Hi, I’m Francesca, eighteen years old, and I come from Padua, and old University City in the north-east of Italy, near Venice.  In Padua I will be attending the 5^th year at Pietro Scalcerle High School, a language Institute where I study English, German and Spanish.

Padua is a very nice and friendly city, since it’s populated by many young people who go to University there. It has a very important history because of its ancient Roman origins and it’s also known thanks to Galileo Galilei, who spent some time there as a Professor at Uni.

I arrived here in Durham about one week ago, on the 28^th of August and I’m currently working as an intern at Durham County Council Hall, more precisely at the International Office. Everyone here is very kind and friendly with me and Valentina, my Italian co-worker, and we are given many tasks to do such as working with the computer, doing researches, attending meetings and other more general administrative work.

Durham is very different from Padua, but both cities are nice and welcoming. Durham has a sort of mysterious aura and maybe that’s why I like it a lot: it’s surrounded by nature and, with the Castle and the majestic Cathedral, it looks like it’s controlling the entire world. Moreover, the town’s narrow streets, full of cafes and shops, together with the riverside, are a good place to relax, talk with friends, or simply enjoy the breath-taking landscape.

I think this work experience has helped me a lot, in terms of the language and the technical abilities acquired with it.

I truly hope to be back here in Durham very soon!

Bye for now,

Francesca

 

 

Hello, I’m Valentina, I’m seventeen and I’m from Padua, a really nice city near Venice. In Padua I’ve attended the 4^th year at Fusinato, a language High school where I study English, Spanish and Chinese, even if I don’t speak the last one very well because it’s very difficult. My city is an important historical and cultural site because of “Prato della Valle” and “Il Santo” that are always visited by many tourists.

I arrived here in Durham on the 28^th of August and I work as an intern at County Hall’s International Office with Francesca and many friendly and kind people. In this office I do all the sort of things, for instance packing envelopes, making photocopies and writing e-mails and power points on the computer. Francesca and I also have to prepare a sort of short film to encourage the study of foreign languages; fundamental knowledges that everybody should have.

So far, I haven’t met a lot of people, but with my Italian friends I’ve visited the Castle and the Cathedral, two beautiful places full of history where some scenes of the Harry Potter movie were filmed.

In this city there are a lot of tea rooms, libraries and theatres where you spend your free time after work or during the weekend.

I like Durham very much because, even if it’s not a huge city, it’s very welcoming and it is amazing walking surrounded by nature.

I will be leaving on the 19^th of September and by then I hope I’ll improve my language and abilities.

This has been a beautiful experience and opportunity to enter the work world and I hope to come back to Durham in the future.

See you soon,

Valentina

 

 

 

This is a short film about the importance of languages in the workplace, hope you will enjoy it!