If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

AFS in Reconquista

E-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org - 1544-4471

Maxwell Collins is from New Zealand. He lived his intercultural

experience for a year in Reconquista from February 2010 to January 2011. In this picture we can see him having mates with a Maori mask

in the background, in the city of Rotorua, a Maori cultural landmark. Number 14

February 2012

Digital News AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

February Departures Franco Reniero, Ma. Eugenia Mina & Mara Torossian

The Aerolíneas Argentinas flight which took Franco Reniero and eight

other exchange students left very early in the morning of February, 1st. They all flew to New Zealand to live the AFS Experience for a semester or a school year. Franco will be in Invercargill, in the South Island, for a

semester – until July 2012. Later, February, 23rd, it was Mara Torossian‘s turn to fly directly to Germany, where she will remain for a school year in the city of Bassun. Finally, María Eugenia Mina, who travelled to Costa Rica the 25th February. She will stay there for a school year as well in her host city Naranjos.

We wish the three of them the best, and we invite them to keep in touch sharing their experiences with us through this digital pages, which are all blank to be written with anecdotes, stories and anything they want to tell.

Eugenia points at Costa Rica, the country she

has chosen to live in for a school year as an exchange student.

Franco points at the sport where New Zealand is in a big map which can be found in the AFS Argentina & Uruguay Offices

in Buenos Aires, just a few hours before setting off.

Mara shows us where she will live for a school year, Germany, until January 2013.

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

For those of us who have lived their own exchange experience some time ago, we live and feel again those same emotions we used to have in the past. They are always present with us: joy because we have finally fulfilled a dream; anxiety and nervousness because we are facing

an intercultural adventure in a different place, with a different background; some kind of sadness and pain just because we have left behind family and friends; the wish to grow as an individual, to learn about a new language, a new culture and also to incorporate

new cultural values, which might be different to mine, as my own; but, above all, longing to get love from a family who are ‘but

strangers’, and who are willing to host us voluntarily, wishing to have the best experience with us.

Our Local Chapter’s candidates have finally parted, and we travelled with them with our feelings and emotions, just like we did in the past. We are very happy every time we get news from them, we discover and learn about a lot of new things through their own discoveries. It seems as if their experience is multiplied and lived as their own by each person that know these exchange students who are miles away from home.

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Finland (Franco Lorenzini)

Germany (Ma. Laura Buyatti and Mara Torossian)

New Zealand (Franco Reniero)

Costa Rica (Ma. Eugenia Mina)

There are five young students from our Local Chapter living their intercultural exchange experience abroad at the moment.

Recalling my experience By José Manuel Buyatti

Host families are around the world one of the

main pillar in every AFS exchange experience: without families willing to open the doors of their homes and hearts , and share their lives (simple o complex ones), it is impossible for the AFS Mission to be

accomplished. The experience is not easy, however. That is why the volunteers accompany the students in all the harsh times, convinced that with every crisis there is some much for learning, getting better, in other words: a new opportunity for growing. Thanks Franco, Ma. Laura, Franco, Mara and Ma. Eugenia for giving us the chance to feel all those feelings once again.

José Manuel Buyatti

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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An AFS volunteer’s work is hard work. It is not easy but it always pays off. So much so that AFS Argentina & Uruguay called me to be part of the National Scholarship Committee, whose main

purpose is to analyse all the files from students who apply for an AFS scholarship. AFS grants a full and many partial scholarships to participants who have scarce or no monetary funds at all to pursue an exchange experience abroad. This way, AFS intends to promote the socio-cultural diversity of its programmes in our countries.

With purpose in mind, the four members of the National Scholarship Committee 2012 (one volunteer per region: NEA (North-East), NOA (North-West), Centre and Patagonia – plus a guide member) met last February, 11th in the National Offices of Asociación Civil AFS Programas Interculturales Argentina & Uruguay. The Committee analysed each and every file from students throughout the country from 9.30 a.m. until 8.30 p.m. It will be hard to forget my participation in the Committee because I had the chance to exchange opinions, different points of view, ways of interpreting reality, laughter, mates, pizzas and a nice time with other volunteers, not just another days’ work.

Marisa Masin, Volunteer from our

Local Chapter who lives in Villa Ocampo, was summoned to participate in the revision of the exchange students’ files. They will be coming to Argentina & Uruguay next August 2012. Marisa had to check that all the files are complete with all the necessary information so as assign them later to the different Local Chapters in Argentina & Uruguay. Then, the Local Chapters will be able to start looking for the students’ host families. This volunteer team work is a great opportunity for volunteers to meet other volunteers from different parts of both countries, thus strengthening the bonds between them, as well as sharing experiences and spending some social time together.

In August 2012, approximately 300 exchange students will be arriving to Argentina & Uruguay. Seven of them will be

hosted in our Local Chapter. Say Yes! and become a Host Family to one of them!

National Scholarship Committee By Stefano Pividori

Files’ revision for the NH12 programmes

I invite you to join AFS because it gives back a lot of what you invest. You

can join us by going abroad, hosting a student at home – both ways will

help you broaden your way of seeing the world and open up your minds. But you can also Become a Volunteer. You learn a lot being

one! Join AFS in your community!

