EF anmeldelser: Lara fra Tyskland på EF Oxford

"Why a Language Trip?

I've always wanted to travel, meet new people, explore different cultures, and discover foreign countries. About 5 years ago, I started thinking about either going on a language trip or doing a year abroad but never made a decision.

After participating in a student exchange program with my school last year, I knew for sure that I had to do something like that again. Since I love learning or improving new languages and didn't want to just have a typical vacation, a language trip with EF was the perfect choice for me. I would even go so far as to say that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Traveling During the Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 situation, it wasn't certain whether my language trip would take place at all. While I could have postponed it to the next year or changed the destination to Malta or Switzerland, I wouldn't have been happy with that.

Then, I received a call about two weeks before my scheduled departure confirming the trip. I was ecstatic and already quite excited. The COVID-19 situation was very well managed in school and during activities (e.g., daily temperature checks), and it didn't significantly impact my language trip.

Flight & Arrival

I was fortunate that my course leader was on the same flight as me, so I didn't have to check-in independently, and I got to know her a bit. The flight itself went by incredibly quickly, and in London at the airport, we immediately met fellow students, with whom I quickly became friends, and an EF staff member.

We were then taken to the school in Oxford by bus, where local staff members were already waiting for us. There, we received our schedules, bus tickets, and further instructions. Since we arrived in the evening, we had a short stay at school, and then taxis picked us up and took us to our host families.

On the first day, we received more information, had our first class, and in the afternoon, we had a guided tour of Oxford. We also met our new classmates, additional staff, and other EF students, all of whom were very friendly and open.

Classes & Activities

Classes took place either in the morning or in the afternoon and were quite different from the English lessons I was used to at my school—much more relaxed, interesting, and fun. Since I joined a guided language trip, we had activities from morning to evening.

I thoroughly enjoyed the activities and the program, and everything was a lot of fun. Among other things, we went canoeing, punting, played games in the park, and went on several excursions.

Min værtsfamilie

Jeg boede sammen med en medstuderende i min værtsfamilie. På grund af COVID-19 var der kun plads til én studerende pr. værelse. Normalt kunne min værtsfamilie rumme op til 5 studerende på én gang.

Min værtsfamilie bestod af en værtsmor, en værtsfar og en værtshund. De var alle utroligt venlige og hjælpsomme. Den første aften forklarede vores værtsfar os alt om busser og køreplaner og understregede, at det ikke ville være et problem, hvis vi farede vild, og at de ville hente os med det samme. Da de tre uger var gået, var ikke kun vi, men også de, meget kede af, at tiden allerede var gået.

Mit højdepunkt og konklusion

Mit personlige højdepunkt var at lære så mange nye mennesker at kende fra forskellige lande, kulturer og aldersgrupper. Jeg nød især øjeblikkene med mine nye venner! Vi udvekslede alle vores kontaktoplysninger og er allerede i gang med at planlægge en genforening.

Turen gav mig mange nye og utroligt smukke minder og forbedrede mine sprogkundskaber. Desuden gjorde den mig mere selvstændig og berigede min personlighed.

Jeg er allerede i gang med at planlægge endnu en rejse med EF, og jeg vil anbefale det til alle.

Er du også interesseret i en sprogrejse? Læs alt om Oxford og vores EF-skoler. Du kan finde flere muligheder i udlandet for alle aldre og interesser her. Hvis du leder efter mere inspiration, så besøg os på Instagram!«