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Contact UsJulie Piret-Gerard's student blog
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Hello! I’m Julie and I’ve been studying at the Bell language school in Cambridge since the end of September 2006. I’m taking the CAE exam in June which means that I will have been in England for 9 months. I live with two other girls (one from Spain, and the other from Turkey) with a host family, which is very nice. There are around five other host families in my street, which is great as the students can meet and spend time together to practise English! So far I have really enjoyed my time at the Bell School. I’ve been doing a lot of activities through the social programme and going to different places with my friends. I have met so many people from all over the world because there is a lot of new students every week. Living abroad for a year to learn a language is a wonderful experience, which has had a very positive effect on my life and I’m sure it will give me many advantages in the future. Over the next few months I’ll be updating this blog with personal experiences, but hopefully it will give you a real taste of the what life is like in the UK.
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June 2007 - Last nightThe school had organized a huge BBQ party and as the weather was fine we really could enjoy our last moments together. We laughed and cried, so it was particularly emotional, but a night I’ll always remember.
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June 2007 - Class dinnerFinally the exams are over and the two CAE classes decided to have a dinner at a great restaurant. The only thought on our minds was enjoying ourselves before going home. And the restaurant was just the start.
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May 2007 - Host familyI always lived with 3 other girls in my host family where I stayed for 9 months. I lived with a Turkish girl, Spanish girl, Korean girl, and a Swiss girl. I really enjoyed myself with each of my housemates. It was a wonderful experience to live with them and with my host family. Patrick and Gillian, my host family, are very nice people and every evening we always had great conversation over one of Gillian’s fantastic meals.
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May 2007 - Studying for CAEThe CAE (Certificate of Advanced English) is an exam that is given by the University of Cambridge and I took it in June. It has 5 different parts: speaking, listening, writing, reading and use of English. In my opinion, the area which is the most difficult is use of English and speaking is the easiest. The advice I would give to anyone taking this exam is to read a lot because it’s good for improving your vocabulary and writing skills. And of course speaking only in ENGLISH because it’s very easy to find somebody that can speak your language.
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April 2007 - Windsor Castle and Eton CollegeWindsor Castle is wonderful, but thanks to the Queen who was there we couldn’t even go in the castle! Actually it was her birthday so the castle was closed to all visitors. Anyway, we went to visit the gardens and they were very beautiful. Do you know that Eton College is the place where Prince Harry and Prince William went to high school? I hadn’t known that until I went to visit it! A great experience as all the students were in the College while we were visiting. It gives a really good impression of a prestigious English education.
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April 2007 - English cream teaIn the beautiful gardens of the Cambridge Bell School, a group of Colombian, Belgian Swiss, Thai and Japanese girls are having a typical English cream team. We made the scones ourselves!
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April 2007 - Country walkTwo South Koreans and I have decided to go for a walk after the country pub tour organised by the social programme. Walking in the English countryside is a fantastic experience as the views are marvellous.
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6 April 2007 - Georgina boat trip on the river CamWhile the boys are drinking and eating, the girls prefer to be outside sunbathing. And of course we couldn’t resist imitating this very famous scene from the film Titanic.
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2 April 2007 - BowlingGoing bowling is a great activity. It is organised once a month by the Bell social programme organisers. Nearly all of us are bad at it, so we really have fun every time we go. The boys are used to teaching to the girls the different strategies to beat the other teams.
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3 March 2007 - Quiet time at the English coastOne Saturday morning the weather was so nice that we decided to go to a seaside resort for a day. It was really good fun.
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14 February 2007 - Valentine's day funFor valentines day the girls in our group decided to go out together for dinner, whilst the boys were left in the school residence cooking for themselves!
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January 2007 - Ice-skatingIce-skating was organised as part of the social programme and it’s a brilliant thing to do with friends if you want a laugh and to have fun.
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5 December 2006 - Goodbye English styleWe said goodbye to two of our classmates. We went to the Eagle pub (where Crick and Watson went to drink during the period they were working on the structure of DNA) to eat a traditional English dish - fish and chips!
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5 November 2006 - Guy Fawkes night, Bonfires and toffee applesWe decided to go to the fair in Cambridge for Guy Fawkes’ night. There was a huge firework display and a bonfire. It was a fantastic night because we really enjoyed ourselves and because we found out about a typical English tradition.
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October 2006 - Class timeThis was the intermediate level class that I was in until the end of October. Our teacher is called Tina (in the pink skirt). I really learned a lot of things in this class.
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September 2006 - A well-deserved breakMe with friends in the School garden between lessons enjoying the end of the summer.
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September 2006 - Punting on the river CamPunting is a great activity because the view is simply fantastic! It was organised as part of the social programme. It’s really worth doing!
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Name: Julie Piret-Gerard
