The truth is that I had always been curious about volunteering, and this past year I had the opportunity to do it finally in the discount time, right before the age limit of 30. I had the opportunity to work on a project that He painted more than interesting in the United Kingdom (where better to perfect English?) and also, in my case, accompanied by a great friend, so I did not think about it.
To put it a bit in context, Creativity Works Preston is a center for teenagers in complicated social and family situations, where they can develop activities such as music, video and communication or aesthetic workshops.
To be honest, at first I was a bit scared, because understanding some teenagers in their own language is sometimes an impossible task, you can imagine what it means to do with some of the most conflictive of them and in another language (because to this day I’m still not sure that what the speak here is English… Lancashire accent is a world apart, I guarantee it!).
Four months later, I can proudly say that my comprehension capacity has developed to unexpected limits and, to this day, I have never felt so comfortable with English, so I guess I am achieving goals!
But not only have I improved my English level, but I have also managed to empathize with the students and create links with them. The rest of our classmates, meanwhile, make our lives as easy as possible and receive us daily with a smile and new information about activities or places to visit in the surroundings and, as for my roommates, they could not be
more wonderful! I have made friends in and out of the center, I have traveled (more than in a long time) and I have drenched more than well in this North British culture.
I still have a lot to discover and, and like all experiences, this also has its hard part and sometimes it is an internal exercise to get the most out of it and not get carried away by the longing but, in any case, until the moment everything makes up for it. We will continue broadcasting from Preston!
Lidia.