Updates on the work front

Okay, time for some quality updates on the work front. As I explained in one of my first blog posts, rather than having me work at the same college for eight months, my program is sending me to all four of the teacher-training colleges (profesorados) in Buenos Aires. Each of the four is quite different from the others, and has its own unique identity based on what kind of institute it is. My first institute was the teacher-training college affiliated with the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN) - so the approach to both language learning and teaching in general was quite technical and even mechanical. In other words, for every question I was asked about U.S. culture and society, I was asked two that were more grammatical. I did enjoy answering a lot of questions that were less technical, but still more linguistic than cultural (mostly idiomatic expressions or slang): what in the WORLD does it mean, for instance, to say "his name rings a bell, but I can't put a face to the name." Have you ever seen a name ringing a bell?

In any case, you could say that the more technical/mechanical approach to language isn't really the right fit for me - I am an English major after all, so I'm much more interested in literature, culture, ethnic diversity, and the like than grammar. I don't for a minute regret my time at the UTN, though. I learned a lot while working there, and I also made some incredible friendships with both students and coworkers. Andrea and Romina, two of the professor's assistants - or TA's - have become two of my closest friends in Argentina, and I've had many an Argentine adventure while tagging along with them and their friends.

I switched to my new institute about three weeks ago, and I've completely fallen in love with it. It's a fascinating institute: at the college level it's a language institute - it's called Lenguas Vivas, or Living Languages - but it also has primary and secondary programs within the same building. I'm working 25-30 hours a week with the secondary and college programs, and after just three weeks the work has been extremely enjoyable and rewarding already. The approach to language is more cultural and "context-based" (that's my term, not theirs), so while I do teach idiomatic expressions, colloquial language, and some slang, and sometimes help out with grammar lessons (prepositions, for example), I'm also getting to work with English-language literature, giving presentations on topics like U.S. immigration and the health care system, and talking about cultural differences like education, holidays, food, and lifestyles. I'm about four or fives times busier now than I was at my last institute - 25-30 hours doesn't include lesson planning - but the work is so enjoyable that I can't get enough of it.

I should also mention that I finally got my "supplemental project" going - I got a part-time internship for a journalism organization called Americas Journalism Training (AJT). It has a study-abroad program for students from the U.S. and Europe, and students take journalism seminars, Spanish classes, and short courses on Argentina through AJT, and get writing internships at publications in Buenos Aires. I'm helping out the AJT staff, but I'm very part-time and only working 5-8 hours a week, mostly as a blogger. I've posted to the AJT blog twice so far. Check out one of my posts.

I'm actually not teaching this week, because I have a week-long conference put on by the Fulbright program for all the Fulbrighters in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil. Everyone is headed to Buenos Aires for the conference, so I'll be showing 30-plus Americans around the city this week during our free time. It should be a lot of fun, and while I'll miss working at my institute this week, it should be an interesting conference, and a change of pace is always good too. (My current work schedule has me at school at 7:30 on Monday morning, and I don't finish until Friday night at 9:00 p.m. - so I won't be missing the schedule, haha.) I'll be staying at the same hotel as the other Fulbrighters for the week, so that I can get to know them better and not have to commute to and from the hotel throughout the week. So I might be less contactable this week than I normally am - but I'll resurface next week for sure.

I hope everyone is doing well back on the ranch. More to come - talk to you all soon!