Case Studies - Working Abroad

Are you interested in applying for an ectarc Leonardo placement? Here are some case studies written by our Leonardo participants to inspire you! (Just click on the city that interests you.)

Bordeaux
Berlin
Seville
Florence
Barcelona

Berlin, Checking out Checkpoint Charlie

I came to Berlin straight out of university, excited to be doing something new but not knowing what to expect. My placement was in the Berlin MauerMuseum (Checkpoint Charlie) where I spent most of my time dealing with tourists and customers and working on general day-to-day mainrenance at the museum. Through this placement and my time on the Leonardo programme I learned an enormous amount about the culture, history and realities of everyday life in Berlin and Germany. I also got the chance to meet lots of friendly, interesting people from all over the world and greatly improve my German (which before the programme was extremely limited). To sum up, the Leonardo programme gave me the chance to explore a new country, learn about a new culture, learn a new language, become much more confident, driven and employable and live three months of my life in one of the greatest cities in the world!

However, great as it was, for me it wasn't enough and so, eight months on, I'm about to head back to Berlin to teach English as a foreign language. Were it not for Leonardo, I would probably never even have considered doing this, so I undoubtedly wouldn't be where I am today.

Gwilym Piette, Berlin, September-December 2009

Bordeaux - designing my future

 While I had done a few freelance projects since graduating from university, I was itching to get back to the drawing board and begin my professional career as an Interior Architect - an opportunity which the Leonardo programme offered me, along with the added bonuses of living in a new culture and improving my French. In Bordeaux I worked as an Interior Architect for an international commercial architecture company, on a variety of projects including Booth Architecture, Shop and Boutique Design and Branding. I was treated as an integral part of the design team, not just as a 'stageaire' (trainee), and produced designs and concepts which were commissioned to be built for four companies across Europe - in Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Bologna. I learnt some necessary negotiation and compromise skills and, as a result, I have become a more confident designer.

The Leonardo participants became a close-knit group of friends of many nationalities; socialising in the evenings after work and making the most of all the culture around us at the weekends. Living with a French family who didn't speak a word of English was challenging in the early weeks but, thanks to their patience and commitment to involving me in their family life, along with the French lessons at the beginning of the programme, my confidence and comprehension quickly progressed.

Back in Cardiff, I am now working as an Interior Architect. I am sure that the experience I gained working in Bordeaux contributed greatly to me finding a job in the profession that I love. I am also looking forward to starting French night classes in order to maintain and advance the level of French I reached during the 3 months in France, in the hope that I will return to work there in a few years' time. The Leonardo experience has given me confidence in my abilities and helped me to reassess my priorities, worries and goals. I am ready to face anything that the world throws my way!

Sarah McCall, Bordeaux, April-July 2010

 
Seville - la energia de Sevilla
 

I think I can genuinely claim my experience in Seville to have been one of the best I have ever had! Armed with a dictionary and a very limited vocabulary, I was both excited and extremely daunted when I arrived. However, with a little confidence and a lot of language study,

I found that my Spanish came on in leaps and bounds, so don't let language difficulties put you off...after all, it is one of the main reasons to be doing the programme in the first place. It's also a great excuse for plenty of socialising! Don't be surprised if you find you relate very well to the often-repeated Spanish phrase 'poco a poco' (little by little).

I worked at a Foundation in Seville called 'Fundomar' that works with immigrants to try and help them integrate culturally and socially into Spanish life. Fundomar helps them in their search for employment and, among other things,provides Spanish language workshops and IT workshops. It also does a lot of work with elderly people, so there was always plenty to keep me busy. The people I worked with were lovely and showed a great deal of patience and understanding over my slowly-developing Spanish.

It was the combination of gaining experience in a non-profit organisation and improving my Spanish, while living in the amazing city of Seville, that made the experience so extraordinary for me. Seville is a wonderfully multi-cultural place with a lot of energy and life.. I was always busy doing things I loved - working at Fundomar, meeting friends, visiting different places around Andalucia, and, of course, dancing. Dancing is my passion, and Seville is not short of places to learn different styles and dance the night away! There will, of course, be days when it feels as though the world is working against you, but just persevere, remember that you are not alone, and all will soon come right.

My placement in Seville showed me how much I liked to work working in the non-profit sector and made me realise that I want to develop my Spanish further. I am hoping to go back to Spain in 2011 to do some more work in the charity sector.

