Federico Silvestre, former AFS Reconquista exchange student in Portugal, took a picture opposite the White House in Washington DC, while visiting the USA. AFS in Reconquista

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

"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind” John F. Kennedy

Digital News AFS Reconquista Local Chapter

Number 9, September 2011

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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Feria de las Carreras

Stefano Pividori, Virginia Loza and Sergio Sanchez, AFS volunteers at the AFS stand.

AFS Reconquista had a stand in a local exhibition to offer options for Courses of Studies to students

In August, 24th and 25th the Área Joven (Youth Affairs Office) of the Reconquista Municipality, presented the Feria de las Carreras 2011 exhibition in the Sirio-Libanes building.

The exhibition aims at showing secondary school students from our city and neighbouring towns, all the options of courses to study they have at the different universities of the region. AFS Programas Interculturales Local Chapter in Reconquista was also there to support young people's education. We offered the 18+ programmes – Community Service, Language Studies (EUROCENTRES) as well as the regular exchange programme. Many teenagers, parents and teachers approached the AFS volunteers to ask about the Sending Programme the organisation has, and also to ask about how to host exchange students. If their children cannot be sent to study abroad, a family can also grow immensely by hosting a foreign student for 6 months or 1 year.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

Laurin Trampert got to Reconquista Wednesday, September 7th

On Wednesday 7th, at 01:25 a.m., Laurin Trampert –AFS Austria Exchange Student –

arrived to Reconquista’s bus station. His host family had been waiting for him since 00.30, and despite the cold September night, Vilma – his mum – and his host brothers David, Milton and Manuel with his ‘host sister-in-law’ Antonela Franco did

not move until they could see the coach approaching. Apart from Laurin’s family and some volunteers, Álfur Bjarnason (Iceland), Ronja Fisher (Germany), Carlo Mazzoleni (Italy) and Augusta Kirkeby (Denmark) also came to

say hello and welcome Laurin to Reconquista!

Laurin, when he stepped out of the bus, was greeted by a huge Argentinian flag which said in Spanish

“Welcome, Laurin”.

The traditional ‘Argentinian hugs’ and presentations made on site meant that Laurin’s and the Tomadín-

Masat family’s new adventure had started. A new life started for them as a family, and we are here to help

them have a taste to the AFS experience. We wish them the best!

Muchos éxitos.

This is how Laurin was received in Reconquista Page 3

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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My last days in Argentina seemed to be endless. Each day lasted longer than normal and many things crossed my mind then. I had many different and confusing sensations. It was difficult to think I was going to be away from family and friends. I also thought about my return to Argentina and my last year in secondary school. However, I also knew that I was about to do something I had longed for so long, and that filled me with enthusiasm. The farewell

party with my friends was good fun, but when it was over I felt sad. I knew I would miss going out with my friends, their jokes, the endless conversations and all. Finally, the great day came. I found myself in Ezeiza with my parents and brothers. There were other 14 students who were waiting for a plane to take us here, Germany, where we would start living this new life. We were all very happy and we wanted to get to the plane so badly, so as to fly to that strange place we now call home.

Nobody could sleep a bit in the plane. We spent 15 hours without sleeping because of the excitement and adrenaline. We talked all the way, we played cards, told each other about our last days in our home country, showing the pictures we had taken and about all the people we had left behind. We also talked about our host families, who were waiting for us here in Germany.

Ma. Laura Buyatti writes to us from Germany!

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

We landed in Madrid and we got lost in the terminal. When we finally found our way to the appropriate gate, we met 2 Brazilian girls who were also travelling to Germany to have their exchange experience. In Frankfurt we were received by volunteers from AFS Germany who took us somewhere else. It was full of other teenagers from all over the world. After that, we all headed to our towns and cities where our families live. In my case, I had to stay a few days in a welcome family – who had been hosting a Japanese girl for 6 months – because my own host family was travelling and was not at home. Two days later, my host parents and sister went to fetch me. It was a very touching moment – we cried, laughed and hugged a lot.

The first days with my host family were really funny. Even when my host sister can speak Spanish, there were days when we could not understand each other either in German, Spanish or English. We could not even follow ‘body’ language sometimes, and we laughed a lot about it. At night, however, when I had nothing else to do, I started thinking about all I was going through. It is then when you start missing people and familiar things and you think about going back home. Only when you find your place in the new family and you make new friends, you forget about everything. It is then the right time to enjoy the experience and have fun with everybody.

I have already made many friends from school, and I spend lots of time with them. I have somehow found my place ‘at home and with my family’. That helps me a lot to keep my mind ‘busy’ so that I do not to feel homesick. Now, I can relax and keep on learning from this intercultural experience which I know will help me understand and see the world around me in a different way. A way I have never seen it before. Page 5

María Laura (right and wearing black) together with her AFS German family

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

National Workshop on Intercultural Education

For teachers of Argentina & Uruguay

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Last Saturday, 10th of September, the National Workshop on Intercultural Education for teachers was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It took place at the YMCA venue, who kindly offered AFS a big and comfortable room for the workshop.

