Digital News of AFS Reconquista Local Chapter - June 2011

Digital News AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Number 6, June 2011

“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it.

One must work at it.”

Eleonor Roosevelt

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

Florencia Ruíz, AFS Exchange Student from Reconquista, having mates opposite the Roman Coliseum in Rome (Italy)

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Congratulations AFS Reconquista

After celebrating 32 years of uninterrupted work (June, 1st 1979-2011) helping teenagers and families to grow and develop intercultural awareness, we are glad to share with you a letter John Gooldwin sent us. He is one of the first three AFS Exchange Students in our Local Chapter.

(Originally written in Spanish) Congratulations Reconquista AFS Local Chapter for its 32nd Anniversary. I thank you all for the work you do. I thank the Local Chapter, the people from Reconquista City and especially, my family BuyattiCalvo, for their generosity and kindness received over 30 years now. It has been an experience which continues guiding my life up to the present. In fact, I think that some of the most important life lessons where learned when I was in Reconquista, but where not revealed but years later.

As an adult, I realised that I was not mature enough then at the age of 16 or 17 (I celebrated my 17th birthday in Reconquista in July 1979), to take advantage of all the learning opportunities AFS offered me. I was totally immersed in American teenager thought, and adapting to the Argentinian life in a difficult time of my life, adolescence, was rough.

However, at the same time I realised I did not have the confidence to participate in many activities, just because I was living in a society where the language, customs, and expectations where different to the ones I knew of. Because of that, I became a shy boy who looked for comfort in his natural family very tightly, to the food, to books and music in English, thus missing all the chances to forge a lifelong friendship in my host country.

Today I think of that time nostalgically. Those were all personal mistakes.

But I know that I have learned from all of them.

Those three months in Reconquista helped shape my character and also prepared me for adult life.

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One year after I returned from Argentina, I left my parents’ home to go to College, and I felt I had all the confidence necessary to prosper as an independent young adult.

1986 was the year when I found myself ‘diving’ in the native local life wherever I was visiting. I travelled and spent months in India, Nepal, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Since then, I have travelled countless times, but always taking advantage of the trips, throughout all North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Now I am a middle-aged married man, father to two lovely children, who does not really think himself just as an American citizen. I feel more like a World Citizen.

All began in a winter (summer in the North Hemisphere) in Reconquista. For that, I am deeply grateful.

I thank all of you for so many happy memories of my time in Argentina. Some of those memories are: The long but interesting talks with my host mum Iris Calvo. She was always sweet, kind and curious about my life in the USA, My host dad’s humour. Ricardo Buyatti seemed to be interested in all kinds of business, Eating toasts with ‘dulce de leche’ for breakfast, Having mates with a silver straw,

Playing basketball in the open field of ‘Club Atlético Adelante’, on Belgrano Street, Learning my limits at the time of drinking beer at the Confitería (an important lesson for all American teenagers, and that we usually have to learn again in later years), All the unthinkable varieties of cooked ‘embutidos’ and of grilled meat, made in the family backyard, The trips to Santa Fe City to visit my host brother, Enrique, or to Córdoba City to visit Mario, my other host brother. Having grown in a big city, every visit to Santa Fe brought the sensation of a great opportunity for exploration, The crazy way of driving on the roads and main streets of the main Argentinian cities I had the chance to visit. It was amazing for me, and all the avoided accidents then helped me reaffirm my faith in a Benevolent and Overprotective God. It also helped me to stand the buses in Nepal and the Philippines, The Cassette recording of an English radio programme of Blues and Rhythm known as The ROSKO Show my brother Mario had left in Reconquista. It was in the room I shared with my brother Ricardo where I got delighted by the Fran Stax/Volt de Otis Redding discs (1960s) for the first time.

