Life in the Wladfa – a student’s experience of spending the summer in Argentina
Have you ever wanted to know more about life in the Wladfa?
Llio Evans was one of three students from the School of Welsh who were fortunate enough to spend a period there over the summer after winning a scholarship to visit the Wladfa.
Llio is studying for a degree in Welsh and below she talks about how she applied for the scholarship and what she did during her time in the Wladfa.
During the summer I had the unforgettable opportunity to visit Patagonia in South America. This opportunity arose through the university where I received a scholarship to volunteer with two other students in schools out in the Wladfa.
The application process was very simple. I had to complete a form and submit it. I grasped this opportunity after discovering that my application had been successful, and before I knew it, I was on a 13-hour flight to reach the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.
I decided I had to do a little bit of travelling, and on my second day there I was given the opportunity to ride a horse for the first time in the countryside with the Gaucho's.
I travelled to the highest point in Argentina to visit Iguassu Falls, which was amazing, and I also went to see everything in the capital. In no time, it was time to travel down to Patagonia.
The first part of the trip was to visit Porth Madryn. Fortunately, I arrived in time for the celebration of the Landing Festival which takes place across the Wladfa to celebrate the landing of the first Welsh people who arrived in Patagonia in 1865.
We had a lot of fun getting to know the city. It’s worth bearing in mind that it was winter, so there was a little bit of wind and rain, but not enough to prevent us from watching and participating in the festival. There was a great atmosphere between the Welsh community and people of indigenous descent. It was a day full of singing, celebrating and sports games on the beach that were a lot of fun!
The next day, I had to do some work. We had to prepare for the Landing Festival's Welsh tea. Around 200 people were expected to come to the tea, so the pressure was on to make sure there was enough food.
Gaiman is the village (although we would consider it a town) where I stayed for the first two weeks of volunteering.
I stayed at the Plas y Coed Hotel, which was also a traditional Welsh tea house, so I had scones for breakfast every morning. Not that I was complaining! The time we spent there was divided equally between working at Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaiman and Ysgol Hendre, Trelew. The children loved to speak Welsh and practicing their Welsh with us.
Music lessons were the children's favourite lessons. They loved singing in Welsh and learning new songs with us.
I had the opportunity to play games with the children, as well as provide Welsh lessons.
The children's effort in using their Welsh was wonderful to see. We received a warm welcome from the schools as well as a great welcome from the Cymdeithas Gymraeg, where we were invited to join choir rehearsals, folk dance rehearsals as well as invited to have an Asado. It has to be said, the food was wonderful. I certainly ate too much during my time there, but the food was very tasty indeed.
The next part of the trip was to catch an overnight bus along the prairie to the Andes.
I stayed in Trefelin for the last two weeks of volunteering at Ysgol y Cwm.
The school times were different in Trefelin. School starts at 7:30am and ends at 13:00pm. The early starts and getting to school at 7:30am was quite difficult at times, but it was certainly worth it to see how excited the children were about having new people in their classes.
All of the children speak Welsh as a second language, but the pupils’ confidence and willingness to learn the language was clear for all to see. At times I had to remind myself that I was in South America, and hearing Welsh being spoken so far away from home was at the same time both a strange and extremely rewarding feeling.
Although we worked hard in the schools, there was plenty of time to see and appreciate the beauty of the area. There were many opportunities to go walking and we even had snow which was a bit odd for us considering it was August.
If the opportunity arises for you to apply for the scholarship, you should go for it! It really is an unforgettable experience. Witnessing the children's confidence grow during the two weeks by talking to us was an amazing feeling. It was hard work but definitely worthwhile.
Welcoming visitors from Wales is essential for the Welsh language society and culture in the Wladfa.
Receiving visitors inspires the community to keep speaking Welsh, and their enthusiasm for the Welsh culture was outstanding.
I had an amazing experience in the Wladfa. Thank you to every single person there who made me feel at home. I’m already planning to return!