7 cliches...a German students view of being British!

One of our students, Juri, here from Germany and carrying out a work placement at Mid Devon Advertiser was asked to write a piece for a German newspaper about 7 Cliches about the British. Once we heard about this it seemed like a great idea to ask him to translate it into English and let us publish it on our Blog...the results are great! I hope you enjoy reading about his views on 'being British'. 

Cliché 1: Politeness is almost everything in the UK

‘You sound still quite German sometimes’, an editor from my newspaper said to me after my first weeks in the United Kingdom. My strange accent was not the only evidence of my origin. ‘You should say more things like thank you and please’, he added. However, I had tried to use these phrases as much as I can up to a point. Britons definitely do that much more often than Germans. 

In a tiny store three people whispered ‘sorry’ to me in only ten seconds. We didn’t bump, nothing like that. We had just to shuffle around each other a very little bit. I went on walking, confused wondering about the reason for the apologies. What had happened?

If somebody says ‘after you’, it’s fine to thank and walk trough the door. But it is more polite to reciprocate the offer. It happened to me once that three people wanted to leave the room to the same time. Who should offer to go first? Well, I guess, that is a situation for advanced door crossers only.

So, it’s true: British people are very polite.

Cliché 2: English food is a nightmare

Traditional British home cooking is similar to the German one. It’s savory and solid - not everybody’s taste, but no bad food. Especially in the last twenty years, Italian or Indian influences brought new flavors into English kitchens. The main meal is dinner. For lunch most people just grab a salad or a sandwich. British People really love their sandwiches. In Torquay there are more Subway stores than McDonald’s and Burger Kings added together.

The cupcake business is booming as well. You can find easily small bakeries all most everywhere.

So, don’t worry. You don’t have to starve here. 

Cliché 3: British people know how to party hard

I was in a pub in Torquay on a Saturday afternoon around 2pm. I needed a fancy photograph to illustrate an article for a German newspaper. Some guys were standing around the bar, obviously celebrating a stag party. One lad was dressed with a blond girlie wig and a chain with a heavy cement ball around his belly. I asked them if I would be allowed to take a photo of them. ‘You may want to take a photo of this’, one of the guys said, dropped his pants and started wiggling his bare bottom, standing in the middle of the pub. Well, that escalated quickly. Later in the day he jumped completely naked across the bar - and into the very cold seawater harbour. Several of his friends, men at least in their 40s, did the same and used the pub as a locker room after their little swim. They also started a nice little concert, using a chair as a stage. With a horrible German folk song I took place in this contest, too. After that, I was a full member of the group. Britons love people who make a fool of themselves.

Sure, not every party in this country is like this. But, it is definitely true: They know how to party on that island.

Cliché 4: Queues are everywhere in Great Britain

It’s not an issue about a shortage of goods, but it is another politeness thing. The rule ‘first in time, first in line’ is really important over here. In other countries you see people sometimes scramble in a knot on a bus stop. You don’t see that in England. Once a day, I was just standing around a bus stop, looking at the timetable, and I noticed a person right behind me. A women thought I was ‘the queue’ and she didn’t want to push to the front - although there was no bus anywhere around.

As you see: Minding the Queue is indeed very important.

Cliché 5: 5 pm: Tea Time!

The traditional Tea Time belongs to history. But Britons are still very into their hot drinks. They sip it all day long, like other nations coffee. Tea in Great Britain normally means black tea with milk. Tea is still Britain's favorite drink. A very yummy combination is called Cream Tea. A scone, coated with cream and strawberry jam is giving this ritual its name. There are regional variations as to how a cream tea should preferably be eaten. The Devonshire (or Devon) method is to split the scone in two, cover each half with clotted cream, and then add strawberry jam on top. 

You can have it with milk, sugar or just black [but it's better with a scone!].

Cliché 6: Britons love their Queen

Official Polls say the majority of the British people are still happy to have a Queen. Well, in personal chats it was very hard to find a keen monarchist. ‘The royals are the world’s worst family’, said a young man. In his point of view the Kings and Queens did cruel things in the past to get a lot of money and land. ‘In fact the Queen owns a whole language - and English is the language of the world! That’s too much power’, he said.

