Argentina

From AFSWiki

Contents 1 Country Information 2 Placement 3 Travel Information 4 Host Families 5 Support Information 6 Academics 7 Scholarships & Sponsored Programs 8 General Country Information 9 Program Information

Country Information

• AFS Country Code: ARG
• See also http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/view/7936 for more on Argentina.

Placement

• Age requirement: School-based Programs: 16.0-18.6 years old.
  
• Language requirement: Some Spanish preferred (not a must)
  
• Health restrictions: Students under medication due to psychological issues are hard to place. For school programs, it is indispensable to have Doctor´s stamp or typed license number on 3a & 3b medical form.
  
• Graduates: No
  
• Smoking: Many people smoke in Argentina, but families are still some traditional and prefer non smoking students. However, honesty is preferred so rules can be settled. Eg. smoking outside, not smoking in the room, etc. Non smoking participants should also consider that at least one person smokes in the house. We mean that non smoking placements are rare, but families usually do not accept smokers.
  
• Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarians are difficult to place, but we can accept up to 5% of vegetarians. Argentina is a "meat" country.
  
• Dress:
  
• Other: 95% students placed in middle-sized and big cities (from 10,000 to 3,000,000 inhabitants). Families are conservative and protective, boys have more freedom than girls. Prefer students motivated for Latin America.
  

Travel Information

• Visa: See AFS USA website for most recent visa information for Argentina.
• Departure Preparation: Gateway Orientation out of Miami, FL.
• Arrival & Orientation: 2-3 days arrival orientation in Buenos Aires run by staff & volunteers. Buenos Aires city tour included, only if arriving on prefer date.
  • End of Stay activity (3 days in another community)
  • 2 orientations at local or regional level.
  • Specific activities organised by volunteers (camps, travels, meetings, etc.).
  • Pre-departure orientation at local level.
• Departure:

Host Families

• Transportation:
• Extracurricular:
• Hosted-in: 35% urban; 60% suburban; 5% rural

Support Information

Information needed.

Academics

• Transcript/Diploma: student can receive certificate of attendance. Some schools give transcripts of grades, dependent on academic background and if students graduates while on the program. Accept students that want city or rural placements.
  
• School: Mostly public education, although up to 25% private:
  
  • School year: March-December with two week break in July.
    
  • 85% 8 am-1pm or 15% 2 pm-7 pm; schedule changes, some classes on Monday, others on Tuesday.
    
  • Uniforms provided by volunteers or host family
  • Academic system: may be boring-not much discussion;
    
  • Teachers change classroom, rather than students passing between classes
    
  • Sports: soccer (not in school, but rather in streets/fields), volleyball, handball, swimming
    
• Language:

Scholarships & Sponsored Programs

See Scholarships or Sponsored Programs for Sending for more information.

General Country Information

• Description:
• Religion: 90% Catholic, but host families and society freely accept people with other beliefs.
• Climate: Argentina is subject to a variety of climates. As a rule, the climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the far south. The north of the country is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has hot summers with thunderstorms (western Argentina produces some of the world's largest hail), and cool winters. The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones. Higher elevations at all latitudes experience cooler conditions.
• Politics: A federal presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of The Argentine Nation is both head of state and head of government.
• Language: Spanish

Program Information

• Community Service: Locations for community service trips change each year. Applicants must enjoy working with people different ages and social realities, be tolerant, responsible and hard working. Must demonstrate a patient attitude and a good sense of humor. Spanish skills required. There is an additional trip offered to Iguazu Falls trip. It costs approximately US$250 and is optional. Paid by participants.
• School Programs: An optional school class trip may be offered and will cost approximately U$S350. There is an additional trip offered to Iguazu Falls trip. It costs approximately US$250 and is optional. Paid by participants. Paid by participants.

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For information, questions or concerns, contact the Program Information Specialist or countryinfo@afs.org.