My first week - Lars Schnoor

Here is a quick review of the first week in England for our student Lars, he has joined us here at TTPL for the next couple of weeks. Welcome and we all hope you continue to enjoy your time with us.

The forecast predicts blue sky and very much sun. When I arrived in Bristol on Friday the forecast was right, but I had already caught a heavy cold on the plane. After 2 hours driving on the left side on small roads I finally arrived in Torquay and it was so beautiful, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.

In Germany it is very cold and before I left Germany it has snowed and

additionally it’s unusual to see a blue sky, there is always a grey sky or it’s snowy. In Torquay there isn’t snow and it isn’t raining, there is just a big blue sky.

The next day I drove from Babbacombe over Paignton to Brixham on the Coast Road, the traffic was very jammed because it was Easter holidays and everyone drove to the coast.

On Monday I drove to Exeter. It’s a fairly large city in the south-east of Devon. On the right you can see the Exeter Cathedral. The cathedral is very long it seems to be nearly endless.

The next day I received my welcome pack with a little mistake in the date, so I had this day to go to Dartmoor National Park. There I saw many wild horses, which were very tame, they stood right next to the road. 

On Wednesday I finally started working on 10 am. At first I became my Welcome Meeting, after that I started making little tasks, like searching internet addresses from other organisations. After I had finished this task, I got some several tasks. At the end I got a new task to enter new applicants into the system. I finished work on 4 pm.

On Tuesday I went again to work and I worked until its 1 pm. Kerry took Laura and me to the student meeting into the zoo. It was very funny. There were many different exotic animals, which were from tame to dangerous.

On Friday I worked as usual and wrote this article. In the weekend I will visit Plymouth and Dartmouth.

Lars Schnoor

MY FIRST WEEK

Our student Laura has been with us for a week and has written a short blog for us...

Last Monday I traveled with my friends Elena, Laura and my teacher Estefania. It's my first time that I travel to another country and I was very nervous. Estefania went back last Thursday to Spain. 

When I arrived Torquay I felt very surprised because everything’s different compared to my country Spain. The cars driving for right, the people wear different clothes, the majority read meals in the supermarket and weather is normally cloud and rain.

After a week here I see the country has positive things, the people are very well-behaved and polite with everyone. I'm getting used to the weather. I normally eat chicken, salads and cheese sandwich.

I live with Laura, Helena and Jenny (German girl). I love my house in Torquay because it’s a typical England house! I get along very well with my flatmate Jenny, she is really nice with me.

When I arrived at TTPL (Training Partnership) last Tuesday I was really nervous because my level of English is not very good and I thought that would not go well and they would not understand me, but I was wrong. The colleague were very likeable and patient with me. I feel very good and relaxed. My mentor Gemma is very sweet and patient with me because I'm always asking questions. I like this working relationship because they always laughing!

Last Saturday I visit Brixham harbour, it’s a beautiful place. I went for a walk along the harbour and take a lot of photos. After dinner of fish and chips, we returned with ferry. At night we went to a pub with Spanish people and met the other students groups from other countries.

Next day we went shopping in Exeter with Laura and Helena; when finish shopping we went to the coffee shop for lunch. In the evening we caught a bus and returned home. 

I stay for nine weeks in Torquay and I'm very happy because it's a good experience because I learn English and know people from different countries and news places. I recommend this travel! 

A Farewell blog from Diana

I remember my first day and I'm sure I'll never forget the last of this great trip and this company, TTPL.

Right now I'm very happy and very sad.

A great happiness for go back to those I love, I miss my country, the food, everything.

A great sadness because I met new people we had become, friends, especially in my workplace. 

I met a family so good that made me feel the first to the last second like I belong has always worked on it and actually become so important to me that you can call sister, mother or father.

In a way the people here are very different from my country and for the better. 

I shared so many smiles and stories here, I lost fears, improved my English, I met new places. 

After this experience I will really miss all, I have got used to the food (but other students I met here do not like it). 

The distance from home was a little less difficult because one year ago I had a similar experience, in my country, but at 6 hours away from my home and far away from my family for 2 months. It was not so difficult in question of language, because it was the same, not like here.

I am fortunate to work for this company, for me is the best and would not to change it. The working environment is very good and nice, students can adjust and work well because colleagues help us in everything we need and explain our daily tasks and support us with interest in our wellbeing. They talk with us, are animated and fun, are friendly and competent, and always offer a real smile.

I will not forget the laughter of my colleagues, the smiles, the open the door, the questions, the worries, the way to be, everything.

This overcomes the major travel and great distances.

I do not know exactly if everyone will miss me, do not know if they will remember me in  a few years, because I am a student amongst thousands, but I'll miss it here and will not forget.

I leave a bit of my heart on this earth and I will come back one day.