Cliché 7: It’s always raining in the United Kingdom

Yeah, it rains a lot in this country. But the region around Torquay is an exception. People call the area quite rightly ‘the English Riviera’. It’s sunny down here, temperatures fall hardly below zero. However, Britons love to talk about the weather. It’s a good icebreaker for a conversation. By the way: In many travel books and English guides you can find the idiom ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ to describe a heavy rain. I’ve never heard a native speaker using that expression. Much more common is the phrase ‘It’s bucketing down’ or ‘it’s tipping down’. [Editors Note: But not here in SUNNY TORBAY!, well not often anyway!]

About the author:

Juri Auel is 23 years old and lives near to Kassel, Germany. He already completed his training at a German local paper. Actually a student of politics and history, but this summer he is a visiting reporter at the Mid-Devon Advertiser – to improve his English and learn something about the British way of journalism.

Devon County Show - a glorious day in the sun!

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending the 2015 Devon County Show, at the West Point Showground - the 120th year it has been staged and a credit to everyone involved. Even the sun was good to us. Billed as 'Devons big day out' it certainly lived up to expectations.

Amazing displays, cute animals and of course a huge range of trade stands.

However, as with most things this was not just a day out. I was actively trying to promote our outbound Agricultural programme in the USA, a great opportunity for anyone in the farming or landscape and turf management industry. I was fortunate enough to meet Caroline Trude, the Devon YFC County Chairman - we had a great chat and plan to meet again in the near future to discuss ways we can involve Young Farmers in this project.

The general outline idea is to promote a 9 to 12 month paid placement on a large horse/cattle ranch in the USA for Agricultural Training; Agricultural Internship or Land/Turf Management, with plans to extend to other destinations including Australia, Netherlands, France and Iceland - beyond that, who knows! More details are available here 'Individuals Programme' or by contacting my colleague Nadine at The Training Partnership.

I will add a big 'Thank You' to David Shepherd from the FSB who was always hospitable with a seat to rest my legs - with, of course, coffee and biscuits - and was a very good companion for a pasty and a pint at lunchtime.

Already looking forward to next year - who knows, we may even have a stand!

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Bellissimo - An Italian Teaching Opportunity

We are currently offering an amazing 12 week Teaching Experience in the beautiful Piemonte region of Northern Italy. This is a fantastic opportunity to improve your CV, learn the language and share your teaching techniques.

The programme has been developed with the cooperation of WEP International and the Italian Ministry for Education; making this a great opportunity to gain real experience as a Classroom Assistant within an Italian school. If this is something that appeals to your sense of adventure we will be happy to talk to you in more detail.

During the 12 weeks, from September 24th you will be fully immersed in the culture, stay with a local family and feel like a native Italian in no time at all. Although the actual work placement is unpaid, you will receive accommodation within a local host family with your meals provided.

Participants will be expected to assist within the schools for up to 18 hours per week, over 5-6 days (depending on school hours). 

The objectives of this programme are: 
· Enhancement of CV and employability skills in the EU labour market 
· Provide practical work experience within a European school 
· To informally teach English language and culture to Italian school children 

· To introduce different teaching techniques to classroom · To learn basic working knowledge of Italian language in a working environment 
· To develop Cultural Awareness and communication skills

Benefits include: 

· accommodation with volunteer host families screened by the school 

· full board (meals provided) when tutor is at home with family · Health and third party liability insurance 

· School counsellor to help at school 

· Airport transfer on arrival from Milano Malpensa airport to Torino 

· 1 day orientation in Torino on arrival (held in English) 

To include: workshops about the Italian culture, Italian school system.. 

· WEP office assistance and supervision while in Italy 

· Emergency line 24/7 support in Italy and UK 

· TTPL office assistance and supervision in UK 

· Social Media contact 

· Skype contact 

Requirements for Programme: 

· Be a University student or graduate 

· Provide an up to date DBS check 

· Be a native English speaker 

· Non European applicants must apply for a tourist visa 

· No Italian language required but some basic knowledge preferable 

· No teaching degree required but is preferable 

· Administration Fee 350€ payable before departure, flights not included 

· Application form and cv submitted with photo 

Programme Dates : Sept 24th to Dec 19th 2015 

APPLY NOW TO: nadinestroud@ttpl-uk.com 

Cooperation is the key...

We have just enjoyed another week where we have hosted a delegate group from Europe...this time they were teachers from a Vocational School in Kiel, Northern Germany; they wanted to see this area (their students already come here to complete their work placements) and find out about the education system here in the UK, this will inevitably lead to more students visiting our area. 

So here's the thing, we are very proud of the area we live in, we promote it at every opportunity and encourage students to come here instead of to London; but, without the help and cooperation from other organisations in South Devon, delegate visits like this

would be difficult, if not impossible!

