Projects Abroad, Newsletters from Argentina

Travelling North in Argentina, you might come upon Gauchos, also known as wanderers of the Pampas. Described as hard-working horsemen, men of myth and historical significance, these ‘South American Cowboys’, are a symbol of romanticism because of their free and natural lifestyle. They have a strong cultural identity and for centuries roamed the country’s vast plains, the Pampas, herding cattle, working ranches - essentially bringing together the simplicity of this lifestyle to create a unique culinary experience.

Guillermo is 42 years old and he was born in Cordoba, Argentina and studied Business Administration at Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. He taught Economic Policy of Argentina at Faculty of Economics in Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Guillermo's experience includes serving as a founding member of ILA (International Leadership Association), former President of the local Chapter of AIESEC Cordoba (97/98) and National President of AIESEC Argentina (98/99) (International Association for Students Exchanges)

Oktoberfest is celebrated each year in the historically German town of Villa General Belgrano, about 10 km outside of Cordoba. The festival lasts for approximately 10 days and spans the first two weekends of October, to celebrate the harvest of barley in Germany. Both Argentineans and tourists flock to the city to enjoy the music, performances, and an unending variety of beers.

Music not only reflects but also shapes and constructs our social identities. The cuarteto music and dance is one of Cordoba’s icons. Argentinean music is well known for genres like tango, folk, and ´rock nacional´, but regional music such as ´cuarteto´ is less known by foreigners. That’s why we would like you to read a bit about how this genre was born, so when you visit our land you dance and sing the “tunga tunga” rhythm nonstop.

There are many reasons why Argentina is famous. One of them is because of its popular dance "Tango". Anyone can enjoy listening to or dancing Argentinean Tango. This dance expresses the passion and feelings. In Cordoba, our volunteers had the great opportunity to learn how to dance it. During the lesson, as well as having a lot of laughs, they learned the basic steps to move on the dance floor.

Cerro Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain outside Asia. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza. The summit is located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the international border with Chile. It lies 112 km (70 mi) west by north of the city of Mendoza. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. It is one of the Seven Summits.

The new years has began with the joy and happiness of having lots of volunteers in Cordoba where they will be able to see their dreams of enjoying their projects, meeting new friends and visiting new places come true.

As everyone may have deduced by my look, I am an extreme sports lover and I was planning to go sky diving on my own. When I commented on this to some of the volunteers, they automatically wanted to join me. The scheduled day was Saturday 18^th. I had been planning this for a long time, so when the day before it started pouring with rain, I thought I was about to pass away! Against everyone’s perception, Saturday came sunny and with no clouds in the sky!

Alter a couple of months, we meet again! We have been more than busy with lots of volunteers in every project, amounting to 52 by the end of July. The fact that volunteers choose Argentina as the place to do their project makes us so proud and we are happy to meet people so willing to help others without asking anything in return.

During the 19^th century when the first European settlers arrived in Argentina they brought their horses and cattle with them. Some animals escaped domestication and quickly populated the fertile pampas, and from these free resources emerged the gaucho, relying on the cattle for food and clothing and the horses for transportation. It is said that the real gaucho is recognized by his bandy legs as he is seldom out of the saddle and when a gaucho was without his horse he was without legs.

Sunday was cold and rainy, and we walked what seemed like a lifetime (carrying all on food and drinks) to another part of the river. We enjoyed our time together talking, while Nelson made chorizo sausage on the parilla for choripan. After a quiet day together we made our way back to the office tired but happy.

I am writing to give a warm welcome to all the volunteers, hoping that their stay in our country it is not only pleasant but also of great learning in your projects. It is important to remember that being a “volunteer” is a compromise that involves commitment and responsibility towards the institution you are working for. Also I want to say goodbye to the volunteers who leave and return to their home. It has been very important to have you here and be able to share their dreams. I hope e we can meet again. We will always remember you.

We were up in a hostel in Cordoba where I picked up some leaflets for 'Paracaidismo' (skydiving). There were lots of pictures of people falling out of planes. I turned to the other volunteers and said "I'll do it if you do it", half joking. Everyone agreed to it without really knowing what they where getting themselves into. The following weekend we all trooped off to Alta Gracia (birth place of Che Guevara, which is worth a visit if you have time)