AFS will give away u$s 22.450 in scholarships during 2012!

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

to Misiones, Salta, Jujuy and Córdoba, touring a bit our vast country.

They came back to Avellaneda the fist week of February to be with the Fenoglio-Morzans for a last time, as they had to fly back to Germany in February 8th.

Both families are closer now and said goodbye promising to meet again in July 2012 – this time in Germany.

Ronja Fischer lived in Avellaneda (Santa Fe) for a school year with family Fenoglio-Morzan (from February 2011 to January 2012). In

mid January Ronja travelled to Buenos Aires to participate in the End of Stay Orientation (EOS). She stayed in the Capital City for a couple of days, when her German family arrived to Argentina. In January, 29th she came back to Avellaneda for a couple of days to visit her host family, but accompanied by her natural family. Later they moved

A visit from Germany Ronja Fischer’s natural family visited Avellaneda (RL Reconquista)

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From left to right: Alejandra, Abel, Francisco, Ronja, (with the AFS T-

shirt), Ilka, Carsten (behind) and Svenja

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

the 2012 activities of our Local Chapter: Reconquista

Meeting for Planning

The Volunteers from AFS Reconquista met on Saturday, 4th and work for a whole day in a neighbouring farm planning the different activities for 2012. It was a time to evaluate the Local Chapter as a group and also the personal work dome by each active member during 2011. Because of previous personal appointments, Marisa Masin (Villa Ocampo), Romina Dotti and Marta Berli (Calchaquí), could not

be present in the meeting.

De izquierda a derecha: Stephen, Matthew, Marisa, Timothy, Daniel y Kym

Page 6 Roberto Stefano Ma. Elena Virginia Gabriela Claudia Raúl José Manuel Sergio

The volunteers from AFS Reconquista chose the Volunteer of the Year 2011. She is María Virginia Loza and is the Local

Hosting Coordinator. The qualities the volunteers had to consider were: ❶

the AFS values put into practise; ❷ team work predisposition, and ❸ initiative and willingness to take new challenges in the local organisation. Our Local Chapter gave Virginia the chance to participate in FORMIVATE 2012 as a prize. Formivate is a gathering of volunteers from the Southern Region whose members are AFS Argentina & Uruguay, AFS Brasil, AFS Bolivia, AFS Chile and AFS Paraguay. This meeting aims at training and motivating volunteers and will take place from March 1st to 4th at Campamento Educativo La Estancita in Río Ceballos, Córdoba.

Volunteer of the Year of AFS Reconquista

Romina Marta

Marisa

Congrats, Virgi

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Página 6

Reconquista’s AFS Volunteers gave the Host Family’s Orientation on Saturday 11th and 25th February.

These sessions are designed in order to provide the new AFS families with theoretical and practical information which will be helpful to go through the experience they are about to have with an exchange student at home. At the same time, they intend to bring volunteers and family members together so that they can later work as a team and also to meet the Contact person assigned to each of them. In the sessions they were presented with the AFS rules once more, about the importance of attending school because of Student’s VISA the AFS exchange students have upon entering our country, and about the AFS Travel policies their new children have to respect. Families Fabrissin-Ittig (Reconquista), Flores (Calchaquí) and Fantin-Vicentin (Villa Ocampo), participated actively in

the sessions by asking about all the doubts they had, as well as their concerns and worries as regards having a foreign student at home. They were all excited about receiving them in few hours. We would like to thank family Ortolani-Perone, a host family

for an Australian boy from August 2011 to January 2012, who kindly accepted our invitation to talk about their experience to the new host families.

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Special thanks to Escuela Particular Incorporada

N° 1402 “Instituto San Jerónimo” School from Reconquista, for letting us use their classrooms in order to deliver our Host Family’s Sessions.

Host Families Orientation

of AFS Reconquista

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

By Siripattara Lumpowpong (Mook)

In February, three days before my trip, I cried on my mum’s shoulders and I felt homesick even before leaving. My life was

about to start in a new world without my family or friends. When I got to Argentina, though, I said to myself: “I am here now, I cannot go back, so I have to learn and get what is best for me in Argentina, that way I

will not be sad in the end.”

Lucky me, my host family is great: Dad, Mum, an older sister, a younger sister, and two brothers. When I got to Reconquista’s

bus station, I saw a big family with a big banner which read “Bienvenida Mook”. I new they were my new family then.

When we got home, they asked a lot of questions, but I said a few things because I did not know about the language. I was very happy with this family. They looked after

me as if they were my natural family, they gave me love and helped me whenever I

needed. Someone told me then that was family life. I love the,

because they have always been with me since then. I

n Argentina I had the chance to do many things I had never done before, especially because its culture is totally different to mine. In Thailand I hardly ever went out to have a drink or dinner with friends at night – that is not so good back home – as we have to

focus on our studies all the time. Our future at university and our jobs depend on that if we want to have a comfortable life. In

Argentina there is not much time to study, but everybody works and learn though not from books. I realised it is not very

important to study crazily as we do in Thailand as you forget most of it by the time you are an adult.

