Elebaires

Within the first week of arriving to Buenos Aires I had my resume translated into Spanish.  I met with a man for several hours and together we sat down and went through it line by line.  Let me tell you it was no easy feat.  There are a lot of technical words on my resume (strategic alliances, corporate partnerships, tenant relations, etc…) that just do not convey the same message when translated into Spanish.  After this was done I was ready to go! All I needed to do was find a job. 

My main issue at the time was the weakness of my Spanish.  While I have always been able to understand fluently, and speak basically, it had been six years since I had actually last studied Spanish in Barcelona.  The only people I ever truly spoke Spanish with were my aunts in Honduras, and our conversations were by no means complex. 

Elebaires is located in the famous Palacio Barolo

A solution to this quickly arose.  At the time, my friend Jouliette worked at a Spanish language school.  Her boss was looking for English speaking interns to help with marketing assistance in exchange for free Spanish courses.  Perfect!  I took advanced level classes, which I really think helped strengthen my ability to speak. I highly recommend Elebaires for anyone who wants to come to Buenos Aires and take Spanish classes! The teachers were all fabulous and the staff is so willing to help with any issue that arises, even if it is not school related. 

Advanced class: champagne celebration for Äneas' birthday

For two months I took classes in the morning and interned in the afternoons.  Let me tell you, after six months of not working, it was hard to become accustomed to a 9-5 day!  (How I am ever going be able to go back after being (f)unemployed for 19 months?)   The Buenos Aires lifestyle doesn’t exactly lend easily to working fulltime. After a few nights out, I realized big nights would have to be few and far between.  I was proud of the work I did while at Elebaires.  My main objective was to make contact with high schools in the United States and convince them that Buenos Aires, and Elebaires more specifically, was an excellent place to bring their Spanish programs.  Before I could do that I needed to create proper marketing materials as well as make crucial updates to the website.  It was great using prior experience in such a different environment.  I’ve spoken to Laura (the school’s director) recently and she said she has received many inquiries about the program as well as a few bookings!

Emily, me and Lea at the Superclásico

More than anything the friends I made at Elebaires made the experience invaluable.  Within my first week there I met Emily.  Just finishing her Masters, Emily was in Buenos Aires for two months to learn Spanish before returning to Chicago to find a job.  Lea came from Melbourne, Australia.  She enjoyed shopping, fine dining and cocktailing.  Clearly three things I am very into.  During breaks between classes the three of us would get together in the hall and gossip.  When we were tired/hungry, we’d go across the street to the local café for coffee and empanadas.  I shared many great memories with these two ladies.  We are currently planning our reunion for sometime in 2012 – which will be Lea’s tour de America including the essentials (California, Vegas, Chicago and New York).