This teacher’s training Workshop is one of many planned by AFS Argentina & Uruguay, with the objective of working Intercultural Education with school communities, who are considered a invaluable part of the AFS experience. We are convinced that without their contribution, the intercultural exchange experience could not take place. Two teachers from Reconquista participated in the workshop. They belong to the Yapeyú School Annexe 1634, and they are Hugo Ruiz and Celina Ríos. All the costs for 30 teachers from Argentina and Uruguay were covered by AFS, including the coach tickets, one hotel

night in Buenos Aires, as well as the training itself. Apart from the teachers who are part of our Local Chapter, other teachers from Gral. Roca, Pto. Iguazú, Jesús María, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Neuquén, Santiago del Estero, Formosa, Salta, San Luis, Resistencia, Santa Rosa, Río Cuarto, Tucumán and Concordia also travelled to participate in the AFS National Workshop.

Teachers from all around the country at the National Workshop on Intercultural Education, held in Buenos Aires

Before attending the workshop in Buenos Aires, the teachers had some online training and they were asked to write an essay titled “Interculturalism in our classrooms”. Finally, once they had finished their day in Buenos Aires, they had to take a test were all the concepts learnt – previously and during the training – were evaluated. In the end, Paulina Yañez from Rio Cuarto, Córdoba was chosen among

the participants to travel to Spain and participate in a two-week-long exchange experience in Madrid.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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Carlo Mazzoleni, AFS Italy Exchange Student living in

Avellaneda (Reconquista Local Chapter), gave a talk

about his city and region in Italy.

Carlo lecturing in his native Italian

Teacher Diana Elías with Carlo and students of Dante Alighieri

Committee in Reconquista

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A talk about Lombardy in Dante Alighieri School

Invited by Teacher Diana Elías from Dante Alighieri Committee in Reconquista, Carlo Mazzoleni gave a talk in Italian last September,

28th.

The talk was about his hometown Bergamo in Lombardy. The audience were a group of

students of Italian from this prestigious language school. Apart from teaching the language spoken by “the Supreme Poet” – Dante – the school

also teaches the rich history and culture of Italy.

AFS Programas Interculturales, thanks Dante Alighieri Committee in Reconquista for letting Carlo speak about his city and culture, thus allowing the intercultural exchange to take place.

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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AFS students on air

Liliana Gerber and her family became host family to Liene Ozolina (from AFS Latvia) in 2010, in Romang.

Because it was her AFS daughter’s birthday, Liliana invited some of the current AFS exchange students to her talk show.

“I have a „handful‟ of the world in the studio”, she said. They

were the exact words to start the show as well as to embody much of what AFS offers: “to take the world to people‟s homes and in the process, to learn, teach and enjoy the cultural diversity around us”.

Bára (Faroe Islands), Carlo (Italy), Álfur (Iceland), Laurin (Austria) and Ronja (Germany) – all in the picture

from left to right – could not refuse the invitation and they spent a great time with AFS friends and family.

Liliana Gerber, an important and well-known

presenter from Romang, invited some AFS exchange

students from AFS Local Chapter to her talk show

Happy birthday, Liene Ozolina from Riga, Latvia

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

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rl.reconquista@afs.org.ar www.afs.org.ar Tel. (03482) 1540-6202 / 1544-4471

If someone asks you: would you like to be a Host Family for AFS Programas Interculturales? Do not be afraid and Say Yes! Say Yes!, because as a family you can meet the world without living home. Say Yes!, because everybody in your house will start to see the world with different eyes. Say Yes!, because by doing so, you will receive a teenager at home who will grow with all the Argentinian family values. Say Yes!, because you will learn about a foreign country in a particular way. Say Yes!, because you will be able to give love, support and affection at the same time you receive these from someone else.

The Regonat-Menichelli family said Yes! and Carlo Mazzoleni is their new son from AFS Italy.

Be an AFS Host Family: “Say Yes!” You can be a Host Family now!

For all that and much more, host an AFS student at home in February 2012. Contact the AFS volunteers now. They are waiting for you!

Connecting lives, Sharing Cultures

The front page of this issue shows Federico Silvestre having mates opposite the White House in

Washington DC (USA). Here we can see him at the Lincoln Memorial, also in Washington DC.

Federico was an AFS Reconquista exchange student in Leiria (Portugal). He was also host bother to Patrick

Gibbs from the USA.

He took these two beautiful pictures when he had to travel to the USA on a business trip, and also to visit his

AFS brother. Thanks for sharing, Federico!

The AFS mate from USA

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.ar www.afs.org.ar AFS RL RECONQUISTA