June 21^th2006

Oh dear!

I finally discovered the people and the place where I’m working. This morning I arrived punctually at the Arriva offices where I met my boss. He looked very strict because he never smiled but I’ll see over the next few days. The other employees showed me what my duties were. Then I started printing and tidying up.

I hope it will be easy for me and I’ll make the boss happy.

In the evening we talked together about our jobs and we were very excited. After that we went to a pub where some of us sang.

July 3^rd 2006

Good evening,

Here I am after a busy day.

Today was my last day at work and so I only went to work in the morning because I had to buy the last presents for my family and at 4 o’clock I had to go to Abergele for Nino’s party. We gave a surprise party for Nino at Conlan because today was his birthday. We came back for dinner and we packed our bags, which are much bigger than they were on our departure.

A few minutes ago we had our photo taken with the son of our host lady.

I’m going to bed because tomorrow I’ll have to get up at 4:30.

July 5 ^th 2006

Hi, this evening I’m very tired.

This morning after having breakfast, we looked around London and after that, we went to the British museum, where we saw a few works of the most important painters and sculptors of every period; then  we visited the Tower of London. There I enjoyed myself dreaming, while I looked at the crown jewels and the kings’ swords.

In the afternoon we went to visit Madame Tussaud’s, where we had fun taking photos with the waxwork models of stars and playing around.

After that, we visited the National Gallery. Seeing the pictures seen in the books was very exciting and wonderful.

Then we quickly went to the Aldwych theatre to see “Dancing in the streets”. At the beginning we didn’t understand very much because we didn’t know the songs, but then we started singing and dancing with the characters and we enjoyed ourselves.

When we went back to the hotel we played jokes on each other.

Now it’s 3 o’clock a.m., but I don’t want to fall asleep because I know it’s my last day in London.

Let’s get trained abroad

When I decided to attend this course I didn’t understand that it could help me to improve my English.

At the beginning the lessons weren’t very different from normal English lessons but then the teachers got me more and more involved day by day.

The first very exciting suggestion that I remember was the questionnaire. The teachers suggested doing a questionnaire about the lifestyle and values of teenagers in Italy and in Wales.

Teenagers that were given the questionnaire were excited about this idea and they were very happy to answer my questions.

In Wales, teenagers were more superficial than Italian young people.

During the course, our group didn’t seem to be close, but when we decided to write and play some scenes, we became more united.

I liked making my scene very much; it was about work.

The trip was beyond all my expectations.

I thought the place would be quiet like Abergele, but we went out every evening.

The work experience was useful because I improved my listening and speaking skills.

The most beautiful days were the days in London, where we had fun and we were present at the celebration of the victory of Italy in the semi final of the World Cup with Italians that lived in London.

This was a wonderful experience. You can bet on it!

Fabiana

Thursday 15^th  June 2006

   Today begins the jouney that will take us  to Wales .You are always excited when you about to have a new experience. I went to Great Britain last year but I am very excited all the same .

   It will be a life experience that will make us grow up because we can improve our English, working and interpersonal skills but above all we have the chance to start taking responsibility, get to know more people and more cultures than we already know, face problems we usually don’t encounter during our normal everyday life (you are not at home: you are not free to do whatever you want and so you need to plan your actions and days). I am sure this trip will be something worth doing.

11:00 pm

After a long journey  we have arrived .We have been driven to Colwyn Bay by a strange man, a bull of the road (a road hog!) but in the end we got out of his little bus safe and sound. Our new house is very comfortable. We have only met Ms Roberts: she is not very warm but she seems to be a good woman .

Friday 16^th June 2006

I wasn’t wrong .She is quite kind: we had breakfast and then we left home with the packed lunch prepared by Ms Roberts.

We met Livia and Jessica . Livia is Italian and she has been working in Abergele for the Conlan school for a month. Jessica  is Italian too and they will both organise our work placement .We have had our first lesson with John  who taught us something about economy and the history of Liverpool, Manchester and Chester (we are visiting the latter tomorrow ).He took us around Abergele and gave us some information about it too. It has been a beautiful day

Saturday 17^th June 2006

This is the day when we went walking on the ancient walls of a Roman city. We are talking about Chester, a city founded by Romans, a people whose buildings still stand to testify to their glory and the world and the culture they conquered! Here we saw the clock that Chester is famous for and the place where in 1644 Charles I spent the last years of his life .For the first time I saw a cricket ground  and a pair of soccer boots  for £19,99 ( I bought them immediately ) and one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen . In a square we even met some Italians selling Italian food and sweets .John was with us most of the time talking to us about himself and and city we were visiting. He said he likes  Italian soccer teams and so he wished us good luck for the match  which would be played  that evening  between Italy and USA .It wasn’t a very exciting match but I’m sure we will do better in the next match.

Sunday 18^th June 2006

It was the first Sunday we spent in Wales. The good part was that  we could do what we wanted, the bad one was that it rained all day.

Ms Roberts said that we had to get used to it because the weather is usually like this .

We went to Baledway castle and we enjoyed ourselves very much there.We spent a beautiful day :in the afternoon  we played chess and walked round a maze. In the evening we went bowling in Llandudno.The first two days seemed to be longer than one week  but now I can say that the time has started to pass much faster. It’s a good sign !

Monday 19^th June 2006

This morning we went to Conwy castle. All its walls are still standing and it was a very amusing experience to walk on them. Then we went to the Conlan school: where we met a new teacher  Barbara. She is German but she has been living here for 14 years .

She is very nice and she taught us something about British working systems, work ethics and working practices.

Tuesday 20^th June 2006

We went to school in the morning and in the afternoon we were told where we would work. I will spend my 2 weeks of work placement in Llandudno junction near Conwy working for “Arriva”, a bus company.

Wednesday 21^st June 2006

I caught the 8:30 bus to get to the Arriva office .I went there on an Arriva bus , one of the many buses I would be in charge of that afternoon and over the following days .My boss told me I would help him with the safety and the upkeep of Arriva Company vehicles .

Thursday 22^nd June 2006

It was my second day of work: on the first I just started meeting the people that I would share my work with and the places where I would spend most of my time in the following days, but the second one couldn’t have been harder . I started cataloguing the stock of the 49 buses my office is in charge of: it was very boring and tiring but I can’t complain because my boss and my colleagues are very kind and friendly. When you like the group of people who are around you your days are very pleasant and the time seems to pass quicker than usual. That was how 3 o’clock in the afternoon  came so soon. I left my work place and I went to a pub with my friends to watch the soccer match “Italy – Czech Republic”.  I couldn’t miss it  and it was worth watching - Italy won and we all went back home happy and content .

Nino