Digital News of AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Digital News AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Number 4, April 2011

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges” Isaac Newton

AFS in Reconquista E-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org.ar  1544-4471

Supasara Hongladaromp (AFS Thailand student in Reconquista in 2008) having mates in the Thailand Sea.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Caroline’s Birthday Caroline Watson, who from mid-

February to mid-April lived her intercultural experience in Reconquista thanks to an intensive programme for teachers, had many intercultural experiences and one of them was celebrating her birthday in Argentina.

On Friday, April 8th, Caroline had the chance to live her birthday in the Argentinian way and with her Argentinian family: Loza-Beloso.

When we asked her how she had lived her birthday in Reconquista, she answered: ‘Lots of food!, and I was

surprised as many people greeted me because of my birthday’.

The next day, she kept on celebrating in the AFS Orientation and received as a present the ‘Happy Birthday’ song in English, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Thai, German, Italian and Swedish!

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Caroline celebrating her birthday with AFS exchange students.

AFS Santa Fe Students in Reconquista

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

(Originally written in Spanish)

On Friday, a group of people from AFS Santa Fe took the bus from the station heading to Reconquista to have a different weekend, with people from AFS Reconquista. We were six students and a volunteer.

We arrived late at night and in Reconquista’s bus station our recently found families were waiting for us, together with AFS Reconquista volunteers, to take us ‘home’ in Reconquista and Avellaneda. We didn’t know either the families or the volunteers, but we could sense kindness and warmth, as usual when we meet people from AFS (even though we may not know them). Each of us went away with their families. There were lots of questions, and a lot to say!

The next day (on Saturday) we met the local AFS students at the campsite to have the weekend orientation.

The volunteers had lots of useful information for us and they made us think about our experience as well as to make an account of it from the time we’ve been here in Argentina (since last August).

At lunch time we had handy everything necessary to have a typical Argentinian lunch. We had: empanadas, chicken milanesas (breaded chicken meat), sandwiches.

After lunch, José Manuel (a volunteer) showed us the pictures of the AFS Mate around the world, a symbol of how international AFS is.

After that, each one of us presented the group with their own collection of photographs specially prepared for the orientation. The homework consisted in showing the differences between the Argentinian culture and the culture of the homeland of each of us. The results were really interesting as we contributed to it with different points of views.

It was really interesting to see photographs of different countries such as Thailand, or to listen about the Icelandic culture!

When the first part of the orientation was over, our families fetched us from the place where we were and we stated organising the night activities ;). I had the lucky chance to eat an asado at home (the Vicentin’s), as it is customary in Argentina.

Late at night, all the AFS students met again and went to dance in a disco in Avellaneda.

On Sunday, the second orientation day, we started a bit later than scheduled and we were all a bit sleepy. Lucky for us in Argentina, we have mates that keep us awake! This time, the host families were invited to participate – as that was one of the objectives of the orientation: to include the Host Families.

Again, we had a nice lunch and then we sat in a big circle to talk once more. AFS Reconquista volunteers handed in the AFS mates they usually give to their students and volunteers and some of us (AFS Santa Fe) also bought them.

After a great weekend, we sadly had to say goodbye. We had to come back to Santa Fe, and we had to give lots of kisses because in Reconquista people give two :) I wish we can also meet again with the people from AFS Reconquista before our exchange experience finishes because it was meeting to have fun and to talk about interesting things – a small exchange experience similar to the yearly one we are all living here.

Greetings, Julius Gudera (AFS Germany)

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

For 2 days, April 9 and 10 2011, AFS Reconquista had the 2° Orientation for students who arrived last February and their host families. It was also the Mid-Stay Orientation for the students who arrived in August 2010 and their own Host Families.

5 students from AFS Santa Fe were invited to participate with the students from AFS Reconquista of the orientation, and they were hosted by families from Reconquista and Avellaneda, who opened their homes to share their lives with teenagers from other cultures for a weekend. To all of them, our gratitude!

On Saturday, AFS volunteers worked together with 14 exchange students. They talked about the AFS experience, its components, its participants, and specially about the fact that its an Educational and Family-based experience, which is of vital importance for them to have in mind.

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AFS Orientation Camp For Exchange Students and their Argentinian Host Families

Other topics mentioned in the orientation were: the cultural differences students notice during their stay in Argentina (they did it through a dynamic and entertaining activity which consisted in showing photographs they took themselves) and also the aspects of our culture which are not only discovered but also incorporated into their routines and way of life.

The importance school has in AFS programmes and the students’ active participation in Argentinian schools had

its own session in the Camp.

The students were informed in detail about the Travel Policies AFS has, and also about the AFS rules they have to follow Internationally and nationally.

The mood in the camp was the best one could possibly ask for and the students could evacuate their many doubts.

On Sunday, the host families arrived to the Orientation.

Once there, they could evaluate their own experience up to the moment, they could ask questions about how to handle certain situations and most importantly, they could share their experiences and they could all profit from them.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

After the different sessions, lunch time came and all the people there shared the food they all had brought (a la canasta) symbolising the values we want to teach our participants (students and families) that is to say the values of sharing, solidarity, open-mindedness and friendship.

gave the students who arrived in February the popular AFS mates, and we also said Goodbye to Caroline Watson, the teacher from New Zealand who participated in the Intensive Programme in our Local Chapter, and who returned to her country in April.