I cannot believe I had to go all the way from the USA to Argentina to fall in love with the music Alabama. I still enjoy listening to it, and I am still trying to find recordings of the ROSKO show, The first time I heard someone talking in Spanish. I was on of those DJs who had a wonderful ‘radio voice’. He was presenting a new ABBA song, Supertramp, or some other classic songs from European bands of the ends of the 70s. It was on the car radio, And many, many more memories like these…

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Please, accept my most sincere THANKS. AFS, Reconquista City and my family Buyatti-Calvo have contributed to my education. I wish you many more years of work, helping and enriching young people and their families’ lives, from Argentina, the USA and all the world.

The three months I spent in Reconquista have helped me open my eyes before the big spectrum that is human activity, and also helped me open my heart to our human condition we all share.

John Goodwin is a former AFS USA student who lived in Reconquista in 1979.

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

June, 2nd - Italian Lisa Volpi Republic Day (OriginallyBywritten in Spanish) On June, 2nd Dante Alighieri School N° 384 from Reconquista, invited me to participate of the celebration of the Italian ‘Republic Day’. It was very nice to go and I also get impressed by the fact that a far away country was celebrating something so important for us, the Italian people.

In the celebration I read a text where I explained what we celebrate this day. Hopefully, none of them realised (at least none of them told me so) the mistakes I made while I read. The is that I have been living in Avellaneda for 10 months now and I do not remember my own language much.

I am a month away from my return and I do not really want to think about it. I get sad every time I think I have to go back to Italy in a few days: here I found many wonderful people who have helped me from the very beginning, when I did not know anything to say. I loved meeting my exchange mates, too: Ida, Eveelina, Myrthe, Niklas, Rux and Max; it was really nice to meet so beautiful people from many different countries!

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AFS Reconquista wants to thank Escuela Dante Alighieri N° 384 Headmistress, Prof. Diana Gaggiano and also to Prof. María de Lourdes González (Teacher of Italian) for having invited Lisa to participate of this school celebration.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Mrs. María Lisa Stauder, Italian Citizen and Gladys Furlán’s cousin (mum of former students of the school), also participated in the celebration as she is in Reconquista on holidays.

The following is Lisa Volpi’s text (AFS Italy in Avellaneda), read during a school celebration in Dante Alighieri School.

The Italian Republic Day is celebrated on June 2 nd, to commemorate the Institutional Referendum held in Italy on June 2nd and 3rd 1946, to decide on the Italian form of government.

Those days, the Italian citizens had to decide whether they wanted a Monarchy or a Republic, and they decided to have a republican form of government.

After 85 years ruled by the Savoy Royal Family, the Italian State was formed and the rulers were exiled.

I want to thank my family, all my friends, my school and AFS. Thank you all for the memories I am going to take from Argentina, they will be the best! This experience has helped me know another reality, and I have enjoyed learning many things from the Argentinian culture.

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

1st AFS Orientation for Host Families

Saturday, 11th June 2011

All the families receiving the new AFS exchange students next August, participated of the 1st AFS Orientation for Host Families which took place in Dante Alighieri School N° 384, whose Headmistress we thank for letting us use the premises.

During the orientation, AFS Reconquista introduced the families to the AFS Counsellors who will be helping and guiding them along the experience. This sets it clear that families and AFS are a team working together towards contributing to the exchange students’ education. Through different methodology (roll-play, situational games, etc.), the families worked on the concept of Culture and how to face a cultural difference before judging values, which could not be correct at all. Thanks to all the families who participated and do not forget the next orientation is on Saturday, 23rd July 2011.

Families and Volunteers after the AFS Orientation

Families, thanks a lot!

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Meeting with Candidates and their families Saturday, 11th June 2011

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Six teenagers from our region are in the middle of the selection and preparation process to participate in an AFS exchange school programme (semester or year programme).

As part of such preparation, the different Candidates and families had an informative talk to evacuate doubts, thus face the process, which takes from 8 to 15 months before they actually travel, more secure and confident.

In the meeting, volunteers explained the role AFS takes from now on with the candidates as well as with the families.