This week our blog is to say 'Thank You' and give a big shout to the people and organisations who have given their time, showed off their facilities (and provided some very enjoyable refreshments) to enable us to show the world how good Torbay and South Devon really are. 

We have visited and toured South Devon College, along with the SW Energy Centre and the Passive Haus (Thank you Sarah Beeson and John Rolls). Seen and toured Exeter College (both Technology and Construction sites) - (thank you to Richard Layburn, Andy Wells and Nick Spreckley),  been very well fed at the Horizons Restaurant at SDC, and at the Cafe at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter and with buffets from Shoreline and Crusty Loaf in Torquay. We have been given a tour of the amazing Torquay Academy, (thank you Steve Margetts and Nichole Sanders) not by staff but by four young students who will re write your opinions of teenagers - they were great; polite, articulate and very well informed about their school. Intertwined with all this they have been to Kents Cavern, Cockington Court, Living Coasts and a number of pubs and clubs around the bay. Several of our Work Placements made themselves available at short notice for visits and again spent time with the teachers.

In short...Thank You
If you have never been to any of these places, take the time to visit, the educational establishments are inspiring, the food is delicious and the venues are brilliant - but most of all they all prove one thing;
South Devon is a great place to be!

Election Fever and Global Opportunity

"Mauritius was made first, and then heaven was copied after Mauritius"

The UK has been deeply distracted with election fever for the last few months and today the calm is settling after a very exciting political storm.  The Conservative party remains in the driving seat and whilst consistency is a good thing we’ll watch with interest as they follow up on their promise of an EU referendum. 

Here at The Training Partnership though, we've been setting our sights further afield, developing some much needed Skype skills and meeting new people through the wonders of technology (better late than never).

Future collaborations are on the cards with Mauritius, Paraguay and Ecuador.

Mauritius is looking good!

Contracts have been signed with Alumno Astralis, a brilliant organisation based in the Indian Ocean offering internships to young people from all over the world.  This is an ideal location for those looking to gain valuable experience abroad, the dominant languages are English and French and the capital Port Louis is particularly well known for its financial centre.

Global Trainee is a new start up company based in Asuncion who are passionate about travel and education and are dedicated to broadening horizons for their young people.  Their focus is on tourism industry helping students who need to undertake a work placement to complete their studies.  Their Summer season is our Winter so complements brilliantly our seasonal tourism industry.

In total contrast we have been in discussions with the Ecuador subsidiary of Academical Travels, a massive player in the youth travel industry.  They are based in Cologne, Germany but have a presence in other countries specialising in internships, volunteering and adventure programmes.
These are exciting times for our country and for us, long may we embrace the challenges and continue to make new friends from across the globe. In the words of Alan Watts "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

What a week!

This week we have had two delegate visits and a teacher here to see how her students are getting on!

We were really pleased to welcome back yet again a group of student nurses from Quimper in France. They enjoyed an active program of talks and demonstrations - including the now traditional 'event' at the Horizon Centre at Torbay Hospital.

We also had a group of teachers here from Croatia who will send us their students next year. We arranged for them to see both Exeter and South Devon College, the exciting South West Energy Centre, the amazing Embercombe and ended with an enlightening tour of Torquay Academy. All this was mixed in with visits to Kents Cavern and Torre Abbey, and a couple of classroom sessions covering Cross Cultural Communication and Business English!

In the midst of all this we welcomed back Imke, she has sent us yet another group of German students and we took her out and about to visit them.

We also sad a sad farewell to Ashleigh, our Work Experience student from South Devon College - she has been a real star!

Finally...HAPPY BIRTHDAY Gemma... 30 years young on Monday! Have a great day Gem xxx

Fun and Football for our students

We recently began an exciting working relationship with Torquay United - 'The Gulls', our local, and much loved football team. What a great start it has been with Pierre really enjoying his placement (more from him in a future blog!), so much so that they gave us some tickets for the up coming game against Lincoln (Tuesday 14th April, evening KO at 19:45). We asked our students to produce a funny picture at last weeks Student Meeting at Red Rocks...

Our favorite two are included here - brilliant! Anyone would think that the English are known for queuing - and what is more English than a Beach Hut! There is also a great picture form Paignton Zoo (at this weeks student meeting) where the lucky photographers received their tickets.

Thanks again to Andy at TUFC!

While I have your attention: Don't miss YELLOWFEST - an fantastic music event on the 9th May at Plainmoor!

See you there!