Pauline’s Working Holiday in Argentina

Pauline on a working holiday in a youth hostel in Mendoza and Spanish courses in Argentina

Everything's fine here for me! I love Mendoza, its atmosphere and the magnificent mountains that surround us.

My internship with an NGO during my gap year started off very well. Then the manager left and the new manager was stricter, making us work longer hours, but we ended up talking to him about it and things worked out. Otherwise, the conditions of the internship are well respected! I share a 6-bed room with another French volunteer. As there aren't many people around, we always have the room to ourselves, so that's cool! I get breakfast and a 50% discount at the Itaka restaurant! And frankly, their food is really good :)

Today, I'm fine, working about 3, 4 or 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, which leaves me time to go for walks, go into the mountains and get out! My colleagues are lovely and I've made a lot of friends here.

About the job

I really enjoy the job itself. I love meeting people, advising them on the city and excursions! The job is essentially customer-oriented. The aim is to welcome customers in the best possible way so that they're satisfied and leave us a good review of Hostelworld. There's also some management and administration (keeping the cash register and shift accounts is the most important thing!)

Well, right now it's a slow period, so there's not a lot of movement. There was a lot of movement in March. For trainees who want to come and work in Mendoza, I'd advise them to come from November onwards and spend the summer here, because the atmosphere is great when there are people in the hostel, with its swimming pool, organized barbecue evenings and so on.

Otherwise I made a lot of progress thanks to Spanish courses in Argentina. The courses in Buenos Aires were great! The teacher was really nice, I was really happy at the hostel with the guests and the staff too, they were all great! Volunteering was a good experience, but a bit short for my taste.

I'm leaving the hostel in 2 weeks, travelling around a bit and then off to Chile and Bolivia!