Routine Order

GIC Argentina’s program where you can learn Spanish in Argentina sure looks tempting. The deal is - you spend some time in Argentina, either teaching English, or participating in an outreach program, in one of the many volunteer programs in Argentina.


So you volunteer in Argentina, and in exchange, you can learn Spanish, in situ. The program is not entirely limited to Argentina, in fact, you can volunteer in South America, including in Misiones and Iguazu National parks. It sounds like the perfect thing to do between academic programs, or after college. You have to be at least 18 years old to participate in the program. The minimum time commitment required is 2 weeks, though, of course, a longer period of time might be more beneficial. The best of both worlds is if you can make it in winter. You can get away from the cold and immerse yourself in Latin American culture, and learn Spanish the natural way. I wish I had looked up something like this and taken a year off after college.

Through Anil Dash, I ended up on this post at sylloge.com about a John Adams quote, the original version of which seems to be:

The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.

I couldn’t help smiling at the pleasure the author of that blog must have got when he finally discovered the quote he was searching for, after lots and lots of looking for it, asking around, etc. And hey, wikiquote says the quote is from a Letter to Abigail Adams from May 12, 1780.

P.S.: Since I quote so much, and would like to cite my quotations AND have the citations visible, in a sematically correct fashion, I should install the block quotations plugin from Chetan Kunte. Someday, soon.