For the last fortnight, we've had the pleasure of having Nils – a German student working with us at TTPL. Here's his story:
Hey everyone,
My name is Nils and I want to tell you a little bit about my
two weeks in Torquay.
Some of you might think “Two weeks? That doesn’t sound
very long…” – and you are totally right. But I was surprised how many
experiences you can have in only 14 days.
At the beginning, when I was exhausted by the journey, I
just did not realize that I was in another country, since on the first look
everything looked really similar to Germany. Of course it is interesting to
hear all the people speaking English, but the first day it felt more like a
background noise than a real language. Only on the second day in England I
began to really hear the words and sentences and to read all the English names
and descriptions in the town. This was the first moment I realized where I am.
My work placement was at the TTPL office itself. I think it
was simply luck. Everyone at TTPL was so kind and friendly, I cannot imagine a
workplace I rather would have been. But also my host family was very nice.
Tracy, my host mother, took care of us and it felt like home.
The first days were only a stringing-together of
little challenges, especially everyday-things like bus travel. I came late to
the welcome meeting, because the bus did not stop on the station. I mean, who
knows that you have to stop it by hand?! But finally I got it and the really
friendly bus driver helped me to get out at the right stop. I was
surprised how kind everyone was – everywhere you heard “Thanks” and “Excuse
me”.
Soon I met the other students around Torquay at the student
meeting and we planned our free time activities together, so we were not
sitting at home the whole evening. After exploring Torquay over the week, we
decided to visit Exeter on Saturday, connected with a visit to the Skirmish
paintball arena. It was cheaper than expected – I would really recommend using group tickets for the train!
Now I only have a few days left and I think two weeks are
really way too short. But being here is a great experience and I found some
great friends. Back in Germany I will definitely miss the open people but maybe
I will bring home a little more openness with me.
