Grace Cunningham (AFS Australia student in Reconquista 2008/09) having mates with the Sydney Opera House in the background.

AFS in ReconquistaE-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org.ar 1544-4471

Number 2, February 2011

Digital News

‘All men are made of the same clay, but not with the same mould’.

Mexican Proverb

AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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Colonia Valdense, UruguayFrom February, 3 to 6

I° Volunteer Camp of the AFS Southern Cone Region.

AFS Southern Cone Region is the formal occasional melting of AFS Argentina & Uruguay, AFS Brazil, AFS Bolivia, AFS Chile and AFS Paraguay, with the objective of strengthening regional bonds, maximizing the work as a network and forming/training volunteers from the region regarding contents, thus achieving a better quality programme AFS offers around the world.

With this goal in mind and oriented by AFS Southern Cone Region, the 1° Volunteer Camp of the AFS Southern Cone Region: FORMIVATE was born. It was suggested by volunteers to generate a common place where they could gather, be trained and be motivated to face the new challenges the organisation faces everyday. This was a Camp for Active Volunteers and for all those people who feel identified with the AFS Mission, and who wanted to grow and motivate themselves at the same time.

During the camp, and surrounded by a friendly atmosphere, the participants had the chance to attend different training sessions and cohesive, integrating and fun activities, adapted to the group dynamics and diversity that our organization has (age, gender, origin, experience, knowledge, skills, interests, etc.).

A total of 50 participants from the Southern Cone Region and 2 special guests from Mexico attended the meeting.

A group of 8 volunteers were in charge of the 16 training sessions. They trained their fellow volunteers in: Intercultural Communication, Intercultural Learning, Leadership, Government and Intercultural Conflict Management, among other topics.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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Host Familiy OrientationOn Friday, 11th February 2011, the Host Family Orientation took place. It was

for those families who will be receiving an AFS child in February. 27th .

They are: the Moschen-Vogel family, the Rambaldo-Amarillafamily, and the Fenoglio-Morzán family.The Orientation AFS provides the families with helps them to live the experience. Theory about Intercultural Learning is given, as well as practical tips, the AFS rules, and direct counselling of how to react with an AFS child or sibling who is a teenager from another culture. In the Orientation, the families clarify their doubts and common concerns. AFS gives them theoretical and practical ideas of how to live the experience the are starting. The concepts of Culture, Cultural Differences, the Experience Cycle, Intercultural Communication, Ethnocentrism and Ethnorelativism were first introduced. The family

was also warned about the role the student has in the host School, within the family and the community.

The Orientation is also aimed to help the different families get to know each other, as well as meeting the AFS volunteers who will be working with them hand in hand and as a team. Our intention as volunteers is to help the young student to adapt to our culture at the same time the family adapts to the new family member and integrates him/her.

In this sense, AFS assigns one volunteer per family/student to be a guide and counsellor during the whole experience.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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On February, 18th AFS Reconquista Local Chapter Volunteers gathered for the first time in the year to plan in this

formal meeting the actions for 2011.

The new Strategic Plan for the 2011 local and

national activities were revised. Dates, objectives

and the responsible people to accomplish them

were agreed.

New projects and initiatives were discussed. All of

them with the aim of helping Host Families,

Students and Host Schools to profit from the

Intercultural Experience they are all living.

After the formal meeting, the volunteers had a

friendly dinner. After all, we are just friends who

share our lives and dreams, as well as the AFS

Mission and the organisation we work for! AFS Reconquista Volunteers,

during a formal AFS meeting.

Volunteers’ MeetingConnecting lives, Sharing Cultures

They arrived on February, Sunday 27th, 30 minutes before the

time. The students who arrived the Reconquista Bus Station are:

Siripattara “Mook” (Thailand), Alfur (Island) y Ronja (Germany),

and they are all AFS Exchange Students who will be living their annual

Intercultural Experience in our region.

Their host families, AFS volunteers and exchangestudents, who have been in our communities since August 2010, were

all waiting for them at the station to give them their warm welcome.

One by one the students left the bus who brought them from Buenos

Aires. They were accompanied by Sergio Sanchez (AFS Reconquista

volunteer who participated in the Arrival Orientation Camp). As soon as

they set their fist steps in our soil, their host families ran to meet them,

surprising them with hugs and kisses, even when they were warned

in the Arrival Camp of these Argentinian traditions.

