So more than a week has gone by and I have found some time to update you all on what has been happening. I am currently in Corrientes which is a town with a population of about 400,000 in the north of Argentina, on the Parana River and on the border of Paraguay. I am staying with a man called Emilio who works for the ministry of Education in the neighbouring province- Chaco, which is where my final destination is – a small village called Saenz Pena. I have no idea when I’ll be heading over there to finally do some work and I don’t really know what to expect. It’s meant to be about quarter the size of this place and this place is already tiny!So I’ve been here for over a week and what have I been doing with myself? I spent the first week in Buenos Aires, an amazing city, it’s huge with 16 lane roads, lots of hustle and bustle (but organized, not like Naples) and music everywhere! Although I was staying in a youth hostel the first 5 days the argentine’s I did meet were very lovely. At the hostel I met up with lots of Australians and went to markets, ate a COW, got football tickets (Although I couldn’t go in the end due to a work meeting) saw Evita’s grave- which was really surreal, there was an old woman touching her tomb and crying not wanting to leave, her friend was trying to pull her away!
After 5 days in the hostel I changed to a hotel which was only 2 blocks down the road, the British Council were paying and I could meet the other English assistants that were soon to be sent around the country.
All the assistants were nice and friendly and no one is being sent further south than Buenos Aires province. During the first day of induction with the Ministry of Education we were busy getting our finger prints done at the immigration office, queuing with lots of papers and photo copies of these papers and all sorts- bureaucracy in this country is just impossible. In the afternoon we had the lo-down of what was and what was not expected of us during our time here, which we kind of already knew, but what we didn’t know was how much we were going to be paid- which came as a pleasant surprise! In the evening we were invited to the head of the Ministry of Education’s house- Huw Jones! Haha and yes he was welsh! A welsh bachelor with the most amazing penthouse apartment with 240degree views of Buenos Aires! The wine, g ‘n t’s and empanada’s were flowing and we were all making small talk with others related to the project. I finally found out a bit more about where I was being posted- up until then everyone who I’d told had dropped their jaws and told me that I was going to have an “experience”. I met a woman called Chrisalba who had previously worked up there, she told me that I’m going to be overwhelmed by the diversity- Saenz Pena is full of Eastern European immigrants who came during the 70/80s and indigenous people. During the massacre of the indigenous in Argentina, Chaco was the province that managed to hold on to the most indigenous people as they were hidden in “impenetrable wilds”. They are also told to be very enthusiastic people who will be interested, maybe even over interested in everything I have to say and do.
After the party at Huw’s the assistant decided to hit the town! We went to a nice swish area of town called Palermo and I definitely felt the effects the following day standing in a warm, overcrowded and dark immigration office for hours waiting for a working visa- and failing due to my name not being on the list as I was a late comer to the whole project!
All the assistants were nice and friendly and no one is being sent further south than Buenos Aires province. During the first day of induction with the Ministry of Education we were busy getting our finger prints done at the immigration office, queuing with lots of papers and photo copies of these papers and all sorts- bureaucracy in this country is just impossible. In the afternoon we had the lo-down of what was and what was not expected of us during our time here, which we kind of already knew, but what we didn’t know was how much we were going to be paid- which came as a pleasant surprise! In the evening we were invited to the head of the Ministry of Education’s house- Huw Jones! Haha and yes he was welsh! A welsh bachelor with the most amazing penthouse apartment with 240degree views of Buenos Aires! The wine, g ‘n t’s and empanada’s were flowing and we were all making small talk with others related to the project. I finally found out a bit more about where I was being posted- up until then everyone who I’d told had dropped their jaws and told me that I was going to have an “experience”. I met a woman called Chrisalba who had previously worked up there, she told me that I’m going to be overwhelmed by the diversity- Saenz Pena is full of Eastern European immigrants who came during the 70/80s and indigenous people. During the massacre of the indigenous in Argentina, Chaco was the province that managed to hold on to the most indigenous people as they were hidden in “impenetrable wilds”. They are also told to be very enthusiastic people who will be interested, maybe even over interested in everything I have to say and do.
After the party at Huw’s the assistant decided to hit the town! We went to a nice swish area of town called Palermo and I definitely felt the effects the following day standing in a warm, overcrowded and dark immigration office for hours waiting for a working visa- and failing due to my name not being on the list as I was a late comer to the whole project!
That evening I caught a 13 hour bus journey to Corrientes with one of the other boys- Phil who is going to be based in Corrientes for the next 4 months. We are both staying with Emilio at the moment in his grotto cave house full of jingle jangles and rocking folklore and gitano flamenco music! He’s great fun and such a character!
He took us to a work meeting in the ministry of Education in Resistencia (the capital city of Chaco province) to sit in on a meeting about the schools and the aims and projects of the year and this is when it began to hit me- how much work is in store. Some of the children can’t even talk Spanish let alone English, they just use their native languages but does that mean they can read or write in these languages, who knows? Some of the children here only go to school because they know they will be fed at school! All these things seem obvious now that I’m here but before I left home these things hadn’t even crossed my mind!
He took us to a work meeting in the ministry of Education in Resistencia (the capital city of Chaco province) to sit in on a meeting about the schools and the aims and projects of the year and this is when it began to hit me- how much work is in store. Some of the children can’t even talk Spanish let alone English, they just use their native languages but does that mean they can read or write in these languages, who knows? Some of the children here only go to school because they know they will be fed at school! All these things seem obvious now that I’m here but before I left home these things hadn’t even crossed my mind!
We are now 4 people living in Emilio’s little house, an American assistant – Steve has also come to join us, but he will soon be moving on to Resistencia to work and live. Emilio is a great guy who really wants to make the most of us and get us involved in everything here. Last night he invited a friend round for dinner, he introduced us to his neighbours who give salsa and tango classes and we are arranging party for tomorrow as it is Phil’s 21st so who knows how many people will turn up!
I’m having fun here in Corrientes but I’m just curious about Saenz Pena and ready to settle down somewhere, unpack my bags and get my teeth in to something!
I’m having fun here in Corrientes but I’m just curious about Saenz Pena and ready to settle down somewhere, unpack my bags and get my teeth in to something!
