Malgrat la pandèmia i les seves restriccions, la Rut Soler, alumna de 3r d’ESO C, ha pogut fer realitat una experiència que li rondava pel cap des de ja feia temps: anar a estudiar a Irlanda per tal de poder practicar l’anglès. De fet, la seva idea inicial era estar-s’hi només un trimestre, però l’aventura irlandesa estava essent tan enriquidora, que va decidir allargar la seva estada, i quedar-s’hi fins al final del 2n trimestre.
Ara, que ja la tornem a tenir a l’institut per fer el 3r trimestre aquí, ens explica diversos aspectes sobre la seva experiència.
Com és que vas prendre la decisió d’anar a estudiar a Irlanda?
R: Tres anys enrere, un dia tot llegint la premsa, vaig veure un article sobre la idea d’anar a estudiar a fora, i em va semblar molt interessant, tot i que inicialment no vaig plantejar-me fer-ho de veritat. Al cap d’un temps de pensar-hi, ho vaig comentar als meus pares i els va semblar una bona idea, o sigui que van buscar una agència per posar-ho en marxa. En aquell moment, la coordinadora em va dir que seria millor fer-ho l’any següent, perquè llavors tenia 12 anys. Vaig esperar pacientment, i encara que m’havia plantejat abandonar la idea, finalment es va tirar endavant i vaig marxar al setembre de 2020.
Per quant temps tenies pensat anar-hi? Ho vas complir?
R: Al començament només hi havia d’anar pel primer trimestre, però em va passar molt ràpid i ho estava gaudint tant, que vaig decidir quedar-m’hi més temps. M’hagués agradat fer tot el curs a Irlanda, però havia de recuperar 3r d’ESO aquí, i vaig haver de tornar per Setmana Santa per fer el tercer trimestre, i fer els continguts de les assignatures que no havia fet allà.
En què va consistir, exactament, la teva estada allà?
R: Personalment, anava allà per conèixer una nova cultura i manera de viure, alhora de millorar el meu nivell d’anglès. Vaig estar vivint a Kinsale, amb una família de quatre germans, tots més o menys de la meva edat. Tenia una rutina molt simple: durant la setmana anava a l’institut als matins, i a la tarda feia deures i jugava amb els germans o anava a caminar amb la mare. Els dimecres feia classes d’hípica, i els dissabtes al matí, rugbi. Durant els caps de setmana, al primer trimestre anàvem a Cork, o a visitar qualsevol altre poble de la zona. Al segon trimestre, com que estàvem confinats, vam aprendre a entretenir-nos jugant a casa o cuinant.
Allà, anava a l’institut “Kinsale Community School”, el qual té més de 1.000 estudiants. Fèiem classes de quaranta minuts, i dinàvem allà. A part de totes les assignatures obligatòries, teníem tres optatives, i jo vaig triar “Home Economics”, que estudiàvem la nutrició i cuinàvem, “Woodwork”, que treballàvem amb fusta, i francès. M’agradava molt el sistema educatiu d’allà, i tots els professors es portaven bé amb mi.
A l’institut també vaig fer un grup de cinc amigues, format per tres irlandeses i dues espanyoles, amb les quals quedava cada setmana després de l’institut.
Irlanda em va encantar pel paisatge i la gent. Està ple de prats verds i pobles a la vora del mar, que semblen trets d’una postal, i la gent sempre es preocupa pels altres i és molt simpàtica. D’altra banda, el temps i el menjar eren els pitjors aspectes; cada dia estava plovent o feia vent, i tenir sol era molt estrany. Els àpats eren a base de patates, carn i verdures, cosa que a mi m’avorria una mica, però es podia menjar.
I pel que fa a la família, eren gent molt activa, tots feien algun tipus d’esport i sempre em portaven a fer volts o a descobrir nous llocs. Estar amb ells em va encantar, i em van ajudar molt en tot.
Com et va afectar la Covid-19 un cop allà? Hi havia diferències en com va afectar aquí a Catalunya?
R: Al primer trimestre, com que no hi havien gaires casos de Covid, vam poder fer vida gairebé normal: les botigues estaven obertes, podíem anar a l’institut, i es podia quedar mínimament amb els amics. Però tot això va canviar després de Nadal, ja que els casos van pujar molt i el govern va anunciar el confinament total i, per tant, el tancament de les escoles. Vaig haver de fer tot el segon trimestre online, i òbviament no vaig estar contenta, ja que no podíem sortir del nostre poble. Tot i així, vaig decidir quedar-me igualment perquè estava molt a gust amb la família i em va anar molt bé per acabar de millorar el meu anglès. Tot i que fer aquest experiència durant la pandèmia ha estat més complicat i m’he hagut de perdre moltes coses, estic contenta del resultat i de tot el que vaig poder fer malgrat la situació.
Repetiries l’experiència? La recomanes? Què n’has après?
