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

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 the artifacts seen in the museum or simply to soak up the sun. It’s positioned 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 for volunteers to Mix & Match their placements. 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 provides an excellent placement for musical and creative volunteers! The school is a public school, council run and funded, and provides opportunities for local children to learn the arts and practice their talents. Consisting of 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 boasts 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. The school is located in the centre of the city on the edge of the central park in Malargue and next to the principle street. 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. There are a number of facilities included within the Department of Culture including 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 and located just off the main road. The department of culture is responsible for many for the events that happen in Malargue and is run by local people. Recent successful events include “Miss Malargue” - a competition held in the gardens of the Department of Culture to find Malargue’s prettiest!  Working with the Department of Culture you may be involved in the following tasks

• Music (the choir)

• Stone Sculpture

• Ceramics

• Landscape Painting

• Assisting Artists

• Organising cultural events

• Theatre

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, as there is very little English spoken in the local community, forcing you to speak Spanish. We can arrange additional Spanish classes where required.

"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 on her placement in Malargue

"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, we talk about so many different things, from countries in Europe to anorexia and issues in modern societies. I would strongly advise it to anyone who wants to have fun with their teaching. Its much more fun than I thought and not like work at all"
Sophie Dunbar on the teaching aspect of her placement in Malargue

ACCOMMODATION

You will be staying at the Hostel Internacional Malargue, a small hostel based on a farm in Malargue and close to Las Lenas Ski Centre. This hostel is very well known across Mendoza and is part of the Hostel Internacional Group. It’s located about 4 miles outside the town of Malargue and is set in amazing countryside. To one side the horizon is lined with the snow tipped Andes Mountains with large areas of forest and rolling countryside in the foreground, and to the other side, tall fur trees create a natural boundary around the grounds. It is a hostel run by a family who have known and loved Malargue for a long time.

The hostel consists of 2 main buildings, one has the reception, main kitchen, dining room and impressive new decking and outside bar to help you pass by the quiet tranquil evenings. The other is mainly full with bedrooms but also has a kitchen and lounge for guests. The facilities are excellent and very modern, with most rooms being on-suite and newly decorated with wooden furniture. You will stay in the Hostel in one of their four-bed dorms so you will be required to share the room with other guests that are staying at the hostel.  

The hostel has its own farm (with pigs, chickens, goats, horses and cows), and has recently been identified as an Eco Hostel. This means that the grounds, the buildings, the food and the style of living all meet eco standards. This remarkable way of living, which does not hinder modern life at all, provides a mind opening experience. The buildings are constructed out of local wood and mud for concrete. A mud pool in the gardens, churned by horses and mixed with sand provides a very strong adhesive for construction. Water for cooking and washing is filtered from the nearby mountains and electricity usage is kept to a minimum. For cooking a “horno de barro” is used most nights. This totally natural oven consists of bricks and mud - burning wood from the forest generates the heat.

Breakfast and dinner will be provided on your placement consisting of local dishes. You will be eating home cooked bread and jam for breakfast and evening meals cooked in traditional style. The Cuisine in Argentina in general is delicious and quite often exotic. A common meal is “chivo” - this is a mountain goat and is considered a delicacy in this area of the world.

The hostel experience is very calm and quiet and as there is no internet or TV. Entertainment is found in reading, lazing in the hammocks, sun bathing, walking and socialising on the new terrace with other travellers and locals. As the Hostel offers a variety of tourist tours, there will no doubt be other guests to meet and socialise with. The scenery provides a truly spectacular experience.

“Cabaña Las Brujas” (Witches Cavern) – These spectacular caves are situated roughly 70km outside the town. Generated by sea level change, the underground water has carved what seems like galleries, consisting of amazing rock formations including stalactites and stalagmites. After travelling through a network of tunnels and caves you come to what locals call the Virgen Gallery and Flores Gallery. These are vast open spaces carved by thousands of years of water erosion, creating curious rock formations and ceilings that resemble that of churches. Down there a particular “fauna” exists, adapted to living with out sunlight and little food. All these characteristics make the cavern a magical experience and a must see for all visiting tourists.

“Payunia” – A volcanic range consisting of 800 volcanoes: one of the largest ranges in the world! Over thousands of years of volcanic explosions, wide spread lava flow and originate basaltic formations a very unique and alien like landscape has been created. The vast open scenery gives this place a special feel and it has become an incredibly popular attraction for tourists. Guided tours take you to the edge of volcano craters, show old eruptions and lava rivers and many different land forms and rock types.

“Llancanelo Lagoon” - This totally virgin and natural environment is situated roughly 75 km outside the town. This amazing spectacle has recently been incorporated to the Ramsar Convention as one the greatest natural humid places in the world and is home to some 155 species of migratory birds. A truly beautiful place to visit.

“Pincheira Castles” – Due to natural erosion, mainly Glaciers, an incredible monument has been carved out of the ground that has a strange likeness to man made structures. In fact the monument resembles a large castle, complete with towers (cones) made out of sediment. The river Malargue passes close, moat like, and only a few meters away the “Pincheria Spring”. This area was a refuge for the “caudillo” (outcast) Pincheira at the end of last century, and many remains of Indian ceramics, arrow heads and other ancient artifacts can be found. 

“Los Mollos and Valle Hermos” – This amazing location is roughly 45 km outside the town. These thermals were part of the first attraction to Malargues ski tourist industry. The site consists of a hotel across three buildings. The oldest building contains two therapeutic varieties of thermal baths, Sulphur and Iron. In addition to this the resort offer a number of adventure tourism activities, including mountaineering, horse back rides, trekking, rafting and trips to Valle Hemoso and to la Niña Encantada that run all year round. Also about 95 km form Malargue a valley exists, formed by the crossing of two rivers: The Cobre and the Tordillo. Here many activities such as fishing, walking or spotting the “icticola fauna” help pass time away at this beautiful place.

WHAT IS REQUIRED OF YOU:

As with all our destinations, the Argentine culture and heritage, although European in flavour, is different to Anglo-Saxon cultures and this must be borne in mind. 

You must be able to speak a little Spanish to benefit from this experience. You can do a one or two month course in Buenos Aires or take some private lessons on arrival in Malargue.

Self-reliance and independence are highly appreciated in all our destinations and will help you to make the most of this wonderful opportunity! 

You will be expected to be highly motivated and involved in all the projects and capable of using your initiative and entertaining yourself during free time. If you are an outdoor person with a sense of adventure and travel, this placement will be perfect for you.

Once you have applied for a placement, we will send you a very detailed Argentina Information Book, as well as an equally detailed Safety Guide - both of these will help to make your stay in Argentina one that you will never forget!

This is a truly awesome, elegant and beautiful country.

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Last modified: January 18, 2008