My name is Tim and I shall be staying in Exeter for four weeks in june/19


Week 1:

 

My journey started very relaxed at the Basel airport where I got everywhere on time and didn’t need to hurry anywhere. On the airplane I spent some moments in confusion over my upcoming timetable before having realised that Britain is in a different time zone than Switzerland and that I was actually more than on time. My first contact with the British public transport system was quite harsh as my bus arrived more than 30 minutes late at Bristol airport. Once I finally got in, I was surprised that the bus indeed stopped apparently whenever the customers wanted to get out. There were very few fixed bus stops along the way often customers would just press the stop button to just get out at the next available place for the bus to stop. When I finally arrived in Exeter, I was greeted by host family consisting of Vanessa and her daughter Ruby who is 10 years old. I’m staying in a room with a boy from Saudi Arabia who stereotypically is called Abdul. On my first day of school all the new students were tested in heir English skills and then we got on a little tour to discover Exeter. The city is located at the river Exe and especially the parks around the old cathedral and the river are quite beautiful. When I met my class on Tuesday, I was very surprised when I realized that everyone in my course comes from Switzerland which meant we got along with each other pretty well having lots of things to talk about. Today I strolled through the city with some of my newly made friends. The thing I probably enjoy the most around here is the great variety of food you have to experience. There are lots of different little restaurants with tasty and affordable meals from around the world to try out. So my first week here was very pleasant and I'm already looking forward to spending more time here in Exeter.

Week 2:

 

On my second Monday here in England I went on a school trip to a little village called Padstow right at the shore. But when we actually got there after approximately 1.5 hours of being stuck in a coach, we realised that it was low tide and was actually now water at all in the port. The village itself was very touristic and full of elderly people so we climbed down the cliffs a few hundred meters away and got to a beautiful beach with some interestingly looking caves. My English course hasn’t changed at all although about 90 new students arrived this week, it’s still just six people talking german. Our course is really chilled, we haven’t had a lot of grammar up until now and have mostly been talking about movies and other interesting topics. On Tuesday I went to see the new Spiderman movie which was absolutely awesome. Not being able to watch movies in English when they come out is something I’m really going to miss when I’ll be back in Switzerland. On Saturday a few friends and I went to the beach at Exmouth, a little city about 20 km apart from Exeter. We spent the whole day there and in the evening we had fish and chips at a place called Crispies, which was the winner of this years fish n chips award competition. Needless to say, the food there was amazing. Once I got back from my trip, I realised I had gotten quite a sunburn which was real bummer. So far I can say I’ve enjoyed my stay here a lot and I’m looking forward to another exciting two weeks here in Exeter.

Week 3:

 

The beginning of my third week here in Exeter was rather unpleasant as my sunburn evolved into a really painful experience which lasted up until about halfway through this week. Apart from that I was very surprised when some non-swiss people joined our English course so now we’re finally truly international. Apart from that not much has changed in this week. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Five Guys, an American fast food chain like McDonalds or Burger King with the big difference that the burgers they make there are delicious. They let you choose from a vast variety of toppings for free, their fries are made with special peanut oil, which gives them a whole different taste and you can refill your drink as often as you wish. This Thursday I went bowling for the third time in my stay and I was a bit disappointed after still not having improved at all. In fact, my best run by far was in my first week, which makes me think it was more luck than skill anyways. On Friday we went to a place a bit outside of the city where we could drive around with segways, those weird vehicles with just one axis. I was a bit sceptical whether it would be difficult at first, but it turned out that it wasn’t at all and I ended up having a great time. This Saturday we visited a little town called Ilfracombe and went out on boat tour along the beautiful coastline.

Week 4:

 

My last week in the UK has been a lot about saying goodbye. It started on Thursday when I had to say goodbye to some very good friends that I’d made over the last month who were leaving on Friday. Then on Saturday I had to say goodbye to all the other amazing people that I’ve met during my stay. This morning I said goodbye to my host family and now I’m sitting in a bus going to the airport and am about to say goodbye to this country that I’ve been staying in for four weeks now. Overall I can say that I’ve really enjoyed my time here. Not only did I learn a lot of English in my classes and also just through talking to people and living in this country, but I also feel like this experience has made me a more independent person and that counts for just as much. I will miss a lot of things when I’ll be back in Switzerland. It’s been amazing to have the ocean so close and to be able to spend the weekend at the beach. I’ll also surely miss the amazing and cheap restaurants in Exeter where I spent countless hours with my friends. But I’m also looking forward to many things back at home. I’ve been missing my own room without any roommates although I got along with them very well in my time in Exeter. It will be great to live in a quiet village again without any noise. I’m also missing the view of the alps from my bedroom window.