by Emily Francona
Melissa was sponsored for membership by GSE team leader Emily Francona.
On August 1, GSE team leader Emily Francona and GSE team member - and new Port Orford Rotarian - Melissa Weinblatt presented a slide show and trip report to the Rotary Club of Bandon. Melissa has spent a lot of time working in Bandon and is well-known to the members of the club.
Melissa with Club President Jim Wathen
Melissa explained the GSE program and her experiences in Argentina, including how their clubs differ from ours, and the difference in how women are treated in the various vocations. Of course, Melissa is best known for "the tractor story."
On July 17, GSE team leader Emily Francona and GSE team member Melissa Weinblatt presented a slide show and trip report to the Rotary Club of Port Orford. The Port Orford club is the home club of the team leader and was the sponsoring club for Port Orford resident Melissa.
Melissa explained her portions of the vocational exchange and the opportunities afforded her through this program paid for by The Rotary Foundation (TRF) - all those contributions we make over the years. Although they had fun and did get to visit some tourist sites - including the world-famous Iguazu Falls - this was not a vacation. Long days and numerous evening Rotary meetings - see photo above....
Melissa's experiences were humorous and moving - everyone favorite is "the tractor story."
For the Port Orford club, it was money well spent - meet the newest (and youngest) Port Orford Rotarian - Melissa Weinblatt.
Emily Francona, 2008 District 5110 GSE Team Leader extends best wishes and congratulations to her new friends in District 4790 on the occasion of Argentina's Independence Day.
The Argentine flag presented to her by District 4790 GSE Team Leader Osvaldo Gonzalez flew at Emily's house on July 9.
This appeared in the Letters section of the July 2008 issue of The Rotarian magazine.
Keep on bloggin'
As 2008 Groups Study Exchange team leader for District 5110, I was pleased to read a letter in the March issue advocating that teams keep blogs to inform more Rotarians about programs funded by their generous contributions. Readers may wish to track the adventures of two teams exchanging between District 5110 in Oregon, USA and District 4790 in northern Argentina, at www.district5110gse2008.org and igeoregon2008.blogspot.com.
Emily Francona
Port Orford, Ore., USA
May 29-31 - The annual District 5110 Conference was held in Eugene at the Hilton Hotel. Our team met up with our counterpart team from District 4790.
Team leaders Osvaldo (4790) and Emily (5110)
Osvaldo begins the Argentine portion of the two-team presentation
The two teams after the presentation
District 5110 team member Heather with District 4790 team leader Osvaldo in the "Rotary Idol" talent show
May 27 - The team arrived home in Oregon.
Next team activity will be at the District 5110 conference, May 30-31 at the Eugene Hilton.
Watch for an article about this blog in the July issue of The Rotarian magazine.
Thanks to all our supporters and sponsors for this wonderful opportunity.
Lisa Cortes
Heather Navarette-Linnemayer
Kelly Talbert
Melissa Weinblatt
Listen while you read (press the play button) -May 26 - The team has begun the 8,000 mile trip back home - they are scheduled to arrive in Eugene on Tuesday afternoon.
The team - and its counterpart inbound team from Argentina - will make a presentation at the District 5110 Conference in Eugene on Friday, May 30 at 4:00pm in the Composers II Room of the Hilton Hotel.
The team will also be available in the House of Sharing throughout the conference.
My final vocational visit here in Formosa was one of the best! I was able to get to know Carlos and Javier, father and son veterinarians and owners of Eme Y Ene Instituto de Reproduccion Animal.
In true Argentine fashion, I was originally told that we were just going to the campo for a few hours - well, after a tour of the facility, an asado (made especially for me I might add), a few glasses of wine and much discussion regarding industry politics and economics, etc.– I finally made it back to my host family’s house just as Emily was preparing to send a search party – SEVEN HOURS LATER! This is certainly a reflection of the culture as time is just a variable. And, of course, we don’t have cell phones to communicate with one another, so I was truly at the mercy of my vocational hosts.
