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Published: September 11th 2014
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So I am homeless in Argentina. I left the placement in Quilmes last Thursday, which was sad because I really enjoyed working at the school and the family were great. But it is what it is, and life has certainty been interesting since then. On Thursday evening I travelled to Buenos Aires, dumped my big suitcase at the company office and then headed off to the shopping centre to catch the bus to camp. For some bizarre reason an email was sent out to all the councillors going to that camp to contact ME if you have any problems!! I have somehow become some sort of expert and so a new councillor contacted me and I met up with her in the shopping centre and escorted her to the bus pick-up point. We met the other councillors at the bus stop and took the bus to Mercedes. We arrived at around 9pm to discover that some of the kids had arrived early so we had to go straight in to councillor mode. The theme of this first camp was the Freaky Olympics. The rest of the children arrived on the Friday, and they were a really nice group. They were excited
to play lots of camps and practise their English. This time I ended up with a really good team which I loved, they were all super enthusiastic and we won the dance competition because they were all willing to show off their moves! The only disastrous aspect of the camp was the weather, as a terrific thunderstorm occurred two of the nights meaning that the majority of outdoor activities were unable to take place (problematic when the camp theme is Olympics). However on the Saturday we decided to force the kids outside and they had a brilliant time rolling around in the mud, doing tug of wars, relay races and football. On the whole it was a really good camp, and after saying goodbye to the kids on Sunday afternoon we returned to Buenos Aires. I arrived in the city after dark, said goodbye to the other councillors and traipsed across the city to the hostel the company had booked for me. I grabbed a quick bite to eat in a nearby restaurant and went to bed (luckily the only person in my dorm as I was exhausted and polite conversation would have been no longer possible). I had to get up at 5:45am the following day, in order to travel to a different pick up point where I was getting a taxi to another camp at 7am. I found the place and me and the other councillors left promptly, feeling knackered. I never actually saw the sun in Buenos Aires, it was night when I arrived and the sun hadn't risen when I left, so that was a bit depressing. This time we were heading to a different camp location in a place called Pilar, around an hour away from the capital. The camp was stunning, it actually a yoga retreat hotel so the rooms were incredible and the whole place had a extremely relaxing vibe. There was a beautiful lake, a swimming pool and a nature trail where you passed llama and peacock enclosures. It was all very nice until the kids arrived. These children were not the best, they spoke good English but refused to do it and made my life very difficult. They were quite rude really and had little interest in partaking in any of the activities we organised. I can't really be bothered to describe the camp in much more detail, but it was it was my worst one so far. We were quite thankful to leave yesterday and return to the city. Unfortunately for me, being homeless and all, I had to catch a bus to the original camp location last night on my own. I had time for a few drinks in the city with some of my councillor friends, then caught the bus to Mercedes, arriving at around 11pm. I was the only person there. Everything was locked up and silent, so it was a bit creepy. Luckily I had been given a key so I headed to the staff quarters and went to sleep. Today the cleaning ladies have arrived and they are preparing everything for the kids to arrive tomorrow morning. The other councillors are joining me later today. Anthony, the British guy who basically lives at the camp is coming in the next hour or so, and we are going to work with the cooking ladies and try and improve/teach some British recipes. It has been a tiring week but I feel optimistic that this coming camp should be good. The theme is Camelot so British knights and feasts and legends so should be a lot of fun. In other news the company director messaged me asking if I would accompany him to a conference in the North of Argentina next week. He said they have been impressed with my work and think I am the right person to help advertise the company! I supposed I should be flattered, although I can't help feeling perhaps it has more to do with buying time for them to organise my next placement than anything else. Anyway it will be cool to see a different area of the country, and all my flights and food and accommodation will be paid for, and if it's me and the company director let's hope for something nicer than a hostel and a burger!
Jude (yes, I still get this comparison every week)
PS. I have acquired a company t shirt and fleece gilet, if I'm having to work three camps in a row I'm going to at least look the part.
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Catherine Blease
non-member comment
Hi Daniel!
Enjoying reading about your travels, glad you are having such a good time.