Maree is one of the Human Resource managers at a leading hotel in Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand. We have just sent her our first Australian participant called Ali. Ali went to work in Food and Beverage in the hotel. Maree writes:
'Yes we are very sad to hear that Ali is heading back home. She has been a delight to have at the Heritage and has been a great asset to the housekeeping team. Ali has an excellent work ethic, an exhuberant personality and the abilty to energise all those around her. She worked well with a very diverse, multicultural team and her positivity and enthusiasm will be missed.
We would certainly love to welcome more students from Changing Worlds.'
Ali has set the standard for others to follow...up for the challenge? Do hit the link above to find out more...
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Sam is having fun in Honduras and is staying longer!
Sam is presently in San Pedro Sula in Honduras. She went out in early January 2009 and writes:
'Hola!
Buenas Dias! ¿como esta?
Just thought I would send you a message as I haven´t done so and really should have done sorry, have got carried away and have settled in so easily and quickly that i´ve forgotton i´m away from home and that there are people to contact back in good old England. First of all thank you so much for accepting my application to work with Changing Worlds, I am so pleased that i have been able to be apart of this organisation as i am loving my time here in Honduras. I have fitted so easily into the family, i really do feel like they are my family, i now have a new mum, two sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles and we talk alot, laugh alot and joke around alot. it feels like i have been here more than two months, its my new little life at the moment lol. My spanish is picking up really well, i speak only in Spanish to my family now. At first when i didnt know any they all tried to speak to us in English but as i´ve gradually picked up the spanish Arely speaks less and less English to us and now to me she speaks only in Spanish. I can order my own taxis now, and Arely even makes me answer the house phone too now where as before it would be a case of fetching it and running around the house until we could find someone to answer it for us. Hannahs Spanish is good but she is struggling more, luckily for me because i´m so social and a bit crazy i talk to lots of people which helps with practicising my spanish. Our cousin for example helps me alot by teaching me new words and phrases, i dont always speak grammatically correct but it´s near enough lol, they get the gist. The Fransisco Morazan school is great, the children are cheeky, funny and actually interested in learning English. When we walk into the lessons they cheer and clap and enjoy our sessions. There are the odd few children who dont enjoy English but we´re slowly but surely winning them over and even they are starting to actually look forward to us interrupting their other lessons hehe. Hannah and I teach together which is really good, we work really well together. We teach by ourselves also which is good because we get to do things our own ways but together we are much more successful as it flows because as one is teaching the other can write up the next task etc. We´re really enjoying it which for me is surprising because i didnt initially sign up to teach and was really nervous about doing it but now am really pleased i am. I have also been asked to teach at another school, where my aunt works. She saw me teaching one day and asked if i´d help her out too so i do that on monday mondays instead of Morazan which is a nice change. The children are different, they know less english but are willing to learn. they are alot calmer than the Morazan children which is a nice change from time to time.
Hannah and I are leaving for Roatan on wednesday with our two sisters and their friends for Semana Santa, luckily for us it is a paid trip, we only have to contribute to travelling there and a few drinks. They wanted us to come and so even though it is an expensive island have decided they are paying for our accommodation and food which is amazing of them, we´re so excited.
We have already been to Utila in our second week of being in Honduras and are planning to go again for a week at the end of April or beginning of May because Hannah wants to learn to dive (sadly i cant afford it lol but i´m sure i´ll find something to do - louging on the beach sounds quite nice) and to fend for ourselves. Hopefully we can continue speaking spanish while we are there and practice with people that aren´t necessarily going to speak slower or know our level of spanish.
The first three weeks of June we are planning to live in Copan to visit the ruins and Kenny said he can set us up in another school to teach and an orphanage to work at. Currently we are not visiting the orphanage in san pedro sula because it is too expensive to travel there and back via taxi. We did it for about a month but then we only have limited allowances for each week and with having to pay for taxis after spanish lessons we´re short on money. Hopefully we can restart once our spanish lessons have run out.
I´ve been in touch with the next prospective volunteer, suzy ? She seems very keen and is already asking lots of questions and preparing herself. We have sent her a long email of everything she needs to know that we have learnt from our experience and hopefully that will help her. Are there no more volunteers coming to swap with us when we leave? Or when we leave is it not until suzy arrives in january that they will have volunteers working here?
Anyway, I cant think of what else to tell you. Our "mum" is currently ill, I dont know if you know. She had to go into hospital as she somewhat collapsed and has been diagnosed to have Vertigo. She was practically bedstricken but is now alot better, she is walking around and although gets dizzy very easily and needs help back into bed she is on the mend. Its been nice though because the family is constantly in and out of the house visiting and socialising. Definatly helping our spanish improve.
