Learn Spanish and Work in a Childrens Home in Buenos Aires

Overview

You will have an amazing opportunity to learn Spanish in a fun way and be able to put it into practise as you learn more about Buenos Aires. After your two weeks in the Spanish school you will be able to get immersed helping local children in various children’s homes. You will not only have a great time practising your Spanish and learning lots more from the children but you will also be able to give them the care and attention that they lack.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 (Sunday) – Arrive into Buenos Aires International Airport (airport code EZE)

Please book your flight to arrive into Ministro Pistarini Internation Airport (airport code EZE) which is also known as Ezeiza, on the scheduled arrivals day.
Once you have arrived at the airport you will be met by one of the drivers from the transport company, so please look out for your name on arrival, you will then be taken to your main accommodation for your stay to settle in and recover from your flight. You will also have the rest of the day to get to know your fellow students .

Day 2 (Monday) – Starting Lessons

Today you will start at the Spanish and will kick the day off with a Spanish level test so that the school can access your level of Spanish and put you into an appropriate group. Don’t worry though it sounds more stressful than it is and it will make sure that you are with a group of students that are all about the same level! Your day will start early though as you will need to be at the school for about 8am, so have your thinking caps on! You will be given a welcome pack too today to help make you aware of what it is like to live in a big city and what Buenos Aires has to offer! The Spanish school is a 15 to 20 minute walk from the hostel.

Days 3 to 6 (Tuesday to Friday) – Learning Spanish

You will get fully immersed into your classes learning Spanish from some great tutors and will be amazed as to how much you can learn in such as short space of time! You will learn how to use the language in every day situations so you can practise straightaway in the local markets, shops and bars! There really will be no excuse!

Your lessons will be in the mornings for 4 hours and then the afternoons are free for you to join in one of the many activities that the school arranges for you to ensure that you have a fun time, you could go on a walking tour of the city to get yourself more settled in to your surroundings, costs are kept to a minimum as you are a student after all!

Days 7 to 8 (Saturday and Sunday) Weekend and free time!

Now is your chance to get out and about and really see what Buenos Aires has to offer! You will have learned a lot about Buenos Aires in your first week but now is the time to really explore! The Spanish will also give you plenty of ideas of what to do and will probably have activities already arranged that you could participate on, a great place to visit is La Boca and it is not that far either, or if further afield is more your fancy then why not try eld for Colonia or Tigre a beautiful river delta just outside the capital or to an Argentine Estancia!

Days 9 to 13 (Monday to Friday) – Spanish Lessons

You will carry on your Spanish lessons through this week and increase your vocabulary tenfold! There will be plenty of practising your new found language skills, in fact you may even think that you are nearly fluent! (Well you can wish hey!!) One thing is for sure though, you will have had a great two weeks in the process!

Days 14 to 15 (Saturday and Sunday) Weekend free

You will have another weekend now to catch up the things that you haven`t quite had time to do yet, or if you do need some time to chill you could just relax in one of the many bars and sit and watch the world go by! The choice is yours!

Day 16 (Monday) Orientation at the project

Today you will have an in depth orientation about your project, what it is all about, the do`s and don`ts, etc and you will also be shown how to get to the project by public transport, introduced to the staff at the project and shown around. Now is your opportunity to ask any questions that have not been answered and have a chat with the staff so that you are happy with what you will be doing during your time at the project.

You will be working with children in an orphanage or a children`s home who have come from underprivileged backgrounds or lack the family support that we all take for granted. You will need to bring an open mind to the project, be able to be pro active, think on your feet and get stuck in!

Days 17 to 20 (Tuesday to Friday) Work at the project

From today onwards you will be getting immersed into your time at the project and getting to know the children at the project. They may have come from at risk situations and may not have any family support so this is where you come on to make their daily life better and to give them the skills and knowledge that they need to progress in the future.

Days 21 to 22 (Saturday and Sunday) Weekend free

Another weekend where you can explore more of this city and by now you will be confident in your Spanish language skills that you will be able to take on any situation!

Days 23 to 27 (Monday to Friday) Project work

You will have made some amazing friends by now, some of whom may become life long! You will be working through this week at the project and making your time with the children fun and exciting as you help to improve their life skills and give them hope for a better future. They will be learning more about where you come from and what life in different countries is like and you too will be learning from them!

Day 28 to 29 (Saturday and Sunday) Weekend again!

If you are leaving this weekend then this may be the last chance to shop for your souvenirs and get all those goodies for your friends and family back home, but don`t forget something for you in the process too! If you are staying for longer then you will have the weekend to do as you please!

Following weeks

Over the following weeks you will be working Monday to Friday at your project so you will become fully immersed and really getting to see the impact you are making. These projects are massively important to the children you will be working with and you will be giving them lots of hope for a brighter future.

Your weekends will be all your own to continue your exploration of this amazing country! The i-to-i team can help you organize your activities or if you prefer a lazy day with a book, it can be just as enjoyable!

Last Day (Sunday) Time to bid farewell

Today is your last day where you bid farewell to your fellow students and children at your project, it will more than likely be a sad farewell but you can still keep in touch with all those you have met and who knows, you may back here in the not too distant future!

You will need to make your own way back to the airport but the in country team will be on hand to help you!

Dates & Prices

Date	Prices	Book
01 Jan - 31 Dec 2011	£1,199 for 4 weeks, £175 for every week thereafter	How to book

How to book

For more information about this project or to book your place please email trailblazers@rockuk.org or call us on 0844 8000 222.

Photos

Important Information

What’s Included

• Accommodation:Shared room in dormitory style accommodation in a hostel
• Food:Breakfast only (budget approximately US$50 per week)
• Airport Pickup:Included on arrival date. Ask us for details if you’re arriving early!
• Training:In-country orientation
• Support:Pre-departure helpdesk, Local in-country team and 24hr emergency support
• What’s not included
• Flights, Insurance, Visas, Return Airport transfer, Local Transport, * Food (lunch and dinner not provided)

Fast Facts

• Location of project:Buenos Aires
• Arrival Airport:Buenos Aires (airport code EZE)
• Activities:Providing general care and assistance in looking after the children. This will involve helping children with their school work, playing games, teaching English & basic life skills
• Working Hours:Flexible; Monday to Friday 15 hours per week, longer hours available, there is often availability to volunteer at the weekends with certain projects.
• Getting to the project:Dependent on location; up to 2 hours journey time by local transport -although the majority are within the hour (budget approximately US$5 to US$10 per week)
• Requirements:Minimum age 18, Police check required
• Other: Semana Santa (Latin America Holy week) will be from April 15th to April 24th 2011 and March 30th to April 8th 2012, you may have some disruptions to the placement during this time, please also expect some disruption during Christmas and New Year