MIX AND MATCH CULTURAL PROJECTS! LOCATED IN MENDOZA

This project is located in and around the beautiful town of Malargue in Mendoza Province, located in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Malargue is a paradise for wine lovers or Adventure Tourism enthusiasts... If you are an outdoor person with a sense of adventure and travel, this placement will be perfect for you.

You'll work closely with the Municipality of Malargue in either the Museum, the Department of Culture, in Education, Tourism  or in the local Sports Centre. There are several different types of work that can be done within each of these sections - you can choose to do all of them or Mix & Match just a few! E.g., you can select two days a week teaching, one day a week helping in the Museum and maybe two days helping at the Artistic School.

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Mix & Match Cultural Project Elements - Choose which ones you want to do. You have a choice of areas of work, ranging from cultural to teaching to tourism and even to orchard farming! You can choose just one area of work - or all four, it's up to you. You can even MIX AND MATCH projects, i.e. spend one or more days in each project every week).

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Latin America.

• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

The available projects within the Mix & Match placement are as follows:

TEACHING AT THE MUNICIPAL SCHOOL:
This is the largest school in Malargue, teaching children from age 9 to 14 during school hours. In the evenings the school lends its facilities to evening classes where you can find adults learning - even the local police force take lessons here! The new building is impressive and rather spacious with great facilities. These include a library, computer room and drama corner (stage and seating). The school classrooms are large with lots of light and full of new furniture, making for a great learning environment. The school has superb security and technology and a playground outside. It’s located in a quiet area of Malargue, off the main drag with rolling countryside just around the corner and snow tipped mountains on the horizon. All in all the school has a fantastic feel about it and provides a perfect location for volunteers to help assist in teaching English to all ages. The placement involves:

• Teaching children of all ages

• Teaching local members of the community during the evening classes.

• Teaching across a variety of subjects including arts, drama, science etc.

"I love teaching because the school here is lovely. its run by the council and is a really modern complex, with internet access and big screen etc. Everyone at the school is really friendly and so pleased that I'm here. I teach all different types of people, from little kids who are learning how to say hello, to teenagers who are learning all the grammar behind the language. I also run my own conversation class with adults and graduated students. They're so much fun, I would strongly advise it to anyone who wants to have fun with their teaching. Not like work at all!" Sophie Dunbar on the teaching aspect of her placement in Malargue

THE MUSEUM:
The museum in Malargue exhibits archaeology and paleontology artifacts and consists of 4 main rooms: 1) Paleontology and Mineralogy, 2) Archaeology, 3) History and Folklore, 4) Workshop. There is also a small souvenir shop for customers and passing business. The museum surrounds a pretty courtyard where visitors will sit to talk, eat an ice-cream and discuss artifacts, or simply to soak up the sun. It’s locaated just off the main road in down town Malargue and is next door to the Tourist office and Department of Culture office, making it very convenient to Mix & Match your placement. The museum attracts tourists from all over the world. You'll need reasonable spoken Spanish to work at the museum in the following areas; 

• Assisting in the updating of historical artefacts

• Assisting in general enquiries and helping customers

• Translating museum records

TOURISM:
The Tourism Office in Malargue is a large modern building recently constructed to cater for the increase in tourism in Malargue. The building consists of offices for its employees, along with an impressive reception designed to cater for all tourist enquires. There is a wealth of information available for tourists whether they need travel advice, accommodation or just a good restaurant! Full of friendly staff to help tourists with all their needs and perfectly located down town. You'll need reasonable spoken Spanish to work in the tourist as you could be involved in the following tasks:  

• Working in the Convention Centre and the Information Desk helping both local and foreign tourists

• Assisting in strategic planning for the development of tourism in Malargue

• Assisting with town events

• Writing for tourist publications

THE ARTISTIC SCHOOL:
Positioned in the centre of Malargue the Artistic School is excellent if you're musical and creative. It's a public school, council run and funded, and provides opportunities for local children to learn the arts and hone their talents. There are a few local teachers, each with different artistic skills, and roughly 30 students aged between 7 -17. The main focus of the placement is to assist teaching the children. The school has an impressive array of instruments, including saxophone, drums, guitars and string instruments, along with facilities to cater for dance, drawing and all artistic subjects. The teachers and students are all incredibly friendly and motivated and eager to express themselves through art. You can assist with the following activities;

• Teaching Music – saxophone, guitar, drums, trombone, clarinet, strings, keyboards

• Teaching Dance and movement

• Assisting with Painting and Drawing classes

• Assisting with rehearsals at the Drama Department for up and coming productions

• Working with children of all ages

THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE:
Many of the projects within the Mix & Match placement involve working with the Municipality of Malargue. The Department of Culture is another section which includes an impressive exhibition and conference hall that is frequently home to famous artists exhibiting their work, or local and international conferences. The Department of Culture is positioned next to the Museum and Tourist Office and the buildings are surrounded by amazing gardens. The Department of Culture is responsible for many for the events that happen in Malargue and is run by local people. Here you may be involved in the following tasks

• Music (the choir)

• Stone Sculpture

• Ceramics

• Landscape Painting

• Assisting Artists

• Organising cultural events

• Theatre

SPORTS:
During this placement you will work at the local sports centre where you will be an assistant coordinator/coach working along side the head coach of each sports.  You can choose from the following sports – Football, Basketball, and Volleyball, Athletics or handball. Your activities will include:

• Organization and planning of each class
• Organization of events and competition
• Fitness training
• And generally getting involved and having fun

During school terms, coaching is available during the late afternoon and evenings once the main schools have closed. Then during school holidays (from mid December to mid March) the sports centre is open all day. This is the busiest period of the year and you'll be able to coach throughout the day.  The Centre provides sports facilities to nearly 600 children in Malargue.

