I really enjoyed my trip to London last week. It was nice being on my own, although it did feel strange having no-one I knew with me. The meeting was also really interesting too; I found out some good and some bad points about Comenius, the worst being the weird way in which the British Council funds our assistantship.

The best thing about Comenius is that I won’t just be teaching English whilst at the Spanish school, I’ll be able to take part in other classes. This is particularly exciting since I know that German is taught at my host school, meaning there is an opportunity for me to continue practising my German even though I’m in Spain.

The most useful thing I found out at the Pre-Departure Briefing, however, had nothing to do with my Comenius assistantship. Whilst there, I took the opportunity to find out how the assistants going to Germany had found somewhere to live. I got told that I could not only look for a room on one of the website, but also advertise myself as a roommate as well. After doing that I now have two rooms to view when I go to Germany.

I’m actually really nervous about this trip to Germany on Wednesday, it’s a few days longer than my trip to London, and it’s in a foreign country so it will be more difficult to get hold of my family and friends. I’m sure I will be okay though, and I’ll have plenty of chance to practice my German and to organise both of my placement whilst away anyway. (I found out I have to change the dates of my assistantship whilst at the Briefing.)

All in all, I’m actually quite excited at the moment. Everything seems to be on the right track now, and it’s making everything easier and me worry a lot less. I almost can’t wait to go abroad now!

I just hope things stay this way,
Sarah.

I’ve got two bits of bad news, the worst of which I got yesterday: the room I was going to look at in Mannheim has already been rented by someone else. I am now, once again, back at square one in terms of finding somewhere to live. I’m worried too, my week-long trip to Germany starts on July 28th so there isn’t much time for me to find a room if I want to view it whilst I’m there. I’ve just got to keep trying to find somewhere on the websites I’ve been given and hope that something good happens.

The second bit of bad news is that my friend isn’t coming to London with me, but I’m still excited about my trip. I set off in about an hour. It’s nice that my first time travelling alone, and my first time staying in a youth hostel, is going to be in the UK. It’ll be good practice for my trip to Germany next week!

I’ll update you in regards to my Comenius assistantship and what was said at the Pre-Departure Briefing in my next entry,
Sarah.

I’ve had some good news today! One of the people I contacted has got back to me and I now have a room to view in Mannheim. This means I’ll be off to Germany around about the 30th July. I’m really scared because this will be my first time travelling alone. The room is located in Mannheim’s Innenstadt, just like I wanted, and is a 15 minute walk from work. I just hope it’s suitable because if it is my accommodation is sorted, and that means I can relax a little. Flights to Germany for the end of this month are unfortunately now pretty expensive, and I’m going to be staying in the Youth Hostel whilst I’m over there to help cut down costs. (Note: See my Hints and Tips for a useful note about which Youth Hostel Association to join if you are a British student.)

My trip to London next week is still unplanned, and I still don’t know the location of the Pre-Depature Briefing. I’m going to email the British Council tomorrow to find out where it is, as it’s just over a week away now. A friend is also planning to travel to London with me, so once she confirms her plans haven’t changed, I’ll start to get things organised.

So, as you can see, I have a lot organising to do, which is stressful but also exciting, as I’m really looking forward to my trips away.

Sarah.

I have very little news to give you this week, and unfortunately most of it is bad, however, I am going to start this entry on a positive note: I’ve agreed the dates of my Comenius Assistantship! (March 14th – June 14th, providing the dates are approved by the British and Spanish national agencies.) I am pretty pleased with these dates as I now have a whole two weeks to move from Germany to Spain, and with a little luck this will allow me some time to come back home between my two placements.

Now here’s the bad news; because I didn’t send any emails about the potential flatshares until last Thursday, I’ve only heard back from one of them, my favourite. It turned out that the owner of the room wanted somebody to rent her room until March, which at the time I thought I couldn’t do because of my placement in Spain, and when I realised I could rent the room for that period of time, she’d already given it to someone else. It’s a shame, as that room seemed pretty ideal. I’ll just have to hope something good comes from one of the other four. I’m nervous though, I feel it might be a little too late to find somewhere to live.

I’m applying for a Youth Hostel Association card tomorrow ready for my trip to London, as the Pre-Departure Briefing for Comenius Assistants is being held there on July 20th. I guess if the worst happens I can always live in the Youth Hostel in Mannheim for a few days until I find somewhere, I really hope that doesn’t happen though!

I also wish I knew exactly where this Pre-Depature Briefing was being held. I’ve been waiting to find out the exact location before I choose my accommodation, and now, like me finding a flatshare in Germany, it’s all ended up very last minute. The only plus is that, from what little I know of London, as long as I find somewhere to stay which is near a tube station I should be able to get almost anywhere.

I hope my next post is altogether more positive,
Sarah.

It’s just over two months until I start my first work placement on September 1st in Mannheim. I’m going to be an Intern for a translation company, and although I’ll mostly be doing admin work, rather than any actual translating, I’m still excited to see how the company works.

I’ve been looking for flats today, using a website which University recommended to me, and so far it’s proven quite useful. I have a list of five flats I want to go to look at in Mannheim’s Innenstadt, one of which, my favourite, is only a 6 minute walk away from work (according to Google Maps.)

It’s quite late now, so I’m going to email each of the contacts tomorrow. Part of me wishes we’d gotten more help in finding accommodation from University, it would have made this summer a lot easier and a lot less stressful, but when I think about it I realise that this is all good practice for the future, and that the whole point of this year abroad is being independent, getting experience and growing as a person.

I also need to email back my Comenius assistantship tutor, as we’re currently in the process of arranging the dates for my assistantship. Earlier I recieved my host school’s application from the British Council via email, and I now know that the latest possible end date for the assistantship is 30th June 2011. I obviously want my assistantship to last as long as possible, so it is just a case of seeing what is convenient for the school. I think I’m going to suggest 7th March 2011 as my start date, since it’s the first Monday in March, and it will give me plenty of time to move from Germany to Spain.

I hope to bring more updates with my next entry, in one week’s time,
Sarah.