At Alpha School, I spoke with Maureen about about my work. She gave me a booklet and offered me a tour in Malta as a compliment from the school. In the evening, we went to the cinema with Clémentine, Chloé and Elya, to see a film called “I love you Beth Cooper”, it was a funny evening and coming back to our flat we continued laughing and played a game which consisted of asking questions to find a character written on a paper that was attributed to each of us.

12/Nov/09

From today I don’t have English lessons as there are no classes available at my level. So, instead of the afternoon I work at Alpha School of English in the morning until around 2.00 pm. I spent the afternoon with my previous flatmate. I hadn’t seen him since he left the apartment. He showed me where he lives now and we had a chat.

- 27/Oct/09

Beginning of the second week of my internship. Three new girl students arrived in the class. Two German and one Italian, but they were there only on Monday because they worked as volunteers for an organisation. As soon as I could I talked to people to practice and improve my English but my French accent didn’t help me to be understood very well…

During the time I worked in the afternoon, it was pleasant to chat more with Tanya.

In the apartment, the atmosphere was so quiet. Benjamin, the last of the three roommates I met when I arrived at St Paul’s Bay moved to another place. We used to try to communicate in spite of our difficulties to understand us very well but I will still see him at Alpha School of English.

19/Oct/09

Today was the last school day for one of the other three students in the class so we took some photos to remember them. In the second part of the course we watched a film named “White chicks”. English courses are very varied and interesting; we learn new vocabulary, expressions and grammar points and sound tracks or films allow us to discuss different topics.

In the afternoon, Tanya, the Accommodation and Welfare Officer of the school, explained to me a job to do with the accommodation section and I made a couple of templates for office purposes.

In the evening I visited Mdina and Rabat; Mdina is a pleasant city because it’s very quiet and the architecture is very nice.

16/Oct/09

I have now gotten settled into a routine at the school.  I take my English lessons in the morning and in the afternoon I work in the office.

13/Oct/2009

My first day at Alpha School of English was good. In the early morning, I took the Assessment test; after that, I had my first English lesson.  In my group there were four other students, from Germany.   It was very interesting to be a small group as it is easier to speak easier - our teacher Sarah was very attentive with each of us. It’s great to mix with students of different nationalities because we can talk about our own culture. In the afternoon my tutor Maureen introduced me to Alpha School’s team and explained the work I will be doing.

In the evening, I went to Sliema. It’s another coastal resort, a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life.  It’s also a major residential area, where it’s pleasant walking and it has an active atmosphere.

12/Oct/09

We spoke with Maureen to know what we will be doing during the internship. She gave us some teamwork to complete for the marketing department.  It is interesting work as it gives the opportunity to be creative and original.

We had a new teacher for the first 2 hours. She taught us grammar using games and we watched a comedy film in English, but with English subtitles to help us understand better. In the afternoon, I looked carefully at the school’s website and familiarized myself with how the school operates, the names of the different programs, the activities and excursions suggested, accommodation etc…

- 26th June 2009

Today was my first day working at Alpha school of English.

We arrived yesterday evening at 7.35pm at Malta International Airport. The journey was good and time went by pretty fast. We were very excited to leave France so as to discover a new country, its inhabitants, its culture and its treasures. It is our first experience abroad and one of our first working experiences within a company, so it’s really interesting. I was really pleased to see such a beautiful landscape, breathtaking coast and I enjoyed the warm air and the shining sun.

We arrived at the Solair Holiday Complex, where we were going to stay for 6 weeks. My mate Simon, with whom I will share the studio, will be staying for 8 weeks. We are attending the same school, so we found the same work placement. It is really reassuring not to be alone when traveling. Being two foreigners in a country that you don’t know is also more enjoyable. We like the hotel because the room is quite big and we feel independent. So today we took part in our first English lessons. I’m in the Advanced level class and I’m glad about it. The level is high, the teacher is good.  I think I won’t get bored but, on the contrary, with 3 hours a day I’m positive I will improve. We practiced speaking English a lot, which is very useful to feel at ease when talking to other people. I met Pauline and Marianne, the French interns that we are replacing. They gave us good advice, told us about interesting sites to visit… I also met a Belgian girl, Russians and the German intern… After the break we went to the office and we were introduced to the staff. Then, the interns explained to us many things about how to use the photocopier and the computer system, names of the files, pieces of information about the school, the work they’ve done etc… Then we talked with Maureen who explained to us what she wanted us to do during the summer. She gave us many tasks concerned with marketing in 2010. I was really happy to notice that she wanted us to do things that we enjoyed, are good at and which are related to our studies… Moreover we were told that each day we had to compile a report. That’s very useful for us as it will be easier to make our work placement report and to remember what tasks we’ve done.

- 25th June 2009

This is my second week at St Paul’s Bay, and I like the city more and more, settled into a routine: after work we go to swimming pool (because we have one in the Solair Holiday Complex), then we go to the little beach at Bugibba; it is very pleasant because the sun is always shining, but less than during the afternoon so it is much cooler.

On Wednesday, we went to Bugibba with a German student we met in the office; it was nice because he’s kind. He is German, but I don’t speak his language, we have to speak together in English, which is good practice after school.

Sometimes after going to the beach, we like to go to an internet café to connect to the Internet, and speak with our families. On Saturday, I will go on a boat cruise to visit St Paul Island, caves, and after that, the boat will stop for two hours in the Blue Lagoon in Comino where we can swim. It seems to be a really nice place; I can’t wait to go there! Maybe on Sunday, I will visit Marsaxlokk where there is a big market, or possibly the one held at Vittoriosa.

I think I am really improving my Spanish as well, phoning students and because they speak very fast, I have to understand them and answer correctly, but I still find it pleasant. Prior to this year I really hated speaking on the phone, but now thanks to my studies and to my internship, even while speaking in a foreign language I like it and I’m more self-confident.