Generally there are about 15-50 pupils in each class, ranging from children to teenagers.  Depending on the time of year you choose to go the classes will run during the morning, afternoon and evening and each class has a regular time.

THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING!
You should submit your list of preferences and we will endeavour to have you allocated to projects according to your preferred area (or areas) and number of days you'd like to devote to each area.  Please note that not all projects are available all year round and are subject to availability.

Spanish is not a pre-requisite to take part on the placement however, if no Spanish is spoken only a few of the projects listed above will be available. Spanish will be very beneficial and help increase your overall enjoyment of the placement. The placement lends itself well to learning Spanish while you're there, as there is very little English spoken in the local community and this forces you to speak Spanish. We can arrange additional Spanish classes for you to take during your project.

"Malargue is completely different to the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aries. Here we have dinner at the hostel every night and its like being part of a family. Hardly anyone speaks English here so its quite hard to communicate but at the same time quite funny. I feel that I've had to get used to living in a very remote place, completely different to anywhere else I've been. I wouldn't recommend it to people who like cities and a really busy life. For anyone who wants to experience a more accurate view of what Argentina is really like I would say this is better than somewhere like Buenos Aires. Also anyone who wants to do a bit of exploration of the surrounding area there is a lot of opportunity for that as well. I loved going to see the Payunia volcanoes up in the mountains" Sophie Dunbar

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO WHILE IN ARGENTINA:

Add to your travel experience in Argentina by doing some additional exciting activities - you never know, you could develop a passion for Latin American dance, or learn a new skill!

This project can also be combined with any of our other projects in Argentina, or you could even do a second project in a different region of the country, thus doubling your adventure and enjoyment!

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

MALARGUE AND MENDOZA:

About Malargue: Malargue is situated in the south-east angle of Mendoza  province. It’s one of the largest areas of Mendoza province at 41.317 km2 and 1402 meters above sea level with 23,000 inhabitants. The town’s old local industries consisted of oil exploration and production, along with uranium mining, none of which operate now. Now petroleum and tourism are the thriving industries and many hotels and cabins can be found for visitors interested in having an outdoor experience and eco-tourism.

The town has a large park in the centre of the city, with picturesque fountains, a playground and benches for relaxing and soaking up the sun. Many of the projects are next to the park and many volunteers choose to spend their lunch time and free time in the park, reading and watching the locals. The park is also situated on the main road in and out of Malargue which contains your typical Argentinean high street businesses. Ice cream stores and cafes can be found, with customers sitting outside socializing; Internet cafes and kiosks on every corner and traditional food markets.

By night the towns bars are full of local youngsters enjoying themselves and there is nightclub open until the early hours of the morning. There are many restaurants to wind away the evenings, eating Argentinean beef, empanadas (even more famous in Mendoza) and of course local wine. Other standard Argentinean dishes such as “Milanesas” and “parrillada” can also be found easily. 

Being a small town all the locals seem to know each other and so it won't take long until you become a known face. The people in the town are incredibly friendly and always keen to know where you are from and where you are going - they will go the extra mile to make sure that tourists have a great time. There is a real community spirit in the town and our volunteers have the opportunity to contribute to the community themselves.

About Mendoza: Located in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, the city of Mendoza is the provincial capital of the Mendoza region in Cuyo, one of Argentina's main wine-producing areas. About 700 miles north-west of Buenos Aires and 235 miles from Santiago, Mendoza city offers excellent rail, bus and air connections to all parts of the country and to neighbouring Chile.

A beautiful green city with a number of parks, Mendoza has a lively atmosphere with numerous restaurants, theatres and nightclubs. The downtown area of Mendoza is largely pedestrianised with attractive tree-lined avenues and the city's main attractions include Government House, San Martin Park Forest and Cerro de la Gloria.

The province of Mendoza and all its beautiful countryside is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Its position at the foot of the Andes Mountains puts it right next to some of the world's best skiing. Las Leñas is the most modern ski resort in Argentina and is just four hours south of Mendoza, near Malargüe.

Renowned for its wine production, the area's dominant grape is Malbec, but Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin, Merlot and Syrah are also grown. Some of the province's main wine cellars are located in San Rafael, 125 miles south of Mendoza city.

Within Aconcagua National Park, the nearby Mount Aconcagua, which at 22,944 feet is the highest mountain in the Andes, draws devoted mountain climbers. In the summer months visitors enjoy mountain biking, rafting and hiking in this area. Uspallata, Potrerillos and Puente del Inca are all beauty spots worth visiting on short excursions.

Mendoza is renowned throughout Argentina for being a beautiful region and city.