Sprachlernende über ihren Aufenthalt

A typical day during my two-week stay in Brighton:
I usually got up at 08:00, brushed my teeth, got dressed and left the house at around 08:30 to catch my bus at St. Keyna Lane at 08:36. During my entire stay I mostly used bus lines 1 and 6, as they both stopped at the nearest bus stop to my homestay, near the school, as well as in the city centre. I got out at the Palmeira Square bus stop at 08:52 and after a short walk arrived at the ELC Brighton language school. Upon my arrival, I would usually check the timetable to ensure that the rooms were still the same. Lessons started at 09:00 o’clock. School days began with a double lesson from 09:00 to 10:30 followed by a thirty-minute break, leading up to another double lesson until lunch break at 12:30 o’clock. After the one-hour lunch break, we’d have a one-hour lesson ending at 14:30, with the last fifty-five-minute lesson starting at 14:35 and ending at 15:30. In the morning, we would usually do a lot of vocabulary and some grammar. My teacher Juliet was a very friendly and good teacher. She often played educational games with my class. The first afternoon lesson was reserved for oral assignments where we’d do a lot of group discussions and talking in general. The last lesson was often used for reading or listening exercises, but we sometimes also did some vocabulary and grammar exercises. 

My host mother was Susan. She was a very kind and talkative woman. Her cooking was also very good. She made dinner at around 18:00 o’clock and despite her not eating with me, she was always happy to have a quick chat. She even gifted me two books she had about British seaside life and the West Pier because she saw that I was clearly interested in it. On the day of my arrival at her home and on the morning of my first day she drove me to the school to show me the way and which buses I could take. After school I typically went to the beachside, walked around the city or went to the Churchill Square shopping centre with friends. Most of the time, I had my camera right by my side to document my journey. 

Special occasions during my two-week stay in Brighton:
London: The first weekend some friends and I went on a London tour, planned by the school. We went there by train from Brighton Station. It was great finally seeing all the famous landmarks in London with my own two eyes. I loved how open minded the city felt. Being someone who typically doesn’t enjoy city life, I could maybe even picture myself living there. I was able to take some nice pictures on this day trip, pictures that I am very proud of. 

The Seven Sisters: On my last full day in Brighton a friend I made at school, and I went to the Seven Sisters cliffs in Seaford. We travelled there by bus using our weekly pass we bought at the reception of the ELC language school. After a half-hour walk from our bus stop, we arrived at the first cliff, and it was a sight I will never forget. As with the rest of my stay, we were very lucky with the weather and the sunny conditions coupled with a soft breeze made walking along the cliffs a beautiful experience. I of course took my camera with me and captured some of my favourite shots yet. While I was taking some pictures, a group of Arabs approached us and initiated a conversation. I spoke quite a lot with one of them, and he told me he was very interested in photography too. After showing me some pictures, he had taken on his phone, which were quite nice, he asked me if I ever took pictures of people, to which I replied that I usually didn’t, as it often feels wrong to do so without their consent. He then pointed to a woman sitting by the edge of the cliff in a very scenic way. He wanted me to take a picture and capture the moment, but I was hesitant to do so. Sensing my hesitation, he went up to the woman and asked her if he and I could take pictures of her. I was shocked as I could have never done something like that, but she was actually very happy about him asking because she was a solo traveller and had no one to take pictures of her. Whilst I have to say that this encounter made me take a big leap out of my comfort zone, it led to some of my favourite pictures I have taken so far. To me, they feel like they were taken straight out of a movie scene. 

Conclusion:
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Brighton, and I cannot wait to visit it again someday. Brighton felt like a very safe city with very friendly people. I can also recommend ELC Brighton to students seeking a great school for learning English. ELC Brighton made learning English fun and had a good social programme for after school.