The brothers: Aidan and Shane Wall

CV Profile:

Aidan Wall

Born: Redwood City, US

Age: 11

Likes: Football, rugby

Shane Wall

Born: Redwood City, US

Age: 9

Likes: Digging for bugs

The Irish-Cuban siblings are living in Buenos Aires for six months

Aidan: On my first day we got to the airport and I remember we were trying out the Argentine food. We took a taxi to our home and the taxi driver mentioned that Argentina was playing an international soccer game that night. So my dad tried to get us tickets to go. We ended up going to an Argentina game, they were playing Chile and won 4-1, and we had a really good time.

Shane: Me and my mom went to the house and we checked everything out. Then we went to a little bakery with Aidan and dad. I was really tired as we had been a day and a little bit on a plane.

How did you feel the day before you left the US?

A: I thought, “oh no I have to go to a foreign country, and have to make new friends, and meet new people, and leave behind all the friends and family I had behind.” Once I got here, it seemed better than I had thought it would be.

Was your biggest worry leaving your friends?

A: Yes, because I could already speak some Spanish. So that wasn’t my problem as my dad had told me that most of the schools were bilingual and that they would be able to understand me if I messed up.

What did you think when your parents said you were moving here?

A: They brought it up a few times, like do you want to go travelling to South America for six months? But I thought it probably wouldn't happen. Then they told us a few months a go and said “well guys, what do you think about this?” In my head, I was thinking “you’re joking.” I didn’t really want to go as I was happy in school but now I think it was good.

Did you have a leaving party?

A:Sort of. In the middle of the summer we went swimming and had all our friends over. We said goodbye to everyone then, but that was before school started. When it was my last day of school, they all did everything really special for me.

What was the first day of a new school like?

S: It was really scary but the teacher guided me through the stuff. It was scary because I didn’t know anyone there.

A: All the kids were breaking down the doors to see me as they all wanted to test out their English on me. After a few weeks, they learned that I could speak castellano, so it all died down and we started speaking in Spanish. I thought it was better when we spoke in Spanish so that I could improve.

What are the differences between your schools?

A:It’s a lot smaller here. And it goes on for a lot longer. In the US we have school until 2.30pm but here we go until almost 5pm. I prefer school here even though it’s longer as we do more fun things here.

S: We’d have quite a few schools really near each other and there’s one school right next to ours with the same amount of pupils. There’s 16 students in my class. We do mathematics, and something called catequesis. I don’t know what that means. It’s like this book with a lot of stuff in it, but I never had a book. Somebody let me borrow his book, and it had all of the subjects in it, in different chapters. It had everything.

What are your best subjects?

A: In San Francisco, it was history, but here it’s English! I’m pretty much top of the class. I got excellent and very good or more in my tests.

I went to Spanish classes with a Mexican woman as my mom had already prepared me for it. She was very nice and lived a few minutes from my house. My brother went about five times, and I went for a few months.

S: I’m not very good at writing as I can’t spell the words correctly in English. My favourite subject is maths.

What are the differences you’ve experienced?

A:What’s been different for me is the Spanish. I was expecting that I’d have a very difficult time understanding what they say. At first I couldn’t speak at all and now I can speak it fluently. At first when I’d say something wrong the kids would always correct me.

S: It’s soccer for me. They use bad language when they play. If someone destroys your soccer game, kicking the ball, they use bad language. Like boludo. If we do that in San Francisco, then we get into trouble.

Who do you support?

A: I support Boca. In the Untied States I’d heard of Boca before, and here I realized that it’s so huge here, Boca versus River, and there’s always huge rivalries. Most of the kids from my school are River so I decided that I’m different and I know about Boca from before, so why not be from Boca? In my grade of 37 there are five of who support Boca.

S: They think we’re cooler.

What kind of food do you like here?

S: I like medialunas, and Rocklets and French fries, but I don’t like dulce de leche. One time, we went to an allergy place, and one of the shots said milk. So I don’t drink milk, and I don’t like some stuff that’s really milky. And they told me dulce de leche is really milky. I’m a tiny bit allergic to it. I like pork with apple sauce but they don’t have it much here.

A: I like the meat here but here you have to ask for it to be undercooked otherwise they’ll burn it. As they like it different here. I like bondiola with papas fritas. My second favourite is milanesa. They don’t have it in the United States, because I don’t think they’d like it too much. I like chicken as my grandma always made chicken stuff for me, and milanesa has breaded stuff on the outside.

Where do you live?

S: In America it’s only us in our house but here in our apartment people can come to our door. It’s a lot noisier with all the windows open so you can all hear all the dogs and all the people shouting.

A: A lot of people have a city house and one in the country where they go all summer, and have a pool and lots of activities, and do sports. People don’t work here in the summer. I prefer to live in a house but I prefer the city where you’re always going out.

What are your summer plans?

A: We’re going to be travelling around so I expect to see many beautiful cities and landmarks. We’re going to Iguazú, Rio de Janeiro and Salta. I expect to see lots of country and old-fashioned towns.

Are you looking forward to leaving the city?

S&A: No!

A: I prefer the urban with all the noise and I just like the city.

S: It’s too noisy though and I can’t sleep. There’s cars, and dogs barking.

How do you keep in touch with your friends?

A: Through Skype. We videochat with them online. We also do a blog and all the kids back home look at it. It has pictures and we write about what we are doing here. We usually update it once every two weeks. My teachers back there show it to the kids.

What will you miss about Argentina when you leave apart from friends you’ve made?

A:I’ll definitely miss the diet. I love how they eat. They have snacks and I especially like all the meat they eat. They don’t have as many sauces and vegetables. It’s plain stuff and that’s what I like.

S: Yeah, my dad tries to make all fancy stuff with Italian sauces which are gross. I’ll miss the kioscos, because they have them in every block. I ask my parents for my allowance to spend it there. In America we get two dollars but here we get 10 pesos.