salaries, depending on hours worked and other sets of criteria, has proven to be a model of success. Just this year the cooperative managed to obtain an industrial ironing machine which was a massive accomplishment considering the time consuming and tiresome task they used to undertake of ironing massive quantities of linen for bed covers and sheets by hand.
The textile cooperative of Los Pibes, which was founded in 2004, produces school uniforms which are distributed to families of humble means. The cooperative is located inside the Los Pibes Community Center in the ruggedly beautiful neighbourhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires. The center provides the community of La Boca with a soup kitchen; a radio station; English classes with volunteers like myself as teachers; and a place for the whole community to meet and discuss social and political issues as well as personal matters with the friends and neighbours.
These cooperatives have not only managed to disprove a common misconception that these work structure do not work or are not efficient but moreover promote good work ethics, social values and democratic principles in the work place.
We all sat around the living room this afternoon and spoke about social enterprise in the sense of cooperatives and capitalism. One of the volunteers presented in English while there was a director translating in Spanish in order for everyone to understand and contribute. It is meant to help the people from different backgrounds to discuss on a personal level how different government systems affect our growth. It is all based on ideas, not facts, but it was stressed that everyone has to think for him or herself. It is our responsibility to critically analyze the world around us. There are positive and negative elements to every economical system. Capitalism is based on incentives that influence growth – which the presenter believed was different from development. In a competitive environment, it is obvious that someone may gain money but not necessarily a fair way; thus the person is not developing. Imagine a multinational company creates a branch in a developing country.
The fact is that people have more jobs and income, which is positive, but it is not the right way to think about development. The working conditions and rights of the workers are not necessarily “fair”, and in practice the people may not be improving their standards of living. Productivity and incentive of innovation allows for growth, however, productivity and efficiency are not the same as well. Efficiency is different, for we produce in a short-term perspective, with many elements ignored such as the environmental repercussions of our actions. In order to be efficient, we need to be aware of how our production impacts the future. Social enterprises are business that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life changes, or the environment. They make their money from selling goods and services in the open market, but they reinvest their profits back to the business or the local community.
And so when they profit, society profits. They set out aims at the beginning of they year which they try to complete, and they work toward completing those goals despite their profits. The idea is of a never-ending progress (democracy and capitalism). People must identify the good and bad of a system and work to improve it. If school is something important, in a ranking system, that would be valued as something to improve. Should schools be something that the government funds and monitors, or should they be run based on a means of making money for private organizations? Also, are schools better based on the competition between institutions offering them?
These are some of the questions we discussed as a group, and were relevant to many of the volunteers working with child education while in Argentina. An argument is that people will become lazy with their education if it is free, for people may not take their studies seriously if they do not have thousands of dollars on the line. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, many organizations worked post-hurricane, many of the schools did not re-open. There is not centralized city government running schools in New Orleans anymore. This was based on one of the volunteers’ observations from Louisiana. The students go to charter schools and do not need to pay for their education and it is working better for the students without the government involved. I still find it amazing that we are all young adults, from various areas of the world, coming together to not just volunteer, but think critically about the areas we come from. We do not discuss this to fulfill a General Education class for our major, but because we want to understand where we live.
VOLUNTARIO GLOBAL
Voluntario Global helps local communities by being available to discuss anything that local organizations need, and offering ideas for further change and development.
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CONTACT
Location: General Pacheco. Buenos Aires. Argentina
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