Daan in Argentina

My story

In my first weeks in Argentina I worked on a football project, together with two friends I already knew. That made it extra fun. In the middle of a small neighbourhood there was a little football pitch between the houses, which immediately gave me the feeling: we’re really abroad. We played a lot of football with the children and recorded videos for The Power of Sports.

Still, after a while we noticed that we couldn’t contribute much to this project, as there were already coaches working with the children. We discussed this with the organisation and then moved to a different project.

In between projects we went to the Argentina vs Brazil match, which we’d bought tickets for. I’ll never forget that match: Argentina won 4-0 and the stadium went absolutely wild. The atmosphere, the supporters and the level of football made it an unforgettable experience.

For the new project we went in the mornings with the group to the same neighbourhood, but on the other side. There we came to a small school with a little church in front of it. First a few people from our group taught English, and then we did sport with the children on a small football pitch.

I noticed straight away how passionate the boys were. They really lived for football. That made the project great fun for me. I loved playing football with them and giving them tips on how they could improve, and then seeing them get to work on it straight away.

After about two weeks I went to the Iguazú Falls with my two friends and another friend we’d met in Argentina. There I saw the beautiful nature of Argentina and Brazil for the first time. This place was really worth a visit.

Later I took on another project, again in the same neighbourhood but at a different school. Here we worked with two groups of around 20 children. It was great to be able to work with so many children at once and to see them being active.

One small downside: the football pitch was right in the middle of the neighbourhood and we had to be careful not to knock the children over and not to step in the dog poo. 😉

I also went to Rio de Janeiro with a friend, which was absolutely worth it. The city was beautiful and there was loads to do. We bought lots of football shirts and went on some great trips, such as to Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain and the Flamengo vs Corinthians match, where I saw Depay play in Brazil.

In my last week I travelled to the north of Argentina with a group of five. We visited Salta, Jujuy and Cafayate, among other places. We drove around the mountains there for a few days and made the most of the impressive scenery. The highlight was our visit to the Serranías del Hornocal, where at 4,350 metres we had a breathtaking view over the coloured mountains.

About daily life and the projects

The projects usually took place in the mornings, so I was already free by early afternoon. That gave me lots of time to explore the city of Buenos Aires, where I got better and better at finding my way around.

The first apartment building we stayed in wasn’t very clean, so in the end we moved to another building. That was straight away three times better: a sleek lobby, tidy rooms (where four of us slept) and a lovely roof terrace where we could enjoy the sun. An extra bonus: there was a big market every Sunday in the street next to the building.

Once a week we often played football with all the Dutch people against Argentinians. This was arranged through a contact person. It was great fun and you could really notice the difference in playing style between the Dutch and the Argentinians.

I also learnt a lot about Argentinian culture, and above all I’m happy that during my internship I was able to help children through sport and games, and especially by having fun.

What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?

Dare to take the step, because it’s truly an unforgettable experience that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. It also helps if you have a basic knowledge of Spanish. That makes communicating with people there a lot easier and means you can get even more out of your experience.