There is a rather extensive list of schools already posted in my blog but I came across the following resource through a friend of mine that lists more than 4,500 schools or colegios in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It's called Busco Colegios and can be found here.
I've mentioned several schooling options in the past in Buenos Aires - from private, traditional American and British English schools to public schools to private bi-lingual schools such as the French Lycee.
Other options for families looking for the non-traditional would be either the Waldorf school or homeschooling.
The Waldorf school in Martinez would be a great idea for someone whose kids already have some Spanish language skills as most classes are taught in Spanish. I have a good friend who has had her kids at the Waldorf school in Martinez for two years now and loves it. She thinks that it has been as great as if not better in many ways than their last Waldorf school in California.
The other possibility, particularly for someone who doesn't want to go through the headache of getting all the papers for their child to go to school is to homeschool. There is a great forum Homeschool World Forum that is helpful if you're considering homeschooling overseas.
Any comments about your experiences with Waldorf or homeschooling in Argentina please be sure to contact me or post your comments for all to hear!
Here are a couple of other useful sites/forums/groups as well:
Expat Homeschool
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/expat-homeschool
Bilingual Homeschool
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bilingualhomeschool
Expat Kids
http://www.ori-and-ricki.net
I've been meaning to mention this website now for quite awhile so I'm finally gonna get it out there!!
Expat Women is a new site specifically targeting women expatriates around the world. There are a lot of great resources on the site including links to blogs, articles, mentors, and much much more. If you're a woman expat, thinking about expatriating, whether to Argentina or anywhere else in the world, you should definately check out the site.
First off, if you're not interested in babies, parenting or babywearing don't even bother to read the rest of this post unless you're looking to learn something about the above :)
Babywearing has become more and more popular and there are now tons of different types of carriers 
and just as many websites to provide information about them and the benefits of wearing your baby. Carriers can range from wraps to asian style carriers to ring slings to structured baby carriers (no the Baby Bjorn is not the only carrier out there).
Wearing your baby is excellent for promoting bonding both for mothers as well as fathers, and if you're adopting a baby there is no better way to bond with your new addition. Some of the most widely known reasons for wearing your baby are: resting your arms, providing hands free freedom of movement, soothing fussy, colicky infants, and making breastfeeding on the go - easier. Carried babies are often more alert, cry less and are safer - just take a look at Caitlyn in our ringsling on an airplane, well actually you can't see her because she's tucked down where it's warm and the air is moist and away from germs. 
I've also worn her in places like the Puerto de Frutos market in Tigre and even grocery shopping which drew all kinds of looks from people and lots of questions. One thing that's important though is not all carriers are suited for all types of weather - my ring sling was perfect for the hot Buenos Aires summer but my stretchy wrap was way too hot but would be perfect for fall and winter.
In Argentina it's begining to catch on in the more mainstream lifestyle but there aren't many carriers available, one of the most widely commercially available ones being the Wawita Portabebe which I found to be a bit bulky and cumbersome and definately too hot for the summer, but at least they're making the effort to get them out there. However, with so many seamstresses in Argentina there's absolutely no reason not to have your own made (just make sure they use VERY STRONG thread and double stitch things) - I'm listing plently of links that give the instructions on how to made sewn carriers and how to construct a simple wrap as well as well as proving information about how to choose a carriers, forums where you can talk to other baby wearing people, and tons of other information. 
One of the biggest sites on the internet is The Baby Wearer which although it can be overwhelming has excellent information on choosing a carrier, forums where you can talk to other people, ask questions and even connect with people in Argentina. There is also plenty of information about how to make your own carrier.
NINO (Nine in Nine Out) a nonprofit babywearing organization to promote babywearing by educating the general public about its benefits.
Mamatoto Wear Your Baby Project where you can learn to wear baby wearing positions from their excellent videos, sewing instructions for making your own carrier and even how to make a SPOC carrier (simple piece of cloth)
The Rebozo Way Project has lots of information and also some excellent articles. Este sitio Proyecto " A La Manera del Rebozo" esta en Espanol tambien y tiene muchos articulos en Espanol.
Another great site is Kelly Mom which not only has great information about baby wearing but also lots of breastfeeding information as well - excellent resource.
Last but not least is another favorite, although not just about babywearing that one of my good friends in Argentina turned me onto, Mothering.com. The site has excellent information on everything from babywearing, attachment parenting, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and also a "tribe" forum where you can connect with other people around the world (I'm hoping they'll add a South American tribe). A huge plus for expats - they just launched a digital version of their magazine.
