This document provides an overview of the author's visits to two towns in Argentina - Villa Maria and Villa Allende in Cordoba Province. It summarizes the author's experiences meeting with two teachers, Erica and Anahi, visiting their schools, interacting with their students and families, seeing historical sites, and learning about Argentine culture through food and dance. The author shares photos from their trip documenting these experiences.

1. Argentina
The hills of Cordoba

2. Two hosts Two Towns
• Erica Carignano
from Villa Maria in
the Pampas of
Cordoba Province
• Anahi Segura from
Villa Allende in the
hills near the city of
Cordoba

3. Villa Maria
A charming town of about 80,000 people in the Pampas.

9. Erica teaches at four schools

10. Escuela Rivadavia combines
elementary and secondary schools.

12. Most schools are a combination of public and
private. The state pays teacher salaries and the
tuition maintains the facility and provides supplies.

13. Presentations

14. Time for friendly hugs and
snapshots

15. Principal and Secretary
(Don’t know why he’s smiling; he earns $9,000.00 a year.)

17. Time to meet the family…

18. …and have a bite to eat.

19. Erica’s many
friends invite us
to share meals
with their
families.

20. If you spot a vegetable in this
presentation – you win!

21. Look at that beautiful smile! It’s almost 11pm; we’ve just
finished dinner after a long day of teaching, and Erica looks
fresh as a daisy. (The red eyes are the fault of the
photographer.)

22. How
convenient!
Erica’s family
owns a small
café.

25. Back to
school

26. Escuela Secundario de Leche
A school dedicated to milk production.

27. Spotless laboratories
Micro-bacteriology
Pharmaceutical and Water Testing

28. Dairy Products
Dulce Leche (caramel)-Cream-Milk-Butter-Yogurt-Ice Cream-Cheese

29. The Bakery

34. Classroom friends

35. Teenagers
The same everywhere

36. A little matte break

38. Picnic in the park with the fam

40. A memorial for the “disappeared”

42. Workshop Seminar for Teachers of Writing at
Escuela Normal Victor Mercante

43. Students are prepared to take
notes on a lecture…

44. … Instead, they are assigned a
collaborative writing task in small
groups.

47. The seminar appears well received.

48. Time for a little shopping with new
friends.

52. A teacher’s lounge is universal…

53. …as are the friendships made at
work.

54. A poor, rural school is provided an
English teacher by the efforts of a
foundation.

60. These “ladies who lunch” are retired teachers and
the Fundacion Cultural Dr. Antonio Sobral. They
give support to the rural school.

61. Museum visit courtesy of the foundation.

62. Argentinian dogs – the most
intelligent in the world.

63. It is time to say good-bye to the
students of Villa Maria

64. This is harder than I expected!

65. It’s time for the
exchange of
gifts and a final
round of
snapshots.

67. The gift of a dance performance

70. Adios, Villa Maria!

71. Time to drive in our propane fueled
car the 200 km to Villa Allende.

72. Anahi Segura welcomes us to
Cordoba.

73. Time to meet the family and…

74. …have a bite to eat!

75. Grilled meat
(asado) is an
Argentinian
specialty.

80. Erica’s and Anahi’s families visit for
a relaxing BBQ on the weekend.

87. Back to school!
Anahi teaches at two schools

88. More presentations

89. Can you find the Greenville tee shirt? How about
the GHS yearbook?

91. Time out for a peak at my lovely
hotel

100. Time for classes at Instituto Paula Albarracin de
Sarmiento (“Paula”) – Anahi’s other school.

104. I wonder how
many of
these group
shots are in
my camera
…lots!

105. Time for a taste of city life
• Cordoba is
Argentina’s second
largest city in the
center of Cordoba
Province.
• It has an excess of a
million people and is
home to the oldest
university in the
country.

111. A presentation for student teachers at Zorrila de San Martin
on the American school system and the process of college
application. College is free in Argentina.

113. A day trip into the country

115. Estancia Santa Catalina (1622)

118. Estancia De Caroya (1616)

122. Around town in Villa Allende

123. Back to school. This time it’s the Instituto
Secundario The New Millenium

124. Like its name, this school has a
slick, modern feel.

125. Back at “Paula”, it’s time for a last
round of classes and good-byes.

126. Before we leave, how about a little
dancing?

127. Name this dance!

130. An exchange of gifts

131. Ciao!