We, as a team, have slowly learned to adapt to this over time, however I don’t think that this is something that I could ever fully embrace. I can probably count on one hand how many times during this exchange I was actually picked up for an activity within fifteen minutes of the designated time. Many, many times we waited and waited, sometimes thirty, forty or even close to an hour to be retrieved. At home, if I am running behind even ten minutes, I try to call and let the person expecting my arrival know that I am at least on my way, etc. This, however, is not part of the culture here. I am not saying this to be critical, it is just an observation.
Okay - so some interesting vocational information:
A peon, fieldworker or ranch hand, in the Formosa area receives the following monthly benefits according to my sources. Keep in mind that this is variable depending upon the enterprise, just as it is in our country:
• Approximately US$500
• Housing and food (family included)
The following are paid by the employer to the government and then paid to the employee:
• Insurance (an additional US$16 per child per month on top of the base rate)
• US$10 educational credit per child per month (to be used for transportation to school. Families in the campo are often far from any form of public transportation and are therefore subsidized.)
This establishment raises a variety of breeds, but specializes in Bradford and Brangus due to high demand from clients in this area. This was a VERY progressive operation and featured, by far, the NICEST cattle that I have seen in Argentina. It was like going to the State Fair. Almost all of the cattle were clipped and fitted as if they were to be shown the next day.
They work very closely with a number of enterprises in the United States and Canada. It was very easy to find things to talk about and truly felt like a vocational exchange rather than a show and tell. A truly interesting and satisfying culmination of my vocational exchanges here in Argentina.
I feel so fortunate to have such a fabulous family to stay with in Formosa - the Mora family is amazing. Nestor and Celina are both dentists - orthodontists - and have a private clinic where they do amazing things with people's teeth.
I had the opportunity to have a private class in porcelain implants with titanium screws. They have a photo journal (left - click on image for larger view) showing the many steps in the process of pulling teeth and recreating a perfect bite with implants. It has a huge effect on the pressure distribution in the mouth and entire head.
I specialize in working on the cranial bones in which they implant the screws, so it was very interesting for me to see that side of dental care and know how to better help my clients that have had such implants.
It is incredible to see their finished product, a beautiful smile. They have the best technology in computers and x-ray equipment, better than my own dentist back home.
I would definitely feel comfortable with them working on my teeth anytime. They are are very professional and put a lot of attention to diagnosis and care in their techniques.
I had the great opportunity to work with an amazing osteopath - Dr. Zanìn, otherwise known as Tito. Tito is a very talented homeopath that works with single remedies as well as acupunture and cellar regeneration therapy.
Tito has imported a bed that has jade rocks that heat up and roll up and down your spine stretching the vertebrae as you lie there and relax. He then takes you to another table to adjust your spine while he questions you about your history to help find the best homeopathic remedy for your constitution. I felt like we were old friends with a lot in common and have a lot to learn from eachother.
He told me that the medical regulations here in Argentina are much more relaxed than in the States - he can do injections of cellular therapy without any risk to his license or malpractice insurance whereas in the States there are different regulations that do not permit doctors the same liberties.
I had a treatment by him and felt very comfortable and would love to come back and spend more time studing with this doctor. He has a wealth of information to share.
Yesterday I had my last vocational visit in Argentina. I met with the rector of the University of Formosa, and Ofelia, the academic secretary. Just to clarify, her role is an executive administrative position - I find it's a bit misleading when translated.
With each visit I've had here, my perspective on higher education in Argentina has grown more complicated, nuanced, and I must say, less positive than when I arrived. My conversation with the rector focused on the steps they are taking to increase retention at the university. He informed me that out of a class of 3000 first year students, only 1800 remained at the end of the year. By the end of four years, only between 20 to 30 percent will have successfully completed a degree program.
