First 35 days with EVS, first 35 days in Leeds
Testimony of Lilla Lakatos
35 days ago my flight from Hungary landed in England. 35 days ago I was sitting on the train to Leeds wondering what life and my EVS would be in Leeds. Now I know it…
35 days ago I moved to my new home and met my housemates for the first time.
Summary of my new home: 1 Swedish girl, 1 Spanish girl, 1 Spanish guy, 1 Czech girl, 1 EVS house. I live together with three new EVS volunteers who also came for this 11 months and a former volunteer who works for our co-ordinating organization. We live in a huge, 4 floored EVS house and I have my own room on the top floor with an excellent view on the charming Victorian row houses in the neighbourhood. Our house is situated in a lovely student area and close to the city centre.
The atmosphere in the house couldn’t be better; I love Eva’s excitement on Sundays during the Downton Abbey TV drama and I love to listen to Rebecka playing her guitar or singing our own “EVS House Anthem”. I also love to watch Marcos (aka the Man of the House) cooking or baking one of his special Spanish meals or cakes and I love Barbora’s never ending enthusiasm about hiking and scouting. Last week, we visited the town of Skipton and there are many other awesome trips to come!
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| Marcos, Rebecka and Barbora in Skipton |
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| Rebecka and me in Malvern |
35 days ago I arrived to Leeds and to the North of England for the first time.
Leeds. A few years ago I didn’t even know where Leeds was. Well, now I know exactly: Leeds is in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, North of England, England, United Kingdom, Western Europe, Europe, Planet Earth. Coordinates: 53°48′07.67″N 1°32′49.40″W. Population 750,000 that makes it the third most populous city in England. Leeds is a very lively city with a large student population. People are generally really helpful and kind. Besides, there is always a bunch of things to do so you can find whatever you are looking for from concerts, to museums and shopping.
On my first day, the most striking “Leedsness” was the so-called Yorkshire accent. I am keen on accents so I love to listen to the strangers on the bus and my colleagues at my EVS project. I love the constant use of the [ʊ] sound in every word where it is normally not used e.g. in words like “instruction”, “cut”, “love” or “blood”. Besides, there are a number of unique cultural features in Leeds that are specific to England, the North of England or to Leeds. I have a long list of these differences that I’ll share in a future article. However, my favourite one is that everyone…and I mean everyone (especially bus drivers on bus number 50, strangers on the street and cashiers in Tesco) calls me “love” or sometimes even “duck”. “It’ll be 3 pounds, love!” “Excuse me, do you know the way to the train station, love?”
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| River Aire in Leeds |
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| Briggate in Leeds |
31 days ago I went to my EVS project for the first time.
My EVS project is in a primary school called Roundhay St John’s Church of England Primary School. Yes, one of the longest primary school names I have ever heard. I am volunteering as kind of a teacher assistant and I also give French lessons. In general, the school has a surprisingly friendly atmosphere compared to Hungarian primary schools and children can really feel at home. The school welcomes children from the age of 3 to 11 and I feel really lucky that I work with all age groups starting from nursery to year 6. I usually help the older children with e.g. reading or maths and I supervise and play with the younger ones. It is great to work with them as they are all very open, tolerant, loving and affectionate so it is really easy to connect with them. It is great to see them running towards me and hugging me during the breaks and see them smiling and waving when I accidentally meet them in the city centre. I never have the same day twice so I never get bored and time just passes so quickly. Moreover, I went to two school day trips already!
I also have a lovely supervisor in the school who has always been really kind, helpful and supporting and I know she is happy to help me with anything and anytime I need it. Regarding English language, I didn’t really have a language barrier in my project except that some of the 3-4 years old children are sometimes hard to understand. However, I think that my English has improved and I’ve gained significant working and personal experiences even during this first month.
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| The school |
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| In the school |
21 days ago our EVS On Arrival Training started.
OAT. Up until 21 days ago, “OAT” referred to the cereal grains that are usually eaten as porridge. Now, it stands for “On Arrival Training” instead. For four days, all the new EVS volunteers in England had gathered for an EVS training in Malvern that was really helpful, loads of fun and it was great to meet and exchange our experiences with other volunteers. In addition, we also got to (accidentally) meet the major of the town during one of the group tasks that involved interviewing strangers on the street.
As the training was held in Malvern, in the South of England, it was also a chance to see the countryside and to discover the South of England a bit. This was my first journey from Leeds that was followed by a trip to Skipton in North Yorkshire with my housemates. Leeds is actually a very great city for travellers as Scotland, Wales and the South of England are all easily accessible and York, Manchester and Liverpool are all very close to the city.
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| OAT in Malvern |
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| Dinner at the training |
To sum up, my first 35 days with EVS were about meeting loads of wonderful people, gaining working and personal experience through volunteering, discovering a new culture and starting to explore the United Kingdom. 35 days ago my flight from Hungary landed in England. 35 days ago I was sitting on the train to Leeds wondering what life and my EVS would be in Leeds. Now I know it: amazing!
Lilla, Long-term volunteer in Leeds
Project part of With YOUth in Mind
and supported by the British Council
and supported by the British Council
and the Youth in Action programme
of the European Commission