R: Estudiar set mesos en un altre país ha sigut el repte més gran de la meva vida, però també ha sigut el millor que he fet mai. He hagut de superar moltes adversitats sola durant aquest temps, però només m’emporto les coses positives. He crescut molt com a persona i sóc molt més autònoma i independent. Ara afronto els problemes de manera diferent i tinc una ment més positiva. He recuperat la motivació i he descobert el que realment m’apassiona: viatjar. A més a més, he après que sóc capaç d’adaptar-me a noves situacions fàcilment i a comunicar-me amb les persones. És a dir, que repetiria l’experiència sense pensar-m’ho. Ara bé, afortunadament, jo vaig tenir una molt bona família i no em va costar gaire fer amics, però també coneixo molta gent que no ha tingut tanta sort. Per això, jo recomanaria l’experiència a gent que de veritat tingui interès a fer-ho i estigui motivat/da. D’altra banda, per fer-ho també aconsellaria tenir un bon nivell d’anglès, ja que pot ser difícil entendre les coses, i si no tens coneixements previs de la llengua, els primers dies pot ser molt estressant.
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A més de l’entrevista que acabeu de llegir, la Rut també ha escrit una redacció en anglès explicant-nos tot el que va estar fent a Irlanda al llarg de la seva estada allà.
IRELAND
I’m Rut Soler, I’m 14 years old and I have been studying abroad for four months now.
I flew to Ireland on the 25th August 2020, but I had to quarantine due to covid 19. I was only supposed to stay for one term, but I loved it so I came back two weeks ago and I’m going to stay until March.
I’m living in Kinsale, a small town in the south of Ireland 30 minutes away from Cork. I have four host brothers, the youngest are 12, the middle brother is 15 and the oldest 16. I was quite scared at first because I only have one sister, so it was a big difference for me, but they are all friendly and it is so fun to be around them. My host parents are so nice and caring, especially my host mum who has showed me a lot of places and helps me with everything. I have learned a lot of things with them. I know some words in Irish, a lot of irish culture, how to play rugby, and the most important thing: my English level has improved and now I don’t even have to think about what I want to say.
The house I am staying in is quite big, as well as my bedroom, which has a double bed and a private bathroom.
My life here is busy: during the week, after school I do homework and we go for a walk nearly every day, plus I have horse riding lessons on Wednesdays. Before lockdown, we used to do day-trips and visit new places each weekend, and although they have heightened the restrictions later, we got to do cool things inside our county. I also started playing rugby on Saturdays, which I love now.
Kinsale’s population is about 6000 people and it is important for its historical meaning. The battle of Kinsale was fought in 1601, which was the decisive brawl that made the English win. This pretty little town is also recognized as the Gourmet capital of Ireland, because it has some of the best restaurants in the country. There are 4 big hotels and lots of airbnbs in Kinsale, as it is one of the main tourist attractions in all of Ireland. The scenery is beautiful, next to the ocean, the harbour is always full of fishing and sailing boats, as well as all the green fields. I’ve found out that, even though the weather is not nice, as it rains a lot and it is usually cloudy or windy, Irish people still manage to do a lot of outdoor activities such as swimming in the sea, cycling, running… and most of them are involved in a sport like rugby, GAA or soccer.
Ireland has been an amazing place to do this experience. Irish people are so kind, honest as well as adventurous and fun loving. Ireland is popular for its traditional music, leprechauns and the lucky shamrocks. It has a lot of beautiful towns and shops.
I am currently in 2nd year in Kinsale Community School, which is a big school that has around 1000 students. It consists of two buildings with more than 50 classrooms, a huge gym and canteen, apart from two sports pitches and green areas. I’m still not used to how big it is, but I really like the education system. We start at 8:45 and the lessons are 40 minutes long. We have a 10 minutes break on the 3rd period and lunch time is at 1:25, at that time we can go outside, or inside the canteen, where they sell fresh meals and desserts. On Wednesdays, we have a half day and we finish at 12:45. We have 8 mandatory subjects and three others that we have to choose. I chose Home Economics, Woodwork and French as option subjects.
The first weeks, I had to pay a lot of attention in class to be able to understand what the teacher was saying, but as the days went on I started getting used to it and now it feels completely normal to have classes in English. My favourite subject is Home Economics as every Monday, we get to cook something in class and bring it home. The teachers are really nice and they always help me if I have a problem.
This experience has also allowed me to meet a lot of new people, which includes making new friends. The first week of school, I was only going around with a girl that was assigned to me to help me settle in. However, the second week, I started being more independent and less shy so I made new friends from my class. I have a lovely friend group now, with five girls, three are irish and two spanish. We always eat together at lunch time, and before lockdown, we used to hang out nearly every Friday. Apart from them, I am also friendly with many people from my class, my rugby team and my equestrian centre. When I go for walks, we always meet my host-mother’s friends and neighbours so I know a lot of them too.
So in a nutshell, it has been such a positive experience that has opened my mind. Studying in another country and living a completely different lifestyle has brought me to the conclusion that you don’t know how good or bad your life is until it changes and you will only appreciate what you have when you’re missing it. I’ve also found out about what I’m interested in: now I know that travelling is my passion as well as discovering new things and that I am good at communicating with others, adapting to new situations and circumstances. For a lot of people, living in another country at such a young age, for this long and without their parents would be challenging. However, for me it has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am so happy with how I’ve settled in here and all the things that I have learned. I’m so grateful to my host family that has made everything easier and better, they have helped me to fit in perfectly and made me enjoy every single moment in Ireland. My experience is still not finished, yet I already know that it will be as good as it has been until now, I will never forget all the things I’ve enjoyed while living here and I am really looking forward to coming back in the future.
Des de l’Institut del Ter estem molt contents i orgullosos de la Rut, i esperem que no sigui l’última alumna del centre que pot gaudir d’una experiència així!
