Week two and three in BsAs!

Well i continued the mission since i arrived to find my flat.... and have to admit after seeing a few that didn't tick any of the boxes i was starting to think it might be harder than i thought! Some more notable examples include the one with 2 bedrooms and three people living there - so i would be in a bedroom with the wardrobe and things of one of the girls who sleeps on the couch! (and the flat was tiny) Or the old woman who rents out windowless rooms in her house to random foreigners (like me) who would never see each other!

But eventually found one i was happy with! Moved in on wednesday, a week after i arrived and was so nice to have a base and be settled. It is in a great area with bars and restaurants - Palermo Hollywood actually! As is the way though it wasn't quite a simple as it should have been... It was supposed to be with this argentinian girl Mariela for a month, then one of her friends would have moved in after she had sold the bed in the other room (?). But then plans changed last minute now a german couple is staying here just for three weeks, then i will get another room mate.

All seems pretty sociable so far though - Mariela is great, and we went out on our first night with a big group of friends for a 'parilla' a typical argentinian grill where basically they dump a whole load of meat in front of you on a grill - and you don't ask what part it is, you just eat it!! (although did aviod the curly bit, shaped like a pig's tail... a wise move as i found out that that was intestine!) Then went out afterwards to a bar with a pretty varied selection of music, from shania twain and the jacksons, to traditional argentinian music! Good fun though, and seemed to be lots of people out, reminded me of my year abroad days!

Also started some volunteering as well. I went along to an organisation called Conviven which is based in one of the shanty towns - or villas as they are called here, an abbreviation for villa miseria (villages of misery)... which i suppose gives some sort of an idea of the types of places they are. I am helping in what is like a youth club really or after school care - we give english classes, or art or music.. basically just to give the kids something to do and learn.

Started at another organisation as well doing a similar thing but the area seems poorer - more in the centre of the shanty town, and i guess more what i imagined when i pictured something like that. We get dropped off at the edge of the villa then depending on where we are going to, have to get someone to take us to our location although it is just around the corner - even if it is just a little boy, as was the case last time! Just to have someone to 'verify' for us i guess - not a place you want to be wandering around as a lone foreigner... Been doing the same type of thing there but there is not just one teacher standing up at the front. There are more kids (about 30!) and anywhere from 2 to 6 of us, and we bring maths and english and other worksheets for them to do. I,ve enjoyed it so far, and can at least put some of my skills from Deloitte into practice.... that is to say, multi tasking! Although in a slightly different environement... trying to explain fractions to one little girl whilst theboy next to you has a question and the one opposite wants you to mark his worksheet.... whilst another one on the other side of the room is shouting 'profe, profe, profe' (teacher)!!

It is an eye opener to see these places - they really don't have much at all. Some of the kids turn up with their younger brothers and sisters in co - like this 9 yr old girl who comes with her 7 yr old, 4 yr old and 2 yr old sister and keeps them all in check - and obviously has a lot more responsiblity than just being a normal 9year old.

But i think these organisations do help by providing somewhere safe for them to play and learn. Also trying to find out about the possibility of working in an orphange so will keep you posted on that...