Csaba et Marta, 4 mois au CFA de Marguerittes !
ESC Story by Csaba Hegedűs from Hungary
"Welcome on board!
It’s the captain, Csaba Hegedűs speaking.
I’d like to ask you to fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a wonderful journey to Nimes, South of France. Until we arrive please sit back, relax and enjoy your flight."
In September 2019 I was ready to spend the upcoming one year in Nimes, France in order to learn French, experience living abroad and undergo personal development. To try myself I decided to apply as a volunteer for Maison de L’Europe’s ESC (European Solidarity Corps) programme. After I got accepted, I became a member of an international group of volunteers and also started working at CFA Marguerittes in a vocational high-school as an English teaching assistant. My tasks consist of visiting English classes, holding presentations about Europe and the European Union, presenting my homeland: Hungary. I really enjoy being at school, because I can engage with French students, make fun with them and at the same time provoking them to speak English with me. On the other hand, since my school has its own restaurant and its professional chefs I have the chance to try out the amazing French cuisine on a weekly basis, and I also met with Michelin-star chefs! Besides school activities, I and my colleagues are currently working on a personal project, which consists of the application and the future implementation of an international youth exchange. Lovely, isn’t it?
Although my experience sounds a pretty smooth and cool one, I also had my own difficulties, by means of being far from home, family, friends or struggling with the language. Even tough, I had visited several countries before, and I have solid English skills, France was a different one. When I arrived, I realised that my French ”knowledge” was far from adequate which means I could barely understand anything and was difficult to express myself. But still my goal was to improve my French, so I had to try harder and harder day by day which means after 3 month of headaches and difficulties I was able to hold my last evaluation session in French. With this paragraph I would like to emphasize that personal development only hap
pens if you overcome barriers and face difficulties, and that was one of my goals before coming here.
Marta, Espagne (Andalousie)
En septembre dernier, j'ai commencé une nouvelle aventure dans ma vie, mon volontariat européen.
Cette opportunité m'était complètement inconnue jusqu'à il y a quelques mois.
Je suis reconnaissante de l'avoir rencontrée, parce que c'est une période très enrichissante dans ma vie.
J'apprends rapidement une nouvelle langue, une autre culture, gastronomie, éducation ... ce qui me permet un grand développement personnel.
Je fais mon volontaire dans un lycée professionnel à Marguerittes, là j'aide des professeurs d'espagnol à enseigner cette langue, en plus de participer à d'autres activités d'enseignement non formel.
Tout le monde dans l'organisation est très accueillant et nous donne une liberté absolue pour offrir d'activités.
En plus d'aide au lycée, je travaille à la Maison de l'Europe en réalisant divers projets, principalement linguistiques et culturels.
Il n'y a pas de temps pour s'ennuyer!
C'est un apprentissage personnel et professionnel continu.
