Forum Argentina

[aliciaMay]

For 6 months I had the amazing opportunity to work and live in Buenos Aires. I gained valuable work experience as well as was able to practice my spanish! I lived in the west of Grand Buenos Aires in a pretty surburb called Ramos Mejia. The great thing about Ramos Mejia was that there weren’t many foreigners so it wasn’t a touristy area (like in the Capital where everyone could speak a bit of english).

During my stay I worked at Fundación Ciclo, building international connections between the foundation and others by searching for and contacting various organizations through the world wide web. On certain days I taught English classes, which was so much fun. All of my students were really sweet and eager to learn.

The Foundation provided me with low cost housing as well as a small monthly stipend to help me out with minimal expenses. What was really cool is that the Foundation also gave us the option to live with an Argentine family!

If you want to check it out go to www.ciclobsas.com or you can e-mail elam@ciclobsas.com, (You can even tell them that I told you about it!)

-Alicia May
California

[pocaya]

hello alicia may!!

how are you??

I write you because I'm a student girl and I will certainly make an internship in Fundacion CICLO, in Buenos Aires, in February 2008. But i try to have a lot informations about it but it's difficut...I was so happy to see your message!! Could you tell me more about this experience you had? Personally, i am a bit worried concerning the cost of living 6 months in Buenos Aires...How much did you pay each month to the family, for living?How much did you spend each month for everything? Concerning the internship, it seems to be really interested, but did you make a lot of things? i would be so happy if you could answer me, because I really want to know more about this fundation, if it's serious, and qué tal el trabajo alli????

thank you so much to answer me!!!!!!!

[maria ribichich]

I like to advise Pocaya that Ciclobsas is an ordinary Spanish School for turist,
as many in the country in the West of Buenos Aires city.

International Secuty Insurances covers the North area only.

There are many people offering jobs, visits, souvenirs and all kind of turist stuffs.
Ask your Embassy for secure places or contact serious people of regular schools as LINCOLN or BAICA. (a Christian International School who could help you).
Good luck!
María of Buenos Aires

[Chantal G]

Hi Pocaya

Sorry to tell you that, but i can't recomand you to go to Fundacion CICLO. I have been working there for 3 month (instead of 6...) and it was really bad. I liked the idea to work in another country and Buenos Aires is a great city. The host families are also great as well as the students. And in theory the internship would be great too. But in the end it wasn't at all. Alicia May, are you serious about what you said? Sounds like publicity from them... The thing is, you have to pay a lot and to work a lot. They abuse the interns as cheap workers. Furthermore they don't like you to have relations to your host family or your students...that about intercultural exchange. Then, they treat you like **** and tell you all the time what a bad job you do and you don't learn that much. In addition the material for the language classes is bad and they aren't really interested in people learning something. Your job is basicly to teach classes (like every day for no money and you'll have to pay for your spanish class) and to look for new interns. If your spanish is better, you can also work in the reception...probably then they shorten again the hours of the girl in the reception, because you're cheaper.

I'm not the only one who quit the internship, but the problem is, that they make you pay a big deposit (you'll have to sign a contract that you don't get the money back if you quit) and so they keep the money from everybody. So be careful!

[EasyExpat]

For information, here is the email we received from Fundacion Ciclo (I can only assume it is related to the comment above).

From: comunicacion@fundacionciclo.org.ar
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 6:48 PM
Subject: About posted comments

> To the Authorities,
>
> By this email, we want to comunicate the fact that we know that in your
> blog, a person has made negative comments about our organization.
>
> http://www.easyexpat.com/forums/ftopic_13568.htm
>
> The declarations made by that person have been presented in front of the
> argentinian justice and a judge has considered that this person has
> commited a criminal offence of diffamation and insults, and of
> manipulation of the information of our organization.
> For the reasons stated, this person is considered as a crimial waiting to
> complete his sentence.
>
> We know that your organization does not accept comments from a criminal,
> so we ask you to remove the information from your blog.
>
> If you do not remove that information, made in a cowardly manner,
> anonymously, we will be obligated to continue our legal claims against
> you, calling for the protection of international laws that exist
> concerning the traffic of information on the internet.
>
> Our daily work has an objective of better understanding between cultures,
> and for this point in particular, we want to remind you of the chart of
> United Nations that has been signed by representatives of our countries
> with the objective of assuring and promoting the fundamental rights of men
> and women, in dignity and in value of the human being, in equality of
> rights between men and women, and of nations, big and small.
>
> If liberty of expression is a preocupation for you, as it is for us,
> respecting the rights of the ones who are harmed by crimes made by people
> without scruples, should also be preoccupying to you.
>
> To continue defending the comments in question would be acting as an
> accomplice in the crime of that person.
>
> Once again, we ask you to remove from your blog the bad comments that
> offend and harm our organization and our beneficiaries.
>
> Awaiting your response,
> Kindly,
> Miss Carolina Laurens
> Director of Institutional Development

[windy]

I think you just made matters worse by writing all that legal sounding bullsxxt.
People would have passed on by without remembering the names involved but now everyone will have a good read.

[maria ribichich]

Wow! How interesting that serious legal mail! They are talking about argentinian justice for real? Criminal people for a comment? I agree with you Windy: " it just made matters worse".