Doubts about what the AFS programme covers were also explained.

From now on, all the candidates are part of this big family AFS RL Reconquista is, and as such, they must participate in all the AFS activities the Chapter organises. AFS volunteers Stefano Pividori, Sergio Sanchez and Marisa Masin gave each candidate a Welcome Letter with all the different dates they must be available to work with AFS the rest of the year.

Informative Talk with candidates and their parents

We thanks all the Candidates and their families, as well as Marisa Masin, an AFS volunteer who shared her own exchange experience for a year in teaching in USA. A special thanks to Dante Alighieri School, for the premises they kindly lent us for the talk.

Pรกgina 6

Pรกgina 7

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Hugo Moschen and César Delbón cooking

Happy Father’s Day On Flag’s Day, Host Family Moschen-Vogel from Reconquista, invited AFS volunteers, host families and exchange students to celebrate Father’s Day.

Everything started at 11 in the morning, in Reconquista and in Roxana Vogel and Hugo Moschen’s home. They started to be part of AFS as a Sending Family.

Their eldest daughter, Betiana, participated in an year programme in the USA in 2004.

In 2005, her younger sister Luciana travelled to Italy in a year programme as well, and when she came back she became an AFS volunteer for AFS Rosario.

Besides, they have hosted three different students from different countries: Rachel Whiteside (AFS USA 2006 – Intensive Programme), Gabriella Schivardi (AFS Italy 2007 – Semester Programme) and Alfur Bjarnason (AFS Island 2011 – Year Programme), who has been living with them ‘the unique lifetime experience’ for the last four months.

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All together toasting the Fathers

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Dessert made

by Alfur

Thanks to the MoschenVogel family for this wonderful lunch

AFS Volunteers from Reconquista participated in the meeting and lunch: JosĂŠ Manuel Buyatti and Gabriela Zamer (with their daughters), Stefano Pividori, and Virginia Loza. Also present were Host Families Fabrissin, Quatrin and Stechina from Reconquista, and some of the exchange students: Ida (Norway), Eveliina (Finland), Alfur (Island - and host of the party) and Myrthe (The Netherlands).

AFS Rosario also took two of its volunteers and one student to the party as well: Luciana Moschen and Matias Speranza, and Joel Baillon from Australia, who lives in Rosario with the Weiss family.

Hugo Moschen cooked chicken and cabrito. We all thank him for the initiative and example of amiability.

When lunch was over, we all ate a dessert made by Ă lfur and later took a picture which unites the big families of AFS Reconquista and Rosario.

Two great Local Chapters shared an authentic family reunion in the Argentinian Style. It was a great opportunity to share different experiences from the one who have already come back, and the ones who are about to leave. A nice moment for families, volunteers and exchange students.

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The AFS Mate from Pisa (Italy)

Maria Elena Landi is a volunteer who has got a very long experience in AFS. Her first contact with the Organisation was in 1974 when she participated in an annual programme in France. In June 1979, convinced with the AFS Mission, she decided to start the AFS Reconquista Local Chapter.

Since then, she has been an active volunteer. She has been Host Mum of four young students who chose Argentina for their exchange year. They are Vittorio Depaulis (Italy), Benoit Arlandis (France), Paula Müller (Germany) and Öykü Oral (Turkey).

In 2010, she received the Award to the Volunteer Experience. The Award also meant an active participation of the recipient in the EFIL* Volunteer Summer Summit 2010 held in Hungary.

Vittorio & Maria Elena in Pisa

Taking advantage of her visit to the Old Continent, Marilena visited her exchange children.

In this picture we see her with her Italian son, Vittorio, who shares the bike-riding passion with her. In the picture, they are enjoying some mates and visiting Pisa (Italy). They stopped to take a picture opposite the Bell Tower of Pisa’s Cathedral, commonly known as The Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of the most representative architectural monuments of the city of Pisa. *EFIL (European Federation for Intercultural Learning unites all the AFS from European Countries).

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