My previous articles have mentioned the vocational orientation efforts at secondary and post-secondary institutions I have visited during this trip. The rector echoed this need, and added that they would really benefit from some kind of information exchange with an institution that publishes recruitment materials. This is not so they can swipe a slogan, because slogans aren't necessary when your commodity is free. They could benefit from those who are used to articulating the benefits and requirements of certain programs.
Ironically, this information would be used for precisely the opposite outcome than what my university uses it for - the University of Oregon is hoping to DECREASE the number of incoming students, and increase the quality and persistence rates of those they do get.
Why? Because here:
- Admission is unrestricted, but that certainly doesn't mean that resources are limitless. They fight tooth and nail for classroom space, books, etc.
- Students who don't know what, let's say, an agronomic engineer does is more than likely to drop out when they become jaded. Even if they do want to persist but need help or tutoring, those kinds of resources are scarcely available. Or worse yet, they languish in a class and take up the seat of a student who really wants to be there.
- For better or worse, the idealistic notion that absolutely every young Argentine should or could graduate with a professional degree does not mesh with the real economic problems this country has, and it is not doing any favors for people who come from poor high schools and are not prepared for college-level work. It might be free, but until the investment in secondary education becomes more substantial, students are going to fail in college, drop out and become disenchanted. With little resources and self-esteem, they turn to crime, starting a family with no way to support it, and other counter-productive behaviors.
In response, the University of Formosa has formed a work group. This group consists of graduate students in the Psycho-pedagogical program (we don´t have this degree in the United States) who are doing entrance and exit evaluations of students - as well as other quantitative research - which will serve as their thesis project for licensure.
This research will hopefully inform their outreach efforts to secondary schools, as well as events they will put together, to inform the public about what they offer. The rector also said he hopes these efforts will begin to change a mentality that young people have here, in which they don't feel committed or responsible for things like attendance, study habits, etc. He wants to engender an idea that an education is an investment and something a student should be engaged in, not just a means to an end. I was so glad to hear this, and although everyone acknowledged that these issues won't be fixed overnight, this is a step in the right direction.
Interestingly, yesterday was also the National Day of the Educator in Argentina. As I stood on my host home's terrace in the morning, I could hear a protest of high school teachers happening a block away over the loudspeakers. They were demanding a living wage, a faculty bathroom, chalk, and to feel safe in school, among other requests. My host mom Cristina mentioned that many teachers have to move from school to school throughout the day, teaching a class here and a class there, because one school doesn't offer enough hours to make ends meet.
I don't know what high school teachers make, but in speaking with faculty from universities, I learned that a mid-career university professor makes about US$1500 per month. This is sufficient they're single, but the majority have families to support. So what happens? They become desperate and struggle for power positions in the department, because more power and status means a higher wage. Because the structure of universities here was imported from France, each department is really its own autonomous region, where they answer to no one and are allowed to manage things with their own agenda in mind - which may not involve serving the students.
That is the most frustrating thing to see. People are so dedicated to teaching - I heard people say many times, "I do it because I´m driven to teach, not because it earns me a living" - and it's a shame to see the higher-ups not efficiently or fairly distributing the funds so that campuses can benefit equally in every province. That's right, all the money for public institutions comes from Buenos Aires. Things are quite centralized in that way, and when you have corruption or self-interests involved at high levels, it can mean insufficient funds for far-off provinces like Formosa.
I could go on about some fascinating theories that some people have about why the government handles education in this way, and why it serves their agenda to lose their best and brightest scientists and researchers to other countries. There are fascinating conspiracy theories, but this isn't the place for those - besides, I've written a novel!
I'm certainly taking back a wealth of information, and I intend to stay in touch with some of these professionals in the interest of goodwill and sharing information.
It has been a tremendous pleasure to have you all around our district.
I do feel privileged I got the chance to organize your visit. Hope you liked it and got enriched both professionally and spiritually.