Familia Speranza-Gerber

New AFS exchange students are in town! They’ll be living...

in Reconquista, Avellaneda y Malabrigo

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Islandia

Alemania

Tailandia

Argentina

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Página 6

But we must understand this. They’ve already met before but

through mails and some paper files they exchanged.

Both parties are anxious and nervous at the same time. They are

both part of the intercultural experience which will give them

personal growth. The student will give his/her family the chance to

profit from hosting him/her, by sharing their lives and integrating a

’stranger’ as a family member.

After the compulsory family picture and greetings, each of them

were driven home by their families, with their luggage full of hopes

and promises of intercultural growth.

Moschen-Vogel Family

Rambaldo-Amarilla Family

Fenoglio-Morzán Family

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Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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First, a few things about me. I’m Niklas, from Germany. I’m 15 years old and I’ve been in

Argentina for 6 months already. I have a family here in Reconquista (Santa Fe). They are

my host family and they are my parents (Pablo and Daniela), a younger brother (Mateo) and

an older sister (Alfonsina).

My first days were not hard or strange. Immediately after I left all the people I know back in

Germany, I knew that I was coming here to start a new life in Reconquista. I didn’t know

how to speak Spanish and I didn’t know much where and who I was going to live with,

though.

When I got to the bus station I was really nervous. All the host families, AFS volunteers and

exchange students were waiting for us. I first had to recognise my family, but I met their

eyes really soon. They greeted me, and it was strange because we didn’t know each other

well. We had just exchanged some emails because I couldn’t write or speak a word in

Spanish, so I could only talk with my Argentinian mum in English.

The first time of my experience, she translated everything I needed and had to know. I

guess it must have been really hard for her . She explained to me the rules of the house,

the family routine and how they live. It was really weird to be sitting at the table all together

during the first month. They would all speak but I couldn’t understand a thing!

It’s difficult for me to explain how I felt then. But I was really happy to be in Argentina and

have the chance to meet new people and learn about this new culture.

My Argentinian family and me on holidays.

By NiklasAn account of my first months in Argentina

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Schnierstein(Originally written in Spanish)

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The hardest thing was the language. I learned many things in the first weeks and soon I

could understand and speak a little bit in Spanish. It was all thanks to my mum Daniela

and my friends who speak English that I learned faster. I would always ask them what

the words I couldn’t understand meant. Luckily, they always answered my questions!

After two months, I stopped speaking English and I tried to speak only Spanish. It was

terrible! All the words and phrases I used during the 2 first months were: ‘What?’, ‘What

does it mean?’, ‘I don’t understand’. But soon I got better. I learned new things every

single day.

Now that I can use the language, I have the chance to know the culture better, I can

make friends who don’t speak English and I can talk to them in Spanish (it’s easier for

me to do it like that and it’s also easier for them to understand me!). I don’t need any

translation now. I understand the jokes my friends play on me and everything they say.

This is really important for me. I feel much better and I’m really happy to be here!

After all that, the best part of life here started. I have no language problems, I have really

good friends, I had and have a great relationship with my family and I don't miss my

German family. I don’t really know why. It must be because I'm really comfortable here.

I don’t know what else to write, but I’m sure I’ll never regret coming to Argentina.

Niklas

My Argentinian family and me on holidays.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Grace Cunningham was an AFS exchange student from Australia who lived in Reconquista from February 2008 until January 2009, in

an annual programme.

During his experience Grace lived with José Manuel Buyatti y Ma. Gabriela Zamer’s family. She attended the 3° year at Instituto San

José School as a regular student, where she met her best friend Agostina Calvo Deiber who was a classmate.

Between December 2010 and January 2011, Agostina travelled to Australia to visit her friend, staying in her house and learning a little

about the Australian culture and way of life.

They also had time to travel to Sydney where they took this beautiful picture having mates, with the Sydney Bay Bridge as a

witness in the background. They also sent us the picture in the front page of this issue. Thank you, girls!.

The AFS mate from Sydney (Australia)

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

AFS Reconquista ContactsJosé Manuel Buyatti 1544-4471 María Elena Landi 421350 Claudia Lanteri 424507Sergio Sanchez 1545-7527

E-mail: rl.reconquista@afs.org.ar www.afs.org.ar

AFS RL RECONQUISTA