Introduction: Looking For Vol./internships For My Son

[paulpaez]

Hi: my name is Paul, and my 18 year old son is planning a gap year stay in B.A. for several months, where I have friends and relatives. I'm trying to find some ideas for either volunteer or internship opportunities for him while there; and/ or inexpensive spanish language classes he could take. It doesn't have to be formal, just looking for any business or organization that could use an English speaking student to help out around the office or store. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[gordita75]

www.idealist.org is a good place to start, search for organizations in b.a.

if you are more specific about what kind of organization i could maybe be more helpful.... if you wanna pm me, i can let you know of some ngos that usually take volunteers...

as far as inxpensive spanish classes, i haven't heard of any- i think most will be 100ish quid/week for maybe 15-20 hours a week- uba language lab is probably one of the cheaper http://www.uba.ar/ingles/foreign/spanish.php

i used to take spanish years ago at lenguasvivas and that place was cheap then at lesat...

 

[JamJam]

Hi Paul,

If your looking for volunteering you should check out
http://www.lifeargentina.org
They don't require you to pay a big fee, like some places, just some small running costs.

Best of luck and I hope he has a great time!

PS

Why can't your son sort it out him self now he's a big boy ? Of course you could check over his plans just to make sure he's not volunteering for a pimp house or anything.

 

[gordita75]

pimp house?? like a brothel? that would a great way to learn spanish, pimping at blacks in recoleta. no idea if that place is still even there...

i think the kid could find a place where he doesnt have to pay anything- i think its a little ridickadonk for non profits to charge volunteers- i have volunteered at a bunch who have never even suggested to charge me, they pay transport/food costs often, i think he can find something that won't charge him.

www.helpargentina.org is a place that has historically taken volunteers and they do some really good things...

 

[Rich One]

pimp house?? like a brothel? that would a great way to learn spanish, pimping at blacks in recoleta. no idea if that place is still even there...

i think the kid could find a place where he doesnt have to pay anything- i think its a little ridickadonk for non profits to charge volunteers- i have volunteered at a bunch who have never even suggested to charge me, they pay transport/food costs often, i think he can find something that won't charge him.

www.helpargentina.org is a place that has historically taken volunteers and they do some really good things...

I assume you are referring to the Black Night Club!!! otherwise may be politically questionable...'?

 

[gordita75]

yes, the nightclub!! i was dragged in there by some argie guy friends over a decade ago and got some of the girls to do shots with me before getting kicked out.

sorry- dont want to get bashed for changing the subject (actually, anyone can bash me, not only do i not mind but i find it quite amusing)----

 

[murvee]

internships in argentina are quite difficult to find and they are something legally iffy. if he wants to be 100% legal there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and it can take months to complete. life argentina is quite good, but they do have monthly fees and volunteers have to pay for their transportation. for example, if life takes volunteers to a villa to do work, everyone has to pay 15 or 20 pesos for the van.

for cheap spanish classes, UBA is probably your best shot but keep in mind that they are cheap because the classes can have around 20 people. i have had friends take them and liked them, but there is not a lot of one-on-one attention. most spanish schools in the city have smaller classes (less than 10 people), but it of course makes them more expensive. spanish schools post their prices in dollars, so i would recommend doing the classes at a spanish school but exchange your dollars at the blue rate and pay in pesos. any quality school accepts cash payments in pesos at the official exchange rate, so in the end it ends up being much cheaper.

 

[Montauk_Project]

I´ve worked with interns before and taking on an 18 year old kid with no Spanish is a lot of work for a company. We have almost stopped taking interns (we use them for some small projects, like blog writing) because it ended up costing a lot of time to train them.

 

[leweiss105]

Road2Argentina has a good reputation, but it is a pay-to-volunteer/ intern situation, but may be worth it for parental peace of mind (putting myself in the shoes of my parents). However, I do agree that he will probably be better off if he does some of the research himself!

 

[MNievas]

I'm thinking he might work at some local magazine to write articles in english...
If he doesn't speak english he'd be better off teaching english or being an english tutor for high school students...
He would also be able to learn some spanish that way...