It has been a great time for every Rotarian who encountered the group. The reports I got were nothing but so gratifying. We all share the thought that your command of Spanish made the big difference. It allowed us all to know your hearts, how friendly and down-to-earth folks we can meet if we ever go to Oregon.
It has been an unforgettable time. And for sure the finest American group I can remember.
Great job Oregon! You sent the very best ambassadors of good-will!
Hope you all have the best of times when you return home. And do not forget Argentina is now your second place. Good luck in your lives.
Now that you have the degree of GUAYNAS , make it be respected and let men in Oregon know that you are no longer the same. Now you are even better!!
All my love and affection,
Luis Sanchez Negrette
May 22 - We toured a fish farm and processing plant in Clorinda, located on the Pilcomayo River across from Asuncion, Paraguay.
The facility raises Nile talapia in growing ponds on the banks of the Pilcomayo.
May 23 - Today I met with Ramiro Fernandez Patri, secretary of public investment for the Ministry of Planning, Investment, Projects, and Public Services of the Province of Formosa. We had a very interesting conversation about planning and Argentina's planning structure. This is the first time I have come across any strategic plans here. The reason for this is because unlike Oregon, Argentina does not require planning. The province of Formosa has chosen to put together plans because they feel it is important for efficient development and it improves their chances of having their projects financed by Nacional Argentina. I was pleased to hear this. I left his office feeling good about the work I do for the Oregon Department of Transportation and the importance of it.
Ramiro gave me a copy of Argentina's Strategic Plan, the Province of Formosa Strategic Plan, and Formosa's City Plan!
These active clubs keep recent projects before the members on banners displayed during meetings, an excellent motivational tool. The team enjoying a very professionally conducted Rotary meeting
May 21 - The team presentation was well-received at special meeting of the three Rotary clubs in Formosa:
- Rotary Club Formosa
- Rotary Club Formosa 9 de Julio
- Rotary Club 8 de Abril
Formosa Club President Nestor commented what a pleasure it was to receive a Spanish-speaking team (a comment heard from many club members and hosts during this trip).
On May 21, we attended a ceremony in which Rotary donated adaptable wheelchairs to a school for children with reduced neurological-motor functions.
This is the sign that greeted us. It says, "Welcome. Thanks Rotary for lending us a hand and accompanying us on this endless path."
Workers, parents and Rotarians, led by PDG Luis Schattner, district matching grants chairman, with one of the new wheelchairs. This enhanced mobility extends the children´s access to all school facilities and outdoors.
Workers at the school
This is Bettina (photo left), the Rotarian who accompanied me to this public high school in San Martin.
Much to my surprise, I was asked to speak in front of a group of about 150 students! We were there at just the right time, as they were assembled to hear inspiring stories from students who are now out of school and making their way in the world, as well as sharing ideas.
I spoke a little about the beauty of free public education, and how important it is to make studies a priority in order to obtain the quality of life that we desire. I talked about my role at the University of Oregon, and mentioned that I'd met people at universities all over the area who are ready and willing to help them find their way.
This (right) is the vocational orientation class at a private high school in San Martin. Classes are small and the teacher of the course is also the director of the school.
She mentioned that most schools in Argentina don't offer a course as part of their normal curriculum, and that this class is considered an elective. However, they are talking about making it a set part of the curriculum for juniors and seniors.
The students are playing a game in which a career is written on a sheet of paper on each person´s back. Working in partnerships, and without naming the career specifically, one explains to the other the career on his or her back, and the partner must deduce which career it is.
This is a small town, and many students tend to stick close to home. Therefore, the careers they chose were traditional and reflected the careers in their town (veterinarian, lawyer, accountant, etc.) The idea of the class is to learn how they're influenced by environment and family, and how they can discover career paths they'd never thought of before.
Just after our exciting television appearance today in Formosa, I noticed this Rotary symbol in a lovely green area across the street. Of course, I had to get a picture!
