The Expats Solidarios 2011 NGO fair was held this Saturday, helping to connect the expatriate community living in Buenos Aires with local NGOs. Networking events like can be great opportunities for volunteers and NGOs alike. By bringing together individuals searching for volunteer opportunities and NGOs who rely on volunteer manpower to operate, Expats Solidarios created a small sense of community in what is otherwise a huge city.

At the event, our table received a warm reception from North Americans who instantly recognized the Habitat for Humanity logo and wanted to know more about what Habitat was doing in Argentina. Interestingly, for many South American nationals it was the first time they had heard of Habitat for Humanity and this gave us a chance to speak about the type of work we do to a new audience. The most common question was “What is Habitat and how can I help?” closely followed by “So you guys build houses, right?” Always a daunting task to explain a non-profit’s mission in three sentences or less, my coworkers and I tried our best not to sound like NGO robots.

Since I spend the majority of my time communicating with volunteers via email, it was refreshing to meet potential volunteers face to face and listen to their stories. There were all kinds of people at different stages in their careers. Exchange students, backpackers, 20-somethings teaching English, professionals on sabbatical, entrepreneurs and retirees, all giving the Buenos Aires lifestyle a try. Some were searching for volunteer opportunities to fill up their schedules and while others saw it as the next step in their career development. Individuals from the business community were also present and I found it extremely encouraging to speak with business owners interested in organizing volunteer events for their employees.

I also learned more about other volunteer programs in Buenos Aires, including those who accept volunteers on a short-term basis. The Fundación Banco de Alimentos is constantly seeking volunteers for help organize food donations and support their mission of helping individuals suffering from hunger. There is no minimum time commitment or volunteer fee.  If you are interested in education, Fundación Leer accepts short-term volunteers to promote youth literacy. All in all, the NGOs represented a broad spectrum of issues and communities served and for a complete list, you can visit the Expat Solidarios website.

Did anyone else attend this event? What did you think? Did you find it encouraging, useful or disappointing?

Megan is currently the International Volunteer Coordinator with Habitat for Humanity Argentina. To hear more about her experiences, check out her blog.

What I’ve done is quit my cushy administration job at a Seattle law firm in order to work for free for the next four months as a Volunteer Coordinator at a NGO in Buenos Aires with the hopes of finding out what it’s like to work in a foreign NGO and “learn Spanish”. Sounds like a good plan, right? I thought so. In the middle of the worst job markets my generation has ever faced, I have decided to give up my health insurance, salary and job security in order to… learn Spanish?! Just looking at the New York Times’ headlines is giving me an anxiety attack. Did I really think this through? Deep breathes, I tell myself, deep breathes.

The breathing is helping, because as I let my mind go back to its center, I reaffirm that a bad economy is no reason not to chase your dreams. I have always wondered what it would be like to work in a foreign NGO and I cannot let my fears keep me from doing what I want to do. There have been lots financial hard times and I’m in a country that knows this all too well. I will be working for an organization serving individuals who are desperately in need of adequate housing, a situation I have been fortunate enough to never have experienced personally. I calm down, fix the power cord with an ingenious use of duct tape and sit back down at my desk.

By now, my new coworker has taken notice of my predicament and asks me with a hopeful look “Vos querés mate?” I smile and laugh at myself for being upset over such minor problems. I readily accept my bitter drink, relax in my chair and try to focus on my tasks for the day.

It will be the little things that willl keep me happy and more than anything, and I’m looking forward to working with Argentines and seeing just where this adventure will take me.

Megan is currently the International Volunteer Coordinator with Habitat for Humanity Argentina. To hear more about her experiences, check out her blog.

Eloísa Cartonera

If you’re looking to study abroad in South America (or anywhere!) one of the most useful ways to pick a program is talk to other students who’ve just returned.  You’re more likely to get the truth than from some university spokesperson.  And while there are lots of important questions to ask of them (what’s the food like?  Where will I be living?  How difficult are the classes?) there’s an important one you might overlook:  How did your teachers incorporate your location into classes?

Exploring a new country on your own is an extremely rewarding experience.  But when you’re paying money for tuition, a good teacher is one who acts as a guide within and outside the classroom.  They can show you things you wouldn’t find alone.

