Mid-Term Training

I can’t believe I am just about half way through my project already! Where did all the time go please??? Lol.  It’s absolutely flying by, but you know what they say… “Time flies when you’re having fun”.  And I am certainly loving every minute of being out here in France!  I just wish I had more time on this specific project in all honesty.

I arrived back from the South of France on Sunday evening (after a long train ride finishing with a LOT of very excited children who had just been to Disneyland).  I went from the Monday 22^nd August, and had my mid-term training the Monday to Thursday in a village called Sommières between Nîmes and Montpellier.  It was sooo quaint, with old buildings and a river, and really not a lot of people.  There was also a great night market, where suddenly all the streets came to life :-)

The mid-term training was completely different to the on-arrival training.  The on-arrival training had a big focus on welcoming us to the country and lots of linguistic activities.  This training was more focussed on what we had gained so far, if we had changed and possibilities after our projects.

Full Group Work :-)

To start with, we spent a good amount of time really getting to know each other.  It was really great being able to share and compare experiences with one another.  Every person’s experience on their EVS project differed greatly and so did what they had taken from their projects personally so far.  It was so interesting because there were many different countries represented among us; England, Spain, Germany, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Italy and a few others, meaning that our outlooks on our experiences also differed according to the country we had come from.  Talk about broadening horizons :-)

A work-in-progress - organising post-its for the pyramid

Another activity we did that I found incredibly beneficial was the Motivation Pyramid.  We had to reconsider our motivations from the on-arrival training and establish whether they had changed or not.  I found mine had definitely altered in terms of what I feel is important to me now compared with back in June.  We used post-it notes, with Green representing motivations we have met, Orange being those we hadn’t quite reached but were working on and Pink were those too difficult or impossible to obtain.

The Motivation Pyramid was an activity where we could work on our own and really reflect, but not all the activities were designed in this way.  On the Wednesday morning, we were taken to a table (outside in the beautiful sun), where there were boxes of rice, lots of balloons, some paper and scissors.  The leader told us we had 45 minutes to make 3 juggling balls each and to learn to juggle using a video on the computer.  There were also a couple of example balls on the table.  As you can imagine, straight away most people went storming in (me included) trying to do it alone.. Eventually, we worked together mainly in pairs and although people used many different techniques, we all succeeded in making the 3 balls (not so much in juggling hehehe).

Making the juggling balls (granted, a messy process)

This led on to us looking at the Youth Pass.  We evaluated the juggling exercise to realise the skills we used that we had already had, and those we gained through doing the exercise… Not necessarily concerning how to make the balls but skills such as initiative and team work.  These are skills we need to discuss when completely the Youth Pass, which will be a kind of summary of the EVS experience, signed by the tutor in the project.  It’s a way of demonstrating to future employers what you learned on your voluntary project and what responsibilities you had, so can really be quite beneficial :D So throughout the exercise we really started thinking about the skills we had already used in our projects, and I found it very refreshing to realise that I really have used a lot of beneficial skills, that not only did I have before, but ones I have developed since arriving.

My group presenting "Travailler en France"

Another activity we did, that we finished the training off with, was in groups we had to present a certain topic area that we researched to the rest of the volunteers.  In my group we researched working in France and found some really important information out.  Through this group work I also realised I would really like to live here when my project finishes, so I really hope that it is possible!!!

Justine and I out for a meal in the centre of Avignon

Following the seminar, everyone went their own ways and it was kind of sad to say bye to so many cool people! Despite this, I went to Avignon for 3 nights (the South of France is beautiful with great weather).  For years I’ve had a penpal online that I’ve never been able to meet (we had no money... no surprise there!).  Finally I could spend 3 nights with her, her boyfriend and friends, and it was great!  So thanks a lot to Justine for making my mini holiday down south great :D

It's a hard life...

For now, I’m back at La Mission Locale, full of energy and enthusiasm :D I know now that I have 3 months left and have to make the most of it, whilst really making the best of my free time to research how to stay in France from the 1^st of December.  Anyone got any ideas? :-)