Submitted by Alexandra DiDonato on the 2013 fall semester program in Buenos Aires, Argentina…
This weekend, our group had the opportunity to volunteer with a group called De Todos Para Todos at a school for children who come from families that struggle financially. Every Saturday these kids get to come to this school to play with each other, learn a bit (this week’s lesson was about dental hygiene), and eat. Volunteers also bring in different types of non perishable foods to give to the parents when they pick up their children. The experience of helping out itself was great, but this Saturday also marked the first time since I arrived I was able to have a one-on-one conversation with a porteño child. I figured the kids would be curious since we were from the United States, but I was completely floored by how off-the-wall some of their questions were:
“Are all of you siblings? How do you say my name in English? What hospital were you born in? Do you all live together in the United States? What’s your sign? Have you ever been to Disney World? How many pesos would it cost to fly to Disney World??”
Having a chance to talk to these kids gave me a whole new perspective on the types of things young people here think about. For instance, I never would have thought that the children here would be so intrigued with Disney World. It makes sense since Walt Disney movies are popular even here, but I guess since a family vacation to Disney World is something so common in America I’ve always taken it for granted. The fact that something like that to a child here, even in older children like the ones I spoke with, would be a dream come true is something very humbling.
We’ll be returning to the school to volunteer two more times, I can’t wait!