2022-06-03

A long weekend in Patagonia

Written by Kasia Pendlebury
Rate this item
(0 votes)
Bariloche was not somewhere I’d heard of before coming to Argentina. Rather, I discovered it through recommendations from locals and the Instagram stories of exchange students. In most aspects of my life, I tend to plan and research diligently before doing something, but on this trip I took a step back and barely glanced at the guidebook or google images before going.

I took a flight very early in the morning from Jorge Newbery airport and, after 2 hours, arrived into a very cold Bariloche. In my ignorance, I had thought of Argentina as a ‘hot’ country before stepping foot on its soil, having no concept of the sheer land mass of the nation and just how far south it extended. With some trepidation I was driven by my friends to our Airbnb, a bit delighted to not be in a hurry to go anywhere on the roads and enjoying the panoramic mountain views I grasped by tilting my head in all angles to peer out of the different windows of the car.

In hindsight the days all blend into one. The famous road of the seven lakes that ended in San Martín de los Andes, getting slightly lost in desert land, sitting in the sun by the lake, and climbing on logs like my twelfth birthday was still just around the corner. We star-gazed and waited in anticipation for the super flower blood moon to creep across the sky. We drank wine and cooked, with varying degrees of success, meals that we enjoyed for their flavour or for their failure.
Read 8752 times

Related items

Volunteering: a learning process. Part II.

Let's deepen on the reflections about volunteering as a learning process from the perspective of Critical Pedagogy with Abi, our coordinator.

Voluntariado: un proceso de aprendizaje

Algunas reflexiones en torno al voluntariado entendido como un proceso de aprendizaje desde la perspectiva de la Pedagogía Crítica de la mano de Abi, nuestra coordinadora.

Volunteering: a learning process (part 1?)

A quick set of questions to deepen on the concept of volunteering delivered by Abi, our volunteers coordinator. Probably the first part on a group of articles reflecting about volunteering as a learning process, so yeah! expect more of these laughing

A Celebration for Mother Earth

In Argentina, August 1st is El día de la Pachamama. Pachamama is what natives call Mother Earth. The translation would be "Mother Earth's Day" In the vision of our natives, it's also our New Year, as opposed to the one in the Western calendar the colonization imposed. In different parts of the country, there are celebrations for this day, and MILPA participated in organizing a festival in the Parque San Lorenzo neighborhood. We translated their article so you could know more about this celebration and Comunidad MILPA's commitment to the community. You can read the original article in spanish in @comunidad_milpa instagram.

Expectations, a big ally and a tricky enemy

Abi, our coordinator, reflects on the learning process of volunteer work, and the expectations and disappointments which come along with it.

An Introduction to: Comunidad Milpa

After about an hour of travel from the heart of the city, Cordelia, Abi, and I arrive at Comunidad Milpa. Located in General Pacheco, the garden and greenhouse of Milpa is one of two projects started by Voluntario Global. As I step outside of the car, I am greeted by Rashu, a majestic, black-haired greyhound, one of Valeria’s (Voluntario Global’s co-founder) two pet dogs. 

10 years remembering Armin: A local hero in a world of international heroes

 In 2008, almost 10 years after my first visit to Latin America having just qualified as a Spanish teacher, I arrived in a cold, grey Buenos Aires. The plan was to spend 2 months volunteering with a relatively new volunteering charity called Voluntario Global. Back in 2008, Valeria Gracia and Armin Díaz, the original founders of the organisation, had set up a grass roots organisation that worked, principally, out of two community centres in impoverished barrios of the Argentine capital. What was unique about Voluntario Global, and remains true today, is that it looked to bring together the energy and enthusiasm of international volunteers with the local members of the poor communities of Buenos Aires who believed that change in their lives, and those of their neighbourhoods at large, was possible through international co-operation and partnership.

Login to post comments