blog FI -WEP

Archivo de Septiembre de 2008

Hola!
In my first month I was busy every day and I never became bored. Maybe the reason for that is that I live together with 6 brothers and sisters (3, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17) . For me that was the biggest difference of all, because in Germany I have only one sister. But I didn’t have problems to get used to it, because they all treat me really well!
My town, Villa Constituciòn (50 km away from Rosario) is not really big and not really beautiful but I like especially the people here. AND we have a “Puerto” here, which is very beautiful!!
In school everything is totally different! On my first day the whole school (really!!) stood around me and asked me all kind of questions and I really had problems to answer them all. Afterwards I was really exhausted ! Now I am not anymore that kind of wonder, but there are still a lot of (lovely) people around me.
In my free time I have two times a week Spanish lesson, which helps me a lot, because at the first time I really had problems to express myself and to understand the others! And I have piano and tango lessons. It is really funny and I like it a lot although there are not that many persons in my age .  And the rest of the week I spend my time with my family, which also contains a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins and with friends from school. At the weekends I am invited to lots of cumpleaños de 15, which I really enjoy, because they are so different from the birthdays in Germany. And of course I enjoy drinking a lot of Mate, making Asado and eating Dulce de Leche .
So as you can see I am totally Argentinean after one month! ;) And I am sure that this Exchange was the right decision!!

¡Muchos saludos y besos!
Karin

Hola!

Hi everyone, my name is Sandra, I am from Italy and i have been in Argentina for a month and a half now! I am going to spend six months here on an exchange program and I would like to share my experience with you up til now!

An exchange program has so many sides to it that one would need a whole lifetime to describe everything. Its mainly about getting integrated and confortable in a new family, getting used to new rythyms of your daily life, learning the language, making new friends and getting to know new people, learning about the mentality of a different society, and going to school in a whole different language! It may seem easy written on paper, but I assure you that its not quite as easy. Before my departure from italy, all my friends who had come back from an exchange program told me that the first two weeks were going to be a bit tricky but, taken by my enthusiasm, I didn’t believe them. Now, looking back at the first two weeks I have to say that they were right. Everything seems amazing because its new and fresh and everyone is so interested in you, but after a couple days you realize that you are going to be spending a good amount of time there and you start getting a bit scared! I didn’t get scared because I didn’t like the place or the people, but just scared as in can I do this? Am I gonna be okay here? Furthermore, in the very beginning I didn’t have that many things to do after school, so this gives you time to think about your family or friends back in your home country. That’s when I  held on tight and started thinking about what I really wanted to do in my free time and how I could fully take advantage of being here. I will talk about my afternoon activities later.

As soon as I got to Argentina, apart from the extreme climate change, everything seemed so amazing and new. I spent a week in Rosario with all the other exchange students from all over the world. During this week we had many activities and I have to say that it was a bit tireing but so heldful and amazing! We were divided into groups and had four hours of spanish lessons every morning (very difficult) and the last day they tested our spanish and I think everyone did well! For me, these lessons were very useful and I learned a lot. In the afternoon, WEP organized a series of trips around the city to orientate us in our new country. I enjoyed them very much as it was a way to see a city that I probably wont visit during my stay, and in the mean time socialize and interact with the other exchange students. I really loved this orientation week because I got to meet so many different and interesting people with whom I got  to share my doubts, expectations, fears, desires and interests for travelling. At the end of the week I didn’t want to leave but at the same time I was so excited to meet my new family and home! On that Friday they took us to our villages where we could finally meet our new families. As soon as  I got to my house I was greeted by my loving grandmother, with whom I live, and as soon as I got out of my coordinator´s car she jumped on me and hugged me saying that she loved me! This made me feel so welcome and gave me the idea that my stay in that house was going to be very warm! Later that I day I got to meet my two sisters, Lola and Agustina, who I was so excited to meet and they turned out to be so nice exactly as I expected! I got to know right away what the “argentinian young life” was because that night my sister took me out to a disco-bar until 6 in the morning! This was one of the first things that I had to get used to, the life that starts a lot later! Obviously, on Saturday night, I had my first experience in the “boliche”, the argentinian disco, in which we entered at four and got out at eight! In spite of my tiredness, the next morning we woke up for lunch and I had my first asado, the argentinian famous barbeque, which turned out to be delicious! As you can see, my first weekend was very lively, and it was a good way to get a hint of what my life was going to be like.

I then started school right away which I think helped because I got right into the rythym of things. It also helped because it was an important way to meet many new young people with whom I can share many things. The first week the other two exchange students and I were like “stars” in the school, always surrounded by so many people asking us questions, wanting to take pictures with us, ecc. I was absolutely not used to this but it was okay because it was a nice way to meet really nice people and you could tell they were really interested in you. I have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to be at school at 7:15 for the morning meeting, which I am not used to! Also, classes end really early compared to in italy, at 12:30, and this added more time to my “initially-boring-afternoon”. I then started to look for a gym, which I attend almost everyday now taking salsa and boxing lessons. I also take tango lessons, which I fell inlove with, twice a week with the other exchange students from Casilda. Futhermore, I will be helping out sometimes in an orphanage by playing or studying with little kids. I find myself thinking that here I have nothing to lose and because I`m going to be here for such a short time, I am open to doing and trying anything. In the rest of my spare time I study, take walks, spend time with my huge lively family, and simply socialize with the friends I made at school (obviously drinking mate in the park). I also do many things with my host sister, with whom I share many interests like watching movies, going on walks, baking, and sharing music. We might even start to learn how to play the guitar which I have been wanting to do for a long time!

As for my spanish, it has definitely improved a lot since I got here and now I understand everything and speak what I can more fluidly and rapidly! Argentinians speak very fastly and at times I have to ask them to slow down and repeat!

My first month and a half has been very different within it, and although I sometimes (sometimes) miss home, its been exciting, fun, and especially very different from my life in Italy. I am thrilled to know how the rest of my stay is going to be, how this dream is going to turn out, and if I can fulfill my goals. I encourage you all to do it also because it really tests your personality and I think you find out a lot about yourself that you didn’t know before! Good luck!

¡Hola!

Me llamo Isabelle.  Soy de Bélgica y tengo 18 años.

Estoy en Ricardone (Provincia de Santa Fe) desde el 25 de julio.  No me acuerdo mucho de mi primer día porqué estaba muy cansada.

La primera semana no hizo mucho: tenía frío y no pudió ir en la escuela todavía.  Entonces, estudiaba español con los libros viejos de mi madre.

Tengo suerte con mi familia: vivimos en el campo pero cerca de San Lorenzo y Rosario, la ciudad donde viven mis tíos y primos.

Me siento muy bien en la escuela: mis compañeros, de mi curso pero también del otro, son muy bien para mí.  A veces, leen en mis diccionarios y dicen algunas palabras en neerlandés.

Nadie sabe pronunciar mi apellido entonces en la lista de presencia hay simplemente ‘Isabelle’.

No tengo tiempo para hacer deportes o seguir cursos porqué estoy en la escuela 10 horas cada día.  Pero, nos divertimos mucho y siempre tomamos maté durante las lecciones.

En las fines de semana, a veces salgo con mi prima o mis compañeros.  Ya conozco cumbia y reggaeton, y los chicos me enseñan bailar.

Espero que pueda ir en la universidad con mis compañeros después la graduación.  He visto muchas cosas interesantes en la Expo Carreras y quería estudiar en Argentina antes de volver en Bélgica.

I am really looking forward to spending the next year with my new family and friendo in Argentina!

Saludos cordiales,

Isabelle

xxx