That’s how I came to visit Eloísa Cartonera, a unique and inspiring publishing cooperative.  From their modest workshop in La Boca, a barrio in Guatemala, the workers assemble and sell a catalog of over 100 titles of contemporary Latin American literature.  The books sell for about 10 to 15 pesos—less than $5USD!  All are printed in the workshop on an old press and glued into cardboard covers.  The cardboard is bought from “cartoneros,” people who have lost their jobs and pick through the trash of Buenos Aires, collecting anything of value to sell.  This alternative type of work originated in the economic crash of 2001.  The people of Eloísa Cartonera stencil the titles of the books in white paint and, when time allows, add color to the letters.  The finished product is bold, playful, and cheap enough for almost anyone to enjoy.

The people of Eloísa Cartonera are happy to talk about their work.  It’s something they’ve built with their own hands and feel passionate about.  They have books in both English and Spanish, including a good selection of poetry.  And if you ask, they’ll often let you take part in the process and paint your own book cover.  The collective’s location in La Boca makes it far off the beaten track of most visitors, but it’s a place worth venturing to.

Becca Mondshein is currently a student with NYU Experience Buenos Aires. For more about her experiences, check out her blog.

But then cab drivers started telling me to be careful walking in the area at night.  The internet stopped working in the building.  And a neighbor moved in who would blast reggae music until 5 a.m.  I started to realize that maybe the low-budget student situation wasn’t for me.

My room: not too shabby!

So I decided to do what I’d never imagined: live with parents again.  Not my parents, but an Argentine family.  Homestays are a popular choice in Buenos Aires due to the large amount of foreigners studying or working in the city.  So here’s a little of my experience and what to expect from living la vida con portenos.

Pro:  The living situation was better than I expected.  My new host family lives in Recoleta, one of the nicest residential areas of Buenos Aires, in an old apartment more beautiful than any I’ve seen.  I have my own room with plenty of privacy and their maid cleans my room every week.

Con: Living with a family can be irritating.  Apart from eating dinner with my host family I spend a lot of time alone.  This could be troublesome, especially if it’s your first time in a foreign country.  You also have to follow the rules of the house, even if they don’t make sense.  I know I should make my bed every morning, but why does it have nine pillows?

Pro:  Your language skills will improve!

Con:  Be prepared for some embarrassing mistakes.  I accidentally called their daughter an equivalent of “sexy” in Argentine slang (esta fuerta) when I meant to call her “strong” (es fuerta).  I’m not sure if it was more awkward for me or them.

Toss-up:  You eat whatever they eat.  For me, this was a great improvement over food in the student residence, where one poor woman cooks for a few hundred.  But I have friends in homestays who reportedly eat only meat, potatoes, and fried empanadas.  Not exactly gourmet.

The Ultimate Pro:  Cultural Experience.  My family introduced me to the tradition of eating gnocchi on the 29^th day of each month for luck (and luckily for me, I love gnocchi).  In turn, I’ve been able to ask them questions about everything I learn in school.  Is the health care system really as top notch as everyone says?  What do you think about Argentine cinema?  Will Cristina (President Cristina Kirchner) win another term?  Family dinner each night is a lesson that touches on topics such as politics, literature, and current events.  When my host dad saw me reading Julio Cortazar, he got so excited I thought he was going to jump through the ceiling.  I never imagined I would be so happy about fatherly approval.

Becca Mondshein is currently a student with NYU Experience Buenos Aires. For more about her experiences, check out her blog.

Though the only ride was a merry-go-round for kids, the park itself is quite extensive.  I wandered through the sand-colored buildings of the ‘holy land,’ trying to decipher the Spanish explanations of religion.  There was an educational synagogue, a mosque, and a church, complete with details: a bible!; screened dividers for mujeres and hombres!;  sheep, camels, even Martin Luther!  I sat through a robotic reenactment of the Last Supper and watched a surprisingly professional belly-dancing show, accompanied by live musicians.  We climbed to the top of the constructed mountain just in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the neighboring water park and golf course.

But the park’s main attraction is doubtless La Resurrección– accompanied by Handel’s Messiah, a huge, robotic Jesus rises slowly from the mountain and turns to face the audience, whereupon he closes his eyes and tilts his face and hands upward to the heavens.  It happens every hour, on the hour.