I hope this information is useful and would certainly love to hear comments!
If you're thinking about living in another country for awhile and are afraid it will adversely affect your baby or school aged child, then think again. There used to be a lot of theories about how we did or didn't learn language, especially for babies. The old school of thought was that a child wouldn't talk till much later, that it would confuse them, that they would muddle the languages. The following article from the International Herald Tribune "How to Learn? Early and Often" provides further support that the best way to learn a language is as early as possible and as much as possible. So maybe you're really not doing your kids a disservice by living in another country.
PARIS: Ana Gabriella Rodriguez, 23, a graduate student at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris, regularly impresses the people she meets with her ability to switch effortlessly among five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian.
The daughter of Venezuelan diplomats, Rodriguez has lived in Caracas, Washington, Lisbon and Budapest, in addition to Paris. She plays down her linguistic ability. "If you had grown up in all the places where I've grown up, you'd be multilingual, too," she said. "It's really not that difficult."
That modest attitude may have a scientific foundation. According to Fred Genesee, a professor of psycholinguistics at McGill University in Montreal, a child simply needs to be exposed to a different language for at least 30 percent of his or her waking time to acquire it. That means that up to three languages can be learned simultaneously, although the learning process will be more complex, in particular for the adults doing the teaching.
"Parents or caregivers must ensure that children get a certain amount of exposure to the language, and that this exposure is consistent, continuous and rich," Genesee said. If a consistent "language system" is followed, then learning several languages comes as naturally to a child as learning one, he said.
The most frequent language systems are "one parent-one language," in which each parent speaks only his native language with his child, or "minority language at home," in which the entire family speaks one language at home, and the community language with everyone else. Other systems, such as speaking an additional language with a nanny or in an immersion program, will also work, but only if used consistently, Genesee said.
to view the full article click here
I must admit I've been very lax about posting lately, somehow I think becoming a new mom has been the major culprit. I have so little time on my hands now and it seems that just as I sit down to write, something else always pulls me away. But I recently received a couple of questions about how to get a passport for a child born in Argentina to expat parents so I wanted to get this post out that I've been trying to do for more than three months :( It's gonna be a quick post but here goes.
Argentine passports are processed at the Policia Federal in the capital. You can go online to their website and download the form that you'll need to turn in with your paperwork which will save you a lot of time, particularly if you think you'll struggle with your Spanish. You'll click on the dropdown menu for "servicios" and then on "formularios" and then choose "pasaporte cedula de identitad". You can then print it to LEGAL sized paper. You need to fill out the entire form - have your child's DNI handy because you'll need information from it.
Once you've got your form filled out, collect your child's DNI, birth certificate, and your passports. You must make copies of everything...first page of DNI, birth cert, and first pages of passports PLUS the page which shows your last entry stamp. (if you are illegal because your visa has expired you'll have to first exit the country ie. go to Uruguay and then you can go to the Policia). If you don't get all the correct copies don't worry because there's a copy place just across the street. So once you've got all your paperwork together you'll head on down to the office.
Try to go to the office early just to avoid waiting. When you get there, DO NOT stand in line outside. Enter the building and turn immediately to your left and you'll see a special area for elderly, pregnant women, and people with young children - that's where you go. Head to the desk where the "very nice" (read grouchy) people will take your papers. They will check your paperwork and have you sit down to wait to be called. Once you're called back up they check everything again, send you over to pay for the passport in the main cajeras; then you return again where you'll head to get your child's photos done where the person will also give you a paper with a bar code DO NOT LOSE THIS; then you'll go to have their fingerprints taken; you're done. All said if everything goes smoothly you should be out in no more than 2 hours and possibly much less.
They tell you the passports can take around 20 business days but we got ours in around 7 business days. The passport is delivered by a mail courier and for him to release it to you you'll need the child's DNI, your passport, and that little paper with the bar code and then you just sign for the passport. And that's it.
It really isn't that bad as long as you know what to expect. Good luck and email if you have any questions!
When the person take
This post is coming just a bit before some other posts that I really want to get out about how everything went with the medical care for Caitlyn's delivery. But since I am now a human pacifier and spend most of my day literally with Caitlyn attached to me, I'm going to get to these posts as I can, and in this case it won't be in exactly the order I hoped!
