Matthew Collins in Capital Federal, Buenos Aires

My name is Matthew Collins and I am here in Argentina on Co-operative Work Placement from the University of Limerick in Ireland. I work with Colonias de Inmersion al Idioma. I live in an apartment in Buenos Aires, Capital Federal. I am an English Teaching Assistant at Lenguas Vivas School on Mondays and Wednesdays. I also do some other work for the company. I go to schools around the city to give presentations about the English Immersion Camps that the company runs and we also give presentations about English Immersion trips to the UK and Ireland. I am a counsellor for the English Immersion Camps. I have worked three camps so far and I will be working another at the end of this month. A group of students from Manuel Belgrano School went to Ireland and the UK on an English Immersion trip a few months ago and I helped in the organisation of some exchange events for that trip.

I am really enjoying my placement here. I have a good rapport with the students at the school and I enjoy sharing my culture with them while at the same time learning much from them about the Argentine culture.
I have been learning Spanish since I arrived here and I attend classes in Lenguas Vivas four times a week. I have progressed to the Pre-Intermediate class.
I teach a woman English once a week here too. She practices speaking with me in a not so typical way, for example this coming Sunday we have agreed to meet at the MALBA, which is a museum here in the city. While there we will have an English class as we enjoy the art on display.
I have experienced a lot of new and interesting things since arriving. I went to see some films during BAFICI, the Buenos Aires Film Festival. I went to the Plaza de Mayo for the remembrance day for the mothers of those who disappeared during the Dirty War. It was a very interesting experience. I visited Recoleta Cemetery to see the crypts of some well known people. I went to see a four person performance in a small theatre with my friend Rodrigo and another girl one night too. We went out for the night after that in true Argentine style: visited three houses then went to a nightclub at five in the morning! The lifestyles of the people here are different to Irish lifestyles and it’s enjoyable to experience new things.
I started to take drum lessons from Andrea Alvarez, she is a well known musician here in Buenos Aires. I learn to play and read music from her. I joined a gym close to where I live and I’ve also started playing 5-a-side football with another Irish guy, an American and a group of Argentines. The city has a lot to offer. I visited the Japanese Garden and Zoo in Palermo. Bond Street is an indoor shopping centre full of Tattoo Parlours, Piercing Parlours, alternative clothes shops and shops for skateboarding. The walls of the centre are painted in graffiti style. I love living in the city. I am from a town in Ireland that has a population of approximately twelve thousand people so it is a big change for me to move to the capital city of Argentina. There is always something to do here. I’ve made some new friends; some are from the city and others from small towns in the province and are now living in the city. It’s great for me to practice speaking Spanish with them. Everything is going very well for me here. I am very happy with the placement.