(quote from Windows)
21st of May in 2018:
The last week of my foreign work experience has started today. I can’t imagine that those eight weeks passed by that fast. I am looking forward to coming home, but I also miss the time with the others here.
Today I went to Bangor office of Volunteer Now. At 11 a.m. Lindsay, a colleague of mine, drove us by car and it just took half hour to reach the destination. When she said half hour, I understood one and half an hour. I was shocked when we arrived that fast in Bangor. Because of sleep deprivation, I started to feel dizzy again. On the way to the office, I saw the second Airport of Belfast, George Best Belfast City Airport, named in memory of a professional footballer from Belfast. During the drive, we talked about British culture, and I asked her many questions. I even saw IKEA and Tesco extra. Yesterday I also saw Tesco extra but because the first two letters were covered I thought it would be Tesco ultra *grin*. What I learned during my conversation with Lindsay:
Even Belfast has average speed cameras like Germany. A sign warned the drivers about it. The cameras will measure the speed, which might affect your future as a driver. You can get from three to 12 points for exceeding the speed limit. If you get more than 12 points, you will be banned from driving. It is much stricter than in Germany, comparing to Germany if you have more than 18 points your driving license will be confiscated.
In Belfast, the citizens are often buying a house, sell it later and buy a new one. The price depends on the location, the size and it started approximately at 60,000 pounds. I think it’s better for them to own one than rent one.
Half an hour later, we arrived in Bangor. The office of Volunteer Now is in the ‚amh promote‘ building. Amh is an abbreviation for Action Mental Health, an organisation, which ‚provides opportunities for adults with a learning disability to be socially active and develop new skills in a supportive and engaging environment‘ according to their web page. In front of the building, there was a car, which is a complete mosaic artwork made by the persons of this organisation.
I met another colleague, Judith. She was lovely and engaged in my IT work, which I had to perform there. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Permanently I received error messages or other problems occurred. It was frustrating and sad at the same time.
Since I have arrived in Belfast, I always heard the music of the ice cream truck. It reminds me of a magic world. But today I got to see the car, who sells ice cream.
In the evening I had to do the after part of language assessment. Another sad story, I didn’t improve my English skills. My CERF (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level is still B2. My reading comprehension downgraded, and my grammar improved. In mathematics, it would be plus one minus one makes zero. Nothing changed or enhanced my English skills. I was disappointed with the result. Maybe I didn’t talk enough English; I don’t know. I hope the result will be better when I have to take the ‚telc‘ certificate.
The only positive on this day was the Shortbread, which I get to eat at the Bangor office. Compared to the one, which I had once in Germany, this one was much better.
-Huong Giang-