I wanted to cover our experience at the Registro Civil and the process of getting Caitlyn's Acta de Nacimiento or birth certificate and her Argentine DNI.
Normally, you can register your child's birth at the hospital where they were born, however in our case, and probably the case of some of you who might be reading this, we weren't married here in Argentina and thus to register the birth at the hospitalo we would need our marriage certificate apostilled, and then translated here in Argentina by a translator certified by the National College of Translators, and then the translation would have to be certified as well.
The other option and really the easiest for foreigners - whether here legally or illegally, is for both parents to go to the Registro Civ il, with the: passports of both parents, a photocopy of each passportl, and the Certificado de Nacimiento from the place of birth (ie hospital, birthing clinic, etc).
** Beware of one thing with the certification of the birth. In our case the partera or midwife that assisted my obstetrician was the person who certified the birth on the paperwork. Unfortunately she missed my middle initial on my passport name and this caused us to make two trips to the Registro, because the passports needed to match EXACTLY, with no misspellings or omissions. Also, if you plan to apply for permanent residency through your child, you will want to make sure you take a copy of your birth certificate so as to save the hassle later of having to go and get extra certifications or paperwork about the differences.
Once at the Registro, you head to the nice lady at the window for the nacimientos, she looks over your passports and certificado de nacimiento and then gives you a number, sends you off to fill in the personal information on the certificado as well as giving you an Informe Estadestico de Nacido Vivo to fill out as well - this last form essentially asks how many children are born to you at this time, how many you had before, info on your newborn, etc and if you can't comfortably read Spanish, you'll want to take someone with you to make sure you understand the questions, although with basic Spanish you should get by fine.
Eventually, your number will be called and you will go back to the window again, now with your forms filled out for the clerk to review all the information. MAKE SURE YOU PRINT CLEARLY SO THERE ARE NO MISSPELLINGS! Once the information is reviewed then you wait again until the person who registers the birth and prepares the baby's DNI is finished. Once they're ready they call you back up and you then sign the birth registry, again making sure everything is correct, and if the DNI is in stock you get it right then. The official birth certificate takes about a week and requires a trip back to pick up by one of the parents or an authorized person. Something I found interesting by the way, only the father signs their name in the babies DNI book, not the mother...hmphhh.
So there you have it, registering your child born in Argentina, and oh yes, in case you didn't figure it out already, your newborn with automatic Argentine citizenship just gave you the chance to have permanent residency if you so desire.
More to come, including registering the foreign birth of a U.S. and French citizen.
The Santa Stork brought us a wonderful gift on December 26, 2006 with the arrival of our daughter 
Caitlyn Elizabeth.
Mommy, daddy and new little bundle of joy are doing great and adjusting to a completely new experience for all of us. Because she was born by caesarian it will take me a bit more time to recover fully, but I'm off to a great start.
I will be posting much more information about what the birth was like, the hospital care, the overall experience and what it will be like to have to declare a foreign birth abroad, as well as her birth here with parents who are foreigners in the country. If you want to read more about this then visit my other blog Pregnant in Buenos Aires.
I will also be getting back to blogging here in my regular blog as much as possible but in a fuzzy sleep deprived state!
The babies are in town...well at least tons of pregnant (embarazada) women. The Ahora Mama Expo 2006 begins on Thursday, November 2nd and ends on Sunday, November 5th. It's being held at La Rural Av. Sarmiento (entre Av. Cerviño y Av. Santa Fe)in Palermo, and is open from 14 hours (2:00 p.m.) to 21 hours (9:00 p.m.). This is a great way for parents who are expecting, as well as parents who already have young babies, to see the latest trends, products, and information available in Buenos Aires. Bring some cash too because products will be available for purchase there.
It's very different here in Buenos Aires than for instance the United States. In the U.S. there is an abundance of baby stores and products aimed at expecting parents, to the point where it's overwhelming at times to know what's really necessary and what's just marketing hype. At the same time though, here it can be frustrating because the selection of products that you might want is limited and to have things shipped in is crazy between the shipping costs - if they even ship here, and the problem of the arbitrary duties charged when picking up your shipment at the Correo.
However, as limited as it might be, there are some excellent products available here, albeit sometimes overpriced or last year's model. A few of those brands include: Peg-Perego, Graco, Maclaren, Avent, and Tiny Love, among others. The two biggest stores to find these products are Creciendo and El Mundo del Juguete. And, of course, you'll find all of these and more at the Ahora Mama Expo.