The interesting thing is, apart from my friends and I, everyone at the park seemed to take its message very seriously.  There were a lot of families with children, older women, and couples strolling the park and taking in the sights.  To me, it seems bizarre that someone had this idea in the first place.  But they obtained sufficient capital and resources to build it, and now, I assume, were reaping the profits.  Maybe it’s not such a strange idea, and it’s because I’m Jewish and foreign that I didn’t recognize the potential market in the first place.  Or maybe this says something about Buenos Aires in general.  Since my arrival, I’ve been told that this is a city that awards innovative thinking, that people are willing to give new ideas a chance.  It’s actually attributed to the many financial meltdowns Argentina has been through- economic disasters shake up the market and leave room for innovation, like Jesus Land.

Becca Mondshein is currently a student with NYU Experience Buenos Aires. For more about her experiences, check out her blog. For more info (or to visit!) Tierra Santa check out http://www.tierrasanta-bsas.com.ar/.

La Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires

I’ve been in Argentina long enough to run through my whole supply of clean underwear. In this time, I’ve formed some strange impressions. Buenos Aires is a city full of beautiful trees. No one picks up the caca de perros. And they really, really like their steak and beets.

My adjustment, mind you, is not average. Of the last six months, I’ve spent four living in Shanghai and one traveling Southeast Asia. My two weeks in the United States was more like a brief stop-over than adjustment period. So here I am, reintroducing myself to Western life in a South American city and trying to get the Chinese language out of my head.

Not that everything is so different here. In Shanghai and Buenos Aires, people drive like they have a death wish. I can buy fresh fruit on every other corner, though it was oranges in China and huge, juicy peaches here. And the man behind the counter of my local convenience store still finds my difficulty with local currency a source of mirth.

But like anything else, practice makes perfect. I find the more time I spend living out of a suitcase, the more comfortable I feel wherever I go. Last week I stopped at my neighborhood chino, a type of small, independent supermarket generally owned by an Asian family. She handed me my change, and to my surprise I blurted out “Xiexie.” She smiled and replied “muy bien.” In some strange, mixed up way, I felt perfectly at home.

Becca Mondshein is currently a student with NYU Experience Buenos Aires. For more about her experiences, check out her blog.

The people: Argentines are some of the warmest people I have ever met. Whether you are lost on the street, confused about the subway, or even need a place to sleep I have found most of the people in Buenos Aires to be helpful, accommodating, and very friendly. I think that the reputation of porteños being stuck up is wrongly deserved and misrepresents some really amazing people.

The food: If you like steak, empanadas, and sweet things there is no better place to live in the world than Buenos Aires. The best part is that its all dirt cheap. Most people from the States can’t imagine getting a pound of rib eye for under ten dollars. Here you get it with eight side dishes and a bottle of wine.

The Bad

Diaper pants

Petty crime: While most big cities have problems with crime, I think that the occurrence of theft in BA is unusually high. In the past month I know three friends who have either been pick-pocketed on the subway or someone attempted to do so. When on the subway or bus always keep your bag in front of you, and keep all of your valuables in tight pockets.

Dog poop and garbage: For some reason most people refuse to pick up after their dog in Buenos Aires resulting in stinky landmines all over the sidewalk. Be sure to keep one eye on the ground whenever walking the streets of BA. Another problem here is that there is no infrastructure for waste disposal. In the U.S. we take things like dumpsters and trash cans for granted, but in BA they are almost nonexistent. Most of the time, bags of overflowing trash are put on the street for pickup.

The Ugly

Mullets: The 80’s are alive and well in Buenos Aires. There are tons of people rollerblading in the parks, punk rock clubs are abundant, and 80’s synthesizer pop blares out of black and yellow taxis. While I enjoy these 80’s throwbacks, the mullets I have seen here can only be described as gloriously horrifying.

Diaper pants: A picture is worth 1,000 words.

Noah Sidman-Gale just recently moved from California to Buenos Aires and is volunteering at El Sol de San Telmo newspaper.

This past week, crowded subway rides to and from San Telmo coupled with bipolar weather was more than enough inspiration for my girlfriend Erin and I to get out of the city. On the recommendation of a friend we decided to take the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay for the day.