Thanks again for allowing me to have this experience, i am definatly staying for the extended trip of six months. I dont think three months would have been enough, it already feels like i have so little time left here lol.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Take care and hope to keep in touch with future updates.
Samantha
If you would like to contact us about Honduras then do hit the link above.
'Hola!
Buenas Dias! ¿como esta?
Just thought I would send you a message as I haven´t done so and really should have done sorry, have got carried away and have settled in so easily and quickly that i´ve forgotton i´m away from home and that there are people to contact back in good old England. First of all thank you so much for accepting my application to work with Changing Worlds, I am so pleased that i have been able to be apart of this organisation as i am loving my time here in Honduras. I have fitted so easily into the family, i really do feel like they are my family, i now have a new mum, two sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles and we talk alot, laugh alot and joke around alot. it feels like i have been here more than two months, its my new little life at the moment lol. My spanish is picking up really well, i speak only in Spanish to my family now. At first when i didnt know any they all tried to speak to us in English but as i´ve gradually picked up the spanish Arely speaks less and less English to us and now to me she speaks only in Spanish. I can order my own taxis now, and Arely even makes me answer the house phone too now where as before it would be a case of fetching it and running around the house until we could find someone to answer it for us. Hannahs Spanish is good but she is struggling more, luckily for me because i´m so social and a bit crazy i talk to lots of people which helps with practicising my spanish. Our cousin for example helps me alot by teaching me new words and phrases, i dont always speak grammatically correct but it´s near enough lol, they get the gist. The Fransisco Morazan school is great, the children are cheeky, funny and actually interested in learning English. When we walk into the lessons they cheer and clap and enjoy our sessions. There are the odd few children who dont enjoy English but we´re slowly but surely winning them over and even they are starting to actually look forward to us interrupting their other lessons hehe. Hannah and I teach together which is really good, we work really well together. We teach by ourselves also which is good because we get to do things our own ways but together we are much more successful as it flows because as one is teaching the other can write up the next task etc. We´re really enjoying it which for me is surprising because i didnt initially sign up to teach and was really nervous about doing it but now am really pleased i am. I have also been asked to teach at another school, where my aunt works. She saw me teaching one day and asked if i´d help her out too so i do that on monday mondays instead of Morazan which is a nice change. The children are different, they know less english but are willing to learn. they are alot calmer than the Morazan children which is a nice change from time to time.
Hannah and I are leaving for Roatan on wednesday with our two sisters and their friends for Semana Santa, luckily for us it is a paid trip, we only have to contribute to travelling there and a few drinks. They wanted us to come and so even though it is an expensive island have decided they are paying for our accommodation and food which is amazing of them, we´re so excited.
We have already been to Utila in our second week of being in Honduras and are planning to go again for a week at the end of April or beginning of May because Hannah wants to learn to dive (sadly i cant afford it lol but i´m sure i´ll find something to do - louging on the beach sounds quite nice) and to fend for ourselves. Hopefully we can continue speaking spanish while we are there and practice with people that aren´t necessarily going to speak slower or know our level of spanish.
The first three weeks of June we are planning to live in Copan to visit the ruins and Kenny said he can set us up in another school to teach and an orphanage to work at. Currently we are not visiting the orphanage in san pedro sula because it is too expensive to travel there and back via taxi. We did it for about a month but then we only have limited allowances for each week and with having to pay for taxis after spanish lessons we´re short on money. Hopefully we can restart once our spanish lessons have run out.
I´ve been in touch with the next prospective volunteer, suzy ? She seems very keen and is already asking lots of questions and preparing herself. We have sent her a long email of everything she needs to know that we have learnt from our experience and hopefully that will help her. Are there no more volunteers coming to swap with us when we leave? Or when we leave is it not until suzy arrives in january that they will have volunteers working here?
Anyway, I cant think of what else to tell you. Our "mum" is currently ill, I dont know if you know. She had to go into hospital as she somewhat collapsed and has been diagnosed to have Vertigo. She was practically bedstricken but is now alot better, she is walking around and although gets dizzy very easily and needs help back into bed she is on the mend. Its been nice though because the family is constantly in and out of the house visiting and socialising. Definatly helping our spanish improve.
Thanks again for allowing me to have this experience, i am definatly staying for the extended trip of six months. I dont think three months would have been enough, it already feels like i have so little time left here lol.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Take care and hope to keep in touch with future updates.
Samantha
If you would like to contact us about Honduras then do hit the link above.
Labels:
changing worlds,
gap years,
honduras,
jobs abroad,
volunteering,
working abroad
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