Diana Lopes

Diana Lopez

Following our last blog, you will know that we have two students in our office at the moment, here is the second one from Diana, a young Portuguese student who arrived here last weekend - she has overcome her fears and trepidation's and has already tackled many new tasks with us. So here, once again, in her own words...

My name is Diana Lopez, I come from Portugal. 

I found several difficulties along the way but I overcame them with the help of a friend who had made the same journey as me.

Before coming here I was curious and nervous about England. I had a long and tiring journey, but when I got here I realized that this location was nice. nice and warm in the physical aspect because most of the people I spoke with, ask for information or other things, were nice.

England is beautiful, while traveling to Torquay, I loved seeing the churches, houses, Big Ben, gardens, etc.

Not strange to see the car driving on the other side because already knew it was so.

I was afraid that my family was not nice or not like me, fear I would not get used to the routines, the food, the culture... I was afraid that the people in the company where I am interning not like me, fear of not getting the notice or making blunders and even as I write it continues to test these fears.

But I know that this is a good experience where I will learn many new things, I will improve a little English, maybe make friends and overcome all my fears to grow as a person. 

I will return to Portugal different and stronger.

Manon

We have two students in our office at the moment, here is the first blog from Manon, a young French student who arrived here on 6th January - she has settled in really well and is already proving a real asset! Particularly when she translated what the different centres were for the beautiful French Chocolates we were given! So here, in her own words...

Hey, my name is Manon I am 17 and I come from France.

In fact, I did not expect to come to Torquay.

Then I made the request at my high school and I was accepted, but in my head I was afraid of the climate and English food.

Once in Bristol, I and six other students were a little lost because everything had changed, such as language, but especially the English driving to right.

Once in place in our family, my two friends and I were at a single lady. She had prepared a room for three, so it was perfect...

The next day we had a meeting in TTPL. In the afternoon, we all had was in our internship I work in TTPL, Gemma showed me where I was working and it was very interesting, people who have worked with me was very interesting, very pleasant, but especially listen, I loved working here. What had been a little more difficult is that the computer keyboard was different, than in France...

On my free time, my two friends and I are going to visit Torquay, and around, for example, Paignton, Exeter to take souvenir photos. In fact, we were very surprised by the time we thought it was more cold and raining more often.

Also surprised by the food itself was very good, our host family was great, the lady did everything to welcome us to help us learn the language, she lead us to the pool or otherwise shopping. In the evening, she talks a lot for us to learn more things about England and even learn new words...

Every Thursday TTPL organized a meeting for the students it was great because we met people from elsewhere, from different countries.

The English were very welcoming, friendly. Here there are no prejudices and everyone is free to wear the clothes he likes without shame ... I love it!

I hope to return because this experience taught me a lot and made progress in the English language and my culture.

I also hope to come back to see my host family because I feel loved...

Teacher Training in Torquay for Christina

Hello everybody,

My name is Christina Möllers and I’m in the third year of my Music and English studies back home in Germany. As I want to become a teacher later on I am very happy that my work placement in Torquay is at the Torquay Boys‘ Grammar School, where I am currently working as a German Assistant for 3 months. At my TTPL Welcome Meeting (on the 8th of September) I was presented with the opportunity of taking part in a training programme in addition to my work placement. In this blog I am going to tell you more about this intriguingly interesting and very informative experience.

The training started on the 18th of September. From now on we would meet every Thursday morning from 9.30-12.30am. The six Spanish teachers in the group, who had mostly come to England to look for an actual teaching assistant job, and me, got to know Bill, our fabulously good-humored and always helpful and well-informed coach. We also got to know each other as we talked about our ambitions and our reasons for taking part in the programme.

At the job centre!

Cross Cultural Training with Sabina

Over the course of the six weeks we were given a broad overview over the general educational system in the UK. In addition we learnt more about the treatment of students with S.E.N. (special educational needs), security at schools and how to relax and motivate students after breaks with brain gym exercises. Furthermore we got to know educational methods like the white board as a means to get some direct feedback from the students. We were given an in depth insight into the application process in Britain including information on the National Insurance Number, a mock job interview and a visit to the local job centre, where we were able to register ourselves in the system. Our fourth session was a bit different. Sabina Rademacher, a former German business woman, who had first moved to Spain and then to England, trained our Cross-Cultural Awareness. We learnt and discussed that different cultures have different values and ways of doing things, that certain signs can mean completely different things in another culture and that we as teachers in another country need to be aware of these differences and make our students aware of them. During the last session we all got our own white board, a check list to help us survive the first day at a new school and, of course, our certificates. 

Group visit to Kents Cavern

All in all, this teacher training programme was a very helpful experience! I have learnt a lot and would now feel ready to look for a teaching job in Britain. I can recommend the programme to anyone who is interested in getting a closer insight into the British Educational System (like me) but especially to those that actually plan to look for a job as a teacher in England.