After lunch and accompanied by mates and home-made cakes, the volunteers

The volunteers from AFS Reconquista feel really pleased and we are grateful with the Host Families and their AFS children for such a great weekend we lived together, where a

bit more than 50 people gathered, united by a common objective: ‘we all want a better world, which we all think we’ll reach if we can change ourselves’.

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

With my brother Fernando

My Argentinian Family

By Eveliina Valkola (AFS Finland)

I’m Eveliina Valkola from Finland and I’ve been living in Argentina since August 2010, and I’ll be here till July 2011. I’m 17 and I go to Normal School. I’m living with a family called Quatrín. We are five, my dad Daniel, my mum Iris, my brother Fernando, my sister Paula and now me, the exchange girl.

In June 2010, AFS Finland sent me a letter telling me that I was going to live with an Argentinian family. When the letter arrived, I started to cry and I called all my friends to tell the news. I was really happy. A few days later, I made contact with Paula, my sister on MSN. We started to talk about everything, she told me about her family and about Argentina, and I knew I could wait any longer!

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Finally, the day came and I found myself at Reconquista’s bus station, where my new family was waiting for me. I remember I was really nervous. We went to the house and they showed me around. I couldn’t understand a thing they were saying but luckily, my brother and sister know English so we could communicate. I couldn’t talk to my parents at first, but after a while I learnt to speak a little more. I had to get used to the new things in the family. Back in Finland I have three younger sisters, so I was used to be the eldest. However, here I’m not and I have to share the bedroom with my sister, and I can’t go out without permission. This wasn’t a big difference between my family there and the one here, though.

With my sister Paula

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

We all have a lot of fun together. My dad is the funniest in the world! He’s always telling me funny things and he teaches me things about life and about Argentina. Every Sunday, he cooks amazing meals. I can tell my mum lots of things about me. I trust her a lot she’s really popular among my friends. She’s also a great cook. I get on really well with my brother, but sometimes we fight over the computer! He’s really sweet, intelligent and he makes me laugh a lot. The youngest in the family is my little sister: Paula. She’s one of the most important people in my life. She knows everything about me and when I need some help, she’s always there to help me, by listening to me and making me happy.

I don’t really know what I would do when July comes and it’s time to go home. I think that’s going to be the hardest day of my life. I miss my family and friends in Finland, of course. But as I said before, I’m the exchange student but I feel part of my Argentinian family and not just a person who living with them for a year.

With my dad Daniel and my mum Iris

Eveliina (originally written in Spanish)

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

AFS Reconquista, was present in the XXII International Race.

Volunteers from AFS Reconquista Local Chapter, together with two AFS Programmes participants , Myrthe Hanckmann (The Netherlands) and Caroline Watson (New Zealand), participated in the XXII° International Race “City of Reconquista”.

This event took place to celebrate the 139° Anniversary of the city’s creation and it was organised by the local Town Council and the Sports’ Secretary of the City.

AFS, as an active Organisation fully immersed in the social and cultural life of the community, was present and celebrated another birthday of the city together with its inhabitants.

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My experience as a teacher

By Caroline Watson (originally written in Spanish)

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

I’ve been in Reconquista for weeks now and I’m the first Language Teacher in town who participates of the programme thanks to the AFS New Zealand Teachers’ Language Immersion Award. On the whole, the last weeks have been incredible. I’ve been fully immersed in family life, and now I have an Argentinian family, just like the my family in New Zealand.

I’ve also experimented the school life: I’ve observed lessons and introduced my country in different schools, from kindergartens up to tertiary schools, public and private as well. I’ve felt overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and kindness shown by the students. They are really interested in learning about the lifestyle and culture of a foreign country.

My Spanish has improved immensely during my short experience thanks to the patience and stimuli from my Argentinian host family, AFS Reconquista Chapter and all the people I met.

Pictures from the day Caroline left our city.

I got used to the Argentinian lifestyle and to the customs they have which are really different from my own. When I’m back in New Zealand, I’ll miss siesta time, the asados, having lunch with the whole family, greeting people by giving two kisses, having mates, having dinner at 10 p.m., sitting in front of the house every night and walking through the main park. I’ll also miss the warmth, easiness and sincerity people has here, and the importance they give to the time spent in family.

When I’m back in New Zealand, I’ll be able to teach about a Spanishspeaking country from my heart and not just my head. I want to thank

the volunteers from AFS Reconquista, the Loza-Beloso family, and all the schools I’ve visited for this change in my life and for my intercultural experience.

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The AFS Mate from Bangkok (Thailand) Supasara Hongladaromp, also known as “Prim”, was an exchange

student from AFS Thailand in Reconquista from February 2008 to January 2009, in an annual Programme.

During her exchange experience, she lived the first part of it with Juan Carlos Ribera y Mirta Rodriguez’s family, and the second half with Osvaldo Peresson y Liliana Cian’s. She was a student at EDEM 203 “Juan Baustista Alberdi”.

Back in her homeland, and having incorporated the custom of having mates, she went out one day to walk the streets of Bangkok. During her walk, she stopped in front of a Buddhist Temple, with its traditional facades coved with paper gold and multicolour ornaments. From that picturesque place, she shares with all of us this beautiful picture, as a symbol of the exchange experience which is often shown by the AFS students (as it happens when they spread the Argentinian culture all around the world).

Supasara ‘Prim’ Hongladaromp having mates in front of a Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

AFS Reconquista Contacts José Manuel Buyatti  1544-4471 María Elena Landi  421350 Claudia Lanteri  424507 Sergio Sanchez  1545-7527 E-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org.ar www.afs.org.ar AFS RL RECONQUISTA

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures