Mate-Argentina's National Drink video

How to prepare an Argentine mate!



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Bueno, entonces... Opening Sequence video

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The Best Language Schools in Buenos Aires

So Many Spanish Schools From Which to Choose in the Capital of Argentina

Article and photos by Dan Smith

2007 was going to be my year away from the working world; having been laid off from my job I was determined to make the best of the situation and use the entire year as a sabbatical to live abroad, learn a new language, and do a lot of traveling on the cheap whenever presented with the opportunity. Having previously been to Buenos Aires, I was attracted by the relatively high standard of living, fantastic rate of exchange, great night life, incredible food, impressive architecture, and multiple travel attractions across the country. In short, I knew it was the city that I wanted to live in while learning Spanish.

After using the Internet to arrange a long term apartment in a suitable part of the city, the most pressing issue that remained was finding the right school to attend. Several hours of research left me with information overload as it yielded dozens of schools in the city–a confusing mix of brand-new and long-established institutions with varying programs and services at prices all over the map. Which, if any of them, would be the best?

As a student-to-be in my late-30s I wasn’t as price sensitive as I would have been years past, although if there were good deals to be had at lower prices, so much the better. On the other hand, I didn’t want to end up being “the old guy” at the school, which was a concern in terms of after-hours socializing and travel. I also preferred schools that were not overrun with students from the U.S.A. or Europe, which would ensure actually practicing Spanish to communicate instead of defaulting to English—as tends to happen among students from those countries.

All schools under consideration had to be reputable, well-established, reasonably priced within the market, and located near the subway and bus lines. After much investigation, the schools that made the final cut were: Comisión de Intercambio Educativo (COINED), Instituto de Lengua Española para Extranjeros (ILEE), and International Bureau of Language (IBL). Generally speaking, all of these schools offer the option of individual or group classes, “intensive classes” lasting five or more hours per day, language specialization courses (medical, business, etc), homestay options with families (including meals if you want them), plus weekly activities.

In regard to pricing, with annual inflation in Argentina running around 12% to 20% in 2007, it’s wise to keep tabs on the prices posted on the listed websites in case rates unexpectedly go up. Also note that June and July are Brazil’s winter vacation months, so nearly every school in Buenos Aires is overflowing with Brazilians simultaneously bent on Spanish language improvement and late night liver damage at the local boliches (discos/nightclubs).

Comisión de Intercambio Educativo (COINED) was the first school selected and, in my opinion probably the best, since I ended up staying there for 12 weeks while originally intending to only stay a maximum of 8 weeks. It was the largest school, in terms of students and facilities, with a curriculum developed at the University of Buenos Aires. The classes also utilized a lot of Argentine culture (novels, cinema, music, etc) to supplement the learning. The majority of the teachers were undergrads (pursuing an advanced degree) although the study materials were probably the lowest production quality (format, legibility, bindings, etc) among all of the schools. The student body composition was diverse: Brazilian, North American, Western European, Japanese, Russian, and an occasional Aussie here and there. 85% of the students ranged from 21 to 29 years old, so those of us 30+ were easily in the minority. COINED has a “residence hall” that the vast majority of students used for accommodation, which not-so-coincidentally made this the school with the most extracurricular partying going on in the wee hours of the morning. Price-wise it occupied the middle ground between the more expensive and cheaper schools, which included two to three activities per week.

Instituto de Lengua Española para Extranjeros (ILEE) bills itself as the only school “where all the teachers hold a University of Buenos Aires Masters degree, either in Literature or Education, and have taught Spanish as a foreign language for 3+ years”. In my experience ILEE was also the smallest school, with the lowest teacher-to-student ratio, as well as the most expensive of all the schools. As such, the student body consisted exclusively of Western European and North American professionals, with an average age around 35-40. Night outings among the students tended to be weekends-only, although daytime excursions in the city were plentiful (however, the school’s planned weekly activities usually involved an extra fee of some sort). I found that the placement tests were not very effective and actually ended up being the poorest of any of the schools. On more than one occasion, an unfortunate beginner was mismatched with higher level students, causing no small level of frustration on both sides. However, the course materials were excellent and probably the most useful of any of the schools. In the end, I moved on three weeks earlier than planned due to the lack of any added value the education offered me for the higher price.

Read more on Transitions Abroad.

2nd Semester of Spanish, Spanish Love Song starring Erik Estrada

This is hilarious!! Check it out one more time on Youtube.

Medicine in Argentina with Projects Abroad

Projects Abroad offers volunteer Medicine & Healthcare work-experience placements in Argentina, in Medicine, Physiotherapy, Nursing & Midwifery, Occupational Therapy and Electives. Placements are for anyone volunteering abroad on a gap year or career break, or a training or qualified doctor, physiotherapist, nurse or midwife.

Volunteering on a Medicine & Healthcare project in Argentina can be done as part of a gap year, a career-break, or during a short break in your studies. As a Medicine & Healthcare volunteer you will gain a great deal of valuable work-experience alongside some of the most skilled doctors in the country. While the shell of some hospital buildings may look slightly neglected, the facilities within and the healthcare provided are generally of a decent standard, on a par with many hospitals in the west.

Our Medicine & Healthcare volunteers work in rotation at different hospitals in and around Villa Allende, enabling them to have a broad and varied experience of different medicine and healthcare departments. You will have the opportunity to experience medical procedures in both the over-burdened multi-disciplinary government hospitals, and the smaller Dispensarios that operate on certain days each in more rural communities. Within the hospitals you will be given the chance to shadow doctors and nurses, help to take patient histories, observe surgery, attend medical lectures with medical students, and perhaps even perform basic medicine and healthcare procedures. In the community you could find yourself giving a child a general health check, assisting in the provision of vaccinations, and giving advice on nutrition or pregnancy prevention for example.

An intermediate level of Spanish is required for this placement to ensure that you can interact fully with both the local staff and the patients. Volunteers should also be of smart appearance.

Volunteer Dentistry in Argentina

Volunteers who wish to work in the field of dentistry can gain superb work experience in Villa Allende Hospital, located in the beautiful Sierras Chicas not far from where our office is based. As one of the largest government run hospitals in this area, you will be learning from staff who are very experienced at providing all aspects of dental healthcare to people who travel here from the surrounding regions. If you wish to have a broader Medicine & Healthcare experience, both hospitals have many other areas, besides dentistry, for you to work in.

Volunteer Occupational Therapy in Argentina

As a training or qualified Occupational Therapy volunteer in Argentina, you'll be placed in one of a number of institutions for people who are mentally and physically disabled. While residents receive the necessary physiotherapy care, staff are limited in number and don't have enough time to spend one-to-one with these individuals. By coming into the home and using your skills to assess and treat the wide variety of physical and psychiatric conditions you come across, you can help these people to find purposeful activities they can participate in, and help to promote independent function in aspects of their life for what may be the first time since they moved there.

Finish the article on Volunteer Abroad.

Review: Learn Spanish with Bueno, entonces…

Prior to moving to Argentina, I spent several years working at an investment firm in Los Angeles. After the financial market collapse, I decided that it was time for me to try something different and accepted a consulting job in Buenos Aires. I set off for this new experience knowing only basic Spanish.

The first few weeks were very frustrating. This was the first time that I was living and working in a city where I did not speak the native language. I was not prepared for how difficult it was going to be to learn Spanish! My biggest hindrance in learning the language was finding the time. With a full work week and the time required to adjust to a new city, I just didn’t have the time to take classes.

I found out about “Bueno, entonces” through a friend who heard they were organizing a focus group to test the product. I joined so that I could try the program in exchange for writing a review.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how great the program was and how quickly my Spanish improved. While some of the beginning classes were below my skill level, I still found it helpful to have them reinforce basic grammar and conversational vocabulary. As the classes continued, I found myself getting pulled into the story line of David and his teacher Jimena, and also learning more and more Spanish.

Read more on buenoentonces.com/blog

Media in ARGENTINA

Argentina is one of South America's leading media markets. The country has well over 150 daily newspapers, many hundreds of commercial radio stations, dozens of TV stations and one of the world's highest take-up rates for cable TV.

Large media conglomerates have emerged. Public broadcasting plays a minor role. Television is the dominant medium. The main national free-to-air networks - Telefe, America, Canal 9 and Canal 13 - are privately-owned.

Argentine readers are among Latin America's most voracious newspaper consumers. Clarin and La Nacion are the best-selling national dailies.

Media freedom is guaranteed by the constitution. However, Reporters Without Borders maintained in 2008 that "direct attacks on the media and obstacles to press freedom... remained high". It said former President Nestor Kirchner had shown "great hostility" to the media - and particularly the conservative La Nacion daily - while in office.

By December 2008, Argentina had 16 million internet users, comprising nearly 40% of the population (Internetworldstats.com) and giving the country the second-highest number of surfers on the continent, after Brazil.

The press

· Clarín - popular daily

· La Nación - respected conservative daily

· Crónica - tabloid daily

· El Cronista - business

· La Prensa - Argentina's oldest newspaper

· Pagina 12 - left-wing daily

· Buenos Aires Herald - English-language daily

Television

· Telefe (Canal 11) - leading national network, operated by Grupo Telefe

· Canal 13 (El Trece) - leading national network, operated by Grupo Clarin

· Canal 9 - popular national network

· America (Canal 2) - popular network

· Todo Noticias - cable/satellite news channel owned by Grupo Clarin

· Canal 7 - state-run cultural, educational network

Radio

· Radio Mitre - private, speech-based, operated by Grupo Clarin

· Radio Nacional - state-run, cultural

· Radio America - private, news

· Radio Continental - private AM (mediumwave) speech-based network

· Los 40 Principales - private FM music network

News agencies

· Diarios y Noticias (DYN) - partly owned by Grupo Clarin

· TELAM - state-run

· Noticias Argentinas - set up by privately-owned newspapers

Check out more info on BBC News Argentina.