I met with Sergio Alberto Martin Sosa, the head system analyst for Provincial Zone 4 in San Martin in the Chaco Province. He is in charge of the roads in the province. This includes three levels of roads:
Family on a moto
- primary roads, including provincial routes 90, 7, and 3
- dirt roads
- gravel roads
Of the 2,643 kilometers of roads, only 8 percent are paved! The other 92 percent are dirt and gravel. Route 7 is provincial route that connects the province to another important area called Saez Pena, but at this time it is not paved. It is scheduled to be paved this July by a private company. Argentina always pays the private sector to construct and pave roads, while Sergio's crew is in charge of maintenance and the construction of dirt roads.
Route 7 is 44 kilometers and will cost 172,000,000 pesos to pave. Paving this route is important to Argentina because it connects the Chaco province to Saez Pena, an area rich in soy. Now when it rains it is impossible for trucks to use. Also, the route is often used by trucks from Paraguay transporting goods to Chile.
There are no tolls on the route, nor will there be after it is constructed. This is because there is a mercado comun (common market) contract between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The contract ensures that transportation is free between the countries. The second reason is that it allows students in Chaco to attend the university in Seaz Pena and will help stimulate tourism.
The province of Chaco buys machinery for the roads with a percentage of gas taxes. For each liter of gasoline, 12 percent goes to Nacional Argentina and they then give 4 percent to Chaco. The percentage is based on Chaco's population of one million.
Garrapatas, or ticks, are a major problem for livestock producers here in Argentina. Ticks I have visited numerous cattle operations in both Corrientes and Chaco, and will visit another here in Formosa on Friday. Regardless of the location, the cattle have been plagued by ticks - more ticks than I EVER wanted to see in a lifetime.
It is a serious issue, as products such as Ivermectins and Permectrins/Permethrins only serve as a temporary deterrant. The cattle are given actual baths in a Permectrin-based solution to kill the infestations. Treatment of this problem is very labor intenisve. The mass quantities of ticks are causing severe anemia in some cattle, thus drastically reducing overall production rates and even resulting in death.
These ticks are a special, subtropical strain - well, at least that is what I have been told! Regardless, they are MUCH bigger than any I have ever seen in Oregon. Even the more parasite resistant breeds such as Brahma cattle are severly affected.
The picture of the ticks in the palm of a rancher´s hand are small to average sized. I put my index finger next to them for size comparison.
Finally, the good news…the tractor runs again!
I had the pleasure of spending a day with Carina Mortola while in Bella Vista a week and a half ago. She and her husband Pablo run an impressive operation - cattle, rice, soybeans, etc. During my visit, Carina mentioned to me that they had a tractor with a T444E international diesel motor that was currently inoperable. This particular tractor is an integral part of rice harvest.
Apparently, they had isolated the problem to one specific part, however, it was virtually impossible to find. They had exhausted every resource in Argentina over the past two months and were preparing to travel to Brazil the next weekend to look for the part one last time before having to purchase a NEW tractor.
When we were done preparing to ship cattle that morning, Carina and I returned to her house for coffee and I offered to try to help. I went to the International Motors website, and sure enough, you can’t find a single dealer in Argentina! And, if you try to search for International Motors on google.ar, good luck!
So, I looked for dealers in Oregon and got really lucky - Brattain International Trucks of Eugene! My first phone call was difficult because the line had static and I was trying to translate an International parts manual from Spanish. However, thanks to modern technology, I was able to email Randy at Brattain a digital picture of the part. Within ten minutes I called him back and we started the process of gathering all of Carina’s information so we could ship the part that day! She was nearly in tears and couldn’t wait to call her husband!
It took a little over a week for the parts (we ordered extras) to arrive - I just got confirmation via email from Carina this afternoon that the tractor is running! Oh, and by the way, the parts were around US$45 each and expedited 2nd day air shipping was around US$100. So for about US$250, they have a tractor that works.
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