Colonia is a small beach town of about 20,000 people on the Rio de la Plata. To get there from Buenos Aires, hop on the Buquebus ferry and you will be there in 50 minutes flat. Colonia is a tiny town with a ton of character, so to get the most out of your time there be sure to rent a form of transportation when you get off the ferry. Erin and I decided to get bicycles, which only cost $10 each for the entire day. You can also rent motor scooters and golf carts, but they are a little bit more expensive and we wanted to get some exercise on the bikes. On our bicycles we were able to ride down the entire four-mile long coastline at our leisure and stop at the deserted beaches whenever we pleased.

For lunch we headed into the Barrio Historico and explored it’s 17th century cobblestone streets. It is a truly beautiful neighborhood, and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. While eating lunch outside on the street, Erin was surprised by a Labrador that decided to come and lay down next to her feet. We looked for an owner, but no one seemed to be looking after our new lunch guest. I asked the waiter about the dog, and he told me that there are over 500 homeless dogs that live in Colonia and that they are all really happy. I feel like this is unheard of in the U.S., but it turned out to be a lot of fun to be approached by random dogs during lunch and on the beach. They were all very friendly and really just wanted some attention. These street pups were truly man’s best friend.

If you are in Buenos Aires and want to escape the city I highly recommend doing a day trip to Colonia. I guarantee that you will leave with a smile, some great pictures, a tan, and maybe even a new puppy.

For more on Buenos Aires, check out posts by Jon Brandt and Curtis Fox. For more on Uruguay, read up on Flora Lindsey-Herrara’s insights and adventures in Montevideo and beyond.

The upcoming issue of El Sol De San Telmo is about understanding “public space” in San Telmo. “Public space” includes many issues from taking responsibility for dog poop on the sidewalk to graffiti on the side of buildings to discussing the creation of public forums that help people communicate with the government. My job is to interview the residents of San Telmo and get their opinion on all these aspects of “public space.”

Talking to a stranger on the street about political issues if pretty scary, especially in another language. I was shot down during my first few embarrassing attempts. Luckily, I found a perfect solution. What follows is a foolproof way to start a conversation with anyone in a foreign language.

Step one: Go to a bar or café and order a drink. Be friendly to your waiter and learn his or her name (Everyone loves the sound of their name, so when you ask your question later you must remember this).

Step two: When your waiter brings you the check, ask him or her if they have a minute to give their opinion on something. Ask your question (using their name) and let them talk for as long as they please.

Step three: Ask anyone the question, because by talking to the waiter and knowing his name ,you have proved yourself. Now everyone should be willing to talk to you.

I hope this helps you meet people and make friends during your travels. ¡Buena suerte!

Noah Sidman-Gale just recently moved from California to Buenos Aires and is volunteering at El Sol de San Telmo newspaper. For more on speaking Spanish with locals, check out “Do I Even Speak Spanish?” by Sebastian Kindsvater.

El Sol de San Telmo is a nonprofit newspaper that is published every two months. It is run by a small group of people who execute everything from writing stories to discovering advertisers. The paper’s goal is to celebrate the neighborhood of San Telmo and create an open forum and dialogue for the community. As I leafed through the pages I knew one thing for sure — I was going to be spending a lot of time in San Telmo. If I could make it there, that is.

San Telmo is one of the most colorful neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. Historically, it was Buenos Aires’s first industrial area that eventually became inhabited by the well-to-do. However, in 1871 a yellow fever epidemic swept through Buenos Aires and the rich of San Telmo moved north to Recoleta, Palermo, and Belgrano.

Today artists, poets, young travelers, and working class families inhabit San Telmo. Its historic cobblestone streets lead to antique shops, boutique bookstores, and tasty local bakeries. San Telmo is perhaps best known for its local antiques fair every Sunday that attracts tourists and locals alike. I mean seriously, who can say no to a free tango show, delicious food, and some marvelous antiques?

As I took the bus from my Recoleta apartment to San Telmo, I was engrossed by Buenos Aire’s amazing architecture and the everyday hustle and bustle on the street. I was so distracted by the city’s magic that I missed my bus stop and was stranded about 20 blocks from where I was supposed to meet the director of El Sol de San Telmo. I was scared, mad, anxious, and embarrassed. The only thing I could do was walk.

Tune in next week to find out if I made it to my meeting, or decided to spend the day tango dancing with a stranger named Bob.

Noah Sidman-Gale most recently moved to Argentina from California. For more on Buenos Aires, check out posts by Jon Brandt.