Lars in Argentina

My story

I had a really great time in Argentina. I did a 6-week internship. The hostel was tidy and is in Recoleta. That’s a safe, wealthy neighbourhood with lots to do. The whole 3rd floor of the hostel belonged to UTS and we were basically one big group of friends. We went out for dinner together almost every day and did fun things. Life here is very cheap compared to Holland. You can also have a great night out in Buenos Aires. The best nightlife area is in the Palermo neighbourhood. It goes on all night there until the morning. You can just grab an Uber there, which costs next to nothing.

The internship sessions are at different times during the week. The supervisors here give you a timetable for the whole week. So you go to different locations to give sports lessons to children from poor neighbourhoods. A supervisor always comes along. The children only speak Spanish. At the start my Spanish wasn’t that good yet, but the supervisors do help you translate. The children really love you and look up to you even though you don’t always understand them. I usually worked from 9:00 until about 13:00/14:00. So you still had the rest of the day to do fun things. You’re free at weekends, so you also have time to get out and about. For example, we spent a weekend at the Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. This was truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We did a boat tour through the falls. Definitely recommended!

As a football fan I’d always wanted to go to a Boca Juniors match. I went to Boca against Defensa y justicia. The atmosphere here in Argentina is on another level. The fans here really live for football. It’s basically a party around the stadium all day before the match starts. On 25 February it was the superclásico: River plate against boca. We went to the La Boca neighbourhood to watch the match on a big screen.

For the last 2 weeks of my internship we had to move to a different temporary location. This location was about two streets from the Obelisco, so right in the centre of Buenos Aires. This location was really nice too. It wasn’t a hostel but small flats that you shared with 1 other person. Personally I think I preferred the hostel, because we were all together every day. In the flat everyone keeps a bit more to themselves and you see each other a bit less.

I learnt so much and made new friends in Buenos Aires. If you have any questions or want to know anything, you can ask Ruben for my contact details.

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

– If you’re in two minds about going, just do it. It’s 100% worth it and you’re really going to have the time of your life.

– Check carefully beforehand whether you can get a grant through your school. I got an Erasmus+ grant, which covered almost my entire internship.

– It’s handy to learn a few words of Spanish beforehand. Even if you only know a bit of the basics, it will help you a lot.

– If you go here, spend a weekend at Iguazu. Definitely recommended!