Experiences from abroad
OUR STORIES
Maciej Wiśniewski, Poland
In Palermo we done a lot of interesting things. At first day, our trainer, Ian helped us a lot with understanding our fears and shows that we’re not alone in the way we’re thinking. With his help, we, students, got along quite fast. Our group of 9 was divided into smaller groups and assigned to different places. Personally, I was working at Mensa delbuon Samaritano, where I helped with basic tasks for few hours. In free times we tried to get as much as we could. We managed to walk around Palermo, take a lot of wonderful photos, visit various shops – for example shop, where you could buy apron and ask to embroidering anything what we wanted. I asked for “La Migliore Mamma” which means “The Best Mom” and I’m about to give it to her soon. All of us experienced a lot, had to get used of insane rules of traffic in Palermo, but in the end, everyone enjoyed staying there. We made new friends and we’re planning our next trip.
I’m very thankful for this opportunity to travel abroad, see a bit of different world than I’m normally living in. I’m looking forward for next project. In those 2 days I learnt many thing and I believe that I improved myself as a person as well.
Jordan,
Doncaster, UK
Mobility
from Linköping to Doncaster.
The 8th of March 2015 students and teachers went to Doncaster on mobility. In Sweden the students study at Second Chance School, car repair, building and construction, textile, stylist, and hair programme.
On the trip to Sweden I worked in Ugglan Preschool and experienced working with children aged 1-5. I was able to see the difference in childcare and education as Sweden allow the children to do a lot more than children are allowed to do in England, for example children are allowed to climb up trees, they get their own pots, plates, and cutlery to eat with and then serve their own food. The education system in Sweden allows children to be children unlike the UK. The trip to Sweden had an impact on me as it opened my eyes to working with children, working abroad and the different cultures. It was has made me want to move abroad and work as to me it seems so much better and the people were very welcoming and friendly allowing us to feel comfortable while exploring the city and working. It was the experience of a lifetime and I am so glad I did it.
Jordan Ochiltree, Doncaster, UK
Sarah,
Doncaster, UK
In Sweden we did a lot of exciting things together like we went to the zoo which was fantastic. My Placement was absolutely amazing, my supervisor was amazing and she let me get stuck in and I was able to change nappies and put some of the children to sleep. I learnt loads of new things like a new curriculum and culture, for example in Sweden the children sleep outside. It opened my eyes to a brighter future and it has had a massive impact on how I look at life and work; it is really laid back but it works [in Sweden]. I was amazed to see how much respect everyone has for everyone they come into contact with. We learnt some of the language from the children while we were out there. We would point to an object and look at the child to tell us what the object was, and then we would repeat the word. Usually if the child laughed that’s how you knew you had said the word slightly wrong and if they smiled you knew you had said it correctly.
Sarah Hoyland, Doncaster, UK
Aisha,
Doncaster,UK
I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to visit Sweden for two weeks to work in a nursery setting. It has been one of the best experiences in my life and I will never forget the great time I had and I really didn't want to come home!
Sweden is a beautiful country and I had a great time sightseeing around the local city and surrounding areas!
The day care setting I was placed at: 'Forskölan Ugglan' was fantastic. The staff were all so welcoming and friendly. They taught me a lot about how day-care runs in Sweden. It was also interesting to be able to compare the Swedish education system to the British education system and vice versa. The language barrier was not as bad as I thought it might be as it was easy to pick up on some of the Swedish language and body language and gestures played a big part in communicating with the children who spoke little English.The children warmed up to us very fast and it was really hard to say goodbye to them after the two weeks
I am so grateful for this experience, it's had a great personal impact on myself as I was able to show and enhance my leadership skills and develop my independence and confidence.
This experience also had a great impact on my CV! As I was offered job interviews as soon as I came back. After successful interviews talking about this wonderful experience I now have a job as a teaching assistant at a primary school!
Aisha Rashid, Doncaster, UK
Amanda,
teacher@Doncaster, UK
I have accompanied students on 3 Mobility Placements now, 1 in Paris and 2 in Gijon, Spain.
The whole process had just got better over time, and the whole experience has been amazing for the students.
From each visit, at least one student has been offered the opportunity of returning to the placement for either paid summer work or full time employment.
The students have been continuously engaged on these visits and have learnt not only new skills, but had new cultural experiences as well, and this has had a huge impact on those students who have never left the borough or Country and has opened their eyes to a whole new world which is waiting to offer them further exciting experiences.
They have had the opportunity to learn aspects of a new language, new culinary skills in the preparation and cooking of foreign dishes as well as the tasting and eating of foods they otherwise would never get the chance to experience.
I have found the staff from both the host country and the placements to be extremely welcoming and accommodating to the needs of our students, facilitating great working relationships between us which will hopefully continue to grow.
Amanda Gleadall, Doncaster, UK
Marcos,
Spain
Hello, my name is Marcos. I am from Spain. I participated in two European mobility programmes (European Voluntary Service and the action 4.3 under Youth in Action Programme) in Palermo, Italy, for nine months the last year and now I am back for six months.
During both the experiences, I worked in the multimedia department in CESIE, dealing with graphic design, photo and video editing.
I learnt to work in a team, sharing ideas, opinions and different points of view, supporting each other, fostering relationships with CESIE’ staff. It was a new way of working for me, stimulating, challenging and very efficient.
Thanks to this experience I gained new social and personal skills, improved my digital competences, learnt a new language (Italian) and improved my English. I met a lot of people from different Countries, with different ways of thinking and living. It allowed me to know more about their cultures and appreciate their differences.
I’m very happy I had this opportunity. It was a great experience that changed my life.
Marcos, Spain
Students from
Tomillo,
Spain
Some testimonials by learners from Fundación Tomillo, who went on mobility for internships in Turin, Italy, April-May 2014 :
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Yenny, Fundación Tomillo, Turin (Italy), 2014 :
" It's not just about working, it's a life experience, a friendship experience, I'll remember it all my life"
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Maria, Fundación Tomillo,Turín (Italy), 2014
"It's amazing to realize that the problems, life, friendship and relationships are very similar regardless the country, language and culture. We are very similar, I lost the fear of the unknown"
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Daniel, Fundación Tomillo, U.K. 2014
"I was at UK, lovely, amazing and unique experience. I want to return as soon as possible. I will try to empower my skills before and trying a second experience
Sergio, Fundación Tomillo, Turín (Italy), 2014 :
“I realized it’s possible to go to a foreign country with your knowledge about computer repairing and a good language preparation and be successful.
Lovely family, very nice country, people treated me very well, I return happy and motivated to learn more about my profession and foreign languages"
Alexis, Fundación Tomillo, Turín (Italy), 2014
“I didn´t have to work hard, my skills were sufficient for the job, but missed speak better Italian. However the experience was worth it”
Anthony, Fundación Tomillo, Italy 2014
"I was not given risky tasks as electrician because I didn't know the specific Italian language needed for it. Technical language is more important than coloquial. Improving technical language will give the students better working experience".
