#8 Dropping into an Argentine State School

My two placements here in Argentina have been in private English institutes and in my final week in Villa María I went to a local secondary state school which teaches ‘technical’ subjects: Electronics, Electricity, Mechanics – subjects I know nothing about!  I joined my supervisor/host Mum to drop in on her regular English lessons and show my face and native language to the lads!

Tuesday morning and we walked into the large, white-wash building with tall ceilings and thick brick walls that kept any little heat from the sun firmly outside!  I walked into the classroom to be met by 24, 18 year old guys sitting slouched around the walls of the classroom, Spanish echoing round the bare room. 

Short, foreign and female - I felt distinctly out of place here! I was pretty intimidated and nervous to say the least! 

Anyhow, 80 minutes later and despite the wide range of levels of English - from nothing to intermediate - we had successfully learnt a lot about each other and were leaving with smiles on our faces. 

Jokes and laughter from unexpected answers, such as that I enjoy fernet and Coke; hurriedly whispered translations to friends who hadn’t understood; moments of absolute silence where all eyes, even from the less-interested ones at the back, were focused on my every word; and the amusement of this English girl reeling off phrases of Castellaño in the final few minutes made the lesson, the first of several, pretty special and amusing for all!

For many of the students it was their first time meeting a European, even foreigner.   I heard that several of the guys had promised my supervisor that they would study harder or were really keen to attend a private institute! What a brilliant surprise - though whether this follows through I will never know! 

The great thing was that I had influenced them in some way, something which can be very hard to realise when you’re on the inside.

Whilst the classrooms in the school were...err...less than spectacular, the workshops were adorned with electrical technology and equipment that I wouldn’t even know where to begin with! 

Four sparkling new cars sat around waiting to be played with and an old banger sat as an empty metal shell soon to be revamped with the latest engine and wiring.  What a playground; isn’t school great!

#7 Villa María - teaching placement no.2

The bus pulled out from Retiro bus terminal, Buenos Aires, leaving the bustling capital behind it and taking me to a new and unknown destination in the province of Córdoba to start my second placement of teaching in Argentina.

After 550km of dark roads and a disturbed night of being paranoid I might sleep through my stop, we arrived into Villa María.  Wow...couldn't really get much more silent and sleepy; though for 6am on a dark Monday morning, I thought I should probably give it more of a chance!

Despite the early hour - when normally I would barely be able to muster a polite 'hola' - I was generously welcomed into a beautiful home and shown what would be my own personal bedroom and bathroom for the next 7 weeks.  Oh, the luxury!  Having not had my own space for many months and been living out of a bag with a very limited variety of clothes for the past 3 months, this setup, plus being reunited with everything I owned in Argentina, was quite exciting!

Now to set the scene of what has been my life these past 5 weeks.

I am working in Rainbow Academia de Ingles, supporting the teachers in their lessons by bringing aspects of English culture and native language to the lessons.

From this point of view, my responsibilities are slightly different to how they were in Comodoro where I was the teacher who planned and took the lessons of some weekly classes, set the homework and, not forgetting, disciplined the students too - yes, I do mean you, Ped...
...nah, I won't mention any names!

The small, stylish and recently refurbished institute has 4 incredibly welcoming and outgoing teachers who I work with, plus the director (my supervisor) and a stream of enthusiastic students from children to professional adults.

I am living with my supervisor, her husband and their old dog Frida - aka ovejita (little sheep) for her curly white hair - and, because the institute is tucked neatly at the back of the house, from my bedroom window I can hear the kids running through the garden to class.  This has been unbelievably helpful when I wake up 6 minutes before class starts!  Although, it also means that sometimes I don't leave the house and can pass my day without realising the strength of the late summer sun or the autumn leaves starting to drop, let alone daily life around me.

Villa María riverside

Having said that, just 2 blocks (streets) from the house is a gushing river, bordered by lush green grass, beautiful trees, benches and outdoor gyms which provide entertainment for everyone.

Personally, it's a great spot to run or read and book and drink mate, but equally people choose to fish, camp - with or without a tent -, light up an asado (BBQ), or drive their motorbikes along it so as to avoid the road - each to their own; though being fair that was only one occasion!