Dominica Tickner, Seville, September-December 2009
 
  

Barcelona - fiesta time!
 

My work placement was in Palafrugell, about two hours by bus north of Barcelona. It's a small, peaceful town where Catalans come to spend their holidays on beautiful beaches. My work, in a social centre run by the 'ajuntamiento' (council), was interesting and varied. When I arrived , it was fiesta time - all the towns and villages have their own fiesta which lasts about four days and ends with everyone having a day off.

Part of my role involved helping visitors and visiting bands with things they needed during the day - evenings were free to enjoy the fun! I also worked on a summer school for children where we made a short film, visited beaches and adventure parks, played games and encouraged the young people to speak English - sometimes, it didn't feel like work at all. After the summer school, I did language-learning activities with younger children from local primary school. I'd never done anything like this before, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

On occasions, I was given the task of filming for the ajuntamiento's website. I filmed people using the climbing wall at the social centre and also the activities enjoyed by young people at a summer camp in the mountains.

The placement gave me the opportunity to discover skills I didn't know I had, and the responsibility I was entrusted with helped me to develop them. I'm now studying for a degree, part of which involves teaching English and, after working with the children in Palafrugell, I know I will be confident in teaching young people. I think this may turn out to be a career choice!

Nadine Linton, Barcelona
  

Florence - finding the real Italy
 

I worked on a number of different projects at a graphic design consultancy called Studio Zack and gained skills in designing brochures and booklets in particular. My colleagues were friendly and helpful and, through them, I also experienced a variety of aspects of Italian life such as eating in typical restaurants and riding a scooter.

Another aspect of my stay which gave me the opportunity to get to grips with the 'real' Italy, was living with an Italian landlady, Tuillia. We got on well and laughed a lot! I felt very much at home in her flat; I had a lovely, big room and she was always on hand to answer my queries about life in Florence. I miss her and really feel that I was able to experience more of the Italian culture and way of life by living with an Italian.

My time at the language school gave me the chance to get to know people from other countries and sometimes we organised trips together, such as a Welsh and Spanish group visit to Venice.

The benefits of the programme, for me, include acquiring day-to-day Italian, learning to adapt quickly to new surroundings and performing a technical job in a new and unfamiliar environment. When I got back to Wales I felt I could do anything. I was delighted to be offered a job by my 'dream' company and am now working for them in Cardiff.

The Leonardo programme was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to young people who want to explore and learn at the same time. It's definitely been the biggest and most fun challenge I've been part of - I brought home skills to hep me build a career, language skills and lots of new friends and experiences.

 Claire Finch, Florence

Florence - Can I do it all over again?!
 

I felt extremely fortunate to be given a placement at stables providing horse-riding classes for disabled students. It truly combined everything of importance to me, as it was an opportunity to work with people, to learn Italian, and to work with animals. I worked both behind the scenes preparing the horses and in the students' lessons in the afternoons from Monday to Friday. My main tasks included brushing the horses, picking their hooves, tacking them up (putting on the saddle and bridle) and putting on their horse coats when cold. I was fortunate enough to build a strong bond with the students and assisted them with their individual needs. Occasionally young Italian volunteers would come to help and I would guide them in their tasks and made sure the team worked efficiently - i felt valued as a worker on the placement and had a lot of responsibilities, I loved going to work every day!

Despite there being a language barrier between us myself and my co-workers, as well as the students, managed to communicate well. I heard a lot of Italian there and am fluent in Spanish so was able to understand fairly well despite being a beginner. My advice to others would be to learn as much as possible before you go, as I benefited greatly from my language 'advantage'. The Italian classes organised by the Leonardo programme were a good introduction to the language at the start, and I decided to carry on studying it after finding an affordable language school (where I met students from all over the world). I had a full social life and made firm friends with other Leonardo participants; we enjoyed many trips together to places such as Sienna, San Gimignano and Lucca. I found it takes time to form bonds with local people as they are quite happy going about their daily lives, but as I really wanted to do so I arranged one-to-one language exchanges through contacts I found in the local paper/on a social networking site. I certainly had to make an effort but decided I should embrace every opportunity; I even arranged to volunteer some Saturdays at the local Zoology museum!

The project has spurred me on to continue with my passion for learning languages and I intend to follow night classes to further improve my Italian. It has also encouraged me to help out at the local horse stables in my free time, as it's a good way to keep fit and keep in touch with horses.

Swyn Angharad Spencer, Florence