The first day at school in Argentina was weird. Everybody looked

at me as if I was a kind of alien. Then I met my classmates from 5th year. We stayed in school for a while and then we went to

have lunch at the park. We had “choripanes” and after lunch we talked and sang until 4 p.m. I went back home and mum told me off because I told her I had been in the park. Then I found out it

was just a joke!

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I had never thought about going on an exchange trip because of the lifestyle I had in Thailand. It was mainly because of school, a year is a lot to miss! But why did I come for a year? I thank God for this decision. One day my dad asked me if I wanted to go with my sister and take an AFS exam. My answer was “yes”. Ironically, I passed the exam (not my sister) and it was then that I was prepared to go on an exchange programme.

However, I thought about it for a long time before I finally decided to do it, as I would miss my friends’ graduations, which was very important for me as well. Then I thought how difficult it was to pass the AFS exam and also about the people who would like to participate and do not make it, so I decided to miss the other. One day I went to an AFS orientation and I found the final answer. I chose to participate after I heard about a boy’s experience in Panama, who had also travelled wondering why he had done it, and when he said “I am lucky I finally decided to go on an exhange programme”.

At first I wanted to go to Japan, but there were no more places left. Then a volunteer called my dad and told him there was a vacancy in Argentina. Please! I knew nothing about this country, only it had beef, football and the Iguazú Falls. However, my dad said “Argentina is a nice country” and I did not matter anymore. I believed what my father had said.

My experience in Argentina

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

In the park I met a Danish girl who attended other school, but she was there because her school had also gone there for lunch. Even though we did not see often, she is my best friend. She always helped me when I needed and she taught me about the importance of an exchange experience. Every time I felt sad, she was there with me. I was very happy to take part in Malabrigo’s Orchestra, and to learn to play charango, violin and to take traditional dancing lessons. Also with my family and friends. I had “Cultural Shock” after the third month in Argentina. I felt tired and got bored with everybody. I did not want to go out with friends or do anything at all. I spent a lot of time in my computer, listed to music, chatted in Facebook and on my Blog everyday. I missed my family and friends a lot, and I felt really moody at times. When all these passed, everything seemed better. When I felt sad, I normally went on a walk alone, played the new instruments or had mates. It was not the best to shut myself or being alone and I knew it. . In the end, it was good to participate in an AFS programme. I had an amazing experience I would never have anywhere else. I spent almost a year in Malabrigo, Argentina with Alfur from

Iceland (he was in Reconquista) and Ronja from Germany (she was in Avellaneda). Everything happened so fast!

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A year seems to be a lot, but also not enough. If

they tell me I have lost a year in Thailand, my

answer will be “Yes”, but I do not regret it and I do not feel sad about coming

back from Argentina either.

At the Iguazú Falls

The Argentinian Flag’s monument (Rosario)

Purmamarca

Picking oranges in Malabrigo

Having mates

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

It was 7 a.m. on Sunday when the bus coming from Buenos Aires surprised

us. It had arrived 30 minutes before the scheduled time.

Very quickly, the five exchange students, who have been in the

Local Chapter since last August, displayed some letters they had cut out the previous afternoon and, with some volunteers and a host mum, lined up to form the word WELCOME in Spanish. That was the way the decided to receive they new fellow AFS adventurers.

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Jóhanna, Augusta, Bára, Sergio, Roberto, Clara, Stefano, Carlo &Tine

Finally in Reconquista The bus arrived 30 minutes earlier on Sunday 26th February. Three new

students had arrived to our Local Chapter to live their experiences in

Reconquista, Calchaquí and Villa Ocampo respectively.

The host families who have been waiting for them for a couple of

months, on the other hand, received their new children with huge ‘Welcome’ banners, warm hugs and kisses, and contagious smiles which stood for the language they could not use to say how much they love having their new children at home.

Family Fabrissin-Ittig greeting their son Danilo from Brazil

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Host families, NH11 exchange students, AFS volunteers and friends gathered

to welcome Danilo, Aleena and Alexandria last Sunday at the Reconquista

Bus Station: GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW EXPERIENCES!

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Family Fantin-Vicentín and their daughter Aleene from Thailand

Family Flores together with their daughter Alexandria from the USA

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

The AFS mate in New Zealand

In the front page we find Maxwell Collins (who was a exchange

student from AFS New Zealand in Reconquista) having mates with a Maori mask, in Rotorua, second most important city of the North

Island.

Here, we see him with the Rotorua Geyser in the background. The

vapour comes from all cracks on the floor, the gardens, roads and even residential streets.

It comes out with its characteristic sulphuric smell which reminds the

visitors they are on top of an active thermal area. There are many geysers, hot mud pools, silica terraces and volcanoes right

round the corner.

Thank you Max for sharing with us these amazing pictures which help us learn through them a bit more about your country and culture.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

AFS Reconquista Contacts José Manuel Buyatti 1544-4471 María Elena Landi 421350 Claudia Lanteri 424507 Sergio Sanchez 1545-7527 E-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org www.afs.org.ar AFS RL RECONQUISTA