Two weeks at TTPL - a word from Nils

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.

GOING ABROAD: IT’S WORTH IT!!!

Hi everybody,

My name is Jonathan Prudent and I come from France. I am 34 and (with modesty) I am the Student Ambassador in Exeter.

I wanted to write this blog in order to share my experience and my everyday life in Exeter.

First of all, going abroad is a beneficial experience because when you return home, you will return with a new perspective on culture, language skills, a new work experience to add on your CV and a willingness to learn. Needless to say, all of these are very attractive to future employers.

I have been in Exeter since the 13^th September 2015. Before coming to United Kingdom I have never heard about Exeter before. If I could describe this city in a few words I would say “Calm”, “Enriching” and “Lovely”.

Obviously Exeter cannot be compared to London because it is smaller and the way of life is different. Nevertheless if you like History, Nature and you want to discover the famous Devon Cream Tea, come to Exeter!!!

I chose to live in a host family because you have the chance to know the daily life of a typical English family and you get more opportunities to speak English and they are able to correct your mistakes. From the beginning they were very nice and made me feel comfortable. Thanks to them I could taste different English dishes like the Sunday Roast and the Meat Pie.

As I told you above, a work experience abroad interest employers. I came to Exeter to improve my English level and at the same time to gain some additional skills in Human Resources. I was offered a work placement by TTPL in a Recruitment Agency called Blue Arrow. This company is really a great place to work as I have learnt a lot about Human Resources including Recruitment, Payroll, Human Resources Administration. My first day in the company, they were welcoming, attentive and helpful. Moreover they gave me responsibilities very quickly. To tell the truth the most difficult thing for me was to understand their accent. I had to get accustomed to all the procedures set up in the agency as well. That meant a lot of things to know and new words to learn. But I didn’t lose hope. I was here to progress and it was some another challenges to take up. Now everything is better as I can understand my colleagues and I am autonomous in my role.

During almost 6 months, I got a deep insight regarding the way of life in Exeter. For instance English people are really polite and always ready to help you. They like using very often these words “Sorry”, “Lovely”, “Cheers mate” or “Brilliant”. It is so funny to hear that. And sometimes they can call you “Darling”. So you may feel embarrassed but I was told that is common in UK…

I met a lot of people from Europe and South America. What I like the most when you meet people is discovering the culture and the story of each other. I had the chance to meet most of them during the Conversational English café and the Student meetings organized by TTPL every Wednesdays and Thursdays. I had the chance to make friends and to practise English.

United Kingdom is an interesting country to discover. Since my arrival I have gone to several places: Birmingham, London, Bristol, Bath, Exmouth, Dartmoor  just no name a few.

But above all Brixham was the best place I visited. Some friends and I decided to go and see Brixham Harbour, Brixham Breakwater and Berry Head National Park. How fabulous was the harbour! What an impressive and astonishing landscape it was! You should go there because it is worth it.

I am leaving UK very soon and I know that I am going to miss the awesome times I spent in this country. But I am bringing with me a lot of good memories. I met incredible people, I visited lots of places.

It is not the end. A new page is turning and a new life is starting somewhere else. That’s the way it is.

Jonathan Prudent

Lina...my first trip to England!

One of our students, Lina from Germany, is leaving us this weekend. She was working at the English Riviera Magazine and has had a great time here in Torbay. This is her first impression of England!

Ok, so first of all, I didn't realise we were in England until I met my hostfather. The time before I just felt tired of the long journey and hungry because I forgot to take food with me... The school organised our internship. So I didn't know what I should expect. The 10 hours journey left me feeling exhausted and I just wanted to sleep.

The moment I realised, I was in England I was also overwhelmed by nearly every impression I got. Everyone was talking English... that was so confusing... and the cars were driving on the wrong side!!!... but no one cared about that... Those were such too much influences on a small and tired girl like me!

But my host family was really nice and open minded. They showed us everything we needed and made us really delicious food.

My internship was exciting too. My workplacement was in the editorial office of a local Magazine. Even the first day, I was allowed to write articles for them, which will also be published. But because my adapter for my laptop didn't worked, I just worked until the juice of it was empty and the laptop turned off. Without a laptop, there wasn't any work for me, so I was allowed to go home then. But even if my first day of internship was just very short, I enjoyed it a lot.

TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY

Unfortunately this is my last week in Torquay and with this short blog I’ll try to describe my adventure in England. In 12 weeks I met a lot of people from different European Country; I spent with them my best summer ever.

Everything began the 12th July, and after that day, many things have happened. I visited a lot of places that I’ll never forget. Everything here is absolutely amazing; spending time with TTPL has offered me the opportunity to work and have fun at the same time.

One of the best place where I’ve been is Cornowall. It is one of the UK’s most popular tourist destinations for its captivating coastline and stunning scenery. The dramatic granite cliffs of Land's End, picture postcard harbours, the wide sandy beaches of the north coast have all made Cornwall the best place where you can spend a peaceful and safe holiday. But Cornwall also has a rich cultural heritage and this has left an indelible mark on the landscape. Now the sceneries of Looe, Polperro, Padstow, Portheath and S. Ives are stuck in my mind.

Devon at the same time, is one the best county of England. The beautiful small villages of Dartmouth and Brixham, the night life in Torquay and the wide sandy beaches of Paington are all places that I’ll never forget. And then Exeter, Plymouth, Totnes… magnificent places to show on postcards.

At the end, I also spent a weekend in the London. London, the busy capital of England, one of the most beautiful city in the world.

After this experience I will never forget these places and the people that I met. Friends will be always friends.  Travelling is one of the best thing to do in the life.

