My Time with Projects Abroad

As I am still in high school, I wasn’t able to spend months abroad, so I decided to stay closer to home, North America, and travel to Argentina, to volunteer at a child center for a week. While I do wish that I had been able to stay longer, my time abroad was absolutely amazing! From the moment that I arrived, the Projects Abroad staff members met me with full support, and although I was extremely nervous to be by myself in a foreign country, unable to speak Spanish, they quickly helped me adjust. I was immediately taken to my host moms’ house, where she greeted me very kindly, and then allowed me to sleep off my jet lag.
From the day I arrived to the day I left, my host mom was wonderful; she loved to have conversations, she told me all about Argentina and its history, and the food she prepared for me was ridiculously good. On my first day there, she took my to this place in Argentina called the Artisans Market, where she showed me all of the hand-crafted, homemade items some Argentinian people were selling. On my second day in Argentina, I was picked up by a staff member who gave me a tour of the city, showed me how to get to the office, my placement, and a general idea of how to navigate around the city. For me, this was so helpful, as I am absolutely horrible with directions, yet, with his help, I found myself able to navigate around the city with ease. He answered any questions I had, and made sure I found the Projects Abroad Facebook page, so that I would be able to easily connect with other volunteers.
Because I was only in Argentina for a week, I wasn’t able to volunteer as much as I would have liked; however, I still had an amazing experience. I was placed at a child center in the outskirts of Cordoba, Argentina, where I helped care for toddlers. Because I was there around Easter, we were able to make chocolate Easter eggs for the kids, and decorate the center, which was such a fun activity! I will say that being around kids who speak only Spanish was a little intimidating at first; however, I found that communicating with 3 year olds isn’t necessarily the most difficult challenge, so I resorted to playing games, puzzles, and watching cartoons with the kids. One of the little girls did keep pointing at a bracelet I was wearing, while asking me what it was, but I found that if I just kept smiling at her, or pulled out a different puzzle, she would quickly lose interest in my bracelet. (I couldn’t answer because I have absolutely no idea how to say bracelet in Spanish).
Overall, volunteering in Argentina was an amazing experience; the country is beautiful, the people are so kind, and the Projects Abroad staff in Argentina was so helpful, and they were constantly making sure I had everything I needed. I’m so happy I was given the opportunity for such a wonderful experience, and I am already planning a second trip through Projects Abroad for next year!