I had a great time at my volunteer placement in Argentina. The house was full of amazing, kind, intelligent and open-minded people. The accommodations were very good. I was lucky to have a private room, however the bunk rooms were comfortable as well. The food was great; dinner was a time for sharing our daily experiences and getting to know each other better.

My placement was at a soup kitchen where I felt genuinely loved and needed by the family who ran it. It was a great experience to see the differences in how people live here in Villa Allende and Saldan. I also had many opportunities to practice my Spanish.

Weekends were a blast. Groups of volunteers would travel to Cordoba, about a 30 minute bus ride away, to eat, shop, etc. We also took longer excursions to Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls.

Spanish lessons are a must, in my opinion, in order to better communicate with the volunteer house staff as well as the people at your placement. The classes are held right at the house and the instructor is flexible in scheduling group or individual classes.

The experience will be what you make of it. Open your heart and your mind and you will be glad you came. I enjoyed every minute and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Oh, by the way, don't let your age stop you from volunteering. Although most are young and still in college, some are older and just as fun and interesting to hang out with (like me)

Overall, I had a great time in Argentina. I took a group of ten students from our school, but the IVHQ staff made organizing the trip very easy. We did have a last minute program change due to flooding, but I think we were easily able to adjust.

I spent 2 months with IVHQ in Argentina working in the childcare programme. On a regular day we would arrive at 9 in the morning and work until midday, playing the role of camp-leaders at a summer camp. We would each assign ourselves to a certain age-group (ranging from 4-11) where we were joint by other young (18-26) locals who worked at the camp. Together, we would organise activities for the kids to do during the morning. Examples include daily swimming (provided the weather was nice, as it usually was), football, some form of dodgeball, treasure hunts, mock olympics, making christmas cards using leaves/stones and so on. There is even the opportunity for you to set up your own activities, so I found some willing 10 & 11 year old boys to teach rugby. The kids are amazing, all so happy and friendly, along with the very welcoming local workers, so you will have no problems fitting in. However, I must warn you that if you speak little Spanish you may struggle, as only one of the locals I met would speak any English to us. You must also realise what you are there to do... you are helping out as a camp-leader, not eliminating all poverty in the neighbourhood in two weeks. Though it may seem you are not giving a lot of constructive help, you must realise that you are opening the kids eyes to different cultures and languages while also providing them with holiday activities and having a great time while doing it! If you have the financial means it would also be worth asking the coordinator of whatever project you undertake whether you can help out, as I'm sure your help could provide more for the kids. Regarding the hostel life, you will meet some amazing people from all over the world and have some great parties in Cordoba!