Travel doesn’t really wait for anyone. Sure, places will always be there, people will always travel, but there’s no better reason to travel than to just seize the moment, take the opportunity when you have it and act on impulse

Luca Fenoglio

TIME FLIES - a blog from Luca our new Student Ambassador.

Hi, my name is Luca Fenoglio, I’m the new student ambassador and with this short blog I would like to tell you something about my new life in Torquay.

This is my first work experience in a foreign country, I’m 19 years old, and before arriving here I was a little nervous but determined  at the same time.

The first day that I arrived in Bristol the weather was very bad! I Though “this will be a very strange summer”; fortunately when I arrived in Torquay the sun was shining.

Since the first moment that I met my host family, I felt like to be at home! They are very nice and polite.

After two weeks of language training course in Riviera School I started working in a lovely place. At the moment I’m working in Cockington in an Architectural Firm. The first day of work was a little bit strange, I found difficult to understand English people speaking and I tried to do as much as possible with all my skills.

Now I feel comfortable; every day when I work I’m astonished by the surrounding nature that cover Cockington Court, It’s absolutely amazing!

During this experience I met a lot of people from different European countries, I’m having a great time with them! TTPL with all the meetings helps students to make new friendship; it’s a good opportunity to meet people with different culture.

Unfortunately this is my eighth weeks here in torquay, most of my time has already gone. I want to enjoy my last four weeks, because for me this is an opportunity that will not be repeated very often in my life!

When you are in the right place, you know what do you want and you are happy, TIME FLIES.

Here, I’m spending one of the most exciting parts of my life. Is it probably the right place for me? I don’t know, but I’m completely sure that living in South Devon it’s great opportunity for learning English and for finding a job.

Luca Fenoglio

How to learn English with SIRI

There are many tricks to learning English. Everybody can suggest you to watch a TV series in English to exercise your listening and if you want to improve your reading skills, you can read books. Listening to  music is the easiest way to reach both these goals. The problem comes - if you don’t have an English person nearby - when you want to practice your pronunciation. With this post I want to share with you my secret to learning to speak English properly.

Are you ready? Pick up your I-Phone (or use Google Translator) and start a conversation with Siri!

Every time that I come to the UK I write a ‘Giulia’s Dictionary’ with words that I’ve learnt during my stay or with words that I already know, but with which I'm not sure about the spelling (just to better remember them). A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the kitchen after dinner and I wasn’t sure about the meaning of a word: ‘mould’. I asked Nicky (my host-mum) if the meaning of mould was ‘to change the shape of something’ to write it in my dictionary. Yes, it is, if you consider the verb. But 'mould’ (or ‘mold’) can also be a fungus that grows on walls or on food.

 In someway we started to speak about the difference between ‘mould’ and ‘moss’, which is a plant.

Now I know it, but at the beginning I was really confused. The solution? “Let’s ask Siri” said Nicky.

“What is the difference between MOSS and MOULD?”

This is how my adventure started, because - during my first week here - when I tried to ask Siri something she always misunderstood the word I was saying (which means that my pronunciation was so bad!). When I tried to ask Siri the question about MOSS and MOULD, Siri wrote “Which is the difference between MARS and MOULD?”. 

This is my sixth week in Torquay and I am improving my English quickly: now Siri understands me. There is only one word with which I am having problems: ‘earthnware’. When I try to ask Siri “How do you spell EARTHNWARE?” there is always something extremely strange and funny that comes out. For example:

“How do you spell HERDSDOWN WHERE?”

“How do you spell HAW THORNE WHERE?”

“How do you spell ARDENWAY?”

One time I was really lucky with:

“How do you spell EARTH AND WHERE?”

Nicky said to me “When you are leaving Torquay the last thing that I will ask you at the train station will be ‘try to say EARTHENWHERE’”, by that time, I have to learn it. This is my summer challenge.

GIULIA DE VENDICTIS

Six months in Exeter - a students view.

I was asked by TTPL to write a blog about the six months I spent in Exeter/UK.

It was the first experience abroad just on my own and I came to England to do an economic work placement in Exeter City Council. In that time I was living together with a lovely host family. All in all I can truly say that I had an amazing time in England.

6 months. That’s the time I decided to leave my life in Germany behind and to start a new adventure in England. There was no doubt that if I go abroad once, it'll be England. I like the lifestyle, the architecture, the food and the mentality of the English folk.

I was able to feel and live the English way of life for 24 weeks. But all this would have not been possible without the support of TTPL, my parents, my boyfriend, my work placement, my host family and my friends. I met so many lovely people from all over the world on my way and every single one of them very much contributed to my wellbeing in the UK. A great thank you to every one of you for your support.

I benefitted a lot from this time. Not only that I massively improved my language skills and learned how to make a proper sandwich (The English love their sandwiches for lunch! A tip: you mustn't forget the pickle sauce!), I also learned a lot about myself. How to behave in new situations, how to manage everything on my own in the first place and what it means to be German. Indeed, I learned a lot about my own culture. And can be absolutely sure, to be a real German after living six months in England... If that makes sense :-)

A friend in England asked me for advice on how to make her adventure something special. I answered: "Try to be open minded, socialise whenever you can, because every moment is so much nicer if you can share it and go traveling." That's the experience I had and I'm happy ever after. There are lots and lots of things to do, see and taste in Exeter or Torquay. Just to name a few: The Jurassic Coast, English food (Cream Tea, Cornish Pasty or Cottage Pie) or big city trips (Bath, Bristol or the beautiful Cornwall).

 

Make the most of your adventure! Make it worth it!

I'm pleased that I got the chance to write down all these thoughts.

Your former student ambassador for Exeter, Susi xx